Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite 2016 Reads

I don’t actually give books star ratings so I have had to divert slightly from the official title for this weeks’ TTT, hosted as always by The Broke and Bookish. I’m going for the 10 best books I’ve read this year instead, because I am a rebel. I’ve also annoyingly put links to reviews for every single one, because I just really like the link button.

Mr Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt
I wrote about this in detail here; it’s a really fascinating book about depression, based on Winston Churchill’s description of his own depressions as “the black dog.”

Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin
I loved this and I’m really looking forward to the sequel. The whole X-Men/historical situation really appeals to me. I reviewed it here.

Mosquitoland by David Arnold
Technically, I read this last year, but I had to read it again to write about it and I just absolutely love it more than is healthy. In this review, I compare it to both Fight Club and Alice in Wonderland, which is a bit weird.

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
This crazy book ticked all my boxes; I loved every ounce of its weirdness. There are talking birds and mad scientists and it is ace. I reviewed it in more detail here.

The Madwoman Upstairs by Catherine Lowell
I recommend this to any Brontë fan; this story of a fictional descendant of the famous family is intelligent and hilarious, with plenty of clever Brontë commentary and parallels.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
I reread this in March after buying a new, beautiful copy and I enjoyed it so much; it’s made me want to reread all of Austen’s novels (rather than just revisiting Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice on an annual basis). I go on about it a bit more here.

Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg
Historical novel set in New York, with a cool and hard-edged heroine? Yes please. I loved it. Review here.

The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
This caught me by surprise; it was emotional and real, and features a character with awesome music taste (which I went on about a bit here). It’s a beautiful book and it’s set in Nashville so what’s not to like? I reviewed it for Fourth and Sycamore here.

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
I am a bit in love with this book; it’s exciting and entertaining and, most brilliantly, staunchly feminist (at least in my reading). I spewed out a load of enthusiastic adjectives about it here.

A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
This is a fantasy world I would like to move into; the concept of different Londons, magic and pirates makes me pack a bag and get going. I love the darkness and humour and the characters and everything. Here’s a review if you want to read me going on about it some more.

I’d love some books recs so link me to your TTTs in the comments.