Loved By Real Readers: The Best Books of 2015
by Jennifer Ridgway
In trying to sift through the thousands of books that were released this year, it can be overwhelming to choose which you should spend your precious time reading. We reached out to real readers to find out what people’s favorite book of the year was, and received an amazing response. The nine choices below were all picked by multiple people. There is great variety in the titles people loved, so I hope you find a few new books to add to your “To Be Read” pile.
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Golden Son
Available from:Book II in Brown’s The Red Rising Trilogy had many people saying it was better than the first (a rarity in trilogies). It has “a fully formed world” and is “just really smart.” “Loved it and could not stop thinking about it!”
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Our Souls at Night
Available from:Published posthumously and finished just days before his death, Haruf’s novel was inspired by his own marriage. It is fairly short and spare, but it is about “the most warmhearted relationship a reader could hope for,” and the writing is “beautiful.”
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The Girl on the Train
Released at the beginning of the year, this debut thriller was an instant bestseller. People were “hooked early on,” “read it in two days,” and used it “to get through many late night feedings.” Casting for the movie adaptation has already begun.
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Circling the Sun
Available from:From Paula McLain, bestselling author of The Paris Wife, comes a book about another real-life but little known woman, Beryl Markham. It is a “perfect description of an exotic place, time, and person. So different from day-to-day life in [the] 21st century.”
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Kitchens of the Great Midwest
Available from:There was a lot of love for this debut book of linked short stories. "Kitchens of the Great Midwest was delicious and inviting from start to finish. [It] pulled me in and kept me wanting more.” There was also a callout for the “amazing” audiobook.
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The Martian
Available from:I realize this is cheating a little, but this book was a favorite of so many people, and as the movie edition came out this year, I decided to include it. A lot of the people who picked this one do not even normally read or enjoy Sci-Fi, but this survival story captivated many; in fact, one of the women told me it might be one of her favorite books “in a few years.”
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Pirate Hunters
Available from:Kurson’s newest book has the same “great writing, strong narrative, [and] fascinating people” that made his book Shadow Divers so popular. This was a favorite of some who usually only read fiction: “Very entertaining and it reads like an adventure thriller … each part is more engaging than the next.”
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Dead Wake
Available from:With his great narrative nonfiction style, Larson’s books are always “fascinating” and “compulsively readable.” He “has a way of taking a story you already know and making it exciting. I always learn something.”
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Fates and Furies
Available from:With readers citing comparisons to both The Interestings and Gone Girl, this book appeals to literary fiction and thriller fans alike. Fates and Furies is "a very complete, nuanced portrayal of the world of a husband and wife." It's an engrossing read that builds momentum as you go and if you get through the first half, it’s sure to get you “really hooked.”
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Other Books People Loved This Year
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A God in Ruins
“A heart-breaking, life-affirming portrait of a man and a family … I've had a hard time finding another book I've loved quite as much.”
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The Truth According to Us
Available from:“Richly detailed and laugh out loud funny.”
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City on Fire
Available from:“A highly original, sweeping story of life in mid-1970s NY. Great writing, intricate but propulsive plot.”
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The Buried Giant
Available from:“An absolute masterpiece … Two big thumbs up!”
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H is for Hawk
“Vivid, clear, [brought] something wild so close to you.”
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A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Available from:“Exactly what I needed while waiting for the next book in the series.”
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Guantánamo Diary
“It's really an important book.”
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A Little Life
Available from:“The character development is amazing and the craft with which she creates the relationships of the four classmates over time is flawless.”
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It's What I Do
“Stories, cultural references, a unique view of battle torn places, a feminist perspective — and wonderful, sometimes haunting pictures embedded throughout.”
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Picnic in Provence
“An honest account of her trials into motherhood, a move to Provence, and finding out who she really is.”
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Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink
“Witty, brilliant, and transformative … I want to read it again and again.”
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Barbarian Days
Available from:“Riveting adventure tale … exquisitely written.”
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What were your favorite grown-up reads of 2015? Let us know in the comments below!