2016 was a heck of a year.

It was a year of uncertainty (being laid off, among other things).

I turned to familiar authors (Agatha Christie) or books that promised a happy ending. I found myself flipping to the last pages of a book for a peek at the ending. I reckoned there was enough stress in my actual life that I didn’t need to face the unknown when I could avoid it. Is that cheating?

I read on planes headed to cities like LA and Chicago. I distracted myself with books while waiting for appointments. I listened to audiobooks while driving to work. And I ended almost every day with Brad signaling it was bedtime by closing his book next to me, while I raced to finish the chapter.

My reading goal for 2016 was 65 books but I managed 70. That’s an improvement on 2015’s 57, but still lower than I expected (check out 2015’s top books list here). One of our goals for 2017 is to watch less TV, so it’ll be interesting to see if I read much more.

Below are my top 10 recommendations for books I read in 2016. You can see the full list of books that I read here.

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