It’s been a busy year. And what better way to start winding down than grabbing a good book with a cup of tea at night, or reading a novel for hours on end at the beach while getting a nice tan.
We asked you what the best book you have read this year is, and your answers were nothing short of brilliant.
These are the top five books of the year, according to Mamamia readers.
Jane Harper was certainly a favourite for women this year. More specifically, it was The Dry, released in 2015, and Force of Nature, released this year, that ignited much love for the Australian author.
The Dry is an Australian-based crime novel, focused on a murder-investigation in rural Australia during the worst drought in a century. Delightfully told, the book has been translated into 20 different languages and according to The Sydney Morning Herald, has been optioned by Reese Witherspoon's production company.
Force of Nature is an extension from The Dry and is a mystery-crime that tells the story of five women who go walking in the bush, with only four returning. It is captivating and gripping, and by all accounts lives up to the expectation Harper created for herself after her first bestseller, The Dry.
You can purchase The Dry, by Jane Harper from Booktopia.
You can purchase Force of Nature, by Jane Harper from Dymocks.
Originally published in 2015, this book has been labelled a 'must-read for everyone'. Based in New York, this is a coming-of-age novel that follows four male friends from an elite University as they struggle with addiction, childhood-trauma, anxiety and much, much more. It is tragic, upsetting but ultimately an astonishing, thought-provoking read.
This book has won multiple awards, including being a finalist for the National Book Awards, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and won the Kirkus Book Prize.
You can purchase A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara from Dymocks.
This book was only released in September of this year but already has earned itself a place in our readers' best books.
This novel is about a man taking a break (not to be confused with a break-up) from his marriage. Amy's husband Hugh goes to south-east Asia for six months, leaving behind his wife and children. So, what will happen when he returns?
As Marian Keyes says, this "isn’t a story about falling in love but about staying in love".
You can purchase The Break, by Marian Keyes from Waterstones.
Listen: Mia Freedman's interview with Marian Keyes is a must-listen. (Post continues...)
Also only released this year, Caroline Overington - two-time winner of the Walkley Award for Investigative Journalism and bestselling author of The One Who Got Away - has again delivered a captivating thriller-fiction novel. The story is about a mysterious family fraught with secrets, lies and ever-growing debt. When they sell their castle and developers move in, skeleton after skeleton is found and so the dark mystery begins.
You can purchase The Lucky One, by Caroline Overington from Amazon.
Karin Slaughter is a New York Times bestseller, and this year released a new thriller novel, titled The Good Daughter. Women around the world are loving it for its psychological suspense.
The novel follows the protagonist Charlie, a lawyer with a dark past filled with family secrets. When Charlie is the first to witness a tragic crime that leaves her whole town traumatised, she is forced to remember and unveil memories she has tried to suppress her whole life.
Kathryn Stockett, the bestselling author of The Help, said The Good Daughter is "Simply the best book you'll read all year. Raw, powerful and utterly gripping - yet written with a tenderness and empathy that will break your heart."
You can purchase The Good Daughter, by Karin Slaughter from Amazon.