The only thing I regret about the books I read this year is that I didn't read more. There are many fun memories and Netflix shows to blame for that, so I am not complaining. But if I had to name my favorites, here is my list:
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff-
This was a doozie, and I know I am not the only person who was left moved by it- it's been at the top of all of the best reads for the year. Lotto and Matilde are a beautiful couple with their whole lives ahead of them and they're madly in love. Their story isn't anything out of the ordinary...they marry young and struggle as Lotto pursues his acting career, and later, his dream to become a playwright. First, you get Lotto's point of view of their life and then, Matilde takes over the narrative and the shocker of the novel is that their versions of their life together are two completely different stories...and the reasons why are riveting.
Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - My runner up for the favorite of year the year, probably because it made me fall in love with historical fiction again, which I have strayed from in the past couple of years. Just like Sarah's Key, this book was beautiful and so well written, it was if you were right there in France, in the cold bitterness of the war. It's just the way Hannah writes that makes you really live with the characters, which makes it easy to feel for them and understand why they did the things they did and how they survived.
The Girl On The Train - The perfect "Gone Girl" fix for 2015. This book was the perfect "horror" or thriller fiction because the story wasn't just strange and mysterious but so was the writing. Sometimes I felt like I myself was hallucinating, not just the characters. But I won't say anything more because it's a cliff hanger that needs the reader to be in the dark.
The Husband's Secret- This was actually a book I had given up on a couple of times but because I really like her others (Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot) I decided to give it another chance, and I am so glad I did. I think that Liane Moriarty is just a rare gem because she writes these romantic comedies with such great twists that it's like Carrie Bradshaw Meets Olivia Pope. You can beat that match up.
Ruby by Cynthia Bond - This is the most memorable because it was so dark and the imagery really stayed with me. In one word, it was haunting. The whole story just really stuck with me and there were parts of the narrative that stunned me and I really just can't get it out of my head.
And for the BEST book of 2015, the award goes to ...
Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff-
This was a doozie, and I know I am not the only person who was left moved by it- it's been at the top of all of the best reads for the year. Lotto and Matilde are a beautiful couple with their whole lives ahead of them and they're madly in love. Their story isn't anything out of the ordinary...they marry young and struggle as Lotto pursues his acting career, and later, his dream to become a playwright. First, you get Lotto's point of view of their life and then, Matilde takes over the narrative and the shocker of the novel is that their versions of their life together are two completely different stories...and the reasons why are riveting.
Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - My runner up for the favorite of year the year, probably because it made me fall in love with historical fiction again, which I have strayed from in the past couple of years. Just like Sarah's Key, this book was beautiful and so well written, it was if you were right there in France, in the cold bitterness of the war. It's just the way Hannah writes that makes you really live with the characters, which makes it easy to feel for them and understand why they did the things they did and how they survived.
The Girl On The Train - The perfect "Gone Girl" fix for 2015. This book was the perfect "horror" or thriller fiction because the story wasn't just strange and mysterious but so was the writing. Sometimes I felt like I myself was hallucinating, not just the characters. But I won't say anything more because it's a cliff hanger that needs the reader to be in the dark.
The Husband's Secret- This was actually a book I had given up on a couple of times but because I really like her others (Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot) I decided to give it another chance, and I am so glad I did. I think that Liane Moriarty is just a rare gem because she writes these romantic comedies with such great twists that it's like Carrie Bradshaw Meets Olivia Pope. You can beat that match up.
Ruby by Cynthia Bond - This is the most memorable because it was so dark and the imagery really stayed with me. In one word, it was haunting. The whole story just really stuck with me and there were parts of the narrative that stunned me and I really just can't get it out of my head.
And for the BEST book of 2015, the award goes to ...
Did You Ever Have A Family by Bill Clegg
I can't even begin to describe this book. I know It is certainly not rare for a book to make me cry. But this, this book made me bawl. I listened to it on Audible and I listened to certain parts over and over again.
The characters in this book live in a small town in Connecticut. They are torn apart when a fire takes the lives of several of their loved ones and suddenly, instead of the wedding they had all been planning for, they are planning funerals. It's just a beautiful story about human beings and family. About people that we all know in our own lives, whose stories had me thinking, "Oh God, how I know that feeling."
******
All I want to do now is reread these stories, but maybe I will give it a little more time. For now I'll just troll the "you might also enjoy" recommendations on Goodreads.
The new year may start off a little slow in the book department thanks mostly to a couple of rooms that still need painting in the house and the fact that I've discovered Jane the Virgin, The Making of a Murderer and Transparent and the binging struggle is real... and there are mountains of new toys and crafts thanks to Santa that are begging to be played with.
Here's to 2016!
For more amazing lists, checking out Life According to Steph and Jana Says' Link Up today!
