Tuesday, December 29, 2015

The 30 Books I Read in 2015

I was able to read thirty books in 2015, probably my biggest accomplishment. Although, my mother would say I should have spent more time studying. I did enjoy every book I read this year, but some really stood out to me. For my top 5 favorite books I read this year I will give you my reasons for loving it so much.

1.      The 5th Wave*
2.      Yes, Please
3.      Dead is a Killer Tune
4.      Dead is Just a Dream
5.      We Should Hang Out Sometime
6.      Eleanor & Park
7.      Fangirl (Author: Rainbow Rowell) The main character Wren, and her twin sister Cath, are off to college and Cath wants to branch out, leaving Wren to feel left behind and unsure of where she belongs. Wren is a writer though, and spends most her time writing fanfiction, escaping into the world she created online. With the help of some new friends Wren slowly starts experiencing college and gets out of her shell. I love this book because the characters were so unique and relatable. I had friends my first year of college who helped pull my away from my laptop and push me out into the world and it was fun to see that reflected in Fangirl. Plus I love a good love story and all the allusions to Harry Potter.
8.      Attachments
9.      Me and Earl and the Dying Girl*
10.   I am Malala
11.   Warm Bodies*
12.   We All Looked Up
13.   Finding Audrey
14.   Geek Girl
15.   It’s Kind of a Funny Story* (Author: Ned Vizzini) This is the story of a boy Craig, who has been feeling pressure due to school and friends and family and became depressed. One night he considers killing himself and instead goes to the hospital and checks into the psych unit. Being in the psych unit he learns that he was unnecessarily putting pressures on himself and his self-worth isn’t determined by the prestigious school he goes to or his intellect. This story was inspired by the authors own hospitalization for depression. While most of the book focus on dark concepts it has a hopeful ending, and struggling with depression myself, I found it to be comforting. It looks at mental health in a real way that isn’t often portrayed in books or movies.
16.   All the bright places
17.   The Opposite of Loneliness
18.   The Astronaut’s Wives Club*
19.   The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
20.   Carry On (Author: Rainbow Rowell) Simon Snow is a wizard who is trying to defeat an evil force. Basically Harry Potter with some twists. The fun thing about this book is in Rowell’s book Fangirl, the main character Wren, writes fanfiction about Simon Snow. Rowell took the book concept she created in Fangirl and wrote a whole book about it. There are so many things to love about this. I love the unexpected love story- it really knocked my off my feet. I love how it’s like Harry Potter in so many ways- give me a wizarding world and I’m happy. Most of all I love how originally it was just a small part of another story the author wrote and then she decided to fully create a book for the characters.
21.   Girl Online On Tour
22.   Life and Death
23.   Fun home** (Author: Alison Bechdel) This is an autobiography written in graphic novel form. It focus’s mostly on Bechdel’s childhood and what it was like for her to grow up.  The reason I love this book so much: Bechdel is a lesbian. There are so few stories out there about lesbians and I really love being able to relate to a character that way. My favorite parts of the story were about Bechdel’s first girlfriend. I always enjoy stories more when I can see myself in a character and that’s why I loved Fun Home so much.
24.   The Cuckoo’s Calling (Author: Robert Galbraith) A detective, Cormoran Strike, is asked to discover what really happened the night Lulu Landry, a famous model, died. This is a good old fashion crime novel and I couldn’t put it down. Also it should be noted that Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for JK Rowling. Crime novels are so fascinating to me because I love getting the clues as you read and trying to figure out who did it.  
25.   Pride and prejudice*
26.   The Silkworm
27.   The Bad Beginning*
28.   The Reptile Room*
29.   The Wide Window*

30.   The Gospel According to Coco Chanel

*there is a movie/tv show modeled after these books
**there is a musical modeled after this book 

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