Book Love: What I Read In 2015
Around this time last year, a friend of mine started a group on Facebook that connected several of us that enjoyed reading. Once you get a group of book lovers talking it’s hard to get us to stop. Readers unite! I loved getting recommendations and hearing about what books others were enjoying. Most of the books I read this year happen to have come recommended by my good friend Kristen (who’s like my Oprah when it comes to picking out books!).
Something new I tried this year was settiing a reading goal on Goodreads, as suggested in our FB group. I had no idea how much I was capable of reading so I selected 30 books as my goal. I quickly realized that reading that many books might be a little overzealous. I’m happy to report that I met that goal this week (I’m literally finishing up my last book, Inside the O’briens as I type). If you are not on Goodreads I highly recommend you check it out! It’s such a great site/app to use to keep track of books you have read or want to read. I can’t tell you how many times I pull it up while at the library.
I have to say, it was fun to work toward a reading goal. A huge help toward meeting my goal was listening to audiobooks via Audible (Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks
<—affiliate link). It took me longer to listen to the books, but I was basically always reading two books at a time. I’ve learned that I really enjoy listening to books in the historical fiction genre, there is something about using your imagination to visualize the story while listening versus reading. I don’t know if I would be able to read those types of books as well as I listen to them if that makes any sense.
My favorites? There were quite a few. I would have to say What Alice Forgot, The Boston Girl, The Snow Child (audio), The Nightingale (audio) and The Invention of Wings (audio). Looking over my books, I feel like this year I read a lot more “tragic” stories (Everything I Never Told You and Five Days Left really hurt my heart and were tough at times, though excellent books). I read a few books with my 11 year old son which I plan to do more of this year – The Giver (I bought the rest of the series for him for Christmas), Wonder and Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban (he’s already read series 4 times and is impatiently waiting for me to catch up). If you have any recommendations for reading along with an 11 year old boy (who loves to read) please send them my way!
So here you have it – my books of 2015. Have you read any of them? What did you read that you loved? I would love to hear from you!!
Books I Read in 2015:
We Are Called To Rise by Laura McBride
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Five Days Left by Julie Lawson Timmer
Heaven Is For Real by Todd Burbo
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Happiness For Beginners by Katherine Center
All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner
The Signature Of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Wonder by RJ Palacio
Cooking As Fast I Can by Cat Cora
One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
Paper Towns by John Green
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Love Anthony by Lisa Genova
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
Happy Reading!! Follow me on Goodreads throughout the year for book ideas, and check out the Book Love section of my blog for past posts on what I’ve read.
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I love reading also I read 4-5 books a week but this one I just finished is called If I Am Missing Or Dead by Janine Latus it was a very very good book if you have’nt read it yet try it and see. It was a very touching story and I would recomend it to all .
I will check that one out Doris, thank you! Happy New Year!
So fun to see the books we both read…prob due to our group. I’m just finishing Good Girl and The Nightingale (which has haunted me). Ready for a new year of reading. I’m finishing both of these on 2016 so counting them there. Lol. Did you post this from GoodReads? My favorite thing about God Reads is scanning books at the store to my “want to read” list. Have a wonderful New Years. Let’s put getting together on our “to do” list AGAIN, and make sure we check it off.
I really got into Lisa Genova this year and I believe Anita Diamant – because of our group! I love it. If you didn’t read The Snow Child read it, or listen to it. It was so interesting, and different. Scanning books is such a cool thing and I actually forget to do that. I didn’t post from Goodreads, I made my own collage. I think I did see a share option on the Books I Read collage, I just couldn’t figure out a way to save it.
Consider ‘getting together’ officially on my to do list! Happy new year, xo.
Aggie – I’ve only read 4 of these! I need to get crackin’. So many of these have been on my list for ages…..thanks for the reminder!
I get that way too, my list gets so filled up and then I forget about some of them. Hope you have a happy new year Ally!
Loved reading your list! Two others that I really enjoyed this year were All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. Happy New Year and happy reading!
Thanks so much Elaine, happy new year to you too! I have All the Light in my audible queue!
Thanks for the suggestions. I have read or listened to several on your list. Just finished the sequel to Me Before You, it’s called After You, both are good. The Man Called Ove was very good as well. I would suggest books by Jack Gantos for your son, many boys love his humor. Did he read Hoot or Flush? He might like those books and that author as well. Happy New Year!
I love to read and I love Goodreads! Lisa Genova is a favorite author of mine. 2015 was a “slow” year for me as far as reading…after the two years before setting a large goal on Goodreads…I am all set to read a lot of good books in 2016… I have a pile of books to read, that I bought this year and never read..it includes The Nightengale, All the Light You Cannot See, The Race for Paris, etc!!! So many I am looking forward to. I also have plans to read some of the books that I never read as a kid..Anne of Green Gables, Little Woman and some of the Little House books.
On your list…I read The Red Tent a number of years ago, really really liked it. Just finished up Prisoner of Azkaban LAST NIGHT, our before-bed-read with the girls. And Little Bee just came up in a conversation this past weekend. Wow you read alot, that’s awesome! I fell off in 2015, hope to turn that back around. I did read All the Light We Cannot See and Unbroken, along with my 13 YO daughter who can’t get enough of WWII reads…I recommend them both, if you like the WWII genre. I’m just starting So Brave, Young and Handsome by MN author Leif Enger.
All Fall Down was my fave!!! I couldn’t put it down. Overall, you are my book God. LOL
Oh that was a good one!! You crack me up, I love that I am! I have some book Gods myself! Spread the reading love 🙂 Hope you are doing well Olena!