2015 was not the best reading year I’ve ever had. This is the first year in a while that I’ve had less than 10 books that I rated 5 stars. In 2014 and 2011 I had 10 books that I loved. In 2012 and 2013 I had to pick more than 10 books because there were so many that I loved. Hopefully 2016 turns out to be a great reading year!
I haven’t reviewed these books all yet, but I’ll tell you a little about why I absolutely loved them. In another first, none of these came out in 2015. They are all backlist. I need to read some new releases this year!
It’s All Too Much
by Peter Walsh
Why I Loved It:
I really loved how he broke organizing down into specific, manageable steps. He had lots of good ideas that I am still using a year later. I also liked that he addressed the emotional issues of why we hoard stuff and how to deal with it.
Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand
Why I Loved It:
Just like Laura’s other book, Seabiscuit, this reads like narrative fiction. It had me flipping through the pages to find out what happened next. It’s a beautiful story about forgiveness. I learned a lot about the history of WWII that I hadn’t known before.
These is my Words
by Nancy E. Turner
Why I Loved It:
I loved this epic Western historical romance. It was as much fun to read as Gone with the Wind. The journal-style story telling was hard to get used to and I didn’t like it at first, but as I read the story it became one of my favorite parts about it.
Wonder
by R. J. Palacio
Why I Loved It:
I expected this book to be very preachy, but it wasn’t. It was entertaining, beautifully written with a positive uplifting message at the end. When in doubt, choose kind. It’s simple but powerful and I’ll never forget that because of this book.
The Secret Keeper
by Kate Morton
Why I Loved It:
This historical fiction murder mystery had an ending that blew my mind. It was so cool. I also liked the theme in this book. It was very focused on your parent’s past and how much you really know about them. The life your parents had before they had you is a mystery all of us can solve.
The King’s Guard
by Rae Carson
Why I Loved It:
Even though I read 19 novellas this year to hit my Goodreads challenge, there was only one that made it to the 5 star rating and this was it. The story was brilliantly crafted, the story tied elements so well from the beginning at the end, and the main character was truly admirable. He went through a lot in such a short book! I can’t say enough how much I loved this short little book.
Creativity, Inc.
by Ed Catmull
Why I Loved It:
The history at the beginning of how the technology behind computer animation came to be was really interesting but the thing I loved most about this book was how it seemed to break down the creative process into manageable steps that anyone could do. It truly inspired me to try writing since it gave me a general framework of how I can do that. There’s also fun behind-the-scene tidbits about how they made some of their movies.
Don Quixote
by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Why I Loved It:
This book was hilarious. I got the new translation by Edith Grossman that was modern and fun to read. The humor had me laughing out loud. It has the humor of Nacho Libre (complete with potty humor). The story telling reminded of Galaxy Quest because it had this strange mix of reality and fiction. The character Don Quixote talks about the first half of the novel that he’s in. He criticizes a fake sequel to the first half of his novel that actually existed in real life. It almost made the real and the fictional hard to tell apart which is the exact thing that Don Quixote was struggling with. I loved this book on so many levels. Best classic I’ve read in a long time. Get the Edith Grossman translation if you’ve tried to read it before and couldn’t finish.
What was the best book you read this year?
My name is Jessica. I love to read Young Adult and classic literature. I’ve been a book blogger for six years and I haven’t gotten tired of it yet. I’m a very curious reader. Writing about all the questions and thoughts I had while reading a book is the best hobby ever.
The only books I’ve read from your list are These is my Words and Wonder. I liked them both. I really want to read The Secret Keeper.
I haven’t read any of these, but I’ve been meaning to try a Kate Morton novel for a while now. My favourite book this year was Marissa Meyer’s “Winter”
I love Wonder and These is My Words. I also like but didn’t love Unbroken. I’m glad you enjoyed these. My favorite book I read in 2015 was The Eternity Key by Bree Despain.
Hmmm. I don’t think I’ve heard of It’s All Too Much, but I agree that sometimes it is. My wife and I did read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up last year and it did help. Maybe we’ll have to look at this one too.
Unbroken was one of my favorite reads the year I read it, which I can’t remember right now, although I think it was the year after it came out. I’m usually a year behind in my reading.
I read Don Quixote when I was in high school, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I remember enjoying it, but I had an older translation. Maybe I’ll have to seek out this one, based on your recommendation.
Best book I read this year was, hands down, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander.
Yeah, 2015 wasn’t my best year for finding favourites either. I think I just wasn’t in the right headspace. At least you have 8 here that you absolutely loved, and it’s impressive that you have such a diversity of genres! I’m not sure I could come up with 8 that I absolutely loved from 2015 (totally discounting the fact that I reread HP last year, obvs). Actually, now that I think of it, almost all the books I read were backlist too! I feel like I missed out on some great new releases, so I hope to get to some new ones this year. Please let me know if you come across any new releases that you loved and would rec!