My Top 10 Books of 2015

Dear bloggers, I wish you a very happy 2016!

For my first post of the year, I decided it was the best to look back on the books I’ve read in 2015. Compiling this list took me longer than I expected it to. I’ve read quite a lot of books this year and it was hard to choose the top 10.  Of course, these books are in no particular order. I could never list them in order, I think. XD Mostly because I like them for different reasons.

Without further ado, I’ll start the list with a few classics and then I’ll move on to more contemporary literature. Also, I noticed that I’ve already posted about or at least mentioned most of these books on my blog, which is expected since I like talking about books I liked. 😉 Therefore, I won’t talk a lot about each particular book. It would make a too long post anyway…

1.Far from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy

 

This is a true classic – a wonderfully written story with a great heroine who makes mistakes and will drive you crazy at times, but you’ll still love her. My post on a little piece of this book can be found HERE.

 

 

2. North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell

 

Another classic I think everyone should read, even though I feel it’s not talked about that often. Once again – a great, and strong heroine, who takes care of her entire family and still finds time to be kind. This novel is more than a love story – it deals with social issues and the way of life in the industrial North.

 

3. Ivanhoe, by Sir Water Scott

 

As I mentioned several times before, I’m obsessed with everything medieval, even when it’s not that historically accurate. I really liked the Romantic Medievalism of Ivanhoe and the way in which Walter Scott uses some elements of medieval literature.

 

4. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White

 

I’ll continue with the Middle Ages. The Once and Future King is a retelling of Arthurian legends. I had a lot to say about it, so I dedicated not one but two posts to it. XD (POST 1, POST 2)

 

 

5. Just Kids, by Patti Smith

 

This book is Patti Smith’s memoir about her youth and life with her friend/lover Robert Mapplethorpe. It’s also a book about art and artists. It made me cry (and I don’t cry that often) but at the same time, it remained somewhat hopeful. Simply wonderful. My post about it can be found HERE.

 

6. Small Gods, by Terry Pratchett.

 

For me, 2014 was a year marked by Terry Pratchett. However, this is the only book of his I’ve read this, I mean last, year. On the bright side, it might be my favourite. Small Gods is a stand-alone novel of the Discworld series, which means you can read it even if you’ve never read a Discworld novel before.

 

7. Horns, by Joe Hill

 

What I like about this book is how strange it is. Yes, I’ve read even stranger, but it’s still very interesting. For me, it’s a book about pain, and the evil we all have inside of us. But it’s also more than that.

 

 

8. Honour, by Elif Shafak

This book is just wonderful! The writing, the believable characters, the non-judgemental way in which it deals with difficult topics such as immigration, culture, religion and even honour murder… Everything. If you want to know more, I wrote a post about Honour and Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adicihe – find it HERE.

 

9. Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adicihe

 

The book mentioned earlier, Americanah, is another book which deals with culture and, most of all, race. It is also a love story, but underneath it, it hides much, much more.

 

 

10. Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen

Last but not least. Actually, it might be the least, but I enjoyed Water for Elephants despite the love story and the ending being a little too cheesy. Sometimes, you need cheesy. XD What I loved about it is that it’s dedicated to all the poor elephants who suffered and were even killed in circuses. Animal rights are an important issue for me and I liked how the portrayal of the circus life is not romanticized as it often is. The book is also well reasearched. I found it captivating. 🙂

 

As an honourable mention, I’ll add another book to my list.

 

The book is Stonehenge, by Bernard Cornwell. I wanted to mention it because it made me want to read more Bernard Cornwell, especially since people seem to be saying that this isn’t one of his best novels, and I really liked it. It takes place 4000 years ago and deals with the building of Stonehenge, so what’s not to like? 😉

 

And in the end, I’ll also mention a manga series I really loved.

 

Paradise Kiss has only 5 volumes (and there’s also a 3-volume edition). It’s about a girl who becomes a part of the fashion world after meeting a group of designers. But most of all, it’s about growing up and finding yourself. And it was very fun, though heartbreaking at times. Ai Yazawa’s manga are always heartbreaking…

 

Hope you enjoyed my list and, please, feel free to share some of the books you loved in 2015! 🙂