Books of the Year 2015
Maybe it’s early in December to do this,
but if I post my top ten now, it might encourage you to go out and buy these
for presents for people..?
Here’s my top ten – in chronological order…
A Spool of Blue Thread – Anne Tyler
2015 was the year the whole world seemed to
cotton onto Anne Tyler at last.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat –
Edward Kelsey Moore
A great big warm, flashbacky saga, full of
formidable ladies, ghosts and gossip.
Five Children on the Western Front – Kate
Saunders
Fabulous follow-up to E Nesbit’s timeless
trilogy, taking us fearlessly into WW1.
An Invisible Friendship – Joyce Grenfell
and Katharine Moore
The late 1950s till the late 1970s in the
form of thoughtful, tender, funny letters sent between a star of stage and
screen and her bookworm fan.
Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World –
Janet E. Cameron
An enthralling YA gay romance that I knew I
was going to love from the first page.
The Murdstone Trilogy – Mal Peet
Turning the epic fantasy genre inside out
in a scabrous, satirical instant classic.
My Life in France – Julia Child
Memoirs of a giantess who was a dab hand
with sauces: one of the most life-affirming and deliciously slow books I read
this year.
Space Dumplins – Craig Thompson
Whizzy and free-wheeling space fantasy
graphic novel about a child trying to reunite her family and creating a new one
along the way.
A Snow Garden – Rachel Joyce
A set of succinct and loving thumbnail
sketches, dropping us into a series of connected festive days.
A Dog So Small – Philippa Pearce
A proper old-fashioned kids’ book about the
awkwardness of being young and small and also, the awkwardness of love.
‘The Awkwardness of Love’ sort-of describes
my favourite subject matter, whatever the genre or age-range of a book, and it
might also make a good title for a book of mine one day..?
These are my choices for 2015. It was a
quieter year for reading, perhaps, than other years. I spent longer with books
I loved, I think, and spent less time hunting out the new and spectacular, or
wasting time on the things I realized I wasn’t enjoying.
In this list there are six authors new to me,
but ones who already seem like old and reliable friends. In this list there are
no books that started dull and I had to keep persevering with. Also, almost all
of them are books I loved from page one. That ought to tell me something…
Reading plans and ideals for 2016? I think,
with my new study taking shape, and the upcoming unpacking of my books from
storage… a bit of rereading and always-meant-to-reading might be taking place
in the new year…
How’s your reading year been..? Let me
know!
Paul, an interesting list as I havent read any of these. My reading has suffered this year as I have slowed down so much in my reading due to my mental health it seems ( BiPolar II diagnosis ) so Im always looking for stuff I can get through. Im finding dense fantasy novels impossible now where as I used to just devour the likes of Stephen Donaldson, Tad Williams etc. I've varied this year into stuff by Jon Ronson, Matt Haig, Adam Marek, Yourself, Robert Shearman and I have really enjoyed ( enjoyment being something difficult for me ) Sherlock Holmes pastiches though they can be hit & miss
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