I’m linking up at with the lovely ladies at The Broke and The Bookish. When I thought about this post, I wondered how I would come up with ten books because I feel like I haven’t had that many mind-blowing reads this year. But, when I actually starting working on the list, I found more mind-blowing books than I remembered! The catch is that about a third of these weren’t published in 2015. I usually limit my overall Best Books of the Year lists to books published in the current year, so I’m hoping I can hit ten 2015 books in my December version of this list!
Best Books I’ve Read So Far This Year
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Join the club…
Beneath the Bonfire by Nickolas Butler
The first short story collection I’ve ever loved…
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
The first book of 2015 that blew my mind…
Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller
I was a little late to this ballgame, but better late than never…
The Dinner by Herman Koch
How did this book languish on my TBR list for 2 years?! Thank you, Socratic Salon, for giving me the push I needed!
The Shore by Sara Taylor
Loved all but the final chapter…can I just pretend it didn’t exist?
The Truth And Other Lies by Sascha Arango
The last book that blew my mind…
The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Keija Parssinen
My female athlete mind-blower of the year…
The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
I technically read this at the very, very end of 2014…but I’d already posted all my year-end summaries, so it’s getting the cheat bump!
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Re-read in preparation for Go Set A Watchman‘s July 14 release…
I can’t seem to get beyond, A Little Life –mostly all the books I’ve read since seem so trivial or boring.
Ha – I’ve heard this from others as well! And, I had a serious slump right after it as well! This is definitely one that needs a recovery book afterwards.
I had trouble at first coming up with my list. I’ve never read The Wife; your review is excellent and makes it sound so thoughtful.
Here’s my TTT. http://eviloverlordthoughts.com/top-ten-of-2015/
It’s fantastic and short…I highly recommend giving it a try!
The Dinner is the only I’ve read (couldn’t put it down), but am planning to read several others. The Shore will be coming from the library soon, fingers crossed. Shotgun Lovesongs made my list and I can’t wait to get a copy of Beneath the Bonfire. I know I’ll be reading A Little Life, too… and choosing the time very carefully.
I think you’ll love Bonfire since you loved S.L….even though it’s short stories! Can’t wait for you to read it…I feel like it hasn’t gotten the love it deserves this year!
I only could come up with 7 new releases also! Our shared 3 are A Little Life, Our Endless Numbered Days and The Shore. I just picked up Beneath the Bonfire and The Wife is an all time fave!
I bet those 3 are going to be on a lot of people’s lists! Hope you enjoy Beneath the Bonfire!
I love TKAMB.
Great list! Thanks for sharing.
Here are my Top 10 for the year
And here’s a a $30 giveaway at Aamazon
Sarah, this is such a great list; it also reminds me of a number of books out there that I want to read and have not gotten around to yet – GAH! My Sunshine Away is definitely a standout for me this year; I’ll be starting The Truth and Other Lies shortly and I can’t wait!!
Oooh – can’t wait to discuss Truth And Other Lies once you finish it!! And – I think this is one of those TBR buster Top 10 categories for everyone!
I enjoyed “Our Endless Numbered Days” too, and a few of your other choices are on my to-read list. I haven’t been sure about reading “A Little Life” — it seems so long and intimidating and possibly dry, and I’m totally turned off by the cover. I’m glad to see you enjoyed it so much! (Speaking of covers, “Beneath the Bonfire” is gorgeous!)
It’s long, but the writing is gorgeous and it’s DEFINITELY not dry! I didn’t like the cover either, but once I read the book, it made complete sense. I think you should give it a shot at least – you can always DNF if it’s not working for you!
Good choices. Most were not on my radar but now I am hoping to check them out further and see what I’d like to pick up. Perhaps Beneath the Bonfire or the first Butler book would work for me. Thanks for sharing a somewhat different list than I’ve been seeing today– I love to discover interesting titles!
Glad this one is a bit different! And – the Butler books are SO good..I just love his writing. Midwest, old friends, the comfort of home. Bonfire has a little more action and Shotgun Lovesongs is very much character driven.
Interesting about wanting to only include books that were published this year! I’ve only read one 2015 pubbed book so far (out of 34) and it won’t be making my Top Ten for the year. I was just thinking that I need to re-read To Kill a Mockingbird. Though…since Set a Watchman is technically a prequel, I wonder if I should wait until after I’ve read that one? Hmmm!
Wow! That’s great that you’ve been reading mostly backlist books. I always tell myself I’m going to make more time for the backlist and then end up getting seduced by the shiny, new books. But, I haven’t had fantastic luck with this year’s new releases, so maybe I should refocus my energy!
Yes, yes, and yes! Also, you have FOUR #30Authors contributors for this year on your list 😉
I didn’t realize that…that’s awesome! I feel like some of my favorites I got from you…Our Endless Numbered Days and Mercy Louis if I remember correctly?
It’s quite possible 🙂
It’s good to see the books you have been raving about grouped in a single list. Personally I have had probably five (and that may be a stretch) books that I’ve felt enthusiastic about this year; however, I haven’t had many to choose from because I’ve been reading more slowly than in the past. I’ve read mostly this year’s releases as you usually do.
I was expecting about 5 before I looked back at my spreadsheet, but realized I had more than I thought…thankfully! It’s hard to resist all those new releases, right?!
So many good books! (I included a few backlist books in my list as well.) I’m currently in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird, and I’m really curious about where it will end up on my list at the end of the year.
I really don’t think I could have appreciate TKAM when I read it the first time…and I don’t remember especially appreciating it! So, I’m so glad I re-read it! I highlighted SO much and am doing a favorite quotes post for it. Hope you enjoy it!
Love to see The Wife here! My 2015 was definitely slow at first, but it’s picked up over the last few months (thankfully)…here’s hoping the second half goes well, too.
I loved it so much and need another Wolitzer…thinking maybe Belzhar, but I’m a little worried about the magical realism stuff I’ve heard is in there (not really my thing). And, fingers crossed for a better second half! This past week as been great for me, so off to a good start!
Great list! A few I’ve read, and a few I’ve yet to get to! I just couldn’t pull it together to make a list for today – too hard! I have bookish commitment issues. But FOR SURE without a doubt, The Shore would make my list as well!
Ha! Bookish commitment issues – I like it! I’ll be curious to see how many books on my list hang around for the December version!
My word, Sarah. You have my Kindle on your list. 😉 A Little Life and TKaM….YES! I’m still holding out hope that I’ll get to read My Sunshine Away and The Dinner this year. I might have to stop looking at new releases the rest of the year and climb into a cave to do it, though. *sigh*
Great list! Some I’ve also read and loved, some that are high on my TBR. So happy to see The Wife here, I love Meg Wolitzer so, and that book was simply fantastic. I am ready to read another of hers (I hoard them a bit, don’t want to run out!) and can’t decide which way to go. Have you read any others? I listened to The Interestings on audio and I think it’s still my favorite audio experience. Thanks for a great list!
Such solid choices! Three of these were on my list too. I still haven’t read anything by Wolitzer, but I just got The Interestings in the mail. Excited!