Ten favorite reads of 2015
Inspired by the year's best lists that come out this time of year, here's a list of my ten favorite reads of 2015. I mostly stuck to new reads, though I did slip in one reread. Also I twice cheated a little by counting a series as one read.
There's a wide range of stuff here. Maybe you'll find something you like. They're in no particular order.
Redeployment, Phil Klay. A set of short stories about American soldiers sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. They range from a returned vet in college to a mortician to a company clerk to a frontline grunt. Beautifully written human stories. Won the National Book Award.
The Martian, Andy Weir. A book that's no doubt familiar to everyone by now. I was surprised by how interesting the technical stuff was, probably because of the voice Weir created. Also I like the story of how this book came to be. Weir first posted chapters on his blog, where readers got into the act and provided technical information. When they asked for all the chapters together, he put it on Amazon for 99 cents. Within a month, he sold 10K copies. At that point, a big publisher picked him up, but essentially he wrote the story because he wanted to.
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison. A compelling central character who under-estimated himself because everyone else does. Cheering him on was very satisfying.
Jinx, Sage Blackwood. A middle-grade book that made me laugh. Blackwood does that thing the Muppet Show used to do where she provides jokes the adult reader is going to get even though they go right over a kid's head. Jinx is an appealing kid who's abandoned in the forest, taken in by a wizard, and learns he had magic. One of the things he can do is see the color and maybe shape of people's thoughts. So, for instance, he sees a girl thinking "pink fluffy thoughts" at a boy.
Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty. This Australian author writes about a group of women whose kids all start kindergarten at the same time. The tales of competitive PTA moms are funny, and among many other delights, the story of modern kids trying to make a family tree for homework. (Ziggy's mom doesn't know his father's name. A classmate has two dads. Another has divorced parents who've remarried and her father's stepchild is in the same class.) Moriarty is particularly good on dialogue.
The Outsiders, S. Hinton. I know everyone else read this in high school, but I'd never read it before. I love brother stuff anyway, and Pony Boy's voice is so real and emotionally deep.
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A WWII story that shows how evil touches the innocent. The book takes place in Brittany which we visited in September, including a tour of a German submarine base from which U-boats patrolled the Atlantic.
Misery, Steven King. Again, I know everyone else probably already read this, but not me. It was horrifying. I'd squeak and tell my husband, "OMG, he woke up to find her standing over him with an ax." But beyond that, King says a lot about writing, about what it's like to "fall into" a book you're working on, about the way "the boys in the basement" keep working even when your conscious thoughts fail you.
Dublin Murder Squad series, Tana French. I read all five. The books are tied together by the way French takes a minor character from the previous book and makes them the MC of the current one. Wonderful writing. Clear and specific. I'm sad that I've now read them all.
My reread: Seven Realms series, Cinda Chima. I reread the four books already on my shelf because she has a "next generation" continuation starting this spring. I like the street patter that Han Alister uses. And I like the world building. The books are strong enough that I enjoyed them just as much even though I knew how things would come out.
There's a wide range of stuff here. Maybe you'll find something you like. They're in no particular order.
Redeployment, Phil Klay. A set of short stories about American soldiers sent to Iraq and Afghanistan. They range from a returned vet in college to a mortician to a company clerk to a frontline grunt. Beautifully written human stories. Won the National Book Award.
The Martian, Andy Weir. A book that's no doubt familiar to everyone by now. I was surprised by how interesting the technical stuff was, probably because of the voice Weir created. Also I like the story of how this book came to be. Weir first posted chapters on his blog, where readers got into the act and provided technical information. When they asked for all the chapters together, he put it on Amazon for 99 cents. Within a month, he sold 10K copies. At that point, a big publisher picked him up, but essentially he wrote the story because he wanted to.
The Goblin Emperor, Katherine Addison. A compelling central character who under-estimated himself because everyone else does. Cheering him on was very satisfying.
Jinx, Sage Blackwood. A middle-grade book that made me laugh. Blackwood does that thing the Muppet Show used to do where she provides jokes the adult reader is going to get even though they go right over a kid's head. Jinx is an appealing kid who's abandoned in the forest, taken in by a wizard, and learns he had magic. One of the things he can do is see the color and maybe shape of people's thoughts. So, for instance, he sees a girl thinking "pink fluffy thoughts" at a boy.
Big Little Lies, Liane Moriarty. This Australian author writes about a group of women whose kids all start kindergarten at the same time. The tales of competitive PTA moms are funny, and among many other delights, the story of modern kids trying to make a family tree for homework. (Ziggy's mom doesn't know his father's name. A classmate has two dads. Another has divorced parents who've remarried and her father's stepchild is in the same class.) Moriarty is particularly good on dialogue.
The Outsiders, S. Hinton. I know everyone else read this in high school, but I'd never read it before. I love brother stuff anyway, and Pony Boy's voice is so real and emotionally deep.
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize. A WWII story that shows how evil touches the innocent. The book takes place in Brittany which we visited in September, including a tour of a German submarine base from which U-boats patrolled the Atlantic.
Misery, Steven King. Again, I know everyone else probably already read this, but not me. It was horrifying. I'd squeak and tell my husband, "OMG, he woke up to find her standing over him with an ax." But beyond that, King says a lot about writing, about what it's like to "fall into" a book you're working on, about the way "the boys in the basement" keep working even when your conscious thoughts fail you.
Dublin Murder Squad series, Tana French. I read all five. The books are tied together by the way French takes a minor character from the previous book and makes them the MC of the current one. Wonderful writing. Clear and specific. I'm sad that I've now read them all.
My reread: Seven Realms series, Cinda Chima. I reread the four books already on my shelf because she has a "next generation" continuation starting this spring. I like the street patter that Han Alister uses. And I like the world building. The books are strong enough that I enjoyed them just as much even though I knew how things would come out.