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December already. It feels like the year lasted forever, yet no time at all.
Books
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - excellent debut novel with an interesting take on magic. The end was a little simplistic but I'm happy to see that there are 2 more novels so far set in this universe.
Feedback by Mira Grant. This long-awaited book did not disappoint! The events of this book happen simultaneously with those of "Feed", with slight overlaps. While I will always have a soft spot for George and Shaun, I'll admit that I loved Ash so much. And a huge, huge shout of appreciation for the diversity of characters!
Red Rising by Pierce Brown - I found this book was trying too hard to be what it wasn't. What it WAS was a war fiction. War games, strategy, and nothing more. I really missed relationships between characters. I won't be reading the next in the series.
Spells of Blood and Kin by Claire Humphrey - another great debut novel. It was simple, it was honest, things didn't magically work out at the end, and there are tons of random loose ends... which I actually appreciated. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Shuriken and Pleats (vol 1) by Matsuri Hino - cute
Pricelessby Shannon Mayer - not particularly well-written but, like a train wreck, you can't look away. By the end, I was actually enjoying it... Enough to buy the second volume?
Movies
Hot Girls Wanted (2015) - documentary
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Crimson Peak (2015)
Other
Bears of Legend in concert in Joliette! So amazing, they put on an amazing, immersive performance, they connect with the audience, and the music is even more stunning live.
********
So that makes 82 books in 2016: 75 fiction vs 7 non-fiction, with only 3 in French. 17 were books I'd read before, and I did polish off a lot of manga this year (though I only count the manga as 1 book, no matter how many volumes I read).
For this year, the standouts are:
Feedback by Mira Grant - because who doesn't love a diverse, immersive, and gripping political zombie apocalypse?
Indexing by Seanan McGuire - can you tell I love this author? (Mira Grant is Seanan McGuire's pen name for horror novels...). Indexing is probably the most original thing I read this year: supernatural FBI-type agents attempting to keep fairy tales from destroying the world. This author is a master at making me love things I don't normally enjoy: zombies, fairy tales...
Old Man's War by John Scalzi - I know, I know, this book has gotten amazing reviews for years. But it's new to me. I love this type of sci-fi, even though I don't read it often.
Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - because, let's be honest, this isn't a take you see done on fantasy very often. The characters, the setting, the very magic of the book are steeped in south american culture and it's wonderful.
Un printemps à Tchernobyl by Emmanuel Lepage - this documentary/graphic novel is fascinating not just for its depictions of Chernobyl as it stands now, deserted and overgrown and wild, but for the insight into the characters as they wrestle with radiation safety, doubts, and drives. This book is a work of art.
There were other books I loved this year: "The Danish Girl" and "A Darker Shade of Magic" come to mind.
Books
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab - excellent debut novel with an interesting take on magic. The end was a little simplistic but I'm happy to see that there are 2 more novels so far set in this universe.
Feedback by Mira Grant. This long-awaited book did not disappoint! The events of this book happen simultaneously with those of "Feed", with slight overlaps. While I will always have a soft spot for George and Shaun, I'll admit that I loved Ash so much. And a huge, huge shout of appreciation for the diversity of characters!
Red Rising by Pierce Brown - I found this book was trying too hard to be what it wasn't. What it WAS was a war fiction. War games, strategy, and nothing more. I really missed relationships between characters. I won't be reading the next in the series.
Spells of Blood and Kin by Claire Humphrey - another great debut novel. It was simple, it was honest, things didn't magically work out at the end, and there are tons of random loose ends... which I actually appreciated. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Shuriken and Pleats (vol 1) by Matsuri Hino - cute
Pricelessby Shannon Mayer - not particularly well-written but, like a train wreck, you can't look away. By the end, I was actually enjoying it... Enough to buy the second volume?
Movies
Hot Girls Wanted (2015) - documentary
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Crimson Peak (2015)
Other
Bears of Legend in concert in Joliette! So amazing, they put on an amazing, immersive performance, they connect with the audience, and the music is even more stunning live.
********
So that makes 82 books in 2016: 75 fiction vs 7 non-fiction, with only 3 in French. 17 were books I'd read before, and I did polish off a lot of manga this year (though I only count the manga as 1 book, no matter how many volumes I read).
For this year, the standouts are:
Feedback by Mira Grant - because who doesn't love a diverse, immersive, and gripping political zombie apocalypse?
Indexing by Seanan McGuire - can you tell I love this author? (Mira Grant is Seanan McGuire's pen name for horror novels...). Indexing is probably the most original thing I read this year: supernatural FBI-type agents attempting to keep fairy tales from destroying the world. This author is a master at making me love things I don't normally enjoy: zombies, fairy tales...
Old Man's War by John Scalzi - I know, I know, this book has gotten amazing reviews for years. But it's new to me. I love this type of sci-fi, even though I don't read it often.
Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - because, let's be honest, this isn't a take you see done on fantasy very often. The characters, the setting, the very magic of the book are steeped in south american culture and it's wonderful.
Un printemps à Tchernobyl by Emmanuel Lepage - this documentary/graphic novel is fascinating not just for its depictions of Chernobyl as it stands now, deserted and overgrown and wild, but for the insight into the characters as they wrestle with radiation safety, doubts, and drives. This book is a work of art.
There were other books I loved this year: "The Danish Girl" and "A Darker Shade of Magic" come to mind.
