Happy New Year’s everyone! To end off the year, I thought, “Hey why don’t I do a post about my favorite books I read this year?” Tis the time of the holiday season for everyone to use some of those gift cards or holiday cash at some local indie bookstores. As you all know, I’m a pretty avid reader thanks to Bookshare.org which has an unbelievable library! I could read for the next 1000 years and not make it through all the books they have available!

Mistborn: The Final Empire (Book 1 in the original trilogy)

Awesomely weird fantasy

I am a huge fan of Brandon Sanderson’s YouTube channel, and I am a bit late to the show since I only started reading his work for real in January. I love the magic system of Allomancy in the Mistborn Saga. A fair warning to people who want to read his books: it is a bit weird to have a magic system where you digest metals to power up. Besides that point, I love the character of Vin, the plot structure and his worldbuilding. Learn more about his work on his Brandon Sanderson website.

Foul Lady Fortune

Love Chloe Gong’s character work   

Ever since I read Our Violent Ends last year, I was immensely grateful for the ending of Chloe Gong’s first duology. But then, I read Foul Lady Fortune and I was in love with how she puts you in the head of Rosalind and Orion and the others from the first duology. I actually read this on the trip I took with my parents (see this post). This is a spin-off of the first duology and Chloe has an adult debut, Immortal Longings, not related to her previous or next young adult books, coming out in July that I can’t wait to read.

The Whispering Dark

Deaf college student with peculiar connection to the afterlife- triple check

This book is about the challenges of having a disability while going to college which I could relate to. It also has the fantastical element of seeing the dead. Still wished the author, Kelly Andrew, would have focused more on the college experience, but it works for me.

I’m trying to read more books with disability representation and main characters – especially in honest, real ways and not the irritating cure tropes (e.g. stories about someone who becomes disabled and is cured by the end as if having the disability is the worst thing in the world and not just a regular normal part of the human experience). This book and author doesn’t do the cure or pity tropes and checks off a lot of my boxes for being an entertaining read.

To Paradise

Alternate history, present-ish times and dystopia in a single book, THANK YOU

Hanya Yanagihara‘s To Paradise takes place in three different centuries and it follows different people who have the same names. I think the reason why this book made my list is the styles of writing. It takes place in three time periods with characters who are struggling through difficult times, humanity, and it really drew me in. It’s amazingly well written. I thought the dynamics of the dystopia in this awesome book is very…um… relevant to the real modern world. Find out more about Hanya Yanagihara on Goodreads.

Alloy of Law

The fourth book in the Mistborn Saga

This is the first book in the Wax and Wayne’s Series of the Mistborn Saga by Brandon Sanderson. It takes place 300 years after the original trilogy. It has a fun plot, heartwarming characters and the last book in this Wax and Wayne series came out in November. You might want to read the first trilogy through and through before reading this book by Brandon Sanderson. Here’s more on Where do I start? on Brandon Sanderson’s website

Looking forward to reading these books for next year

• Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini
• 4 secret novels by Brandon Sanderson
• Immortal Longings (Adult fiction) by Chloe Gong
• Last Violent Call (Young adult fiction) by Chloe Gong
• Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Happy reading in the new year!