2015 | A Year in Books

It’s that time of year again — time to look back on lists of things done, books read, and photos taken in 2015.

My reading goal this year was a measly 20 books which does not include all the books I started and never got around to finishing because my digital library loan ended before I was able to finish thereby putting me back on a long wait list, nor does it include books that always seem to be in a perpetual state of being read (I like to read multiple books at once).

Here are the books I read/completed in 2015:

In The Woods | I mistakenly confused this author with another one and was about 1/3 of the way through the book before I realized my error. The book started out wonderfully but by the end was kind of boring. Just ok for me.

The Goldfinch | I’m a little late on reading this one but I loved it. It’s a pretty hefty book in terms of number of pages and I know a huge criticism was that there was too much time spent describing minute details, but I was totally sucked in, finished it in just over a day, and then wished I hadn’t read it so quickly.

All The Light We Cannot See | Was this an Oprah Book Club book because that’s what it felt like to me when I was reading it. I didn’t think it was bad, just really over-hyped and I personally felt the writing style to be overwrought and pretentious. I feel like this is a book that would easily translate into a movie that has “Oscar buzz.”

Empty Mansions | A nonfiction account of Huguette Clark, one of the richest, most reclusive, heiresses in the early 20th century who lived out the end of her (long) life in a crummy hospital room. While living in the hospital for a couple decades she had her exquisite mansions, now empty, maintained as if she were to return at any moment. It’s a fascinating read though boring in parts. If you’re interested but don’t want to read the book, the website has a lot of amazing photos and stories.

The Paying Guests | If you couldn’t tell I like to read historical fiction, in particular books set in the early 1900s-1950s. For that reason, this book appealed to me. The setting of this book was good but the story, however, was just eh. And it went on for way too long.

The Nightingale | This book read like a movie script to me. I was expecting to hate it — and at parts it felt overly dramatic to me — but after I was done I had to admit I enjoyed reading The Nightingale. 

Station 11 | I love dystopian/end of the world/dark books and this hit on all cylinders for me. I really liked it.

The Girl on the Train | Super easy and entertaining read. I literally read it on the beach in an afternoon. 

Where’d You Go Bernadette | It’s hard to find books like these — light & funny — that aren’t too stupid or with drippy female characters you want to punch. Another beach read for me.

The Martian | I think I may have been expecting too much out of this book. There’s a lot of page filling technical jargon that seemed to exist only to serve as proof that the author was knowledgeable in physics. We get it, you’re smart. That aside the story was a good one and it was a reasonably thrilling read (and easy enough to skim through the techy stuff that I didn’t care about/am too dumb to get). 

The Boston Girl | Another historical fiction novel. I couldn’t tell if this was supposed to be a YA novel because it sort of read like one. In other words, a simple but enjoyable read.

Orphan Train | I honestly keep getting the plot of this one mixed up with Boston Girl because they are sort of set in the same time period in the same part of the world and both seemed to be aimed at young adults? Both this book and Boston Girl remind me of a lighter version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

Quiet | If you have ever felt the least bit introverted then this book will completely validate every single one of those feelings. Though I can oftentimes come across as extroverted (depending on the setting), I consider my true core to be extremely introverted. I wanted to highlight every sentence in this book and then get on a chair and yell Tom Cruise/Oprah style. If you’re in an introvert/extrovert relationship of any kind (friends, family, spouse, coworker) you should definitely have the extrovert read this. 

The Book of Unknown Americans | I was totally surprised by how much I liked this book — I don’t think I’ve ever read anything quite like it in terms of subject. Really good.

All the Old Knives | Mystery/thriller. It was a fast read but I barely remember the plot now. The characters weren’t all that memorable or likable. It’s decent, reasonably fast-paced,  but won’t blow your mind.

Hold Still | An autobiography by Sally Mann, a prominent female photographer. This book blew me away. If you love photography and/or have read any Susan Sontag books on photography then you will love this book. I really identified with Hold Still and while I’m more of a library book person I most likely will buy a copy of my own to take notes in the margins and read over and over again.

An Ember in the Ashes | I know I was knocking some books above for being Y/A but I actually love reading Y/A books for pleasure, especially those set in different times and worlds. Bonus points for those that are part of a series. I hate the cover of this book but the story was actually good. I stayed awake awake until the wee hours of the morning to finish it so I must have been pretty entertained.

Yes Please | About what you’d expect from an SNL alum biography. At times funny, at times deep. Overall something you can read in a couple hours on a plane without thinking too hard.

Mademoiselle Chanel | Semi-fictional bio of Coco Chanel that made me hate Coco Chanel. As mentioned before I like period pieces so that alone got me through the book. It’s a pretty one-sided story that paints things like Coco Chanel being in cahoots with the Nazis and her alleged anti-Semitic viewpoint in a very positive light. 

Red Queen | Another YA book in a series that sort of reminds me of the Divergent Series + Hunger Games + Xmen. Like An Ember in Ashes (any pretty much any book in this genre) Red Queen follows a formula: poor but clever and fiesty heroine with a heart of gold, above average smarts, some kind of hidden strength/power/beauty, and the ability to bring men to their knees, finds herself in a situation where she has to make hard choices to save the world/lead a rebellion/come to grips with inner turmoil/overcome supposed cluelessness about girl’s ravishing beauty. Add a love triangle and backstabbing friends/family/rivals and you have yourself an instant YA novel.  It’s the book equivalent of watching a CW tv show. That being said, I enjoyed this book though I could have done without all the inner thoughts in italics like every other paragraph. 

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My favorite types of books are ones that take me to another place, another time or another world. I also love dark and/or post apocalyptic stories, anything by Neil Gaiman, depressing books, and books set in a fantasy world. In between my nerd books I like to read classics, bestsellers, and nonfiction especially if the nonfiction book has something to do with nature or history. 

My least favorite books are girly books about shopping that may or may not describe what it’s supposedly like to be an editor/intern at a fashion house/magazine, anything by Jennifer Weiner, any book cover that has a red stiletto on the cover, self-help books or autobios with cult-like followings such as Eat, Pray Love or The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, and pretty much anything recommended by Oprah’s Book Club.

This year I hope to up my book reading to 25 books, or just barely over two books a month. The problem I have with book goals is that my book reading comes in spurts. Sometimes I’ll read 5 books in a weekend and other times I wont read anything for months. Add to that all the books I start or am half-way through reading at any given time. 

If anyone is interested, I started a virtual book club on Goodreads. I know, another thing to join, but honestly if you like reading it’s a good place to create book lists, set reading goals, discuss books and join book clubs. It’s a private group so only people that request to join will be added — simply click “join group” and either sign in or create a profile. Once you join you can add and suggest books to be read. To start, our first book is H is for Hawk. Join me (so I’m not the only person in my book club 😐 ). Hope to see you there!