Time for my top reads of 2016. I’m disappointed, because I didn’t reach my reading goal of 156 books, but I did read 155.5 books… so not too bad.
10.) To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han – a cute YA novel that made me feel like I was in HS again…in a good way.
9.) Yes Please by Amy Poehler – I had no idea who she was before reading this book. This stuck with me all year, and almost made me want to watch Parks & Rec.
8.) Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jayne Robin Brown – A book set in Rome, GA about a pastor’s lesbian daughter. Amazing funny and deals with Christianity and queerness.
7.) Giant Days Vols. 1 & 2 by John Allison – a funny graphic novel about 3 friends meeting each other in college
6.) The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin – Amazing and revolutionary. This is the work that inspired “Between the World and Me.”
5.) Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli – A gay teenage boy trying (sort of) to avoid being blackmailed about his sexuality. Hilarious and set in Georgia. The discussion of Chickfil-A at the beginning of the book was too real.
4.) All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer – I don’t love WW2 stories, but this is a good one about two kids growing up in the war, one in France and one in Germany.
3.) Me Before You by Jojo Moyes – This book got a lot of dings because of its representation of disability. However, I loved the representation of the conception around suicide/self interest. For what Moyes did, this will be in my favorites a long time. I have a couple of blog posts up about this if you want to check them out.
2.) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi – a book about the effects of the slave trade on those sold into slavery (over 7 generations) and the ones who remained in Africa
1.) The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner – Amazing YA book about HS seniors in Tennessee growing up and preparing to go to college. Such amazing character development. Zentner has the ability to suck the reader in without them knowing exactly when it happens.
Honorable Mentions: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah; The Anatomical Shape of a Heart by Jenn Bennett; The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness
Politics, Polymers, & Pretty Dresses 
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