It’s hard to believe another year has wrapped up and
we are starting 2016. I read a lot of outstanding books this past year and had
a hard time narrowing my list down to only the top ten. I did note though that this year, many of the
books I read it book club made it to my top ten, we had a great year for books.
I also noticed most are historical fiction
or historical non-fiction books. These books were not necessarily books
published in 2015, but they were books I read in 2015. I did not include books that I was rereading,
but only books that I’ve read for the first time. And now without further ado, my top ten books
of 2015.
1. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah – This was a
book club pick that I listened to on audio and was riveted. This is the story
of two sisters in France during World War II, one sister is a wife and mother,
the other a resistance fighter, but both are heroes and survivors in their own
ways. This novel was gripping until the
last page and a great portrayal of women during the war.
2. All
the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- Another book club pick, this book had me distressed for one of the
main characters from the get go – a blind girl who cannot read the flyers the
allies are dropping on the town to evacuate.
This story is also set in WWII and tells the parallel and then
intersecting stories of a blind girl living in France and a young
electronically gifted German boy who becomes a Nazi soldier. This book was riveting all of the way through
and is a story I still think about.
3. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman - You guessed it, this is another book
club pick this year. A WWI vet is living
with his young wife at a remote lighthouse in Australia when they find a
seemingly orphaned infant. Their choices change their lives forever. This one
is another story that will haunt me forever with how the choices you make can
impact so many lives.
4. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham - I was on a book blog tour for this book with Austenprose
and loved it. This is a new fascinating
historical fiction author and series for me.
I’ve read the first two books and vastly enjoyed them and also enjoyed
the Masterpiece series based on them. Up
next in 2016 is reading book 3. Ross
Poldark has returned from fighting in the Revolutionary War in America to find
his father dead, his estate ruined, and the woman he loved engaged to marry his
cousin. Most interesting to me was
Poldark starting up copper mining on his property in Cornwall again after my
years in the Copper Country (Upper Peninsula of Michigan where many Cornish
miners immigrated).
5. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh – Another great book club pick for
December, this was a very unique story that I found fascinating. It describes a young girl that was raised in
a variety of foster homes without a family.
She had one opportunity to have a family, but it all went very
wrong. The book skips back in time to
this missed opportunity and in the future she tries to make a life for
herself. It also discusses how she uses
the Victorian language of flowers to communicate and start a thriving business.
6. Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Biography by LauraIngalls Wilder – I have loved Laura Ingalls Wilder since I first read Little
House in the Big Woods as an eight-year old. Pioneer Girl was Wilder’s first
draft of the story of her life told for an adult audience. Even better is that the editor added
meticulous notes about the details that solved a lot of things I have been
wondering since I was a child. This book
is fascinating for those that love Wilder as well as those that just want to
learn the history of the pioneers of this country.
7. The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck – Rinker Buck goes on a cross country journey along
the Oregon Trail with his brother Nick using mules and a wagon. The journey is interesting and perilous at
times. Buck also gives a lot of great
historical information about the Oregon Trail and those who traversed it.
8. A Desperate Fortune by Susanna Kearsley – I loved the Jacobite mystery in this
novel as well as the mysterious Scottish man who I thought was a great hero.
9. The Secret of Pembroke Park by Julie Klassen – I found a new favorite author this
year – Julie Klassen. I read this book
also on a tour with Austenprose and loved this regency romance. Part Jane Austen, part Charlotte Bronte, the
mystery and sweet romance made this a page turner for me.
10. The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell – This book was a strange one that made me
wonder what the heck was going on when I got to the end. The ending still has me puzzled and thinking
about it. Who did it – I want to discuss! A typist befriends an alluring new typist and
has great adventures until everything takes a sinister twist.
Other books I loved this year but didn’t quite make
my top ten include: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough, Inside the O’Briens by Lisa Genova, Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty, and The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick.
What were your favorite books of 2015?
