Making it Up As I Go

It’s not the end of the year yet, but I thought I’d put up the books that I enjoyed most this year. Usually when I do this, I look over the list of books I read for the year and pick out the books that at that moment stand out to me. But this year I kept notes on the books as I read them, rating them on a 1-5 system. (Really it was a 3-5 system; if anything would have gotten a 1 or a 2 I stopped reading before I finished it.) The books below are those that got a 5 rating, in the order I read them. (I only included books that were not rereads, so The Great Gatsby isn’t on the list, even though it gets a 5 every time.)  I’ve linked to my original posts on them so you can see what I thought when I read them. I would add my current thoughts about them, but most of them boil down to a smile and a “oh, yes.”

A True Novelby Minae Mizumura            Original post here.

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wellsby Andrew Sean Greer          Original post here.

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker         Original post here.

The Serpent of Veniceby Christopher Moore   Original post here. That post also includes:

Bellweather Rhapsodyby Kate Racculia

The Girls at the Kingfisher Clubby Genevieve Valentine     Original post here, which also has the next two books in it.

The Storied Life of A. J. Fikryby Gabrielle Zevin

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)by Mindy Kaling

Letters to a Young Mormonby Adam S. Miller  Original post here, also has my thoughts on:

So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Enduresby Maureen Corrigan

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Dayby Ben Loory   Original post here.

What were your favorite books this year?