I thought 2016 had a bit of a slow start when it came to books, but some of the books I've read this year are among the best I've ever read, and I'll be talking about my 10 favourite for years to come.
I made a conscious effort to try and read more books by writers of colour this year, something which bears out in my best of 2016 list (even though I still read more books by white writers, could the fact that the majority of my list is books by non-white people possibly show the really high quality of writing by writers of colour who do get published? Discuss).
There were some notable gaps in my reading this year - I failed to get round to Sarah Perry's much-lauded The Essex Serpent, which I'm now saving for a time when I can savour it, and I skipped most of the Man Booker Prize shortlist because it just didn't capture me this year, plus I've not read as much YA as I did in previous years.
Now, without further ado, here are my 10 favourite books of 2016...