Jaidee's Reviews > 2016 on Goodreads

Hi everybody....Jaidee here !!

I am mostly going to use the format I did last year but since its still early in December it may be modified as I complete new books until the end of the December.

I mostly love Goodreads but am much less active due to work and personal commitments and I apologize for not reading all the reviews that I would have liked to have read. I have met some fabulous new virtual buddies this year and that makes me feel really happy.

Unfortunately I have also been unfriended by some people I really liked. They never shared why they unfriended me but they did. I am a bit saddened by this but I wish them the very best.

I read a lot this year. So far 72 books and I hope to finish a few more by year's end and I will adjust this as time passes. I read so much as life has been very challenging this year due to a number of factors but I am blessed to have my spirituality, my family, my friends, my work, my cat and my beloved sweetheart. And of course the arts....opera, music, film and those lovely things called books.

So let's get started :

Let's begin with the raspberries.

BOOK I WAS MOST AFRAID TO HATE :

Runner Up: The Grown Up by Gillian Flynn - a huge marketing sham not to mention poor writing and story

but the book I was most afraid to hate was the one I just tried to complete and is considered a European Modern masterpiece :

Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin - i tried for two months and just could not get my head or heart around this one !!

WORST READS OF THE YEAR:

Runner Up : -The Pianist in the Dark by Michele Halberstadt - 1 "mouldy sponge cake, rotting strawberries and spoilt cream!!" stars

Absolute worst: -The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
- made me want to lie on the train tracks....yes it was the absolute worst !!

MOST DISAPPOINTING READS OF THE YEAR (tie)



The Magic of Ordinary Days by Ann Howard Creel
- this could of and should of been a masterpiece and not the final three stars I gave it !!



The Proof of the Honey by Salwa Al Neimi
- i was warned about this one but of course I didn't listen !!

THE JEEZ LOUISE AWARD (first year for this one)
-for the book that I cannot believe exists !

Married to Murder by William Webb

MOST AVERAGE OF AVERAGE AWARD



Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
I would say that this is the book that divided the good and excellent from the fair and bad

REVIEWS I HAD THE MOST FUN WRITING

4th place fun Twinkle Twinkle by Kaori Ekuni

3rd place fun Happy by Chris Scully

2nd place fun Know not Why by Hannah Johnson

Most fun ever The Complete Grimms fairy tales

BOOK WHERE i WISH I WAS EDITOR

Storm and Silence by Robert Thier

-o how I wanted to get my hands on this lively and wholesome adventure romance !!

Now to the best of the best awards.

First to the Honorable Mentions of the Year which were all 4.5 stars:

- A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn
-Fearless in Tibet by Matteo Pistono
- The Turner House by Angela Fluornoy
- Moxyland by Lauren Beukes
- Beatrix Potter Illustrated Collection
- short story collection by Virginia Woolf
- the book of Q by Jonathan Rabb
- the Real Retirement by Fred Vetese
All the Rage by Courtney Summers
-Skinny by Ibi Kasilik
- My Brother's Secret by Dan Smith
- Little Wolves by Robert Maltman
- Nearest Thing to Crazy by Elizabeth Forbes
- The Saint's Mistress by Kathryn Bashaar
- Dilemmas of Desire by Deborah Tolman

The following books are 5 stars but did not quite make the top ten list

Honorable Mentions with High Distinction :

- Dark Rooms by Lili Anolik
- The Oracle Glass by Judith Merkle Riley
- Quicksand by Junichiro Tanizaki
- Christodora by Tim Murphy
- Illyria by Elizabeth Hand
-I Will Send Rain by Rae Meadows

Now we will do Jaidee's Top Ten Awards. . I will list the book and a phrase that encapsulates for me why the book is great.

(Drum Roll Please....)

10. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfeigh "repugnant, vile, fierce, exhibitionistic"

9. The Conversion by Joseph Olshan "moving, melancholy, resplendent"

8. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez "masculine, organic, decaying..."

7. The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell
"desolate, organic, heartbreaking" (tie )

The Heretic' Daughter by Kathleen Kent "illuminating, tragic, intricate" (tie)

6. The Orchids by Thomas H. Cook "dark, unfathomable, grotesque and repulsive"

5. The Immoralist by Andre Gide "satanic, provocative, deceptive"

4. The Silence in The Garden by William Trevor "elegant, understated, masterful"

Now to the Jaidee Medal Award Winners (strings are furiously playing in the background)

Bronze Award (3rd place -tie)

Outline by Rachel Cusk “pristine, refreshing, clear”

In Another Life by Julie Christine Johnson "soulful, elegaic, miraculous"

Silver Award (2nd place -tie)

Long Man by Amy Greene "earthy, transcendent, mind-blowing!"

Three Strong Women by Marie NDiaye "sorrowful, exquisite, anguishing"

Gold Award (Best Book of the Year)

The Metropolis Case by Matthew Galloway "imperfectly delicious, emotionally resonant and unapologetically melodramatic"


Whew.....best of reading to all of you in 2017 !!