2015 - the year in books

Another year, another list of books. I'm so very glad that I started doing this - even in a year like 2015 which was, to be honest, quite a forgettable one for books. I looked at my list sometime around September and thought to myself that there really wasn't anything much on the list that I could even add to a list of "best books you've read this year" - couldn't even really force myself to try and see if there were any that wouldn't be out of place on a list with the word "best" in it. Still, it is good to look back and see the list and realise that books I thought I'd read ages ago were in fact only a couple of months ago and remind myself of some of the interesting stuff I have read this year.

I find myself wondering why I find that it was a lacklustre reading year really. I'm not sure if it's just me or if it was my choice of books. A combination I suppose. It seems that a lot of the books on my I-want-to-read list, especially classics, are just not the books for me. Again I seemed to struggle with finishing quite a lot of books. There are a few of those not on the list - perhaps I'll go back to them this year and finish up. I did manage to complete a few this year that I couldn't get through last year. At any rate, disappointment after disappointment led me to a lot of re-reading this year simply because I couldn't take it any more and was almost afraid of being put off reading entirely. 

More than half of what I read this year I read in November and December. Lots of re-reading, lots of shorter books and more time than usual to read as I wasn't working a normal full-time job. And lots of romance novels in that time, too, partly as a fun trip down memory lane, partly as research - I realised last year that even if I don't have a great work of literature in me, I might yet manage to produce a romance or two. And the year was somewhat saved by the fact that in December I realised that Robin Hobb has written another Farseer trilogy. Have to wait for the third part to be published but I really enjoyed the first two. In fact, re-reading the original trilogy might be something nice to do this year.
 
I'm going to attempt to get book club started again this year so that should mean at least eight or ten books that should be interesting to read, even if I don't necessarily like them. And I think I do need to challenge myself again to read some German books. There isn't a single one on this year's list. And very few non-fiction either.

If you're interested in seeing lists for previous years, click 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011 or 2010. If you're posting a list of books that you've read this year, or about your favourite book or similar, click on over to bookpunks to find others in clickclackgorilla's annual bloghop and add a link to your post in the comments.

(BC) = Book club books (none this year)
(RR) = something I've re-read - there are some books, such as by Georgette Heyer, that I invariably read every year when the escapism of new fiction isn't enough and I want to escape into familiar stories that always make me laugh or cry.

1. Moab is my washpot - Stephen Fry
2. Bring on the apocalypse - George Monbiot
3. We need to talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
4. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
5. The Weathermonger - Peter Dickinson
6. Teacher Man - Frank McCourt
7. Opening Acts- Suki Cunningham
8. The life-changing magic of tidying up - Marie Kondo
9. Real food has curves - Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough
10. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking- Susan Cain (the standout book of this year, I think, I really, really liked this book)
11. Game for Anything - Lyn Wood
12. Friday's Child - Georgette Heyer (RR)
13. Sprig Muslin - Georgette Heyer (RR)
14. The Black Moth - Georgette Heyer (RR)
15. Sylvester - Georgette Heyer (RR)
16. The Diamond Throne - David Eddings (RR)
17. The Ruby Knight - David Eddings (RR)
18. The Sapphire Rose - David Eddings (RR)
19. Domes of Fire - David Eddings (RR)
20. The Shining Ones - David Eddings (RR)
21. The Hidden City - David Eddings (RR)
22. These Old Shades - Georgette Heyer (RR)
23. Venetia - Georgette Heyer (RR)
24. The Grand Sophy - Georgette Heyer (RR)
25. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination - Helen Fielding
26. Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson
27. Well of Ascension - Brandon Sanderson
28. Hero of Ages - Brandon Sanderson
29. Dune - Frank Herbert
30. Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
31. A Civil Contract - Georgette Heyer (RR)
32. Nice Work - David Lodge
33. Dearly Devoted Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
34. Dexter in the Dark - Jeff Lindsay
35. Dexter by Design - Jeff Lindsay
36. Dexter is Delicious - Jeff Lindsay
37. Double Dexter - Jeff Lindsay
38. Heart of Gold - Ali Olson
39. Dexter's Final Cut - Jeff Lindsay
40. Dexter is Dead - Jeff Lindsay
41. Seaswept - Nora Roberts (RR)
42. Rising Tide - Nora Roberts (RR)
43. Inner Harbor - Nora Roberts (RR)
44. Serendipity - Judith McWilliams (RR)
45. Witchcraft - Jayne Ann Krentz (RR)
46. A Hero At Heart - JoAnn Ross (RR)
47. The Fix-It Man - Vicki Lewis Thompson
48. The Mistress of his Manor - Catherine George
49. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J.K. Rowling (RR)
50. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling (RR)
51. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J.K. Rowling (RR)
52. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling (RR)
53. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K. Rowling (RR)
54. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J.K. Rowling (RR)
55. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - J.K. Rowling (RR)
56. The Unknown Ajax - Georgette Heyer (RR)
57. Fool's Assasisn - Robin Hobb
58. Frugal Stuff That Works - Elaine Colliar
59. Chesapeake Blue - Nora Roberts (RR)
60. Memories of Gold - Ali Olson
61. Fool's Quest - Robin Hobb
62. The Martian - Andy Weir
63. Dragon Keeper - Robin Hobb
64. Dragon Haven - Robin Hobb
65. Becoming your real self - Dr. Eddie Murphy
66. City of Dragons - Robin Hobb
67. The Name of the Rose - Umberto Eco
68. The Next Always - Nora Roberts
69. The Last Boyfriend - Nora Roberts
70. The Perfect Hope - Nora Roberts
71. Robinson Crusoe - Daniel Defoe
72. Fear and loathing in Las Vegas - Hunter S. Thompson (still have a couple of chapters to go on this but closer to being finished than not so I'm including it in 2015).