Several of my favorite books read this year were published in 2016. My top read, a memoir, was first published in Germany in 1938.
You’ll see plenty of memoirs on my list. Almost all the fiction is historical. Two are set in the northern Arctic regions.
Why I Write Memoir was by far my most popular post in 2016.
My Most Unusual & Memorable Read in 2016
A Woman in the Polar Night, by Christiane Ritter (memoir)
Favorite Fiction Read in 2016
#1 To the Bright Edge of the World, by Eowyn Ivey
#2 News of the World, by Paulette Jiles
#3 Do Not Say We Have Nothing, by Madeleine Thien (not yet reviewed on Books Can Save A Life)
#4 My Name Is Lucy Barton, by Elizabeth Strout
Favorite Memoirs Read in 2016
#1 Lab Girl, by Hope Jahren
#2 Ghostbread, by Sonja Livingston
#3 The Beautiful Struggle, by Ta-Nahesi Coates
#4 H Is for Hawk, by Helen Macdonald
Favorite Nonfiction Read in 2016
#1 67 Shots: Kent State and the End of American Innocence, by Howard Means
#2 The Road to Character, by David Brooks (not reviewed on Books Can Save A Life)
Favorite Author New to Me
Sonja Livingston (Ladies Night at the Dreamland; Queen of the Fall; Ghostbread)
MOST POPULAR BOOKS CAN SAVE A LIFE POSTS, 2016
#2 A Mother’s Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy, by Sue Klebold (memoir)
Also popular
When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi (memoir)
The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion, by Jenny Peterson
MOST POPULAR BOOKS CAN SAVE A LIFE POSTS OF ALL TIME
#1 Meeting the Dark Matter of Mental Illness
#3 Do Genes Shape Our Mental Health?
#4 Children of Mental Illness, Part I
What were your favorite books read in 2016, and what is on your list for 2017?
Books Can Save A Life 
I have not read many of these. I read and liked Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath becomes Air. I hope to read Iowey and Madeline Thien (I have fifty pages to go in the book)
What a book Madeline wrote! Not sure how I can do it justice in a blog post!
hi.Valory
AUGURI FOR ALL YOUR FAMILY GOOD YEAR FROM PINO E VITA SANSONE FROM CARINI
HI
________________________________ Da: Books Can Save A Life Inviato: mercoledì 28 dicembre 2016 21.31 A: pinosansone@live.it Oggetto: [New post] 2016 Favorites
Valorie Grace Hallinan posted: ” Several of my favorite books read this year were published in 2016. My top read, a memoir, was first published in Germany in 1938. You’ll see plenty of memoirs on my list. Almost all the fiction is historical. Two are set in the northern Arctic”
Grazie Giuseppe!
On 6 January 2017 at 05:46, Books Can Save A Life wrote:
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So many memoirs! The only one I’ve read is The Beautiful Struggle, but I’ve got my eyes on When Breath Becomes Air in 2017 and Lab Girl has many positive reviews. I am definitely intrigued. One book I must read in 2017 is Do Not Say We Have Nothing. Glad to see it on your list!
I just finished Do Not Say We Have Nothing, so glad I read it. I tend to read memoir because I’m writing one, and I like them, usually. Although if they aren’t done well…..
I loved Eowen Ivey’s book The Snow Child, and I want to read this new one of hers, too. especially since it came out as your favorite fiction title of 2016. I began Do Not Say We Have Nothing, but didn’t finish it; I gave it to my mother who adored it. I’m not sure what happened to me this year with my reading. I didn’t finish books, or slogged through them as if I was doing a chore not a beloved activity. But, 2017 is a new year, and I am anticipating fresh perspectives and attitudes. It is a pleasure to blog with you, Valorie, and read your thoughts. Plus, I’m always comforted when I find we share a similar point of view as often happens when I visit you here.
Thank you! That means a lot. I really hope you like To the Bright Edge of the World. I love nature, and Eowen’s writing is just sheer indulgence and pleasure for me, that is why I chose it. The couple portrayed in this book are unforgettable. With some of the more popular, talked about, topical and award winning books – sometimes I have a hard time getting through them too. I decided in looking back over the year that I’d choose the books that simply brought me the most joy or stirred me deeply. Thank you for commenting and for book blogging!
An interesting list, Valorie. 67 Shots looks really current all of a sudden.
I lived near Kent State and was 15 when it happened. It was so interesting to read this book, because it explained so much of what I didn’t understand back then – altho aspects of that day are still debated, of course.
“Life and Fate” by Vassily Grossmon, “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” by Betty Smith, and “The Chosen” by Chaim Potok. Oddly, the latter two books are set in the same neighborhood, two generations apart.
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Hi, Doug. It has been years since I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, I want to read it again. I remember when I first read Chaim Potok, I was mesmerized.