A (Belated) Look at 2016

I don't think that I'd be out of line for saying that 2016 was a pretty crazy year. A lot of weird/terrible  happened around the world (which I'm not going to even try to summarize), and a lot of strange/awesome/exhilarating things happened to me personally; I wrote my senior thesis, graduated from college, moved to a new city and state (and coast!), got a job, and experienced a slew of emotional highs and lows in between.

I didn't do a reading review of 2015 (whomp, whomp), but it's been strangely satisfying reading my post from 2014 and seeing how far I've come since then. Although my presence on here has been pretty restricted as of late (I didn't post from April 2015 to November 2016), it's still been nice to see where I've been and compare it to where I thought I was going at the time.

That said, this is """supposed""" to be a book blog, so let's swerve away from that emotional introspection and get down to the nitty gritty: what was my 2016 like in books?

Woof. Tiny bookcovers stolen from my Goodreads shelf.

2016 was my most productive year of reading yet! (Or at least, since I started tracking my reading through Goodreads.) I read a grand total of 33 books — including 15 audiobooks and three digital books — and I'd like to think that this was a pretty diverse year? Or at least, more diverse than usual. I read two sci-fi (I usually don't bother with that genre), one book of poetry (which I almost never read), a nonfiction book about dinosaurs, a travelogue, and a book written by a Korean author (a country I don't think I've ever read any fiction about).  

2016 was definitely the year of the audiobook for me. I joined Audible in January and got The Martian for the drive up to school. I didn't think I'd like the audiobook experience very much, so the game plan was to take advantage of the free trial that came with my Prime account and get rid of it soon after. SILLY ME. I finished The Martian before I even left for school and swiftly purchased Agatha Christie's The ABC Murders to tide me on the 8 hour drive. (Spoiler: it was the perfect length. 10/10 would recommend Agatha for long car rides around the Midwest.)

My favorite books of 2016 (in no particular order) were Peril at End House, The Secret Adversary, The Truth, Evil Under the Sun, Cards on the Table, The Underground Railroad, The Royal We, and Milk and Honey. (Sorry there aren't any reviews to link — for some reason I never write about my favorite books.) In any case, y'all should totally read these books. They kept my attention, had me reading through my lunch break, shocked and surprised me, made me laugh and cry, and left me wanting more. 

Now, on to 2017!

1. I have a couple reading goals this year:
2. To read 35 books by January 1, 2018;
3. To SUCCESSFULLY read and discuss at least one book (bookclub style) with Kiernyn;
4. To read at least five nonfiction books;
5. To read more often on the train/bus; and
6. To be better at writing blog posts/book reviews.

So, there are my 2017 reading "resolutions" / ~intentions~ . Do you have any goals for 2017? Did any book from 2016 stick out to you in particular? Are there any books you plan on reading in 2017 that reflect whatever personal philosophy you intend to follow? Let me know in the comments. And as always, I'm taking recommendations. 

Happy 2017, dudes. Two years ago I ended a similar post with a picture of David Bowie. Today, on the first anniversary of his death, I'd like to do the same thing.