When it comes to keeping records of my reading, I'm extraordinarily disorganised. Unlike many of my fellow bloggers, I don't keep notebooks or spreadsheets, so when it comes to a 'best of' post I have to scroll back through the blog and through Shiny, and of course rely on my increasingly hopeless memory. But this is, I hope, a fairly representative list of what I enjoyed the most this year. It's all fiction - not that I haven't read some good non-fiction books this year, but none of them stuck out enough to get a place on the list. There are several reprints, and some were re-reads, but none the worse for that. Links take you to the original reviews.
REPRINTS
Traitors Purse by Margery Allingham (1938)
It's been a great year for re-reading Allingham, for me the best of the golden age writers. Of the several I've read, all excellent, this one really stood out.
The Lark by Edith Nesbit (1922)
I've been a fan of Nesbit since I learned to read and have often re-read her children's books, but this was my first of her adult novels, and what a joy it was.
Brat Farrar by Josephine Tey (1949)
I'm a huge admirer of Josephine Tey, and loved (or re-loved) this sensitive account of an assumed identity.
Sergeant Cluff Stands Firm by Gil North (1960)
I love the British Library Crime Classics and this beautifully written novel is one of the best I've read.
The Light Years by Elizabeth Jane Howard (1990)
Another re-read, the first of the Casket Chronicles - I went on to read the rest of the series with huge pleasure.
CONTEMPORARY FICTION
The Infatuations by Javier Marias (2015)
This was a late Christmas present from a very well-read friend, and introduced me to an extraordinary, brilliant European novelist.
The Muse by Jessie Barton (2016)
Fascinating novel about painting, politics, love and Spain.
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (2016)
This was long-listed for the Booker prize, and I thought it was breathtaking - it should have won but didn't even make the shortlist - what were they thinking?
Under a Pole Star by Stef Penney (2016)
I was enthralled by this account of a female Arctic explorer at the turn of the century.
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell (2016)
Brilliant, sensitive analysis of love, marriage and parenthood.
The Gustav Sonata by Rose Remain (2016)
Tremain makes an unremarkable life into a sensitive and moving story.
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (2016)
Fascinating, moving life story of an Irish boy uprooted to mid-19th century America.
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (2016)
Witty, brilliant contemporary crime novel with a complete pastiche of a golden age novel embedded within. Huge fun.
In the Month of the Midnight Sun by Cecilia Ecbäck (2016)
Evocative, rivetting mystery set in 19th-century Finland.
When I started this list I thought there wouldn't be many books on it, but it seems I've enjoyed a lot this year. Have you read any of these?