Best Books I Read in 2006
These aren’t necessarily books that were published in 2006 (most weren’t), just books I read in 2006. I hit an all-time high, reading 60 books this year. So while my favorites list might seem long, it’s still only a subset of all I read. In several cases, I read multiple books by the same author, but only put one of them on the favorites list, even if I enjoyed all of them.
My favorites, in no particular order, were (drumroll please)…
* Bitten
I loved this book, and ended up reading the next two in the series, as well. (Plan to read the rest, just haven’t had time.) The main character, Elena, is the only female werewolf in the world, and she struggled with how she was made into a werewolf (‘Bitten’), the werewolf who bite her, and attacks against her pack. The tone of this book and the main character’s struggles with being a monster made it stand out from the rest.
* Kitty and the Midnight Hour
Great book. I also read the second book and am eagerly awaiting the third. Kitty’s a werewolf with a radio show called the ‘Midnight Hour’.
* A Hunger Like No Other
Wow, was this book hot. I also loved that the heroine (and the heroine in the next book, which I also loved) was (part-)Valkyrie. Haven’t seen that one before, and it’s refreshing to have a new monster on the block.
* Passage
Really powerful book dealing with death and near-death-experiences. I read it at entirely the wrong time, though. My cat was dying of cancer as I was reading it, so it was perhaps a more traumatic read than it would have been otherwise. Still loved it (I love all Connie Willis’ work), just wish I’d read it at a different time!
* Iron Sunrise
Second book in this world. Iron Sunrise deals with some very scary people and ideas. Still gives me shivers thinking about the antagonists.
* Body Language
This is one of Suzanne Brockmann’s earlier books. I read it fairly early in the year, but every so often I think back on it, which automatically qualifies it as a favorite – it stayed with me. 🙂
* Obsidian Butterfly
This installment of Anita Blake’s series was not the only Laurell K. Hamilton book I read this year. And of course, I loved them all. In this edition, Anita heads south to help Edward with some problems he’s having, and walks right into Edward’s “other life.”
* Dead as a Doornail
I love the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. It all started (in book 1) when Sookie, a telepath, decided dating the vampire Bill was a good idea – after all, she couldn’t read vampires minds, and it was a nice rest. Besides, do you really want to know everything your boyfriend’s thinking?
* Coping With Sorrow on the Loss of Your Pet
This book helped me a lot when my cat died last spring.
* Writing the Breakout Novel
Awesome books for writing. My writing improved a lot after working through the exercises in the workbook.
* Multiple Streams of Income
Great book about how to set up many streams of income so you aren’t reliant on just one (your job) and can consider things like early retirement.
* Intuitive Eating
Common sense way of relating to food – makes a lot more sense than all the diets out there.
