top 10, bottom 5, as of end of february

 NOTE: What makes this different from my end of the year count is that I do count re-reads, thank you very much, in this list. But! As of the end of February, these are my best ten and worst five books of the year (so far). 

THE BEST:

10. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson, 5 stars

What the hell! It was great! Fuck me, right!

9. Night Shift by Stephen King, 5 Stars

I still love this collection. It's just wacky in a way that a lot of King's later short stories aren't; at this point, when you think short stories and Stephen King, they're almost literary. This one isn't literary. The laundry machine eats people.

8. Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun 1 by Izumi Tsubaki, 5 stars

Still the king.

7. A Special Place by Peter Straub, 5 stars

Real talk, I finished this last night and it was so goddam good. Apt Pupil WHO???? Keith would eat you alive, Todd.

6. The Dark Half by Stephen King, 5 stars

Still a great one. I feel like this one almost leans more Bachman than King, just because of how damn bloody it is. 

5. Under the Dome by Stephen King, 5 stars

Look, I know a lot of people have issues with this one, especially the ending, but the only thing I have an issue with at the ending is fucking Benny Drake my GUY you did not have to DO THAT. 

4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson, 5 stars

My first full-length Shirley Jackson. So goddam good.

3. The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly, 5 stars

I'm pretty sure this one was on my January list, too.

2. The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, 5 stars

As of right now, this is my top new read of the year. Holy shit was this book a lot. The twist! The tragedy! Jaime! 

1. Needful Things by Stephen King, 5 stars

God, I love Needful Things. 

THE BAD: 

5. 10 Secrets to a Bestseller by Tim McConnehey

This is literally just an ad. Which is okay, but it didn't need to be a hundred and twenty page ad.

4. Memories by Francine Pascal, 1.5 stars

I will never be free of Sweet Valley High.

3. 27 Hours by Tristina Wright, 1.5 stars

This book got a lot of flack for its really heavy-handed dealing with like, race and colonialism and in my mind, you know, it's just bad. Also why are all of these characters named like a fourth grader of today??? Hello?

2. Art is the Lie by Courtney Cook Hopp, 1 star

This was like Twilight but... worse. Granted, it's been a while since I read Twilight, so it might not be worse. But in my heart and soul, that's how I feel about this book.

1. Call of the Cherokee by F Gardner, 1 star

Ladies and gentlemen, something was worse than Left Behind. Mostly because at least Left Behind got like, edited. And didn't have grammatical errors. Like this one did.