10 Years, 10(-ish) Favorite Books

This is apparently a thing on BookTok, but I found it through Realms of My Mind. While my Goodreads only goes back to 2017, I’ve used LibraryThing since (gulp) 2009. Starting with 2012 is pretty funny for me as well, as that’s the year I had my first kid (and then promptly lost a lot of reading time!). “Favorite book” is a hard concept for me, too, as I read so much and have so many different favorites. Do you mean favorite romance? Favorite horror? Favorite sci-fi? Favorite can also change depending on my mood or time of year. I was very curious to see how my top-rated picks have held up after all this time…

2012

A pretty solid pick, as I still adore this series! One day I will go back and reread and review all of the Tobey Daye books. “Ashes of Honor” for those of you who are familiar with the series but, like me, can’t connect the plot with the title, is the “Etienne has a daughter and needs Tobey’s help.” Without going into spoilers, there are things that happen in this book that have only come to fruition in, oh, the book from last year. Amazing, isn’t it?

Would I still recommend this book? Heck yes!

2013

2013, aka the year I read the Vorkosigan saga. In hindsight, I probably wouldn’t rate this particular book as highly, but Miles’ antics remain close to my heart. Scifi-loving me ate this up and I inhaled the series as fast as I could check them out from the library. There’s some issues with misogyny and ableism, but overall Bujold is a fantastic writer.

Would I still recommend this book? Yes, with reservations

2014

This was also the year I read the Liaden series (fantastic) and the Lord Peter Whimsy series, but this book? Blew my socks off. I can remember sitting on the back porch of our rental house dividing my time between watching my toddler play and devouring this book. I’ve always loved AI and this felt so new and revolutionary. I honestly can’t remember much of the plot now, and I never did make it around to reading the rest of the series, but the absolute joy I felt when I finished this book is etched in my memory.

Would I still recommend this book? Without being able to remember much about it…. sure?

2015

I started reading a lot of historical romance in 2015 and tore through several series. But this one? Wow. I knew from the first book in this series that Courtney Milan was a good author, but it wasn’t until this third entry that I truly realized how incredible she was (slow on the uptake, huh?). The way she handles characters is unparalleled, and she’s still an auto-buy author for me.

Would I still recommend this book? Yes!

2016

Remember how I said I had a hard time choosing favorites? Well, apparently I read two of my all-time favorite books in 2016. Uprooted is the book that first introduced me to Naomi Novik and it’s sort of a Beauty and the Beast retelling, if you squint at it sideways. Agniezka is still one of my favorite book characters and I regularly reread parts of this book. And yes, this is also the second Bujold appearance on the list, but this time for a book in her World of the Five Gods series which, ahem, I personally consider even better than Vorkosigan. Ista, the middle-aged heroine, starts out defeated and tired and ends up, well, still tired but in a take-no-shit way. The world-building is exquisite and one of my favorites.

Would I still recommend these books? YES YES YES!

2017

2017: the year White Hot finally came out, I gobbled down the Night Huntress series and the first three books in the Innkeeper series…. and my favorite book was Illuminae? Yeah, it’s weird, but remember what I said about me and AIs? Plus, the format – found footage and texts and depositions after the fact – worked perfectly with the story.

Would I still recommend this book? Yes

2018

And now things get harder. 2018 was when my reading really picked up again, and with more books comes more five-star ratings. This was, after all, the year I read Polaris Rising and The Tea Master and the Detective plus numerous entries in other favorite series. But what sticks out the most to me is this spectacular start to a m/m paranormal romance series, with a very unsure and prejudiced main character who is just trying really hard to do the right thing. I’ve loved every entry in this series.

Would I still recommend this book? Yes, and if you haven’t read it, go read it now!

2019

Again, nearly impossible to pick, but… this was the year I first met Murderbot. And while Murderbot may prefer not to be perceived, I’m pretty sure they could also trounce every other five star book on my list. So, yeah, Murderbot.

Would I still recommend this book? It’s Murderbot, do you even have to ask?

2020

A lot fewer 5 stars this year, but still a hard choice. Kate Clayborn just has a way with words, though, and her love of NYC shines through as well.

Would I still recommend this book? Yep

2021

This is my list and you can’t make me chose just one for last year! Maybe with the benefit of a few years I’ll be able to narrow it down, but, well, LOOK AT THOSE BOOKS. YA trans fae messiness? Gay disasters in spaaaaace? Twisty political scifi? Twisty political sapphic fantasy? AND THAT COVER.

Would I still recommend these books? Why am I even asking this question?

2022

Is this book out yet? No, but I have read an ARC. This is the angsty historical m/m bodyguard/prince romance with twisty political machinations that I didn’t know I needed in my life.

Will I still recommend this book in ten years? I guess we’ll see what books the rest of the year gives us!