Here's a list of the best books I read this year according to category:

Best thriller

I love Pierre Lemaitre and I picked this psychological thriller up when I saw it in my local bookshop. It was narrated by two broken people who's lives intersected in a fascinating way. This twisty thriller had the perfect pace and great depth. I loved it. 

Best YA

I'd never read anything by Sophie Kinsella before and apparently this was quite a departure for her. It ended up being one of two five star reads this year. It's about a girl who has extreme anxiety and hasn't left her house for some time. I really identified with this character as I experience acute anxiety myself at times.

Best New-Adult

An unexpected marvel, Unteachable tells the story of a girl who meets the right guy at the wrong time. The writing was spectacular and unlike anything I've ever read. The description had my senses on overdrive and it influenced my writing in a profound way.

Best Literary Fiction

I haven't reviewed this yet even though I read it a month or two ago. It's set  in Glasgow and written in Scottish dialect. It follows a man who has suffered a severe beating by the police and has gone blind as a result. A stream of consciousness, this book manages to create staggering closeness between the protagonist and the reader. It felt so authentic and gave me much to think about.

Best Classic

Another book I didn't review, mostly because everything's been said about it. I was amazed by the strength of the plot and it's reflection of Stalinist Russia.

Biggest Disappointment

I had been wanting to read this book for a long time and rewarded myself with it after a long month of writing. Unfortunately I found the plot and characterisation weak. The ending only slightly made up for this disappointment.

I'm loving this book. So much so that I keep taking breaks from writing my own novel. Sammy's just been lifted by the police again. Oh no.

I was looking for a book that covered the same type of issues as the novel I'm currently writing, which includes themes of disability and government bureaucracy, which this does.I love anything Scottish and this book is also set in Glasgow, where my partner is from and I used to live,so it was perfect.

It's about Sammy who suffers a beating from some soldiers and is subsequently left blind. He has to negotiate disability coupled with government bureaucracy, so it's quite similar to my book. This is written in a stream of consciousness and Scottish dialect, though, which I hope doesn't seep it's way into my book. It's quite similar to Irvine Welsh, who I love

It won the Booker in 1994 and even though I haven't had much time to read it, I'm enjoying it so far.

This novel centres around Murdo, a 16-year-old Scottish lad from the islands, who travels to the US with his father to stay with an uncle in Kentucky after his mother has died from cancer. This follows the death of his sister several years earlier. Murdo doesn't talk much nor does his father and they barely communicate with each other.

Murdo is a musician playing in bands back home and it is music, playing or listening, which is his sole joy. The novel deals with how he deals with his loss and finds solace in music.

Overlong in my opinion, the writing mainly consists of Murdo's thoughts as he deals with family, a new country and environment, new friends and relatives.