Sunday, January 3, 2016

2015: Year in Review

On one hand, I'm having a hard time believing this year is finally coming to an end. On the other hand, this year has felt like its been two or three times as long as usual so I'm eager to get on with a new year! My house project is finally done so maybe I can get back to whatever it was I used to do before we started. Blogging perhaps?

Biggest success this year?  Reading what I felt like, when I felt like. Letting go of most of my reading goals ended up being a good thing.

Biggest goal for 2016? Apart from being more involved in my blog, (I've resolved to write more this year in general,) I'd like to focus on reading titles from my shelves now that I finally have my books all in one place.

84 books read in 2015 - More than the last two years, color me surprised!

  • 21.5% NONFICTION (18 books) 4.5% up from 2014
  • 45% ADULT FICTION (38 books) 9% down from 2014
  • 21.5% JUNIOR/TEEN FICTION (18 books) 14.5% down from 2014
  • 12% CLASSICS (10 books) 3% up from 2014
20 books WRITTEN BEFORE I WAS BORN
12 books WRITTEN THIS YEAR
9 "CHUNKSTERS" (450+ pages)

TOP FIVE of 2014:
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis (funny, complex characters and vivid setting)
The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson (wonderfully told history)
The Edge of Sadness by Edwin O'Connor (introspective and evocative of person and place)
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara (perfectly told Civil War history)
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (atmospheric and captivating)

    



TOP RATED BOOKS BY GENRE:
Nonfiction:
5 stars:
  - The Warmth of Other Suns, Isabel Wilkerson
  - Being Mortal, Atul Gawande
  - The Landmark History of the American People, Vol. I, Daniel Boorstin
4.5 stars:
  - The Lexicographer's Dilemma, Jack Lynch
  - The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo
  - Dead Wake, Erik Larson

Classics:
5 stars:
  - Main Street, Sinclair Lewis
  - Mary Barton, Elizabeth Gaskell
4.5 stars:
  - The Optimist's Daughter, Eudora Welty

Adult Fiction:
5 stars:
  - We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Shirley Jackson
  - The Edge of Sadness, Edwin O'Connor
  - The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara
4.5 stars:
  - The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
  - Wolf Winter, Cecilia Eckback
  - The Martian, Andy Weir

Junior/Teen Fiction:
stars:
  - Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Robert C. O'Brien
4.5 stars:
  - Tuesdays at the Castle, Jessica Day George

5 comments:

  1. Love it! I went out and bought The Edge of Sadness and I'm looking forward to reading it. Also, I'll have to look up The Warmth of Other Suns. This is a great list. I'll load up on my TBR list

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    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy The Edge of Sadness. I loved it as both a window on its time, and as a source of deep introspection. I'd be interested to see what you think of The Warmth of Other Suns too...growing up in Northern California I knew nothing of racial tension until I was an adult, as crazy as that might sound, so this book filled in a lot of holes for me. I imagine that your location alone would provide different insight.

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  2. Yay for reading more of what's on our shelves already! Cant' wait to see what you read this year.

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  3. I'm thinking that my own books might keep me busy for quite a while - I get pretty giddy looking at all the possibilities!

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  4. I'm seeing The Warmth of Other Suns is a lot of other best-of-2015 lists (as I think was the case in 2014 as well). Currently listening to Dead Wake and completely entranced :) Happy New Year!

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