Best Books of 2015

I know we're not quite at the end of the year yet, so there's still time to be proven wrong, but here are what I'm assuming will be the best books of 2015! It's been more difficult to chose than normal (fortunately!) so rather than limit myself to 10, I'm going to do categories. Why? Because I can! :-D And even so I still had a hard time deciding on some of the categories, as I didn't want to make them too narrow. "Best historical graphic memoir" seemed a tad too specific to be entirely fair ;) (BTW, it's "The Complete Persepolis" by Marjane Satrapi, in case you were wondering ;) )

Best books of 2015
Best YA
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. I've raved so much about this book so that can hardly come as a surprise to anybody. I found this as a random netgalley pick - I knew nothing about it, but liked the cover - so came to it completely without expectations and it just blew me away. This is definitely one of the books I want to own as a physical book as well as an ebook - it belongs in my library! So I was thrilled when I found it under the Christmas tree. Thank you, Rebekka + family! :)


Best Christian Fiction
Where Are the Lions? by Claus Tondering. Some might claim I'm slightly biased, but I don't care ;) I really, really love this book, and am fascinated by the ideas set forth in it about Heaven. Some of them seem so blatantly obvious to me now that I can't understand why I'd never thought of it before. God gave us our hopes, dreams, interests and passions for a reason - why assume we won't use them in Heaven as well? Fascinating book that I've read three times already :)


Best Sci-Fi
The Martian by Andy Weir. One of the first books I read this year. I immediately claimed it the best book of the year... and I still think I might have been right. I love when I can dive right into a book, and feel absolutely delighted by each turning of the page, and "The Martian" was such a book to me. The kind of book I'd love to read more of.

Fortunately the movie didn't disappoint either :)


Best Childrens Book
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. This is either old children or young young adult, so by claiming it as the former I could add a new category and include it on the list! ;) Another semi-random discover. It suddenly turned up on podcasts everywhere, so when I found it at a library on our roadtrip, I thought I'd give it a shot. I couldn't put it down and found it incredibly moving and poignant.


Best Christian Non-Fiction
Cupid is a Procrastinator by Kate Hurley. I was surprised by how much I liked this book, and especially by how relateable I found it. As an "old married woman" one could perhaps claim that I am not the intended target audience of this book, but even so I discovered that Kate Hurley had words of wisdom for me as well, and I found myself highlighting passages all over the place. Because in the end, Kate Hurley's book is about "hope deferred" (Proverbs 13:12). For Kate Hurley, Cupid turned out to be a procrastinator. Others may be waiting on the stork, better health, a house, a job or any other milestone event. The "hopes" are different, but the way we can chose to respond and react really isn't, in the end.


Best Book in Retrospect
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I wasn't entirely sure what I thought of it while I read it, and parts of it were a real slog to get through, but when I thought back on it afterwards, I realized how brilliant it actually was, and that I'd probably want to reread it. It's not often that I like a book better in retrospect than when I actually read it (usually it's the other way around), and that charmed me.


Best Travelogue
A Dip in the Ocean by Sarah Outen. And thus began my love affair/fascination with Sarah Outen. I can't remember how I first heard about her, but this book has been standing on my shelves for ages. At the spring read-a-thon I finally got around to reading it, and I immediately found myself wanting to know more, more, more! Fortunately she has a strong presence online, so I was able to find her blog, and follow her then-current attempt at travelling around the world under her own steam -- another book in the making, I am sure, and one I know I'll buy as soon as it's published. She's an amazing and inspiring woman.


Best Graphic Memoir
Cancer Vixen by Marisa Acocella Marchetto. I had three possible contenders for this category, but at the end of the day, I think Cancer Vixen wins. It's a touching account of the author's fight with cancer. I was very moved by it, and would recommend it to anybody who's been affected by cancer - either directly or by proxy.


Best Surprise
S. by J.J. Abrams. This is one of those books I'd never have picked up if it hadn't been for a) it being recommended in one of my favourite podcasts. b) the bookstore having a store example to browse through. It was absolutely fascinating and I loved how the story was told through all sorts of different medias. It did have some unanswered questions near the end, but was definitely an instant love affair and a great surprise.

Best Fanfic
Nothing Lost by Drayton. A "Blackout / All Clear" fanfic. I love "Blackout" and "All Clear" by Connie Willis, but it has always frustrated me a bit by the things that are only hinted at, but never explained. I'm simply just not good enough at reading between the lines, and besides - I want to know! Not just guess.

This fanfic is the story of Colin during the events of those two books and did a great job at both catching Connie Willis' writing style, as well as answering pretty much all the questions those two books left me with. A great read that I'd highly recommend :)


Best Memoir/Autobiography
Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I've wanted to read this ever since I first heard of it. Ive always known that the "Little House" series wasn't 100% accurate, and have been intrigued by what actually happened. This provided me with just that, and included heaps of extra details to boot. Funny to see how some parts of Laura's story were described exactly as they happened, and others were changed beyond recognition.

Booking Through Thursday

This week's question from Booking Through Thursday is about audiobooks:
For me, “reading” means using my eyes, not my ears. As much as I acknowledge their usefulness while doing chores or using your hands, I only ever use audiobooks for the rare long drive–listening, no matter how pleasant, is not READING, yet people persist in telling me they like to read and that audio books are their favorites. Am I the only one to feel that’s just not the same thing?

For once I disagree vehemently with the author, but I think part of this may be semantics.

To me, "reading" means two things. There's the physical act of moving your eyes (or fingers, in the case of Braille) along the markings on a page and translating these markings into letters and words. With that definition, no, you obviously can't "read" audiobooks.

However, the more common meaning of "reading" is to take in the written word and gain a meaning from it. Whether that be from reading it yourself, or hearing it either in the form of audiobooks or having somebody present read it aloud to you, makes no difference. It's all reading.

And it sits wrong with me to deny one meaning of the word in favour of the other.

Ten Bookish Gifts to Give for Christmas

Not sure what to buy a friend for Christmas? Or want an idea of what to stuff in your own stocking? Here are Ten Books to Give For Christmas. Links go to Goodreads.

For the Man Who Knows Everything
What If? or Thing Explainer by Randall Munroe. The author of the xkcd web-comic has written two books. I actually haven't read TE myself yet, but I read "What If" earlier this year and absolutely loved it! It's laugh out loud funny and educational at the same time.

For the Self-Acclaimed Science Geek
The Martian by Andy Weir. A book where the main character's survival depends on him being able to "science the shit out of things". Non-science geeks are likely to enjoy this as well though.

For the Tender-Hearted
Wonder by R.J. Palacio. While probably too twee for some, this will touch the heart-strings of most people who read it.

For Fans of YA
Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. Without a doubt the best YA I've read in a long time. Not the least because it handles an unusual topic seldom seen in YA.

For Fanfic Readers
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Even as somebody just peripherally involved with the Harry Potter fandom, I recognized a lot of aspects of that fandom in this book. Fun and relatable.

For the Christian Reader
Where Are the Lions? by Claus Tondering. Best thing - this one is free (donwnload link on goodreads)! A thought-provoking account of what life in the New Jerusalem might be like. Really served to make me look forward to eternal life in a way I never have before.

For the LIW Expert
Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Filled with footnotes, drawings and photographs, this is one of the most comprehensive accounts of LIW's life I've ever read - all based around her own original memoir that later spawned(sp?) the Little House series.

For the 80s Child/Teen
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Chockablock full of 80s movies, music, and games references. Pure nostalgia for any kid who spent hours after school at the local arcade.

For the Knitter in Your Life
The Knit Princess by Allison Sarnoff. A web-comic-turned-book that knitters will find only too relateable. I haven't read the book yet, but loved the web-comic!

For the Reluctant Pack-Rat / Fledgling Fly-Baby
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo. Please note the 'reluctant' - I don't think you'd want to give this to a self-acclaimed hoarder. While I don't agree with every part of the KonMari method (and actually found myself smirking at some), I do think she makes enough good points to make this book very worth while.