Top Ten Novels of 2016

2016 was a solid year of fiction reading for me. And of the 220 novels I consumed, here are my favourite ten.

10.  Bleak Expectations by Mark Evans  - hilarious story of young Pip living in Dickensian London

9. The Magician's Land by Lev Grossman - Harry Potter for adults

8. Welcome to Night Vale by Joseph Fink - nearly as weird as the podcast

7.  The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter - true horror, although  when I say true I mean fictional

6.  Pet Semetary by Stephen King - his creepiest story

5. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson - amusing travelogue

4. The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons - the fictionalised life of Hemingway in Cuba

3. Patricia Highsmith Selected Novels and Short Stories - captivating

2. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith - inspired the film Carol

1. Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain - humorous, tragic and historically fascinating all in one

American Snow Cover

Despite the northern winter being unusually warm, the snow cover currently reaches all the way down from Alaska to Mexico. There was even some snow in sunny Florida yesterday.

This map is from the National Centers for Environmental Information, but Intellicast has a prettier one (below):

My Cat's Top Ten Movies

My cat appreciates quality film-making as much as I do. And these are his favourites from the last year.

10.  Star Wars Rogue One

9. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

8. The Brand New Testament

7. The Big Short

6. Steve Jobs

5. Maggie's Plan

4. Hunt for the Wilderpeople

3. Where Am I Going?

2. Trumbo

1. Spotlight

And honourable mentions go to:

Hail Caesar
War Dogs
Café Society
Eye in the Sky