Hey everyone!
I hope the holiday season has been relaxing for you all. 2016 is almost over and it’s time for a recap of the year! I ended up reading 24 books this year. The break down of my 2016 reading experience is as follows:
Average books read per month: 2 books
e-books read: 11 books (wow! I didn’t realize this, even though I really dislike e-books) 
African literature: 17 books
Caribbean literature: 2 books
African-American literature: 3 books
Other: 2 books (these are non-African/non-diaspora books. I read books written by – Rupi Kaur and Tim LaHaye).
19 women writers ; 5 men writers
Top 5 favorite books of 2016
- Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
- Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee
- So The Path Does Not Die by Pede Hollist
- Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
These books took a toll on my emotions the most! If you’ve read my reviews for these books, you know exactly why they’re my top 5 of the year. Definitely look into reading these 5 books if you haven’t already!
Reviews for books read this year are in the Book Reviews section of the book blog. [Missing reviews (6 of them) will be posted in 2017].
What were your top 5 favorite books of 2016?
Favorite bookish events / images of the year:
![Brunch over Books's maiden event at Cafe Kwae in Accra [with my bissap (hibiscus tea) cocktail and the book I exchanged].](https://africanbookaddict.files.wordpress.com/2016/07/img_4563.jpg?w=218&h=290)
Also:
- African Book Addict! was featured on Mary Okeke Reviews and Brown Books & Green Tea for the blogger spotlight project and #DiverseBookBloggers feature, respectively.
- In May, I joined the ladies of Not Your African Cliché podcast to discuss Somali-Brit writer – Warsan Shire, Beyonce’s album Lemonade, and the need for us (Africans) to support our art/artists more.
2016 Reading Goals round up:
At the beginning of the year, I set 4 reading goals and I believe I’ve achieved most of them!
- I planned to read a wider array of African novels: I ended up reading wonderful books from 10 African countries: Botswana, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Sudan, Ghana, Somalia, Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe. (All reviews are in the book reviews section of the book blog)
- I also set out to read more poetry: I wasn’t a big fan of poetry prior this goal, but I ended up reading 5 poetry collections and seriously enjoyed them! I hope to continue reading and feeling the words of many more great contemporary poets in the years ahead.
- I wanted to broaden my horizon and read 1 African romance novel and/or 1 African thriller: Thanks to Ankara Press, I was sent 2 African romance novels in exchange for honest reviews. With regards to an African thriller, I read Tendai by Boakyewaa Glover which is actually of the science-fiction genre, but felt like a thriller to me! (watch out for the review in 2017). So maybe I kinda sorta missed the mark on the African thriller goal?
- My final goal was to give back by hosting 2 or 3 giveaways this year: I achieved this by officially hosting 2 international giveaways and gave away 3 books in total (plus a cute African City tote bag to hold books!).
It’s truly rewarding to see that I have reached my goals, especially with my hectic (dental) school schedule. I always had these goals at the back of my mind and slowly tried to achieve them on a daily monthly basis. I’m proud of these achievements!
Were you able to achieve some of your 2016 Reading Goals?
[Don’t beat yourself up if you weren’t able to – its definitely not that serious and you can still achieve them in 2017!]
Total books read in 2016
I’m truly grateful to everyone who frequents this book blog and for the great discussions (agreements, disagreements and recommendations) we have in the comments section. I really appreciate the support and love shown here from you all. This year, I’ve enjoyed discovering lots of new book blogs + book lovers and hope to connect with more in the future! Here’s to more great years of reading ahead, for all of us. 🙂
en fulfilling! It would be nice to actually discuss in detail the things I liked and disliked about the books, but I can’t include spoilers in my reviews – its always so tempting!
