Top 5 Fiction Books of 2016

I read so many books this year that I thought it would be fun to rank my top five of all I read this year in the two major categories: fiction and non-fiction. Check out my top five non-fiction reads post as well. Below are my favorite fiction reads in 2016.


1. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

  I have read five of Liane Moriarty's books and this one has been my favorite of them all (I haven't read The Last Anniversary or Truly Madly Guilty yet but I plan to). They have all been very engaging.

  In Big Little Lies we learn that there has someone has been killed and there is an investigation and lots of speculation from parents of an elementary school. The book then rewinds six months and introduces us to the three main women in the book. We learn about their friendship, their lives and their secrets.

  As I read the book I was constantly guessing who might have died and who the murder might have been. I became so enamored with the characters that I hoped none of them was the victim nor the culprit. I was surprised by the actual sequence of events which I appreciated as the reader. It was quite an enjoyable ride that I think others would enjoy taking as well.


2. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

  I don't remember how I heard about this book. I feel like I had heard that it was a book about a character similar to Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory, which is a show I thoroughly enjoy.

  In The Rosie Project, we meet Don Tillman, a geneticist at a local university who has decided that he would like to try to find a wife. He creates a lengthy questionnaire to find the perfect candidate for "The Wife Project" and enlists the help of his good friend, and fellow university professor, Gene in reading the questionnaires and selecting women. Gene lets him know that he is sending a woman to his office indicating that she is a candidate for his wife project.

  Don soon learns that she is not a seemingly suitable candidate but she asks for help in locating her biological father and he agrees. He soon begins to enjoy his time with Rosie even though she knocks his seemingly perfect and scheduled life completely out of whack. We see Don wrestle with what he really wants or needs in his life and try to figure out if he can truly understand and experience love. If you like The Big Bang Theory, I think you would enjoy this book.


3. At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon

  I was introduced to this series (and have now read three of the thirteen books) by a good friend. The book takes place in a small town called Mitford, NC and follows Episcopalian priest Tim Kavanaugh through his everyday life - his experiences with the people and parishioners in this quaint mountain town.

  All of the characters are endearing and I was drawn into their lives and the town's happenings. I was especially intrigued when Father Tim received a new neighbor who was quirky, spontaneous and whom he found attractive. Can a 50-something bachelor change his routine and life to allow another soul entrance and home? This question won't be completely answered in the first book, but, if you're like me, you'll soon be entrenched in finding out what continues to happen in this little town of Mitford.


4. The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

  This is the fourth book in Stieg Larsson's series that started with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I really enjoyed reading all of those books - they were fast paced and action-packed. I was curious to see how the series continued with a new author. I was not disappointed.

  In this one, a well-known computer programmer who mysteriously left his company in California and returned to Sweden contacts Mikael Blomkvist and asks to meet him so that he can share some information he received from a young female hacker. Mikael is intrigued because he thinks Lisbeth Salander might be involved. As he reaches the contact's house, an assassin emerges having just killed the person in question. The only witness is the victim's autistic son. Mikael begins looking into the events, eliciting Lisbeth's assistance.

  Who is behind the murder? What was the information important enough to kill and be killed for? What is Lisbeth's role in everything? If you enjoyed the previous ones, as I did, you will also enjoy this thrill ride with lots of twists and turns.


5. Inferno by Dan Brown

  This is the fourth book in the Robert Langdon series. I did not read the third book but I don't seem to have missed any vital information needed for this one. It was another face-paced adventure through several European countries (I always enjoy the history, architectural and art information each book contains), mainly Italy.

  When the story begins Robert wakes up in a hospital with a head wound and no memory of the last few days. He believes he was shot in the head. As he's trying to gain his bearings, an assassin comes after him in the hospital and one of the doctor's assisting him helps him escape. When they are briefly safely in the doctor's apartment, she shares with him what she knows and they discover an object he was hiding in his coat. It becomes a clue they follow to try to gain back his memory and discover what is so threatening that his life is in danger. He fears he is responsible for something terrible because he can only remember mumbling "I'm sorry".

  It was a fast-paced, exciting ride. There were unexpected revelations and discoveries throughout the story. I rooted for Lagndon and his partner, Doctor Sienna Brooks to discover and thwart the threat. If you have enjoyed Dan Brown's other Robert Langdon novels, this one won't disappoint.



These were my five favorite fiction reads from last year. What is one you read that you would recommend? Have you read any of the above? If so, please share your thoughts with me as well. To see my favorite non-fiction books of 2016, click here.

April Book Review

We're now one third of the way through the year. To reach my goal of 50 books this year, I need to have read at least 17 books to stay on track. At the end of March I had finished 20 so I could have laid low and read none, but I love to read so that obviously wasn't happening. I ended up reading eight books in April. You can see my selection below. If you want to catch up on my former reads, check out my posts from January, February and March.

1. Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh

I am one of Jen Hatmaker's email subscribers. One of her emails last month had a digital download of this book by Sheila Walsh. You may recall, I applied to Sheila's launch team for her new book shortly after starting this one. I recommend both this book and the other one (The Longing in Me). Sheila writes with transparency, vulnerability and authenticity. In this book Sheila weaves her story in with those of various women and men in the Bible who chose to trust God in different aspects of their lives. She talks about Abraham, Anna, Paul, Mary and Martha among others. She reminded me of God's faithfulness toward us and love for us. I especially loved the last chapter, Trusting God With Your Journey, where she talks about Abraham trusting God when he tells him to leave his current place without knowledge of where he was headed. That type of trust - moving forward without knowing how it ends - is particularly scary and difficult for me. I fear that I will either be exposed as foolish or make a mistake and make a decision that wasn't in line with God's plans. I was reminded that God is bigger than our mistakes and we cannot thwart God's plans, especially when our heart's desire is to follow his leading. 

2. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

I was recommended this book by an acquaintance and checked it out at the library. It was HILARIOUS! I laughed out loud many a time. Jenny Lawson blogs at The Bloggess and has written for several years about her life, often about her experience with mental illness. She is very open and honest with her feelings and how mental illness affects her life. She has chosen to embrace her life and is determined to live "furiously happy". I appreciated and enjoyed her candidness as well as her unique and hilarious perspective on life. She is quite a character and someone you feel like would make your life better and more fun if she were part of it. If you want a book that will increase your understanding of mental illness as well as cause you to walk around with a smirk on your face from remembering things she wrote, please check out this book. If you are easily offended by crass words and jokes, you may want to skip this one. 

3. Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women by Sarah Bessey

I have been having a lot of thoughts/questions lately about women, leadership and the church. I asked what books I should read about this topic and this was overwhelmingly recommended. I had read Sarah's newest book, Out of Sorts, and had found it a deep, thought-provoking read. I thought perhaps this would be similarly interesting and informative. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It mentioned a number of the feelings and thoughts I've been having. Instead of being antagonistic and confrontational, it reminded me that all of us should be seeking God and what he desires of us. Even if we are not able to have a leadership role in our church it doesn't mean we cannot still be effective ministers in our communities. It doesn't say that we aren't to question hindrances to women's ministry opportunities, just that our focus should not necessarily be looking for reasons to be offended. It offered a number of additional resources for more in-depth study on this topic. If you have been feeling tension with the church's view of women and leadership, I suggest reading this book.

4. Undeniably Yours: A Novel by Becky Wade

This book is about a woman, Meg Cole, who returns to her family home to run the Cole Oil business after her father unexpectedly dies. She is not interested in running the business but feels obligated to help sustain her father's legacy. However, he also has a thoroughbred horse farm that she does not want to run and gives the farm manager six months before she will close it down. She ends up feeling a connection with the manager but does not want to mix business and personal affairs. It was an engaging read with an emphasis on faith and its workings in peoples' lives which lent encouragement to my own faith experiences. It was a somewhat predictable/formulaic Christian romance novel but I enjoyed the ride and am considering checking out the next story in this five-book series. 

5. Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church by Rachel Held Evans

I have heard some about Rachel Held Evans and have read a few of her blog posts. She wrote the Forward to Sarah Bessey's Jesus Feminist. This book talks a lot about her wrestling with different aspects of the evangelical church and walks us through her journey of breaking up with the church over a variety of differences and slowly working her way back. Her journey is not finished and it hasn't been neat and orderly, but it is real. She talks about the barriers churches put up against specific demographics and her unease at this segregation and separation. She reminds us that the church is not perfect, just like we are not perfect, but God loves it and us just the same. I really enjoyed hearing about her journey and her experience with different aspects of the church (the sections are divided into seven "sacraments" of the church: baptism, confession, holy orders, communion, confirmation, annointing the sick and marraige). I would recommend this book for someone who has questions and concerns about the church, generally and specifically.

6. Jesus > Religion: Why He Is So Much Better Than Trying Harder, Doing More, and Being Good Enough by Jefferson Bethke

My church community group decided to read through this book this spring and discuss it. Apparently Jeff Bethke has a viral video on Youtube of a spoken word poem he created called Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus. This book stems from this work as he attempts to flesh out the lines of his poem. It was an interesting read with some good contrasts of how religion differs from Jesus. Religion is an institution, a system of rules and regulations designed to help you be good. Jesus is a loving Savior who extends grace to all and invites each person into a living relationship with himself. I think it would be a good read for people who are new to Christianity. Those who have grown up in church may not take away as much from the book.

7. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

This is the third book I have read by Liane Moriarty. The first was The Husband's Secret and the second was What Alice Forgot. I thoroughly enjoyed those two books. This may be my overall favorite. I enjoyed this book so much! At the beginning of the book you learn that there was a murder at a school trivia night at the local school. The book then jumps back six months and introduces all of the characters and potential murder victims and suspects. It centers around three women who all have children entering the kindergarten class - Jane, Madeleine and Celeste - and who have broken pasts and/or secrets they are keeping from everyone. I was quickly enthralled and devoured the book trying to figure out who was killed and why. I kept changing my guess when new information was introduced and ended up being completely wrong, which was a wonderful happening. Liane spins a wonderful, captivating story with a dark underbelly. I was thorougly entertained and would highly recommend it. It'd make a great vacation read (as long as you don't have to supervise children as you might be too distracted trying to find out what happens next)!

8. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and and Sheryl WuDunn

I had heard about this book a few years ago and it was one of the resources sited in Jesus Feminist so I thought it would be a beneficial read. It is the research and personal interviews conducted by the co-authors. They visited a number of countries in Asia and Africa, interviewing mostly women about their experiences. They tell of sex-trafficking, brothels and maltreatment of women. They desired to learn how to best help women in developing countries gain a voice and status as a human being. The stories are heart-wrenching about things women and girls are subjected to simply because they are women and especially because they are poor and/or rural. The book also talks about various measures used to help improve the status of women in developing countries, using anecdotes from women they encountered and information from organizations who have had success in raising women's status. Two of the most effective measures have been educating girls and women and helping them to become contributing members to the local economy (such as with microlending programs). 
I learned a lot about the life of women in other parts of the world and ways I can contribute to improving the status of women worldwide. There is a large list of organizations that are successful in their specific areas of work. If you are looking to become more involved in lowering mother and infant mortality, increasing educational and employment opportunities for women or just want to learn more about life in other parts of the world, I suggest reading this book.



Those are my reads for April. Have you read any of them? If so, what did you think? Have any book recommendations for me? I always welcome them!