2015 Reading List

When I saw my friend Sheryl's blog post with a picture of the books she read in 2015, I knew I had to have one too. Seeing the collection of book covers, hers and mine, is just. plain. happy.

One of my favorite characters, the precocious and hilarious Flavia de Luce, made big changes in As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust. I didn't like the changes, but I suppose everyone must grow up sometime.

My favorite genre of 2015 was Regency Romance. The books brought me way more delight than my year's average rating of 3.4 would suggest. Edenbrooke, for the third time, was even more charming than the first or second time. I read it again after reading my shortest book of the year, Heir to Edenbrooke (53 pages), a novella which revealed the backstory of Philip. Of the new authors I read in this genre, Sarah M. Eden was my favorite. Friends and Foes introduced another charming and honorable Phillip to love.

I read my first Agatha Christie book this year- And Then There Were None. I had no idea who did it until the last two pages!

My least favorite book is also the most read of my choices in 2015, according to Goodreads. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was slow, confusing and immoral. I didn't actually finish the book, but I marked it as done because I have no intention of trying it again.

The longest book I read was The Bourne Identity, 566 pages. I love the movie, but the book was fabulous too. The story differed from the movie in many ways but it was similar in that it was fast paced, action packed and smartly told.

The highest rated book I read, according to Goodreads, was The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (4.55). It was one of my highest rated for the year too. A war story, beautifully told.

The biggest disappointment in 2015 was The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion. It had some real gems of wisdom to start but never developed into anything meaningful or magical.

The book I was most happy to read with a book club was Quiet by Susan Cain. We may be reading it for another book club in 2016 which is great! It is such an interesting read!

My two favorite books from 2015 were The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes and The Nightingale.

My least favorite books were The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Looking over the books one more time... I read some amazing things this year! My reading has led me to make personal changes for good, taught me about history I didn't know before and helped me to understand people in better and deeper ways. I love to read! And I'm looking forward to more great reading in 2016!