Books Read in 2015

Orchard Window by Daniel Garber

It's that time of year again and while I still have quite a few reviews to compose, I want to share my year-end list now rather than after I'm finally caught up. Other than the very light months of July, October, November and December, I'm pretty pleased with my year of reading.

January
1.  Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman
2.  The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
3.  The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
4.  The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

February
5.  Slow Dancing with a Stranger: Lost and Found in the Age of Alzheimer's by Meryl Comer
6.  Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
7.  The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill
8.  Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
9.  Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast

March
10. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
11. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
12. The Bear by Claire Cameron
13. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky
14. The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths
15. The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones
16. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed
17. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

April
18. Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
19. The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey
20. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
21. The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos
22. A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler

May
23. Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
24. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
25. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
26. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

June
27. Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova
28. Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
29. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
30. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

July
31. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

August
32. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
33. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
34. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
35. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
36. In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

September
37. Lost and Found by Jacqueline Sheehan
38. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
39. The End of Summer by Rosamunde Pilcher
40. A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan

October
41. Find the Good: Unexpected Life Lessons from a Small-Town Obituary Writer by Heather Lende

November
42. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

December
43. Saturday Beans and Sunday Suppers: Kitchen Stories from Mary's Farm by Edie Clark
44. The Girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz

I find it very interesting to look at back on my year of reading, particularly this past year. I sure didn't do much reading this fall, did I? And while most people do a lot of reading when they're on vacation, I find that I'm too distracted to settle into a book, with the exception of the flights to and fro. We had our granddaughter with us for over three weeks this summer and we spent a couple of those weeks in Oregon, so I only finished one book in July. And then there was my amazing trip to Germany in October, followed by a hectic month at work in November. I sampled a lot of my books in December, setting aside those that no longer appeal to me and stacking on my nightstand those that I still want to read in 2016.

So, the stats:

Total Books Read: 44
Print Books: 23
ebooks: 1
Audio Books: 20
Fiction: 35
Nonfiction: 9
Female Authors: 33
Male Authors: 11
New-To-Me-Authors: 29
Classics: 0
Science Fiction/Fantasy: 0
Mystery/Thriller: 10
Teen/Young Adult: 3
Childrens: 2
Memoir: 4
Read a Second Time: 1
Borrowed: 27
From My Stacks: 17

Ratings:

5 stars: 2
4.75 stars: 2
4.5 stars: 9
4 stars: 16
3 stars: 9
2 stars: 6


And now for my favorites, listed in the order in which they were read. (Links provided above.)

Top Ten (plus two):

1. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (4.5/5)
2. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill (4.5/5)
3. Being Mortal by Atul Gawande (4.5/5)
4. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion (4.5/5)
5. The Bear by Claire Cameron (4.5/5)
6. Wonder by R.J. Palacio (5/5)
7. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (4.75/5)
8. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Brackman (4.5/5) 
9. Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova (4.75/5)
10. Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (4.5/5)
11. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (5/5)
12. Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf (4.5/5)

Honorable Mentions:

Looking for Me by Beth Hoffman (4/5)
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (4/5)
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (4/5)
The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths (4/5)
Heads in Beds by Jacob Tomsky (4/5)
The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths (4/5)
The Next Time You See Me by Holly Goddard Jones (4/5)
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed (4.5/5)
The Infinite Sea by Rick Yancey (4/5)
The Precious One by Marisa de los Santos (4/5)
Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper (4/5)
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (4/5)
In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware (4/5)
Lost and Found by Elisabeth Egan (4/5)
A Window Opens by Elisabeth Egan (4/5)
Saturday Beans and Sunday Suppers by Edie Clark (4/5)