Saturday, January 02, 2016

TOP 25 BOOKS READ IN 2015




(Well, I used to look like this.)


My year of reading in 2015 was enjoyable, challenging, informative, and all the other good things I get from reading. I did a bit better on number of books read than I have in the past two years. My yearly average since 2002, when I got serious about reading everything I could before I die, has been 122 books. My best year ever was 2010 when I read 160 books. I still can't figure out how I did that!

My recent goals have included reading more books written by women and more literature translated from languages other than English. The stats show I did well on those goals this year. But I slacked off on My Big Fat Reading Project in favor of current releases. I also read 9 books that were well over 500 pages and as anyone who works with statistics knows, it's the high ones and the low ones that really skew the data.

Stats:
Books Read: 113
Pages Read: 37, 810/Average pages per day: 103/Average books per month: 9
Fiction: 96
Nonfiction: 8
Written by women: 64
Translated: 10
My Big Fat Reading Project: 28
Children/YA: 6
Indie Press: 11
Short Stories: 2
Speculative/Science Fiction/Fantasy: 14
Mystery: 7
Memoir: 2
Drama: 1
Classics: 2
(These numbers add up to more than 113 because some categories overlap)
 
Enough of that boring stuff. Here is the list of the books I loved the most:
 
Another Country, James Baldwin
A Brief History of Seven Killings, Marlon James
The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch
Claire of the Sea Light, Edwidge Danticat
Euphoria, Lily King
The Fifth Gospel, Ian Caldwell
Not Dark Yet, Berit Ellingsen
Painted Horses, Malcolm Brooks
Preparation For the Next Life, Atticus Lish
Seveneves, Neal Stephenson
The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante
Super Sad True Love Story, Gary Shteyngart
The Water Knife, Paolo Bacigalupi
The World Between Two Covers, Ann Morgan

The titles with links are books I reviewed here on the blog. Starred titles with links are books I reviewed for the Lit Mag Three Guys One Book. But between March and October I posted short reviews only on Goodreads. You can find my 2015 Goodreads reviews here. 


Thanks for following my blog, reading my reviews, and most of all for commenting. While my blog and my Goodreads entries help me keep track of what I read, the main reason I do both things is to connect with other readers and to spread the word on books. I receive no money for those two activities. I am happy to report that in 2016 I will be paid for my reviews on a new Lit Mag: Litbreak, but I am also allowed to post those reviews here.  

Now, onto 2016!
 



12 comments:

  1. Congratulations on getting paid for this. You'll be great in it!
    You have some books that either I wanted to read and didn't get to, like West of Sunset and Euphoria, which I hopefully get to reading this year. I'm also curious about The Fifth Gospel; I requested the book via NetGalley and was denied, and later I didn't think the book merited buying at full price, so I let it pass. I wonder what you thought of it.

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    1. The Fifth Gospel was so intriguing! It is a religious thriller, though not like Dan Brown! Set in modern times in the Vatican, it goes back into the history of the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. Lots of church politics and a heartbreaking family story that has a somewhat happy ending. Sometimes NetGalley gets my goat with their denials. Anyway, you could probably find it at the library. I think you would really like it!

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  2. BTW, I put Kafka on the Shore on my wishlist because of your review.

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  3. I see some titles here that I had read and loved in previous years - like Claire of the Sea Light and Super Sad True Love Story - as well as some that I have on my TBR list - A Brief History of Seven Killings and Kafka on the Shore to name just two. It's a great list.

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    1. Thank you Dorothy! A Brief History was a tough read for many reasons (dialect, violence, so many characters) but I was completely rewarded. Also I was a Bob Marley fan-:)

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  4. Happy New Year dear Judy :)
    Shame on me... I am a little out of touch with my reading these days as I am not reading as much as we used to. But want to get back into it. Actually, I'm reading Rosa Candida (fabulous book). Will review it soon.

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    1. Thanks and Happy New Year! Happy reading!

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  5. You're an amazing reader Judy! Congrats on 113 & your new paid gig! Still like your reviews here as well. I will check what you said of West of Sunset. I look forward to your reviews & book talk in 2016!

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    1. Thanks Susan! I look forward to yours too!

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  6. Anonymous9:21 AM

    Well done on what looks like a great year of reading. I wish you even more great reading in 2016 :-)

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    1. Thank you Jessica! I wish you the same.

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