2015 Year in Reading Review

6:03 pm 31 December 2015

According to Goodreads, I read a total of 398 books this year (my goal was 390). A portion of those were short or graphic novels. I knocked 163 books off by TBR mountain (and have no idea how many took those places), and I was aiming for 150. I also completed the Popsugar and A to Z reading Challenges. I added three books to my ick-attack shelf. I DNF 18 books.

Without further ado, the highlights (and some lowlights) –

Award to the Book that would win many things on this list - Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. If you live in America and have not read this book, read it. Seriously. It is one of those hyped books that really are worth it.

Favorite New Author Discovered This Year - This one is a tie between Dreda Say Mitchell, whose fictional book Hit Girls, I loved and Fatema Mernissi whose non-fiction I discovered this year (and whose work I have since read more of than Mitchell’s). Of course, then Mernissi died this year because apparently that’s what happens when I “discover” older writers.

Favorite New Series Discovered This Year – Love the graphic novel series. Each volume focuses on a different animal. The first one was a tiger, the second was a fox. The illustrations are stunning and there is no dialogue. It is absolutely wonderful. Seriously, read this series.

Book that Made Me Think – Besides Coates’ book mentioned at the beginning of this list, Headscarves and Hymens. Be warned, though, Elthaway’s book will turn you on to a host of other writers, like Mernissi.

Book that Made Me Mad and Want to Murder the Author - False Rape Claims. Not only does the author name his penis Pokey, and not only does he seem to want us to take him seriously, he also writes like this

"If the 'male gaze' is too strong for her then where is her strong women image; beaten by our gazes? Our glances do they crucify you. Then die on the cross for us our gentler living dildo is no-able; hers cannot say yes or no. her mechanical love is tiresome. Try the real thing. You then too have proven empathy, without it none. Pornographic rape is the mind of the dally dildo."

And no, I am not going to name him because that would give him too much notice.

Book that Made Me Mad and Want to Murder People – Liberty and Sexuality tied with May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons

Book that Made Me Mad and Want to Kill the People Who Put it on the Bestseller List - it is any of the paranormal romance books I read with were bear stepbrothers who may be brothers and where the author does not even use spell-check.

Book Readers Should Read – The Mysterious Disappearance of the Reluctant Book Fairy tied with What We See When We Read

Book I’m Glad I Stuck with – the Brutal Telling

First Novel Award – So I didn’t read a first novel that was published this year – so first novel award goes to a first novel that I read for the first time this year but published earlier. Sanaaq – a novel about Inuit.

Best Entry in a Series (Fiction) – The Bull of Min by L.M. Ironside (She-King series).

Best Entry in a Series (Non-Fiction) – Women Heroes of WW I

Worst Entry in a Series- British Legends: George III tied with Pumped by the Pterodactyl.

Best Book Published 2015 (Non-Fiction) – Coates’s Between the World and Me. Though a close second is Ravensbruck by Sarah Helm.

Best Book Published in 2015 (Fiction) Unpredictable Worlds – Stories by Jessica Knauss

Best Book Re-released as Kindle Version this Year – The Geometry of Love. Open Road Media released this for Kindle this year. It is stunning.

So That’s How You Got Published Award – The Lost Painting

The Poor Tress – Feminist Fairy Tales

Graphic Novel of the Year – If you are tired of me raving about Love then check out Rat Queens.

Everyone Loved it but Me – House of Special Purpose tied with Grave Mercy

Best YA book Read this Year – The Green Knight by Vera Chapman

Best Children’s Book Read this Year – Artmouse

Best Children’s Fairy Tale Book – Finn Family Moomintroll (a re-read)

Teacher’s Award – Ghettoside. A hard looking book at murder in LA. My students loved it.

English Teacher’s Award – Sister Bernadette’s Barking Dog

Reporting Book of the Year – Dancing with the Devil in the City of God tied with One of Us

Most Disappointing Book Read This Year – Dear Zari

Best Audio Book – French Revolutions. The audio of one man’s quest to ride the Tour De France will make you laugh milk up your nose. I know this.

OMG This was better than I thought – Mounted by a Monster: Werepuffer. Seriously, you think it would suck.

OMG That’s A Title – Taken by the Gay Tank by Randy Dangle

Best Travel Book – Samarkand by Colin Thubord

There’s A Book About That? – The World of Poo

Art Book – Books without Words the Visual Poetry of Elisabetta Gut

Collection of Essays – Killing Rage

Still as Good as when I first read it – Duncton Chronicles tied with Handmaid’s Tale

Animal Book (Fiction) – House of Tribes

Animal Book (Non-fiction) The Great Horned Owl

People Don’t Like This, Surely you are joking - Causal Vacancy

Fantasy of the Year – Two Serpents Rise

Mystery of the Year – Rhode Island Red