I was inspired by
William Michaelian's blog post where he goes through all of the books he read in 2015. William read a metric ton of books this last year and it seems to be the year of Sir Walter Scott.
So, I wanted to develop my own list as a look back at what I read and enjoyed this year. I will give you what I rated each book as, but if you would like to see more in-depth reviews you can check out my reviews on Goodreads. I may do a little commentary about some titles, but not all of them. Here goes...
Redeployment, by Phil Kay: 3 out of 5 stars.
The Martian, by Andy Weir: 5 out of 5 stars. I do need to pause for a moment on
The Martian because when I reviewed it I stated that it was the best book I read in 2015. When I wrote that it was like two or three days into 2015. I started this book in 2014 and only finished it in 2015, but looking over my list I might still go with that. Only one other book would be contending for that claim, but I might just like
The Martian better.
Ms. Marvel, Vol 1: 4 stars.
Rat Queens, Vol 1: 2 stars.
East of West, Vol 1: 5 stars.
East of West, Vol 2: 4 stars.
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte: 5 stars. I read this book as I was teaching it to my AP Literature and Composition class. I adored this book. I was skeptical if it would serve my purposes, and/or if the students would enjoy it, but it did both. I was surprised to see how many of my students dove into this lengthy novel and got wrapped up with this soap opera of a story.
The Walking Dead, Vol 6: 4 stars.
The Arrival, by Shaun Tan: 5 stars. This is a fantastic example of what can be accomplished in the comic book genre.
Maus, Vol 1, by Art Spiegelman: 5 stars.
Habibi, by Craig Thompson: 3 stars.
Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb: 3 stars.
Bayou, Vol 1: 5 stars.
I Remember Beirut, by Zeina Abirached: 2 stars.
A Dance with Dragons, by George R. R. Martin: 3 stars. I have been reading one novel in the Song of Ice and Fire series every summer for about four years. So, this is my last one, until Martin writes another book. A bitter sweet moment when I finished this novel, not only because this one was not as good as some of the previous books.
Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe: 3 stars.
Armada, by Ernest Cline: 3 stars. Such a disappointment.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J. K. Rowling: 3 stars. I listened to this book on a road trip with my family. I have read this book before and watched the movie, but we plugged this in to listen because my son was interested. This has launched him into a journey of reading all of the Harry Potter books and I am excited for him. He seems to be enjoying the novels. I don't really care for them myself, but I am glad that Rowling wrote them, so developing readers have something exciting to latch on to and love.
The Dinosaur Lords, by Victor Milan: 3 stars. I really wanted this novel to be better than it was.
Fight Club, by Chuck Palahniuk: 5 stars. Loved it. This would be the book that might be the contender for
The Martian. I wrote about this novel at length on my literature blog-
-www.mrbarbaricyawp.blogspot.com.
Star Wars: Aftermath, by Chuch Wendig: 2 stars.
Our Town, by Thornton Wilder: 3 stars.
I read 22 books in total and I had challenged myself to read 12. I have in the past challenged myself to read 24, but I am glad I didn't do that again this year. I prefer to be able to just enjoy what I am reading and read a leisurely pace. I read a lot of graphic novels this year, more than I have in the past couple of years. But, as I reflect, I also read a lot of mediocre stuff. A lot of just average books. That is a pity. I like to try new things, or read things I have seen, but it seems to me that a lot of the stuff I consume is just meh. I do feel like running my literature blog has pushed me towards reading more academic works. You can see that I start to read more "literature" in the second half of the year. I read a bunch of graphic novels during summer break though.
You also can see a cool info-graphic of my year in reading on Goodreads--
Link.
Next year, I would like to continue to read more "literature," as well as return to me roots and read a lot more fantasy and science fiction.
