This is the best wrap-up of last year that I have in me this year. It was a year, things happened, life is about to change a lot, and through it all I was reading books. Here are my favorites.

The Passage by Justin Cronin: This is not the kind of book that I would normally just pick up, but it was a book club pick and I’m so glad. To me, it had it all and I got seriously invested in the characters. This reminds me that I need to read the sequel ASAP.

Abhorsen by Garth Nix: Just one of the best and most unique young adult fantasy series I’ve ever read, and the awesomeness of this finale to the trilogy can’t be overstated. I highly recommend the audio version.

Katherine by Anya Seton: If all historical fiction were like this, I would read so much more of it. I just loved it all even though it had a lot of tragic parts.

A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin: A large part of my year was spent reading the first three of this series that starts with A Game of Thrones. I liked it right away, but it took me about halfway into the first book to really love it. After that I was all in. This third in the series was the best yet and it prompted many heated discussions with fellow fans at work.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed: I read this memoir in two days, which is super fast for me. It has adventure and emotion and fantastic writing, and it made me want to be better.

Honorable mentions: Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (I finally conquered it and it was so great, way better than I expected, except for the boring parts about whaling that I had to skim), Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (it just gets better and better and by the end I wanted to start it over from the beginning), and The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater (super interesting fantasy with outstanding narration if you listen to the audio).

Have you read any of these? What were the best books you read this year?