Posted by Goodreads put together a nice little summary of my year in books, which made writing this post about the best books I read in 2015 much easier. According to My Year in Books, I read 100 books this year. That’s 28,412 pages. I didn’t set out to read that many books, and I know that number shouldn’t even matter but I’m kind of proud of myself for hitting it. I’ve come close in the past couple of years but never quite got to 100. The longest book I read this year was The Stand by Stephen King, although it was such a great book that I didn’t mind the 1440 pages. The shortest was The Specific Ocean by Kyo Maclear, a kids book that I read while trying to pick out some gifts at the bookstore. Looking back at all these titles makes me realize that while I read many great books I will never come close to reading all the great books that are still out there. Even if I read 500 books a year. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that I keep reading books that make me think, make me feel something, and make me remember why I fell in love with reading to begin with. Here are some standout books from the 100 I read in 2015.
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
The Body by Stephen King
(Great book but I think I like the movie better)
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
(Maureen Corrigan’s book inspired me to read this classic again)
Essays of E.B. White
(I also read the story behind Charlotte’s Web and learned some interesting things about White)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
(I compared the book to the movie. Guess which one I liked better?)
Double Indemnity by James M.Cain
(Loved the film version, but Cain is such an amazing writer so I say the book is better)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
(I also took some time to bake Dickens some fresh apple cake)
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Happy New Year, everyone!
I hope your 2016 is full of books and plenty of time to read them.