Tis the season & lists are bustin’ out all over — including on the “Booknotes Unbound” site where the NZ Book Council team have put together a fab listicle in which folk from throughout the NZ book scene feature three of their favourite reads from 2016:

Booknotes Unbound: The NZ Book Scene’s Favourite Reads of 2016

And yep, I too have contributed my wee mite. 😉

Needless to say these are not the only books I have loved in 2016, because I went for a “balanced” list, but they are certainly three of them.

So how did I pick my list? Within the criteria of “books I have read and loved this year” (the essential starting point) I then decided that I wanted to have something :

• SFF (“because” SFF writer here!)
• from New Zealand (“because” NZ author here… 😉 )
• something adult and something YA/Junior (since I write for both age groups)

And by way of further fun, what I ended up with was “something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue” as well. 🙂

Here’s what my listicle contribution comprises:

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler:

Science Fiction: Near-Future Dystopia

It’s something old (older anyway, published in 1993), it’s now regarded as a Science Fiction classic, and it’s definitely for adult readers although there is no reason why YA readers shouldn’t attempt it. Parable of the Sower also ticks the “something borrowed” box because the copy I read was borrowed from a friend. 🙂

You can read my indepth post on Parable of the Sower here:

What I’m Reading: “Parable Of The Sower” by Octavia Butler
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The Year Of Falling by Janis Freegard

Contemporary Realism

Published in 2015, The Year of Falling is set in New Zealand, written by New Zealand author Janis Freegard, and published by a NZ publisher, Mākaro Press. It is also published for adult readers but again, I would also consider it suitable for YA readers. Oh yes, and the cover is mostly blue!

To read my indepth post on The Year of Falling, click on:

What I’m Reading: The Year of Falling by Janis Freegard

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Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr

Junior Fiction; Legendary History

Dragonfly Song is Junior Fiction, although I believe it would crossover for YA readers as well. It is what I would term “legendary history”, i.e a tale that exists in the border country where real history and fantasy (i.e. myths, legends, and folklore) overlap. Published in June 2016, it is very new — and also has  a mostly blue cover. 😉

To read my full feature on Dragonfly Song, click on:

What I’m Reading: Dragonfly Song by Wendy Orr

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So there you are: there could be only three but I managed to work in something SFF and something contemporary, something junior and something adult, something from New Zealand, and yes, something old and something new, something borrowed and something blue!

To see the full list and all the other picks — and there really is something for everyone, I believe — check out:

Booknotes Unbound: The NZ Book Scene’s Favourite Reads of 2016