2015 Books
I've decided that I'm going to keep track of all the books that I read in 2015. I have wondered how many books I read per month, per year, so this will be the place. I'll start with the book I'm currently reading.
1. "To Rise Again at a Decent Hour" by Joshua Ferris
This was a weird book. It was a recommendation from Entertainment Weekly, otherwise I don't think I would have read it. It's entirely possible that I missed the whole point of the book, because I get the feeling it was one big metaphor or something like that.
2. "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler
I bought this because it was on sale at Target and Amy Poehler is awesome. It was an excellent purchase.
3. "The Color Master" by Aimee Bender
Short stories. Sometimes I think that I don't read enough short stories, because I have read some really good ones. Some of the stories in this book are great, and some are just weird. I bought this book online from Barnes and Noble along with a book on memoir writing.
4. "Thin Rich Pretty" by Beth Harbison
I bought this book with "The Color Master" and Beth Kephart's book on memoir writing in order to get free shipping. It was on clearance for about $4. It's a standard chick lit book, not bad but not great.
5. "Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty
This month's book club selection. I was planning on reading this book anyway, because I've read every other book by this author and loved them all. And then Amazon had the Kindle version for $3.99 last month, so I bought it. It's very unique in a good way, and I didn't guess who was going to die! (That's not a spoiler, you find out early in the book that someone dies.)
6. "Until You're Mine" by Samantha Hayes
Recommendation from EW; a crazy thriller that jumps between two first-person accounts and a third-person account, which was interesting. HUGE twist at the end that I never saw coming.
7. "Say What You Will" by Cammie McGovern
The story of an unconventional friendship between a girl with cerebral palsy and a boy with OCD. I enjoyed it, particularly the parts where the description of the OCD thoughts and feelings were SO familiar.
8. "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Another EW recommendation. A somewhat intriguing story, but VERY slow. My Kindle says I'm only 25% done with the book, and I'm bored. So I'm not going to finish it.
9. "Sex Changes" by Christine Benvenuto
A memoir about a woman whose husband turned out to be transgender and how his decision to become a woman affected her and her children. I was interested because usually the story you hear is the one told by the transgender person. The book didn't sugarcoat how difficult it was for the family and how awful her ex-husband was sometimes, which was nice because it rang truer that way. However, she started to bug me a bit as a narrator, and I ended up just skimming the last chapter.
10. "I Forgot to Remember" by Su Meck
Yeah, another EW book. This is a fascinating memoir of a woman who completely lost her memory at the age of 22 as the result of a ceiling fan falling on her head. I am in awe of this woman and everything she has accomplished in the years since the accident!
11. "In Another World, Maybe" by Shari Goldhagen
Ok, I'm going to stop noting when a book is an EW recommendation. This is an intriguing story of a group of teens growing up and how their lives intersect, whether they know it or not.
12. "The Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
This one was a recommendation from Mom. The book is fiction, but the Orphan Train was something that really happened around the Great Depression. The story connected the lives of Molly, a foster kid in 2011, and Vivian, a 91-year-old who was on the Orphan Train.
13. "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
This was pretty much the book of 2014, so I'm a bit slow on reading it. Mom also told me to read this one. It took a bit for me to get into it, but now it's really good.
Didn't finish it. Don't care. Not sure why this book was such a big deal.
14. "100 Days of Real Food" by Lisa Leake
Extremely interesting, made me more aware of what I eat and what I should be eating. I ended up buying it, so I'll take the challenge when I get back from Arizona.
15. "Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls" by David Sedaris
Entertaining essays from the always-funny Raleigh native.
16. "Sisterhood Everlasting" by Ann Brashares
The last book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Don't know why I never read this one.
17. "Single, Mellow, Carefree" by Katherine Heiny
Short stories. I need to try writing short stories again. Maybe it would go better than my novel.
18. "Ghost Boy" by Martin Pistorius
Kind of like "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," but with a happier ending.
19. "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel
This month's book club selection. A decent story of a post-apocalyptic world and what happened to the characters in the time leading up to the end of the world as they knew it.
20. "Shakespeare Saved My Life" by Laura Bates
The incredible story of a Shakespeare program for maximum security prisoners. I highly recommend this one.
21. "Emily of New Moon" by L.M. Montgomery
Julie (layers_of_eli) introduced me to this one. I never knew L.M. Montgomery wrote anything besides the Anne of Green Gables books! I'm quite enjoying this, and plan on borrowing the other two in the series when this one is done.
22. "The Rosie Effect" by Graeme Simsion
I read and enjoyed "The Rosie Project" last year, so when I saw that there was a sequel, I had to read it. I highly recommend both!
23. "The Slap" by Christos Tsiolkas
I heard of the book because of the miniseries on tv, of course. It's kind of a strange story, but interesting.
24. "All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
A unique love story between two teenagers. I can't really say more without giving things away.
25. "Man at the Helm" by Nina Stibbe
A story of how children and their mother get through a divorce, told from the point of view of the middle child, who is 9
26. "Inside the O'Briens" by Lisa Genova
About a family dealing with Huntington's disease
27. "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell
How a twin comes into her own in college
28. "Sugar" by Deirdre Riordan Hall
Another coming-of-age story, basically, but with a good twist
29. "I Take You" by Eliza Kennedy
An odd little chick lit book about a couple who doesn't seem to be a good match but are in fact soulmates
30. "We Are Not Ourselves" by Matthew Thomas
A long book spanning many years, first about a little girl and her parents, and then about the girl as an adult and her husband and child.
31. "The Paris Architect" by Charles Belfoure
A book about people who hid Jews during the Holocaust in France.
32. "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
This story is interesting because not only does each chapter switch narration between Noah and his twin sister Jude, but the Noah chapters take place when they're 13 and the Jude chapters take place when they're 16. Great story.
33. "There Will Be Lies" by Nick Lake
An odd book, but good. Can't say much without giving away the book.
34. "A God in Ruins" by Kate Atkinson
Her book "Life After Life" was about a girl named Ursula and her family. This is the story of her brother, Teddy. A North Carolina author!
35. "In the Unlikely Event" by Judy Blume
How could I not read the new Judy Blume book? A fictional account of true happenings.
36. "El Deafo" by Cece Bell
Laura read this in her book club and told me about it. It's a graphic novel memoir about a woman who lost her hearing when she was 4, and what it was like to have hearing aids in the 70s.
37. "Casebook" by Mona Simpson
An odd book about a boy who uncovers a big secret about his mom's boyfriend. It was one of those books where I found myself wishing the book was over already, but I had to finish reading it.
38. "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier
Another graphic novel memoir
39. "Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult
The latest semi-formulaic novel by Jodi Picoult, but with an awesome twist that I didn't see coming at all! You also learn a lot about elephants.
40. "Day Four" by Sarah Lotz
A cruise gone horribly wrong
41. "Summerlong" by Dean Bakopoulos
A darkly funny novel that centers around a married couple
42. Paula Hawkins "The Girl on the Train"
This year's It Book
43. Marian Keyes "The Woman Who Stole My Life"
Another brilliant book from Marian Keyes, this one about a woman who had Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
44. Anne Tyler "A Spool of Blue Thread"
The story of the Whitshank family, told in an unusual manner
45. Kate Manning "My Notorious Life"
Based on a true story about a midwife in 19th century New York who also performed abortions
46. Emily Gould "Friendship"
How the relationship of best friends Bev and Amy changes when Bev finds out she's pregnant
47. Jane Green "Family Pictures"
The stories of two separate families, one in California and one in Connecticut, whose lives are connected in a crazy way.
48. Raina Telgemeier "Sisters"
Another graphic novel memoir by the author of "Smile"
49. Maureen McCormick "Here's the Story"
Celebrity memoir
50. Anthony Doerr "All the Light We Cannot See"
A World War II story told in alternating viewpoints of a boy in Germany and a girl in France
51. Lauren Beukes "Broken Monsters"
An odd but exciting thriller
52. Jessica Knoll "Luckiest Girl Alive"
Going back and forth between TifAni in high school and TifAni in the present, we learn about the events that made her who she is.
53. Heidi Pitlor "The Daylight Marriage"
Told in alternating voices - husband and wife, past and present, we learn what happened to Hannah, Lovell's wife.
54. Rainbow Rowell "Landline"
Workaholic Georgie discovers that the landline at her mom's house is a magical conduit to the past that could help fix her marriage.
55. Angela Flournoy "The Turner House"
The ups and downs of the Turner family, mostly about the oldest child and youngest child in the present, and interspersed with parts about the parents in the past
56. Miriam Toews "All My Puny Sorrows"
A family has a terrible history of suicides. What do you do when your best friend, your sister, wants to die?
57. Lionel Shriver "Big Brother"
Pandora's brother Edison comes to visit, and he's changed. Another interesting story about family, with an unexpected twist.
58. Marian Keyes "The Mystery of Mercy Close"
Helen Walsh is a broke private eye when she gets the case of a lifetime.
59. Jesse Andrews "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
A hysterical book narrated by high school student Greg about the year that he and his friend Earl spent with a girl with cancer.
60. E. Lockhart "We Were Liars"
The Sinclair family is proof that money isn't everything.
61. Caroline Zancan "Local Girls"
Odd book. Not sure I liked it. A confusing story about a group of girlfriends who meet a movie star in a bar.
62. Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza "The Knockoff"
A magazine editor in chief has to deal with her former assistant (who has gone from sweet girl to monster woman) becoming her new boss when the magazine goes digital.
63. Alex Witchel "Me Times Three"
I thought that the whole book was going to be about how Sandra discovered that her high school sweetheart fiance was engaged to two women besides her, but it was really a story of how Sandra finally stopped holding onto the girl she was and became the woman she should be.
64. Ransom Riggs "Hollow City"
The second novel in the "peculiar" series. The third book came out in September, so on the list it goes!
65. Sarah Dessen "Saint Anything"
High school junior Sydney creates a new life for herself after her brother is sent to jail for disabling a boy he hit while driving drunk.
66. Jennifer Weiner "Who Do You Love"
The unusual love story of Rachel and Andy, told mostly in flashbacks alternating perspective by chapter.
67. Wednesday Martin "Primates of Park Avenue"
A memoir about being a mom on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
68. Jenny Milchman "As Night Falls"
An excellent thriller/crime/suspense novel about what happens when two escaped convicts invade a family's home. I plan on reading her other two novels in 2016.
69. Anita Diamant "The Boston Girl"
A lovely story of a Jewish girl growing up in the early part of the 20th century, told in flashbacks to her granddaughter in the 80s.
70. Sophie Kinsella "Shopaholic to the Stars"
Finally bought this addition to the Shopaholic series, the first since Mini Shopaholic. I was not disappointed, except for the fact that things weren't resolved in the end like they usually are. Fortunately, the new one is out in hardcover already.
1. "To Rise Again at a Decent Hour" by Joshua Ferris
This was a weird book. It was a recommendation from Entertainment Weekly, otherwise I don't think I would have read it. It's entirely possible that I missed the whole point of the book, because I get the feeling it was one big metaphor or something like that.
2. "Yes Please" by Amy Poehler
I bought this because it was on sale at Target and Amy Poehler is awesome. It was an excellent purchase.
3. "The Color Master" by Aimee Bender
Short stories. Sometimes I think that I don't read enough short stories, because I have read some really good ones. Some of the stories in this book are great, and some are just weird. I bought this book online from Barnes and Noble along with a book on memoir writing.
4. "Thin Rich Pretty" by Beth Harbison
I bought this book with "The Color Master" and Beth Kephart's book on memoir writing in order to get free shipping. It was on clearance for about $4. It's a standard chick lit book, not bad but not great.
5. "Big Little Lies" by Liane Moriarty
This month's book club selection. I was planning on reading this book anyway, because I've read every other book by this author and loved them all. And then Amazon had the Kindle version for $3.99 last month, so I bought it. It's very unique in a good way, and I didn't guess who was going to die! (That's not a spoiler, you find out early in the book that someone dies.)
6. "Until You're Mine" by Samantha Hayes
Recommendation from EW; a crazy thriller that jumps between two first-person accounts and a third-person account, which was interesting. HUGE twist at the end that I never saw coming.
7. "Say What You Will" by Cammie McGovern
The story of an unconventional friendship between a girl with cerebral palsy and a boy with OCD. I enjoyed it, particularly the parts where the description of the OCD thoughts and feelings were SO familiar.
8. "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
Another EW recommendation. A somewhat intriguing story, but VERY slow. My Kindle says I'm only 25% done with the book, and I'm bored. So I'm not going to finish it.
9. "Sex Changes" by Christine Benvenuto
A memoir about a woman whose husband turned out to be transgender and how his decision to become a woman affected her and her children. I was interested because usually the story you hear is the one told by the transgender person. The book didn't sugarcoat how difficult it was for the family and how awful her ex-husband was sometimes, which was nice because it rang truer that way. However, she started to bug me a bit as a narrator, and I ended up just skimming the last chapter.
10. "I Forgot to Remember" by Su Meck
Yeah, another EW book. This is a fascinating memoir of a woman who completely lost her memory at the age of 22 as the result of a ceiling fan falling on her head. I am in awe of this woman and everything she has accomplished in the years since the accident!
11. "In Another World, Maybe" by Shari Goldhagen
Ok, I'm going to stop noting when a book is an EW recommendation. This is an intriguing story of a group of teens growing up and how their lives intersect, whether they know it or not.
12. "The Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
This one was a recommendation from Mom. The book is fiction, but the Orphan Train was something that really happened around the Great Depression. The story connected the lives of Molly, a foster kid in 2011, and Vivian, a 91-year-old who was on the Orphan Train.
13. "The Goldfinch" by Donna Tartt
This was pretty much the book of 2014, so I'm a bit slow on reading it. Mom also told me to read this one. It took a bit for me to get into it, but now it's really good.
Didn't finish it. Don't care. Not sure why this book was such a big deal.
14. "100 Days of Real Food" by Lisa Leake
Extremely interesting, made me more aware of what I eat and what I should be eating. I ended up buying it, so I'll take the challenge when I get back from Arizona.
15. "Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls" by David Sedaris
Entertaining essays from the always-funny Raleigh native.
16. "Sisterhood Everlasting" by Ann Brashares
The last book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Don't know why I never read this one.
17. "Single, Mellow, Carefree" by Katherine Heiny
Short stories. I need to try writing short stories again. Maybe it would go better than my novel.
18. "Ghost Boy" by Martin Pistorius
Kind of like "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," but with a happier ending.
19. "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel
This month's book club selection. A decent story of a post-apocalyptic world and what happened to the characters in the time leading up to the end of the world as they knew it.
20. "Shakespeare Saved My Life" by Laura Bates
The incredible story of a Shakespeare program for maximum security prisoners. I highly recommend this one.
21. "Emily of New Moon" by L.M. Montgomery
Julie (layers_of_eli) introduced me to this one. I never knew L.M. Montgomery wrote anything besides the Anne of Green Gables books! I'm quite enjoying this, and plan on borrowing the other two in the series when this one is done.
22. "The Rosie Effect" by Graeme Simsion
I read and enjoyed "The Rosie Project" last year, so when I saw that there was a sequel, I had to read it. I highly recommend both!
23. "The Slap" by Christos Tsiolkas
I heard of the book because of the miniseries on tv, of course. It's kind of a strange story, but interesting.
24. "All the Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
A unique love story between two teenagers. I can't really say more without giving things away.
25. "Man at the Helm" by Nina Stibbe
A story of how children and their mother get through a divorce, told from the point of view of the middle child, who is 9
26. "Inside the O'Briens" by Lisa Genova
About a family dealing with Huntington's disease
27. "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell
How a twin comes into her own in college
28. "Sugar" by Deirdre Riordan Hall
Another coming-of-age story, basically, but with a good twist
29. "I Take You" by Eliza Kennedy
An odd little chick lit book about a couple who doesn't seem to be a good match but are in fact soulmates
30. "We Are Not Ourselves" by Matthew Thomas
A long book spanning many years, first about a little girl and her parents, and then about the girl as an adult and her husband and child.
31. "The Paris Architect" by Charles Belfoure
A book about people who hid Jews during the Holocaust in France.
32. "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
This story is interesting because not only does each chapter switch narration between Noah and his twin sister Jude, but the Noah chapters take place when they're 13 and the Jude chapters take place when they're 16. Great story.
33. "There Will Be Lies" by Nick Lake
An odd book, but good. Can't say much without giving away the book.
34. "A God in Ruins" by Kate Atkinson
Her book "Life After Life" was about a girl named Ursula and her family. This is the story of her brother, Teddy. A North Carolina author!
35. "In the Unlikely Event" by Judy Blume
How could I not read the new Judy Blume book? A fictional account of true happenings.
36. "El Deafo" by Cece Bell
Laura read this in her book club and told me about it. It's a graphic novel memoir about a woman who lost her hearing when she was 4, and what it was like to have hearing aids in the 70s.
37. "Casebook" by Mona Simpson
An odd book about a boy who uncovers a big secret about his mom's boyfriend. It was one of those books where I found myself wishing the book was over already, but I had to finish reading it.
38. "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier
Another graphic novel memoir
39. "Leaving Time" by Jodi Picoult
The latest semi-formulaic novel by Jodi Picoult, but with an awesome twist that I didn't see coming at all! You also learn a lot about elephants.
40. "Day Four" by Sarah Lotz
A cruise gone horribly wrong
41. "Summerlong" by Dean Bakopoulos
A darkly funny novel that centers around a married couple
42. Paula Hawkins "The Girl on the Train"
This year's It Book
43. Marian Keyes "The Woman Who Stole My Life"
Another brilliant book from Marian Keyes, this one about a woman who had Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
44. Anne Tyler "A Spool of Blue Thread"
The story of the Whitshank family, told in an unusual manner
45. Kate Manning "My Notorious Life"
Based on a true story about a midwife in 19th century New York who also performed abortions
46. Emily Gould "Friendship"
How the relationship of best friends Bev and Amy changes when Bev finds out she's pregnant
47. Jane Green "Family Pictures"
The stories of two separate families, one in California and one in Connecticut, whose lives are connected in a crazy way.
48. Raina Telgemeier "Sisters"
Another graphic novel memoir by the author of "Smile"
49. Maureen McCormick "Here's the Story"
Celebrity memoir
50. Anthony Doerr "All the Light We Cannot See"
A World War II story told in alternating viewpoints of a boy in Germany and a girl in France
51. Lauren Beukes "Broken Monsters"
An odd but exciting thriller
52. Jessica Knoll "Luckiest Girl Alive"
Going back and forth between TifAni in high school and TifAni in the present, we learn about the events that made her who she is.
53. Heidi Pitlor "The Daylight Marriage"
Told in alternating voices - husband and wife, past and present, we learn what happened to Hannah, Lovell's wife.
54. Rainbow Rowell "Landline"
Workaholic Georgie discovers that the landline at her mom's house is a magical conduit to the past that could help fix her marriage.
55. Angela Flournoy "The Turner House"
The ups and downs of the Turner family, mostly about the oldest child and youngest child in the present, and interspersed with parts about the parents in the past
56. Miriam Toews "All My Puny Sorrows"
A family has a terrible history of suicides. What do you do when your best friend, your sister, wants to die?
57. Lionel Shriver "Big Brother"
Pandora's brother Edison comes to visit, and he's changed. Another interesting story about family, with an unexpected twist.
58. Marian Keyes "The Mystery of Mercy Close"
Helen Walsh is a broke private eye when she gets the case of a lifetime.
59. Jesse Andrews "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl"
A hysterical book narrated by high school student Greg about the year that he and his friend Earl spent with a girl with cancer.
60. E. Lockhart "We Were Liars"
The Sinclair family is proof that money isn't everything.
61. Caroline Zancan "Local Girls"
Odd book. Not sure I liked it. A confusing story about a group of girlfriends who meet a movie star in a bar.
62. Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza "The Knockoff"
A magazine editor in chief has to deal with her former assistant (who has gone from sweet girl to monster woman) becoming her new boss when the magazine goes digital.
63. Alex Witchel "Me Times Three"
I thought that the whole book was going to be about how Sandra discovered that her high school sweetheart fiance was engaged to two women besides her, but it was really a story of how Sandra finally stopped holding onto the girl she was and became the woman she should be.
64. Ransom Riggs "Hollow City"
The second novel in the "peculiar" series. The third book came out in September, so on the list it goes!
65. Sarah Dessen "Saint Anything"
High school junior Sydney creates a new life for herself after her brother is sent to jail for disabling a boy he hit while driving drunk.
66. Jennifer Weiner "Who Do You Love"
The unusual love story of Rachel and Andy, told mostly in flashbacks alternating perspective by chapter.
67. Wednesday Martin "Primates of Park Avenue"
A memoir about being a mom on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
68. Jenny Milchman "As Night Falls"
An excellent thriller/crime/suspense novel about what happens when two escaped convicts invade a family's home. I plan on reading her other two novels in 2016.
69. Anita Diamant "The Boston Girl"
A lovely story of a Jewish girl growing up in the early part of the 20th century, told in flashbacks to her granddaughter in the 80s.
70. Sophie Kinsella "Shopaholic to the Stars"
Finally bought this addition to the Shopaholic series, the first since Mini Shopaholic. I was not disappointed, except for the fact that things weren't resolved in the end like they usually are. Fortunately, the new one is out in hardcover already.