This book has been up and down in terms of reading for me so choosing my best and worst books of the year was going to be hard but I am also adding the most disappointment books of the year. Rather than just listing the books I am going to go month by month and discuss my favourites and why.
In January I read 6 books and 5 of them were 5 stars read but the two that stand out for me were In the Miso Soup by Ryu Murakami as I read this 3 times within about 6 months and I became obsessed with reading all of Murakami’s books of which I only have two left. Most people with be familiar with Audition by this author and the cult classic horror movie that followed but In the Miso Soup was the best psychological thriller he has ever written. The other stand out book from this month for me was Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, obviously the Vampire Chronicles had to be on here as I love the movie adaptation but the book held so much more about the characters and their dynamics which I fell in love with and I am slowly reading the whole series.
In February I also had 5 books that I gave five stars but the winners were easy in this category. Blood Countess by Lana Popovic was easily my favourite book of the month and one of my favourite books of the year. It was a dark, atmospheric horror that I wasn’t expected and I can’t wait for more in the Lady Slayers series. The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte was also a book that completely took me by surprise and got a well-deserved 5 stars.
In March I read 23 books and 13 of those I gave 5 stars so picking only one or two for this list was extremely hard. The first book has to be Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov since I read it two or three times this year alone and I will be reading it again in the future. The second has to go to Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff which I devoured in a single sitting and have re-read numerous times.
In April I read 20 books and rating 15 of them five stars but I am excluding re-reads like In the Miso Soup and Lolita as they already have spots on this list. The first book I am putting on this list is Mindhunter by John E. Douglas & Mark Olshaker which is a non-fiction book looking at the Behavioural Investigation Unit of the F.B.I. It looks at how it was set up and details some interviews conducting with real life serial killers which I found amazing to read alongside the Netflix TV show. The second is Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, I re-read the Hunger Games trilogy this year in preparation for reading A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and while all I gave all 3 books 5 stars, Mockingjay was a stunning conclusion to the series.
In May I read a lot more trashy romance novels which I did give five tars but not because they were good books but because I really enjoyed them as guilty pleasure reads. The books I am highlighting this month are A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin, even thought many dislike this series I loved the first 3 books in the series and the first book really got me hooked and interested in Ged as a character. I am also highlighting The Passengers by John Marrs and I, Kill by Giorgio Faletti as both were the most gripping thrillers I have ever read and I can’t wait to read more by both authors.
In June I entered a reading slump so my reading took a down turn here. The first book that stands out to me was Dark Reflections by Kelsey Ketch which was a really fresh take on the outdated vampire genre which I really enjoyed. The second is Moonrise by Sarah Crossan which I wasn’t expecting to hit me as hard as it did.
In July my reading picked back up as I read 34 books that month so picking a few favourites was really difficult. The first one I am going to highlight is strange, it’s Nevernight by Jay Kristoff when I read this in July I gave it 5 stars but my rating is going to change on this series since I hated the second book and haven’t been interested in picking up the conclusion despite buying it as soon as it came out, but the love I have for the first book isn’t going to change. I am also adding Staking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco which is another book I constantly re-read and I am planning to finish the series in 2021 and Red Dragon by Thomas Harris which is always going to be one of my all time favourite books.
In August I read a lot of hit and miss books but the two that I really have to scream about are Lock Every Door by Riley Sager which managed to both mislead me for a large part of the book and sucker punch me right at the end of it and The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen which I adored from the beginning and I am planning to re-read it and read the sequel in 2021.
In September I didn’t get to read as much as I normally do because I started university but I still found some amazing books. The first is This is How You Lost the Time War by Amal Eh-Mohtar & Max Gladstone which managed to pack a huge emotional punch despite being only 200 pages long and it really blew me away. The second is One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence, not just this book but the whole trilogy as it was an amazing sci-fi series that features great friendships, amazing science, D&D and a realistic romance too and I can’t to read some of Mark Lawrence’s fantasy books.
In October I only read 4 books and nothing really stood out to me as a lot of the book were meh at best.
In November, the only book I really want to add to this list is The Midnight Library by Matt Haig which was a stunning look at suicide, depression, and other mental health issues and if you haven’t read it then I highly recommend picking it up as I read it in a single sitting.
In December, there are a few books I want to discuss and there are three. The first is My Dark Vanessa which is most likely going to be my favourite book of the year. It was dark, gripping and absolutely haunting and I loved every second of it and the audiobook was brilliant too. It is another read that I highly recommend that everyone reads but it will come with some major trigger warnings. The second is The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel, I have heard many people raving about Station Eleven which is on my TBR for next year but this book was dazzling and haunting in equal measure and left me stunned. The final book I wanted to discuss is A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova which is the first faerie romance book that I actually loved and it may be the book that changes my mind on faerie romance.
There are a few books I am hoping to finish this month that might be late additional to my list but I think this list is fairly complete.
Comentarios