Self Development

Playing Big by Tara Mohr: This self-help style-book is a guide on how to play big, and overcome limiting factors in your life. Although I found it made some good point, which stuck with me, I thought it was a tad underwhelming as I'd heard so many good things about it. In places, it felt repetitive and even boring.
★★☆☆☆

What A Time To Be Alone by Chidera Eggerue: This book talks about the importance of independence as young women, and how to feel happy alone. I found it to be wise, yet slightly repetitive of what The Slumflower posts on social media. It's beautifully illustrated throughout so makes for a great coffee table book. I talk about this more here.
★★★☆☆

The Life Diet by Laura Jane Williams: I listened to the audiobook of this (Laura claims it was written to be listened to, although you can read it) It was a fairly quick listen. Laura offers great advice on how to lead a fulfilling life.
★★★☆☆

Wishes Fulfilled by Wayne W Dyer: I didn't enjoy this guide on manifestation as much as I expected to. Although the author came across wise and knowledgable on the subject, I found it to be filled with too many religious references, which I found unrelatable.
★★☆☆☆

Memoirs

The Rules Do Not Apply to Ariel Levy: This memoir by the New Yorker writer is tender, insightful and heartbreaking. I talk about it more here.
★★★★☆

This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay: Adam Kay shares both hilarious and heartbreaking journal entries from his time as a junior doctor. I talk more about it here.
★★★★★

Becoming by Michell Obama: I listened to the audiobook of this and completely fell in love with it. Michell Obama talks about growing in working-class Chicago and tells stories about life in the Whitehouse. It is fascinating while the narration remains relatable. I talk more about this here.
★★★★☆

The Wrong Knickers by Bryony Gordon: Bryony tells the story of the chaos of her 20s. This is hilarious and relatable. I talk more about this here.
★★★☆☆

How to Fail by Elizabeth Day: I've spoken about this book time and time again because it is brilliant. The memoir is about everything Elizabeth Day has learned from failure. It's both wise and reassuring.
★★★★★

Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay: A sort of festive version of This is Going to Hurt with diary entries written around the Christmas period. This quick read is equally as brilliant.
★★★★☆

Adult Fiction

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste NG: This tells the story of two contrasting families at Shaker Heights, and what caused one of the Richardson children to set their house alight. Both the characters and narrative carry a lot of depth and I was gripped from the start. I talk more about this here.
★★★★☆

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan: This comedy tells the story an Asian heir to a massive fortune who brings his American-born Chinese girlfriend to meet his family. Although this story is both funny and ridiculous, I'd heard so many good things about it before I read it, that I found it to be completely underwhelming and disappointing. I talk about it more here.
★★☆☆☆

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste NG: This thriller begins with the death of Lydia who has mysteriously drowned and then goes on to tell the story of her family, and what had happened. It's gripping and interesting. I talk about it more here.
★★★☆☆

Still Me by Jojo Moyes: The third instalment of Me Before You, follows Lou as she begins a new job in New York. It has equally as much charm as the previous books in the Me Before You series and I really enjoyed it. I talk about it more here.
★★★☆☆

How To Be Good by Nick Hornby: Written in the perspective of a GP, who is married to a writer. It's the story of her husband inviting a spiritual advisor called GoodLife to live with them, and their attempts at becoming good. Although I found this thought-provoking at points, there were also points I found it boring.
★★☆☆☆

One Day by David Nichols: This is the enchanting story of Emma and Dexter follows the pair through there relationship over twenty years, capturing there lives on the same day each year. This story feels very real, it's beautiful and heartbreaking. I talk more about this here.
★★★★☆

Essays in Love by Alan de Botton: This fictional story of a couple who meet on an aeroplane is written in the form of beautiful, thought-provoking philosophical essays which offer insights into the author's thoughts on love and relationships. It's brilliant and unlike anything that I've ever read before. I talk about this more here.
★★★★☆

Our Stop by Laura Jane Williams: This rom-com tells the story of a couple who have been flirting via newspaper ads, keep missing their opportunity to meet in real life. The characters feel very real, it's relatable, but also very cliché and predictable. I talk more about this here.
★★★☆☆

Heartburn by Norah Ephron: I know so many people who love this book, but I just didn't get it. It tells the story of a wife who learns her husband is having an affair and has recipes weaved into the narrative throughout. Although it is undeniably well written, I found it boring.
★★☆☆☆

Young Adult Fiction

It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne: After a breakup and watching her parent's marriage end, Audrey is fed up with unrealistic stories films tell us when she takes a job at the cinema and meets wannabe filmmaker Harry. In some places it's a typical YA fiction romance, in others, the characters act in unexpected ways. 
★★★☆☆

Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan: This book follows an evening of teens Nick & Norah as they meet at a gig and unexpectedly spend the entire evening in New York together. You can read my full review of it here.
★★★★☆

Open Road Summer by Emery Lord: This book is about Reagan, a once rebellious teen, who spends the Summer on the tour bus with her best friend who just so happens to be a famous popstar. They are joined on tour by another artist, Matt Finch. It's a story about friendship, with a touch of romance weaved in. I talk more about this here.
★★★☆☆

After by Anna Todd (series): After is the story of the relationship between bad boy Hardin, and sheltered girl Tessa. Their relationship is clearly quite toxic. This book definitely has its faults, but I couldn't put it down. I found myself reading the full series in a really short amount of time because I was fascinated by the characters. These books are both stories of betrayal and love. I talk more about this here.
★★★★☆

Someday by David Levithan: This is the third book in the series 'Everyday' (I review the first book here). The character A does not have a body of his own, instead, his spirit moves to a new body each day. In this book, he and Riannon try to figure out to make their relationship work and we get to know another character who, like A does not have a body of his own. I talk more about this here.
★★★★☆

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle: This book consists of three different teen romance stories which take place on Christmas Eve during the storm. I liked the first one most out of the three. It makes a lighthearted, feel-good festive read, but doesn't really have much depth to it.
★★☆☆☆

Poetry

Validate Me by Charly Cox: Charly's second book Validate Me consists of poems written on her phone about modern life, dating and mental health. I talk about it more here.
★★★★☆

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During 2016 I found myself falling back in love with reading, as it was one of my New Years Resolutions to read more, and yes, I actually stuck to it. I read quite a few books during the year and there were definitely some good'un in there, so I've just had a little scan of my bookshelf to pick out my absolute faves from the year. I've tried to narrow it down as much as possible (there we so many books I enjoyed!). These are the ones which I found really held a special place in my heart. I always think you know a book is well written when you find the character popping into your head months afterwards, as if they're are old friends you once knew (...please say I'm not the only this happens to?!), or when you feel the need to share the book with the world or you find yourself really feeling something.

I've got a bit of a mixture here, so they're something for everyone, and no, they're not all fiction either!

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo - This book I felt was really special, it's a young adult fictional story about a Transgender Teen Girl. Firstly I thought this book was great because I think Trans identity isn't something often covered in Young Adult books, so straight off the bat, it was unlike anything I'd ever read before. I found this book really eye opening, although it is fictional, I felt I learnt a lot, and found myself rooting for the main character throughout as I became aware of here struggles.  I've not that I know of met anyone who is transgender, and (maybe) selfishly have never thought about it in much depth because it's not part of my life - so this book was extremely eye opening. Alongside this the book covers many other themes, there's a lot of general teenage struggles running throughout, sexuality, religion, parent/child relationships and there is also underlying romance - and I do love a good romance. I was a little disappointed by the ending of this book, but I struggled to put it down nonetheless.  I just wanted to learn more about the characters, and it did pull on the heartstrings slightly.


We Were Liars by E. Lockhart - I won't chirp on about this one too much, as I wrote a full blog post on it as soon as I finished reading which you can find here. This book is again a young adult fictional book. The language used throughout is beautiful, and there's a huge twist in the story. There is an air of mystery to the story Cady does not remember what happened one Summer on her Grandparents private island, after a few more visits, she begins to uncover what's happened and I'll just say, it was not what I expected - it took me a little while to realise what was going on, and just how clever the book is.


Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon - Another young adult fiction book with a bit of a twist, which you can find my full review of here. The book is about a girl who is allergic to basically the world, so she has lived a pretty shelter life, and then, of course, she meets a boy. I loved this books, I thought it was very special and the characters were very interesting and seemed to just fit together. The story touches on illness, death, life online, domestic abuse and more - there's a lot covered in this fairly short books and it's written in a simple, yet beautiful way with the odd few wonderful illustrations.


Everyday by David Levithan - This is a book a really loved because I think the idea behind it is so original. The main character of the book inhabits the body of somebody new (but of the same age, close by) each day. This character is neither male or female and does not have a body of their own but despite all this main character has such a strong personality, which I think is just down to good writing - although the concept is utter bizarre, this book really works and feels very real. The story is about how life changes as the main character finds him/herself falling in love, and finding a reason to want to belong somewhere, and somebody to chase. I loved reading this book, although there was one point in the middle it found it got a little weird (weirder than the rest I mean). The ending also felt very right, although I expect many people may disagree - I wrote a full review on it which you can find here.

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Nivan - This is the last of the fictional books which I have to recommend to you. Holding up the universe is written in two different perspectives - there's Libby who was once the largest teen in America, and then there is Jack who cannot recognise faces. The story is about how their struggles bring the characters together. Both characters are so interesting, and the story messes slightly with the idea of fate which I love in a book... as I did with the others, I wrote a review on this book shortly after finish it, which you can find here.


The Modern Love by Will Darbyshire - Slightly different from the rest of the bunch, but this book is a collection of love letters written by different people of different ages, from different places. I love everything about this, the idea is just lovely. It's so relatable, and it's interesting to hear a different range of voices. This book just makes you feel something. It also makes a great addition to your coffee table. I wrote a full review on this one here.


CTRL ALT Delete How I Grew Up Online by Emma Gannon - This book is incredible, it's hilarious, brutally honest, well written and oh so relatable if you grew around the same time as Emma. This is the only book to make me laugh out loud. Seriously, early on in the book when Emma talks about her first blow job giving experience I seriously LOLed and cringed for her - in a good way. This book is just pure genius. My full review is here.


Bloom Navigating Life and Style by Estée Lalonde - Firstly this book is bloody beautiful, and then secondly the content is so much more interesting and well written than I'd expected. I'm a big fan of Estée so I was intrigued to read this, but to be honest I didn't expect the to be unable to put it down. I literally read the whole thing in a day. The book touches on so many different topics and is quite varied throughout - also Estée's voice is clear throughout so you can really tell she wrote each word. Anyway, you can find my full review here.


Well... well done if you made it through that rather lengthy post! I'd love to hear what your thoughts were on any of these books, and your favourites books of the year just gone! X