Books to be Enjoyed 2016

     Give me a room full of books, an endless supply of tea, and a big comfy couch and I will be lost for days.  Though I tend to be more on the extrovert side, I enjoy good introvert, shut down and recharge moments, mostly with books. This year has been a whirlwind; a wedding, friends from faraway places coming to visit, living in three places, moving twice, and figuring out how this whole marriage thing works. Despite a busy beginning of the year, I found time in the second half to rest, relax and pick up a couple of good books.

   2017 is literally a few hours away as I write this. If you're looking for things to read in the new year, here are my suggestions:

Read It!:

• A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis (Young Adult or YA) - GOOD! It begins in an insane asylum, taking a look at what is Madness and what is not Madness. Clever, well written, plot twists and intrigue and thankfully, NOT post apocalyptic.
• Bossypants by Tina Fey (Memoir)  It's Tina Fey, she's funny, she tells the story well, it's great look into SNL. Immediately after- go watch 30 Rock. It makes the show that much better.
• 12 Years A Slave by Solomon Northup (Memoir)  He writes so poetically. The movie was hard  to watch but he has so much grace even for his horrible slave owners. It's a compelling read and I learned a lot about the time period.
• Everland by Wendy Spinale (YA)  It's a twist on Peter Pan which I, of course love, there's no real "magic" except the essence of who Peter is. It's really fun- GO READ IT!

Give it a Shot:

• A.D. 30 by Ted Dekker (Fiction)  - Quite good. Not in his Circle Trilogy world but set at the time where Jesus began his public ministry. I quite enjoyed it.
• Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (YA)  It's the prequel to the Mortal Instrument Series. I quite enjoyed it and I will continue with the series. Supernatural book. A good read.
• Flawed by Cecelia Ahern (YA)  Interesting concept where people who do wrong things are branded as Flawed. The main character is does an act of kindness that also breaks the rules and is therefore flawed. Interesting and a good read. It does end on a cliff hanger.
• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (YA)  Easy read, fun concept, cliff hanger, likable characters- recommended. 
• Yes Please by Amy Poehler (Memoir)   Enjoyable read- I actually enjoyed Tina Fey's a bit better. However, Amy Poehler has some fun guest writers write some of the chapters. I'm a little bit more disenchanted with her as a person but her as an actress is still one of my favorite things! Park and REC!
• Tinker Tailer Solider Spy by John La Carre (Thriller)  -Spy novel- there's a movie based on the book which I have not seen. I felt it's one I had to read to be a well rounded human. I've read it, I enjoyed it, I will probably read more of his books at some point. Lots of characters to keep track of that are all involved but a good interesting read.

Not really worth it:

• Northanger Abby by Val McDermid (Fiction)   Modern telling of Jane Austen's Northanger Abby- I enjoyed how she approached it but she's an older lady writing modern teenagers and it just didn't translate. She tried to show how they would use social media and it distracted from the story she was trying to tell. I had high hopes-- it just didn't work.

Currently Reading:

• Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (Memoirs)-- two chapters in and it's great!

So at the end of 2016, I'll admit I didn't read as many books as I had hoped but I hope you find some that you might be interested in. Happy reading in 2017!