My books of 2016 - including poll
I read only 212 books this year, which is my lowest total since 2006. Basically this is because I got sucked into feeding from the information firehose of social media around the times of both the Brexit referendum and the US Presidential election; I read precisely three books in November, which I think is the lowest since I started bookblogging at the end of 2003. It is addictive, but I get much more from reading books and have managed to restore the balance in the last few weeks.
Non-fiction
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
37
47
48
46
53
69
66
88
17%
16%
16%
19%
20%
23%
24%
26%
Best non-fiction read in 2016: Between the world and me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates -tremendous (and short) polemic about racism and violence in the United States.
Runner-up: SPQR, by Mary Beard - great account of the history of Rome.
The one you might not heard of: Baptism of Fire: The Birth of the Modern British Fantastic in World War I, ed. Janet Brennan Croft - fascinating essays on at the influence of the global conflict on the origins of the fantasy genre.
Non-sfnal fiction
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
28
42
41
44
48
48
50
57
13%
14%
14%
19%
19%
16%
18%
18%
Best non-sff fiction read in 2016: Alice Munro's short story collections, The Love of a Good Woman, Selected Stories, and The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose - all fantastic vignettes of Canada.
Runner-up: Nemesis, by Philip Roth - the effects of polio on middle-class America in the 1950s.
Welcome rereads: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce; Walking on Glass, by Iain Banks; also The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas.
The one you might not heard of: Dark Horse, by Fletcher Knebel - the Republican candidate dies just before the Presidential election; his swiftly conscripted replacement is an obscure New Jersey politician who starts shaking the political system.
Non-Whovian sff
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
80
130
124
65
62
78
73
78
38%
45%
43%
27%
24%
26%
26%
23%
Best non-Who sff read in 2016: Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge - creepy doppleganger story set in England just after the first world war.
Runner-up: Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand - I never write this up properly, but it's an excellent fantasy/horror story, again set in England.
Welcome re-reads: Watership Down, by Richard Adams; the Alice books by Lewis Carroll.
The one you might not heard of: Time Bangers #1: One Does Not Simply Walk Into Tudor, by Luna Teague and Ivery Kirk - OK, this is not exactly great art, but the authors clearly had a lot of fun writing it.
Doctor Who (and spinoff) fiction
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
39
43
59
72
75
80
71
70
18%
15%
20%
30%
29%
27%
26%
19%
Best Who book read in 2016: The Legends of Ashildr, by James Goss, David Llewellyn, Jenny T. Colgan & Justin Richards - all good stories, some really good
Runner-up: The Mike Tucker (and Robert Perry) Seventh Doctor/Ace novels, Illegal Alien, Prime Time and Loving the Alien - great examples of respect for continuity and also bringing more.
Worth flagging up for Whovians: Drama and Delight: The Life of Verity Lambert, by Richard Marson - excellent biography of the show's first producer.
Comics
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
27
18
19
30
21
27
18
28
13%
6%
7%
13%
8%
9%
6%
8%
Best graphic story read in 2016: Alice in Sunderland, by Bryan Talbot - brilliant exploration of the town and its links to literature in general and Alice in particular.
Runner-up: The Sandman: Overture, by Neil Gaiman, J.H. Williams III, Dave Stewart, Todd Klein - very satisfying prequel/sequel to the classic story, which won the Hugo
The one you might not have heard of: Toch Een Geluk, by Barbara Stok - fun Dutch comics writer, sadly not translated into English yet.
Plays
One is slightly comparing chalk and cheese here. I was lucky enough to see Hamilton in Chicago this month, but had also read the Hamiltome which has loads of information and is a must-have for any fan.
However I also read the complete Christopher Marlowe, and particularly enjoyed Edward II and The Jew of Malta.
Worst books of the year: To be found on the Best Related Work ballot for the Hugo Awards.
Now your turn. How much has your reading overlapped with mine this year? People with Facebook, Twitter, Dreamwidth and maybe even Google accounts should also be able to participate.
Poll 2017 reading
And if you have time, I'd appreciate your input on my 2017 reading poll.
Non-fiction
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
37
47
48
46
53
69
66
88
17%
16%
16%
19%
20%
23%
24%
26%
Best non-fiction read in 2016: Between the world and me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates -tremendous (and short) polemic about racism and violence in the United States.
Runner-up: SPQR, by Mary Beard - great account of the history of Rome.
The one you might not heard of: Baptism of Fire: The Birth of the Modern British Fantastic in World War I, ed. Janet Brennan Croft - fascinating essays on at the influence of the global conflict on the origins of the fantasy genre.
Non-sfnal fiction
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
28
42
41
44
48
48
50
57
13%
14%
14%
19%
19%
16%
18%
18%
Best non-sff fiction read in 2016: Alice Munro's short story collections, The Love of a Good Woman, Selected Stories, and The Beggar Maid: Stories of Flo and Rose - all fantastic vignettes of Canada.
Runner-up: Nemesis, by Philip Roth - the effects of polio on middle-class America in the 1950s.
Welcome rereads: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce; Walking on Glass, by Iain Banks; also The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas.
The one you might not heard of: Dark Horse, by Fletcher Knebel - the Republican candidate dies just before the Presidential election; his swiftly conscripted replacement is an obscure New Jersey politician who starts shaking the political system.
Non-Whovian sff
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
80
130
124
65
62
78
73
78
38%
45%
43%
27%
24%
26%
26%
23%
Best non-Who sff read in 2016: Cuckoo Song, by Frances Hardinge - creepy doppleganger story set in England just after the first world war.
Runner-up: Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand - I never write this up properly, but it's an excellent fantasy/horror story, again set in England.
Welcome re-reads: Watership Down, by Richard Adams; the Alice books by Lewis Carroll.
The one you might not heard of: Time Bangers #1: One Does Not Simply Walk Into Tudor, by Luna Teague and Ivery Kirk - OK, this is not exactly great art, but the authors clearly had a lot of fun writing it.
Doctor Who (and spinoff) fiction
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
39
43
59
72
75
80
71
70
18%
15%
20%
30%
29%
27%
26%
19%
Best Who book read in 2016: The Legends of Ashildr, by James Goss, David Llewellyn, Jenny T. Colgan & Justin Richards - all good stories, some really good
Runner-up: The Mike Tucker (and Robert Perry) Seventh Doctor/Ace novels, Illegal Alien, Prime Time and Loving the Alien - great examples of respect for continuity and also bringing more.
Worth flagging up for Whovians: Drama and Delight: The Life of Verity Lambert, by Richard Marson - excellent biography of the show's first producer.
Comics
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
27
18
19
30
21
27
18
28
13%
6%
7%
13%
8%
9%
6%
8%
Best graphic story read in 2016: Alice in Sunderland, by Bryan Talbot - brilliant exploration of the town and its links to literature in general and Alice in particular.
Runner-up: The Sandman: Overture, by Neil Gaiman, J.H. Williams III, Dave Stewart, Todd Klein - very satisfying prequel/sequel to the classic story, which won the Hugo
The one you might not have heard of: Toch Een Geluk, by Barbara Stok - fun Dutch comics writer, sadly not translated into English yet.
Plays
One is slightly comparing chalk and cheese here. I was lucky enough to see Hamilton in Chicago this month, but had also read the Hamiltome which has loads of information and is a must-have for any fan.
However I also read the complete Christopher Marlowe, and particularly enjoyed Edward II and The Jew of Malta.
Worst books of the year: To be found on the Best Related Work ballot for the Hugo Awards.
Now your turn. How much has your reading overlapped with mine this year? People with Facebook, Twitter, Dreamwidth and maybe even Google accounts should also be able to participate.
Poll 2017 reading
And if you have time, I'd appreciate your input on my 2017 reading poll.