My favourite time of the year is here! The end of an old year and start of a new year. The upcoming few days I’ll have a few posts in store for you that look back at 2016 and forward to 2017.

Since I’m a bit of a book addict, next to being a travel addict, I’ll kick this series off with my book reviews of 2016.

1 & 2. Jo Nesbø – Cockroaches (1998) & The Redbreast (2000)

When I wrote my review of The Bat by Jo Nesbo in 2015, I said I had to get used to Jo Nesbo’s style of writing. Cockroaches is the second book about Harry Hole and I’m not sure I’ve gotten used to it.

I’ll try to explain what irks me about his writing. It’s the description of scenes that tend to be very superficial, which means that I’ll read the same passage a couple of times to understand what has actually happened. This is definitely not a language barrier thing. Sometimes I simply can’t follow the narrative. The overall story is outlined very well, but scenes are described chaotically. As you can guess, this frustrates the most in an action packed scene. Am I the only one who has issues with this? Anyways, I have three more of Nesbo’s books in my bookcase so I will not give up any time soon.

Unlike The Bat, which took place in Australia, Cockroaches takes place in Thailand. Harry Hole is called in from Norway to investigate the suspicious murder of a Norwegian ambassador. The story is exciting, because it twists and turns but as I said I haven’t managed to get used to Nesbo’s way of writing (or Bartlett’s way of translating) so I didn’t really feel the thrill I would feel when reading Mo Hayder or Lee Child.

My rating: 2 out of 5

There are distinct differences between Cockroaches and The Redbreast. The latter is in that sense slightly better.

First of all, Harry seems to be more at home in his native Norway than in Australia and Thailand. The novel isn’t focused on his alcholism which is a nice change. Second, the antagonist has a bit of a background story, this pulls you into both sides of the story. Something Nesbo didn’t try to do in his previous books. Third, and the biggest change is the fact that scenes were not described in so many convoluted sentences. This means even the action scenes are easier to follow.

The parts I didn’t really enjoy, were the Neo-Nazi/Nazi storyline; to be honest, it didn’t add anything to the story for me. And the amount of characters! There are way too many characters to remember, most of them didn’t even really play a big role. However, if you don’t make an effort to remember you will have to read the passages back when they pop up again.

Jo Nesbø is proving to not be my favourite crime-thriller writer. I have two more books by him in my closet. If the Harry Hole story doesn’t improve I’ll leave it at that.

My rating: 2.5 out of 5

3. Paula Hawkins – The Girl on the Train (2015)

Right, The Girl on the Train. When I wrote my rewiew about SJ Watson’s Second Life, I mentioned that I felt I jumped on his bandwagon too late and I missed the one good book he wrote, namely Before I Go to Sleep.

This is why I picked up The Girl on the Train when I saw the rave reviews and when I noticed everyone was reading it. I wouldn’t let another mystery thriller best-seller pass me by! This is Paula Hawkins’ first novel; by now it’s also been made into a movie.

The story is about Rachel, who sits on a train for over an hour everyday travel to and from London. Rachel has a drinking problem and Rachel makes up stories in her head about the people she observes from train. Jess and Jason (their real names are Megan and Scott) are a couple which she passes by daily. In her mind, they are a dream couple; they are everything her ex-husband and she used to be before he started cheating – until the day she sees Megan is missing and presumed dead.

Rachel feels like she knows her so she gets involved in the research. Strangely enough, she was in the neighbourhood the evening Megan went missing because it’s close to where her ex-husband lives; but she can’t remember anything because she was drunk.

In a way it’s a compelling read. People compare it to Gone Girl as well as Before I Go to Sleep, and I can see why. You’re not sure who has killed Megan until the end of the book. It’s not so good that I would advise you to read it rather than simply watching the movie.

My rating: 3 out of 5

4. Mark van Onna & Ans Koning – De Kleine Prince 2 (2008)

Every now and then I step away from fiction and read a book which will benefit my job. In February, I took the Prince 2 Foundation exam (a Project Management method) and in order to prepare for the exam I read this book. It’s a pity it’s only available in the Netherlands because I think it’s a good little book to put the Prince 2 method in a more practical view.

My rating: 3 out of 5

5. Kazuo Ishiguro – The Remains of the Day (1989)

I’m sure it’s not an overstatement when I say that Kazuo Ishiguro is very good at keeping his audience captivated by a story. I’ve not read his other books, but if they’re anything like The Remains of the Day he’s a very remarkable author.

The plot is so small. That’s why it’s even more impressive he manages to excite you to read on. Not by using big words, or by describing exciting event. Simply by letting you peek into the mind of Mr. Stevens, the butler of Darlington Hall. At the start of the novel, Mr. Stevens, sets out on one of his first journeys across the country to visit an old employee of his.

Throughout his journey we are taken back to his past, when he looks back at different events. His father’s fall when he was serving in the house, his communications with Lord Darlington his previous employer, and his theory on what it is to be a great butler. Dignity is one of the key words of this novel. He dedicated his whole life to Lord Darlington and for this purpose he always kept a clear head during stressful situations.

This clear-headedness provides the greatest passages of the novel. The reader is seeing the world through Mr. Steven’s eyes, so at these stressful situations while you are surprised he seems so cool, the people he is serving remark that he looks very pale and they ask whether he would like a tissue. This implies that he’s showing emotions on the outside which he doesn’t seem to be acknowledging on the inside.

The reason I’m going to watch the movie after reading this book is because Mr. Steven’s chemistry with Miss Kenton (aforementioned employee) is tantalizing. I don’t want to reveal too much, but let me just say that I think Anthony Hopkins would be awesome at portraying this chemistry.

This novel was a great read. I left it in my bookcase for a very long time, but I’m happy I finally picked it up.

My rating: 5 out of 5

6. Justin Cronin – The Twelve (2012)

Oh no no no no no. Justin Cronin’s trilogy is deteriorating fast. I wouldn’t say that he has hit the bottom yet but I see little hope in his last novel The City of Mirrors. Yet I won’t stop reading, I’ve already read around 1500 pages of this trilogy, I might as well soldier on.

In a previous book review, I wrote about the different stories of the Passage (which I finished exactly a year ago). I won’t be able to do that for The Twelve, especially because I’m not completely sure of the significance of these stories.

Let’s try: Cronin describes the year zero with the survivor Kittridge who shoots virals as a sport from an apartment until he has to leave and joins up with a gang of.. randoms really (an autistic bus driver Danny, a young girl with her even younger brother and some others). Grey who we met in the first novel meets up with a confused lady Lila. Guilder who is awaiting his world domination.

Then we are taken to a field where something horrible will happen to a group of people. Of course we’re taken through a (in my mind) insignificant back story about these people first.

And then there’s the main story of Peter, Amy, Alicia, Michael and others who have split up since the last novel and who are doing their own thing on different locations still eager to kill the Twelve (Eleven since one went bye-bye in the last novel).

Some characters join up again, some don’t and their storylines are left in the air. I can see what Cronin is doing. He’s trying to write an epic like King’s The Dome and The Stand, but it’s not working. If only he had compiled his epic in one novel.. It would’ve been so much less hassle to get through!

My rating: 2 out of 5

7. Tommy Wieringa – Dit zijn de namen (These Are the Names) (2012)

Dit zijn de namen by Tommy Wieringa took me longer to finish than intended. The reason I bought it was because it was mentioned on a Dutch TV show. In this book Wieringa described the refugee crises before it had started in Europe last year.

For the first part of the book, this is certainly true. It describes the story of a group of refugees moving through the desert looking for the nearest town. That part’s interesting. There’s another part in the book about a police officer in a small town. This man is sleeping with his maid, and finds out about his Jewish heritage.

I can’t link these two storylines, without getting incredibly philosophical. It’s a good book, but it’s not as easy to read as I thought it would be. If you’re planning to read it, keep in mind it’s not a page-turner.

My rating: 2 out of 5

8 & 9. Lee Child – The Hard Way (2006) & Bad Luck and Trouble (2007)

I loved, loved, loved The Hard Way! I think by now it’s fair to say that Lee Child is by far one of my favourite writers and Jack Reacher is one of my favourite characters. I’ve been reading his books almost relentlessly (two to three a year) for the past years and I continuously enjoy them.

The Hard Way is the 10th novel in the series and Reacher has found himself in New York helping a group of private contractors (ex-military) find their boss’ kidnapped wife and child. It has happened to the boss before, but luckily Reacher is no stranger to searching missing persons. However, this mission somehow feels wrong to Reacher.

This is probably one of the most twisty-and-turny Reacher stories; it’s a true page turner! Great novel!
My rating: 5 out of 5

My ratings for Lee Child novels can drop more fiercely than books by writers I’m not very familiar with. That’s because Jack Reacher novels are special to me. Bad Luck and Trouble is not my favourite Lee Child book. This does not mean it’s not OK, it just means that out of the 11 books I’ve read so far it isn’t the best.

This one is about Jack Reacher’s special investigator’s unit. One of them sends him a hidden message to bring the group together again. This doesn’t really work out the way Reacher would want it, and the group is in mortal danger. Luckily, they haven’t lost their skills.

I prefer the lone Reacher books to be honest. There have been a few novels where he looks back at his army days and I don’t necessarily like them. Doesn’t matter, I’ll move on to book number 12 without any hesitation.

My rating: 3 out of 5

10. Charles den Tex & Anneloes Timmerije – Het vergeten verhaal van een onwankelbare liefde in oorlogstijd (2014)

The title of the book says it all: “The forgotten story of an immovable love in a time of war.” It seems to suggest that two people are in love and impossible to be separated by a war.

The novel takes place in the Second World War in the Dutch East Indies. The first passage already separates the two lovebirds, by sending Guus Hagers to Australia to pick up war planes. His wife Lieke stays behind and awaits his return. Before he can pick up the plane, the Dutch East Indies are invaded by the Japanese and all inhabitants are placed in camps.

Suprisingly, this novel tells the story of two people who are separated by a war and who cán live completely different lives. Granted, they find each other again but I don’t think that’s the main message of this book. Guus becomes entangled in politics and Lieke is trying to stay alive in camps. The story is based on a true story, but it’s been fictionalized.

It seems that the title doesn’t say it all. That’s OK. I’ve also read better books about the Second World War, like Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand which I can’t stop recommending! That’s OK too. I wouldn’t recommend this novel, but if you own it you might as well read it.

My rating: 2 out of 5

11. Toni Morrison – Beloved (1987)

What a tedious, mind-numbing, energy-draining read! I had Beloved by Toni Morrison waiting for me in my bookcase for absolutely ages. I bought it when I was studying, because a course I was not taking recommended this book. The reason I picked it up is because I wanted to 1. cross it off of my to-read list 2. be done with a book quickly because I waited for another book I desperately wanted to read to arrive.

I started reading Beloved on the 11th of July and finished on the 20th of August. This novel only has around 300 pages, so why did it take me so long? Because it’s non-sensical! I couldn’t read more than five pages in one sitting and I was reluctant to pick it up again.

The summary of the novel is very nice though – it’s contained on one A4 page and that’s all anyone needs to know about it! Sethe is a slave who runs away from an abusive slave owner, when she is confronted by this slave owner again she does something unthinkable which will haunt her for the rest of her life.

There, that’s the premise of the book no need to go into more detail. It’s just that the way it has been written is all over the place. The novel won a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction back when it was published, so my review is no reason to ignore it. A lot of people did like it. I just can’t be bothered reading a book that jumps from one scene to the next in a manner that to me, makes no sense. I’m not planning to pick up one of Toni Morrison’s book ever again!

My rating: 1 out of 5

12 & 13. Caroline Kepnes – You (2014) & Hidden Bodies (2016)

You is a terribly disturbing book! It’s honestly like nothing I have read before.

It’s about Joe who falls madly and obsessively in love with a girl who walks into his store. However, the book is written from his point-of-view so for some twisted way the reader can’t help but to root for him.

On the cover the writing style of Caroline Kepnes is compared to that of Patricia Highsmith (who I don’t know) and Bret Easton Ellis whose writing I loathe. For the people who feel the same way about Ellis, don’t worry! Even though it’s written from the point of view of a disturbed psychopath Joe is nothing like the characters in Ellis’ books!

I guess you’ll have to read this novel to understand what I’m talking about! I finished this one on my trip through South Korea, and I couldn’t wait to start reading the sequel at home.

My rating: 5 out of 5

The sequel Hidden Bodies shocked me. I gave You five stars. Even if I kept thinking I liked Hidden Bodies so much better. I don’t want to take stars away from You because it was so new and refreshing, so let’s just say Hidden Bodies isn’t new and refreshing anymore but just really good. That’s why both books deserve their stars.

The story in Hidden Bodies picks up right where You stopped. Joe is up to his usual antics again.

This novel sees him move from New York to Los Angeles. A city he’s bound to hate for its fakeness, which he does with a murderous vengeance. The body count in this novel grows significantly (I mean… this is not a spoiler right? It’s kind of in the title!), and his twisted obsession decreases slightly.

I think Caroline Kepnes took this sequel into the completely right direction. She could have made it more of the same, but instead she makes us like sick and twisted Joe a little bit more. I wonder who’s not rooting for him at the end of the novel.

I’m hoping for another story!
My rating: 5 out of 5

14 & 15. Greg Mortenson – Three Cups of Tea (2006) & Jon Krakauer – Three Cups of Deceit (2011)

I purchased Three Cups of Tea and Three Cups of Deceit at the same time, because I wanted to read them both. It’ll be really difficult putting my opinion about the first book in a review though.

Let me start by saying that this book was recommended to my by a colleague. He took back this recommendation when he started re-reading it. It’s the story behind the book which impresses, not the writing itself. I was too enthralled to put it down, especially since I also bought a copy of Three Cups of Deceit by Jon Krakauer.

This biographical novel is about Greg Mortenson, you’ll read his full name around 1,500 times (no kidding, people have counted!) so you’ll never forget it’s about him. He attempts to climb a mountain, fails, and ends up in a small mountain village in Pakistan. He strikes up beautiful friendships and ends up promising to buy the village a school.

Greg goes through hardships but obviously he manages. He makes a business out of it and he builds schools all over Pakistan and war-ridden Afghanistan.

The way the story is written down is not like Laura Hillenbrand, my favourite biographical author, would have done it. It’s all about THE MAN, which becomes tedious after a while.

My rating: 3 out of 5

Jon Krakauer jumps in straightaway and debunks most of the stories Greg Mortenson has written. The main ones are the stories abouth how a promise brought the charity into existence & the kidnapping. He also states that money has disappeared into the pockets of the Greg and into his employees’ pockets. He even explains that most of the schools that were built are not in use anymore.

It’s a good book, and when I started reading it I believed Jon’s account immediately. However, apart from “he said, she said” he doesn’t get far proving his claims either.

So then it just comes down to who to believe. Let’s point out the obvious fact that it’s much easier to believe Krakauer than Mortenson for the simple fact that Mortenson had everything to gain by lying. The charity has received a lot of money in donations following the publication of Three Cups of Tea, and it’s impossible everything went into the charity. That many schools were simply not built.

Sure, Krakauer also wrote his book with an alterior motive. His name was linked to the charity for quite some years, so he kind of needed to write this book to wipe his name clean.

Both books are entertaining, and whichever way you view it; it did bring attention to eduction in Afghanistan and Northern Pakistan.

My rating: 4 out of 5

16. Vendela Vida – The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty (2015)

I have mixed emotions about The Diver’s Clothes Lie Empty.

On the one hand, it’s an intriguing read and it’s difficult not to want to slip into the skin of the protagonist for one day. On the other hand, the narrative is a bit too empty. It’s missing depth.

The book is about a woman who travels to Morocco, and gets her backpack stolen on arrival. This is a blessing in disguise as she can now take on any identity she pleases and that’s just what she needs.

I can’t help but compare this book to Shantaram even though that’s not fair. The protagonists are nothing alike, but the running away to another country to take on other identifies is the same. If that’s what you’re looking for read Shantaram. If you’re looking for an easy summer read, this one will do.

My rating: 3 out of 5

17. Polly Evans – Northern Lights: A Practical Travel Guide (2010)

This book made me even more excited about my trip to Iceland than I already was!

This book is great if you’re interested in the Northern Lights and you need suggestions as to which destination would be suitable. It also suggest where you could sleep & what kind of day activities you could do there. It certainly made me excited for winter destinations!

My rating: 4 out of 5

18. Esther Gerritsen – Broer (2016)

I am not the person to ask when it comes to reviewing certain types of Dutch books. Broer was an enjoyable short read, but it didn’t mean much to me. I didn’t get anything out of it.

The story is about a woman, who is about to walk into a board meeting when she gets a call from her brother that the doctors will remove his leg. She’s not been close to her brother for the past few years but the news hits her hard.

It’s only a 95 page book, so you can read it for yourself. Let me know in the comments below if you have read it and what meaning you gleaned from it!
My rating: 2 out of 5

19. David Nicholls – Us (2014)

On the cover The Times states that Us is even better than One Day by David Nicholls. Let me debunk that statement straightaway.

I bought this novel with some trepidation. I really liked One Day, it’s one of my favourite books and I was scared Us would not live up to it. It doesn’t live up to it. Not in my view at least – the story is completely different of course.

Us is about Douglas and his family. His artistic wife and somewhat aloof son. He has planned one Grand Tour of Europe before his son moves out for college. However, right before the trip his wife tells him she is thinking of splitting up with him. This does not stop the family from going on the trip together, and all kinds of awkward moments ensue.

You get a bit of the background story of the couple as well, all other parts are about the different destinations they visit on the Grand Tour. Douglas and his wife & son are so badly compatible is a bit painful to read. Douglas is also a character who’s not easy to relate to – he has so many flaws which makes him human but also not very likable.

It’s an easy read, but not necessarily a very super good. I liked it, but not as much as One Day.

That’s it for me! Have you guys read any good books you could recommend to me for next year? I’m always happy with some good book recommendations!