My love of books is no joke. One of my greatest joys is finding a book so good that I’m willing to feed my kids cereal for dinner and let them watch TV while they eat so I can keep reading. The type of books that keep you up at night- the ones you can’t put down even when you know there will be hell to pay the next day.

That love of reading, combined with my love of audio books, means I read a lot in 2016. According to Goodreads, I’ve read / listened to 169 books this past year. That’s awesome. Please note, I don’t read crazy hard books, I read for the sheer pleasure of it. My philosophy is that life is too short to read books you don’t fall into. One day when my life isn’t overflowing with kids, sports and work I’ll have the time to challenge myself. But for now? Now I just read for the fun of it.

And here are the books I loved the most this year:

• Throne of Glass series, Books 4 and 5, by Sarah Maas: Sarah Maas has fast become my favorite YA fantasy author. I feel like attaching YA to the description discredits how very, very, VERY good these books are- I worry that people won’t take them seriously because they are YA. Don’t make that mistake; this series is simply outstanding. The first book is good, but each one takes it to the next level with the world building, the character growth and the plot. (Honorable mention: Sarah Maas’s Court of Thorn & Roses series. Again book 1 was very good. Book 2? AMAZING.)
• Morning Star by Pierce Brown (last book in the Red Rising series). This was straight up sci-fi and it was spectacular. Each book in the series was good on its own, but together they added up to a well plotted, intense, totally enthralling series. Morning Star tied the series up perfectly.
• Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt. Scorch’s orchestra instructor self-identifies as queer…a term I thought was passe and offensive, which clearly shows how much I had to learn. And that led me to this book and the fascinating, scary, intimate look at  what trailblazing for LGBTQ rights looks like when it’s your child you’re fighting for. This book combined a compelling family story with the history of transgender rights in America.
• One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I wrote about this book back in August when the Hubs and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary and it’s stuck with me ever since. Emma fell in love with her husband, Jesse, when they were in high school and years later, they married and started building their dream life together. The dream shattered when Jesse disappeared in a plane crash. It took Emma years to piece her life together again, but she did it- and finally fell in love again. But on the eve of her second marriage, Jesse came home. Melodramatic? Yes. But also thought provoking, funny, sad and ultimately full of hope.
• The Year of Yes by Shondra Rhimes. This book should be required listening for every working mom out there because in this book, Shondra learns how to unapologetically own her shit and it’s amazing. There is no balance – there is no magic formula for being a kick-ass mom and an amazing employee. There is just all of us doing the very best we can and giving a fat ton of credit to the people that help us along the way. Do yourself a favor- *listen* to this book, don’t read it. Trust me on this.
• City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong. I love Armstrong’s Cainsville series- a little bit paranormal, a little bit detective story, a lot sexy- but I wasn’t sure how I’d like her mystery book. I shouldn’t have worried- this was a great book in the vein of Jeffrey Deavers. Very much looking forward to book 2.
• Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman. I adored A Man Called Ove, but wasn’t a huge fan of My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry so I approached this book with some trepidation. Admittedly, it took me a while to sink into this book, but once I did, I loved it. Loving, sad, heartwarming and uplifting- the perfect book to curl up with for the weekend.
• The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. A sweet story with a surprising bite about a young girl on the eve of being deported and the love she finds. I love stories where all the lines intersect and this was a perfect example of how we touch each others lives without even realizing it.
• Dirt Roads and Diner Pies by Shonna Milliken Humphrey. Shonna is an old friend with a hell of a story to tell. As I wrote when I first read this, I hate books that show me real life monsters—give me a werewolf anytime. But sometimes the monsters ARE real and the horror they inflect ripples out and that cannot be ignored. Without a doubt, this was the most important book I read all year.

I also devoured a bunch of fantasy series (urban, mostly)- all of which were fantastic in their own right but may not appeal to everyone: The Others, Alpha and Omega, Mercy Thompson, Charley Davidson, October Daye, Kate Daniels, and Fever.

So, here’s to more books in 2017—I’m already 9 books in! What are you reading? Please, share your favorite—I’m always on the look out for something new!