I usually try to challenge myself to choose one favorite book every year. But, ya’ll, I just can’t do it this year…I changed my mind daily leading up to this post! Three very different books consistently came out on top for me and I voted for all of them for best fiction of the year in various polls (Goodreads, River City Reading’s Book Blogger Top Picks). So, I’m going to treat this list like an Olympic swimming final (if 10 swimmers advanced to the finals, rather than 8). The top 3 books are my medalists and the remaining 7 round out my “finalists”. 

And, I’ve brought back the high school yearbook-style “Superlatives” from last year!

The Medalists

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (review)
Most Likely to Emotionally Wreck You
Most Gorgeous Writing
Best Book about Friendship
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg (review)
Most Depressing Sounding Book that’s Not Actually Depressing
Caused My Most Recent Book Hangover
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh (review)
Most Recommended Book of the Year
Best “Growing Up in the 1990’s” Nostalgia
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon

The Remaining Finalists

Beneath the Bonfire by Nicholas Butler (review)
Most Likely to Convert a Short Story Skeptic
Best Example of “Place as a Character”
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Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich (review)
Most Likely to Keep You Turning Pages Late Into the Night
Best New “Grit Lit”
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Concussion by Jeanne Marie Laskas (review)
Best Nonfiction of 2015
Best Sports Book That’s About Far More Than Sports
Biggest Surprise of the Year
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Sweetland by Michael Crummey (review coming soon)
Best Lovable Curmudgeon
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The Beautiful Bureaucrat by Helen Phillips (review)
Most Delightfully Bizarre
Best Character Name (Trishiffany)
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The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango (review)
Most Demented Protagonist
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The Unraveling of Mercy Louis by Kieja Parssinen (review)
Best Female Heroine
Best Book about Southern Eccentricity
Affiliate Link: Buy from Amazon