2016 Finalists for the Trixie and the Moai Book Award

 I was looking at this book that I had just read. It was a wonderful book and had numerous awards. That got me thinking about awards. Basically book awards are given to amazing books but only those books that catch the attention of people giving awards. There are thousands upon thousands of books published each year. And just because a book doesn't get an award, doesn't mean it doesn't deserve an award!

So I've decided that I'm going to give 5 awards to the books I read this year that seem the most amazing. Books that I can't let go of or rather books that can't let me go...

It's totally arbitrary and nothing comes with the award but a little "sticker" I made to go on them. But I still want to recognize the amazing books I read this year.

So without further ado these are the finalists for the first annual Trixie and the Moai Book Award!

Stiff competition!!!

I will soon pick the top five books of the year!!

Books of 2016- Installment #21

101. The Art of Confidence by Wendy Lee
Eric's cousin wrote this book, so we were thrilled to read. It's really quite good and I like how she wove together the different voices.

102. The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
I love trees and always angered by our mistreatment of them. This book gives vent to that anger. He does at some point discuss the amount of carbon dioxide trees use- before prehistoric forests existed the levels were 9 times what they are now. Here's a little video to look at current activity....

103. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
This fantasy novel is about a changeling private detective. When I first heard about  it, I thought it bore a striking resemblance to Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, but in reality there's not much that's the same. 

104. Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Set primarily in the late 80s but as flashbacks from 2009, this is an interesting story on teen life. I'm not sure how to classify this book. Perhaps it could be viewed as a young adult book. Perhaps fantasy. My initial reaction is to say it's like an angry Eleanor and Park with magic. With all the references I feel like this isn't really a YA book but rather a Gen-Xer book. And as a Gen-Xer that's fine by me! (Incidentally I found this book because I was interested in her other book Certain Dark Things, which is definitely on my to read list...It's got vampires!!)

 
105. The Ghost and the Ghostyard
This is a paranormal bodice ripper, set nominally in New Hampshire. There are a couple of ghosts but also witches, vampires and zombies. I quite enjoyed the beginning, but I don't think I will continue the series...

Books of 2016- Installment #20

96. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
 This is a book of nonfiction- not my normal fare but interesting nonetheless. The author has several disorders that impact her well-being, but she wants to live her life furiously happy and this book is a collection of her essays on her pursuit of living furiously happily.

97. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
This book was gripping! I really devoured it! It's a thriller, though I saw it listed as horror somewhere. I really was taken in by the story. I couldn't help but wonder how one could handle this new world... And I keep thinking that we have practically no canned food and what a problem that would be...

98. The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White
This is a young adult novel about a teen grappling with a life with Egyptian Gods for parents. I read a lot of criticism for this book online, and I would say she's an unhappy teen who is having difficulty dealing with a situation. Perhaps you don't want to spend time with a narrator like that, but I don't think the character was annoying, just struggling.

99. Speak by Louisa Hall
I'm not sure what to say about this book. I'm really glad I read it. It had a lot of really interesting motifs. It doesn't really answer any questions, and I can tell you what I read, but I'm not sure I can tell you what the book was about. The best thing I can tell you is this book was written in response to an article asking if machines could think, would we know.

100. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
This book was described as a comedic space opera. I did not agree. I did find it an enjoyable read, but a slow one. This one a world building book, a journey book, which means you need to sit with the characters and the world.