There were many books published this year that I was looking forward to eagerly, and which I devoured as soon as I could get them. Other books sneaked up on me (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!), some were recommended by friends or librarian-friends, others discovered serendipitously (my toddler pulling them off the library shelf), some a combination of the above. Links go to my LibraryThing reviews.
Adult Fiction
Imagine Me Gone by Adam Haslett
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne, John Tiffany, and J.K. Rowling
My Real Children by Jo Walton
The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson
“And we can’t know the lives of others. And we can’t know our own lives beyond the details we can manage. And the things that change us forever happen without us knowing they would happen. And the moment that looks like the rest is the one where hearts are broken or healed. And time that runs so steady and sure runs wild outside of the clocks. It takes so little time to change a lifetime and it takes a lifetime to understand the change.” -Jeanette Winterson, The Gap of Time
Adult Nonfiction
Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
“Shame is a tool of oppression, not change….You know what’s shameful? A complete lack of empathy.” -Lindy West, Shrill
Teen/YA
The Leaving by Tara Altebrando
My True Love Gave to Me (short stories, edited by Stephanie Perkins)
Children’s board books and picture books
Wow! Said the Owl by Tim Hopgood
There Is A Bird On Your Head by Mo Willems
I Am the Wolf…And Here I Come! by Benedicte Guettier
I Kissed the Baby by Mary Murphy
One Was Johnny by Maurice Sendak – I can’t believe I missed this one as a kid. It is the perfect counting book for introverts.
How to Cheer Up Dad by Fred Koehler
School’s First Day of School by Adam Rex, illustrated by Christian Robinson
Children’s chapter books/series
The Clementine series by Sara Pennypacker – I listened to all seven of these audiobooks (narrated by Jessica Almasy) and loved every single one. Clementine reminds me of Ramona Quimby (especially when adults tell her to “pay attention” and she says that she was paying attention…to something else. Perfect kid logic). The parents are great characters too.
Coming soon…2017
I haven’t looked too far ahead into 2017, publishing-wise. The book I am most anticipating, of course, is the sequel to The Time Traveler’s Wife, but there is no new news about it, as far as I can tell, and the last I heard, it was looking like ballpark 2018. I’d be excited to read anything new by David Mitchell or Nick Hornby, but they each had books out in 2015 (Slade House and Funny Girl, respectively). I’d love to read whatever Erin Morgenstern (The Night Circus) is cooking up next, too. I’m sure plenty of wonderful new books will come along while I’m waiting for these…what are you excited to read this coming year?