I’m still a little bit in denial that this year is almost over. The fall season has really flown by at lightning speed for me. End of the year posts are starting to make their way around the internet so I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on my favorite books from the past year. These are five of the books I enjoyed the most this year – it’s a real mish mash of genres – something for everyone!

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I loved this book. Me and everyone else on the internet, I know, but it’s heartwarming and funny but also heartbreaking and shocking at turns. The main character, Madeline, will make a place in your heart as you are reading and won’t leave.

I also saw the movie based off of the book this year and was pleasantly surprised at how well it held up to the movie. This is such a rarity but they nailed the casting and it definitely had the same energy and feel as the book and followed the plot remarkably well.

I still need to read Yoon’s other novel, The Sun Is Also a Star, which I’ve heard nothing but good things about.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

This is book one in the YA fantasy series that my friends and I obsessed over this year. If I were in a Book Gang that like forced people to read books at gunpoint or something, this is the book I would have been shoving at people in 2017. Like ‘read this now or ELSE!!!!’

The main character, Celaena, is not always likeable – she can be a little bit of a snob and a little bit cocky. But over the course of the book she began to grow on me and at the same time the plot became more and more fascinating. There are still a lot of questions left unanswered and a little love triangle developing that I’m interested to see develop.

If you like a bit of world building and magic, this is a good one to check out.

Reading People by Anne Bogel

One of my favorite bloggers wrote a book and I was so excited that I even pre-ordered it which is not something I normally do.

It’s all about personality types (like Enneagram and Meyers Briggs, etc.) – how to figure out your type and how to make that knowledge actually make a difference in your life. I actually got a LOT out of this book. Anne does a great job explaining the different types and why they would be useful for you to know more about. She gives you reading suggestions and preferred tests to take and talks about how knowing her various types has helped her in her own life.

If you are a personality geek or would like to be one, this was a really useful book and also just fun to read!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 

This book is about go become a movie so maybe you’ve seen the trailers in the theater. I’m both excited and nervous for the movie and I totally have been acting like That Reader already after seeing the trailer with friends I keep feeling the need to say, “Yeah but that’s not really what the book is about!” Which I think goes to show you how much of an impact the book ended up having on me.

This book took me awhile to read between the somewhat long length and my own life interrupting my progress but I’m glad I ended up finishing it finally! This book is like a love letter to the 1980’s and Geek Culture. It’s a sweeping adventure tale and a little bit of a coming of age and love story as well. The premise is pretty fantastical and I think it will make for a cool movie even if I grumble through the entire thing.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

If you are looking for some classic “chick lit” – a sweet love story starring a kinda shy girl who isn’t sure what she’s doing with her life and makes a major life change to find herself and find love…. This book is absolutely just the thing.

This story was so good that I pretty much immediately dove into Colgan’s backlist. It’s got wanderlust, love story, self discovery and bookworm fantasy for days. I’ve enjoyed a lot of her other books, too, and keep splurging for more so at this point I kind of consider her a sure thing.

What was your favorite read this year?