basically end of year, best 10 + worst 5 books

 This is different from the video that I'll film and inevitably post in four or five years because we are counting re-reads in this. Without further ado, the best ten and worst five books I've read this year. 

10. Light by Michael Grant

I did do a full Gone series re-read this year and as a whole the series does remain just about my favorite series ever. I have also just accepted that the last book is my favorite book in the series. Every time I've read the damn thing I've bawled my eyes out. 

9. Germinal by Emile Zola

I don't know if I'm going to be able to count this on my list of new books that encapsulates my favorites because I have read this before... just in French. I've been getting way into Zola this year. I read three books by him: this one, The Ladies' Paradise, and Therese Raquin. Germinal is the best. But yeah, Zola is so gddam good. 

8. Okay for Now by Gary D Schmidt

Unsurprising, considering that the first time I read this book, it was one of my top three of the year. If you're looking for some really good, hard-hitting middle grade fiction, you always look straight at Schmidt. 

7. The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Another re-read! I'm gonna say that most of these books are re-reads. But Jones just does so much with this story. This was my first book by Jones that I'd read, and on the re-read? Just as impactful. God. 

6. The Stand by Stephen King

This was my first Stephen King book! It's still amazing! Go figure!

5. Exquisite Corpse by Poppy Z Brite

The first non-reread on this list. God I loved this book. The only bad thing about it is that now whenever I read a book that includes cannibalism or two people meeting and being like we should kill people together I just wish I was reading this and then that negatively impacts my reading of the other book. Also gave me some more inspiration for working on Guillaume, which is not out yet but will be. 

4. Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

Another non-reread! Another book by Jones! This guy's good, you guys. If you didn't know. But yeah, this book also made me cry and was amazing and I cannot wait for the third book in the series to come out. 

3. The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis

This is the last non-reread on this list and as of right now is looking like it'll be my favorite book of the year on my non-reread list. I don't know if I like this one or Glamorama more--I'd have to reread Glamorama--but my God. This was tragic, gross, and all-around what I expect and adore from Ellis. 

2. Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Not only a re-read, but a re-read I read three times this year alone. 

1. IT by Stephen King

Laugh it up all you want, the murder clown book is, right now, officially, my favorite book. 

Wow, look at that, my favorite genre is horror. 

And now onto the fun stuff: the five worst books of the year. All of these books were 1 star. These are my five 1 star reads of the year. Fun how that works out. 

5. The Hounds of Dracula by Ken Johnson

This book was just the most boring thing I've ever read in my entire life. It wasn't stupid in a fun way, it was stupid in a stupid way, and it was just terrible. 

4. Strawberry Panic by Sakurako Kimino

I'm pretty sure this was on my mid-year list, too. I'm gonna say it takes a lot for a manga to be on my worst of the year list. Mostly I don't dislike manga, I just feel vaguely meh about it. I disliked this. It was terrible and creepy and weird. 

3. Dial L for Loser by Lisi Harrison

The Clique books were never good and should never have been given to impressionable pre-teens, mostly because nobody should ever read them, ever. 

2. Smarter Together by Rob Bernshteyn

I just like, hate business. I think this was definitely a case of it's not you, it's me, because I just have such a deep feeling of disgust for the subject matter. 

1. Left Behind by Tim LaHaye

By far the worst genre of book is the 'book that has a cool concept but is actually poorly written Christian propaganda.' God. This book SUCKS!