Terrible year (see these photos from 2016). Hope we have another year, but it's too much to hope that it won't be terrible.This is an image from 2016 I will cherish.  Next time I am in Colorado it will probably be a strip mine.

I surpassed my goal of reading 50 books in 2016 and hit 69, including re-reads. I achieved that by striking the rich vein of Susan Wittig Albert's delightful mysteries set in a town very much like San Marcos, Texas, near where my brother now lives, and where we grew up in San Antonio. I was completely bereft when I reached the last one. And one a year is not going to be at all satisfying. Thank you Wim and Carla for getting me hooked.

Also it was a great year for my two critique partners, Jen Rasmussen, who published four kick-ass dark fantasy/horror novels (or as she calls them "dark snark") and for Katherine Marsh, whose fourth novel from Hyperion published this year, The Door Beside the Staircase, a middle-grade novel of witches and strong women no matter their age.

Now I'm weighing the nominees for the annual -- 



Dibby Hill Book Awards


General Fiction:
The Atomic Weight of Love, Elizabeth J. Church
The Nest, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
The Rules of Civility, Amor Towles
A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff
The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante
The New Neighbor, Leah Stewart
Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Ed Tarkington
Chasing the North Star, Robert Morgan
Young-Adult:The Star-Touched Queen, Roshani Chokshi
The Shadow Queen, M.J. Redwine
Into White, Randi Pink
This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab
Sci-Fi/Fantasy:Wall of Storms, Ken Liu
The Tale of Skikanoko: Emperor of the Eight Islands, The Dragon Child and the Autumn Princess, Lord of the Darkwood, The Tengu's Game of Go, Lian Hearn
The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin
A Darker Shade of Magic, V.E.Schwab
A Gathering of Darkness, V.E.Schwab
The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss
The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss
The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Patrick Rothfuss
In the Labyrinth of Drakes, Marie Brennan


Non-Fiction:Good Birders Don't Wear White, Lisa White, ed.The Inklings, Humphrey CarpenterKingbird Highway, Ken KaufmannFlicka's Friend, Mary O'Hara
H is for Hawk, Helen MacDonald
The Road to Middle Earth, T.A. Shipley
A Cup of Water Under My Bed, Daisy Hernandez
Nominees are books I read in 2016, regardless of publication date.

If anyone cares to vote, or critique, or otherwise weigh in, please comment below.
Results Announced in January 2017

2016 Reading List: 
67.  The Door by the Staircase, Katherine Marsh
63-66. Gathering Black, Grim Haven, Peak of the Devil, Rising Fury, Jen Rasmussen
61. The Atomic Weight of Love, Elizabeth J. Church
60. Kingbird Highway, Kenn Kaufmann
59. Wall of Storms, Ken Liu
58. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, JKR et al57. The Nest, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
56. The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
54-55. The Rules of Civility, A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles
53. Good Birders Don't Wear White, Lisa White, ed.
52. The Inklings, Humphrey Carpenter
48-51. Emperor of the Eight Islands, The Dragon Child and the Autumn Princess, Lord of the Darkwood, The Tengu's Game of Go, Lian Hearn
46-47. Bittersweet, Blood Orange, Susan Witting Albert
45. The Star-Touched Queen, Rouhani Chokshi
44. The Shadow Queen, M.J. Redline
43. Into White, Randi Pink
40-42 Cat's Claw, Widow's Tears, Death Come Quickly, Susan Witting Albert
39. Flicka's Friend, Mary O'Hara
33-38 Bleeding Hearts, Spanish Dagger, Nightshade, Wormwood, Holly Blues, Mourning Gloria, Susan Witting Albert
32, This Savage Song, Victoria Schwab

25-31 Lavender Lies, Mistletoe Man, Bloodroot, Indigo Dying, An Untimely Death, A Dilly of a Death, Dead Man's Bones, Susan Witting Albert
22-24 The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man's Fear, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Patrick Rothfuss
21. Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff
14-20 Thyme of Death, Witches' Bane, Hangman's Root, Rosemary Remembered, Rueful Death, Love Lies Bleeding, Chile Death, Susan Witting Albert
13. A Cup of Water under My Bed, Daisy Hernandez
12. In the Labyrinth of Drakes, Marie Brennan
11. The New Neighbor, Leah Stewart
10. The Way of Kings, Brandon Sanderson
9. Only Love Can Break Your Heart, Ed Tarkington
8. Chasing the North Star, Robert Morgan
7. The Fifth Season, N.K. Jemisin
6. H Is for Hawk, Helen McDonald
5. Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins
4. The Road to Middle Earth, T.A. Shipley
2-3. A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Darkness, V.E. Schwab1. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante
Re-Read:4. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum1-3. My Friend Flicka, Thunderhead, Green Grass of Wyoming, Mary O'Hara