Monday, January 4, 2016

Lucky thirteen list of 2015 favorite books

Starting in December and going back to January 2015, here are my top favorites of last year. 

The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog
by Dave Barry
fiction 2006
reread
print
finished 12/10/15

The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine - book 16 in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
fiction 2015
kindle
finished 11/10/15

Stranger in the House
by Julie Summers
nonfiction 2008
print
finished 11/7/15

To Dwell in Darkness - book 16 in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series
by Deborah Crombie
mystery 2014
kindle
finished 10/22/15

The Housekeeper and the Professor (also called The Gift of Numbers)
by Yoko Ogawa
translated from Japanese by Stephen Snyder
fiction 2003; 2009 in English translation
print
finished 10/13/15

The Complete Inspector Morse
by David Bishop
nonfiction first published 2002 - this updated edition published 2011
print
finished 9/21/15

Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese
fiction 2009
kindle
library book
finished 9/5/15

In the Garden with The Totterings - a Tottering-By-Gently collection
by Annie Tempest
graphic novel 2011
print
finished 8/22/15

The Novel Habits of Happiness - book 10 in the Isabel Dalhousie series
by Alexander McCall Smith
fiction 2015
kindle
finished 7/27/15

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
by Ben Macintyre
nonfiction 2014
kindle
finished 7/20/15

Can't we talk about something more PLEASANT?
by Roz Chast
graphic nonfiction 2014
print
finished 7/19/15

Essays After Eighty
by Donald Hall
nonfiction 2014
print
finished 5/1/15

Howards End is on the Landing
by Susan Hill
nonfiction 2009
print
reread
finished 2/14/15

Although I love the Arthur Upfield ‘Bony’ series, I couldn’t come up with just one. Two rereads in the group. 6 nonfiction, 7 fiction, 1 mystery. Every one was published in the 2000s. 6 by women, 7 by men. 8 print, 5 kindle. 1 library book.

18 comments:

  1. I loved Cutting for Stone and the Housekeeper and the Professor. Hope your 2016 books are just as satisfying.

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    1. They most always are, Diane, because I quit the ones that I don't care for!

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  2. Great list! Oh, The Housekeeper and the Professor! Wasn't it marvelous? I just adored that book (esp the math)
    Also, Cutting for Stone, I read that a number of years ago. I'll take notice of your mystery series books.

    I listened to the Dave Barry Christmas book in December. I bawled, and loved it too.
    Such a variety of books you read. Best of reading for this year too!

    Have you read The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munsch to your dear little Hazel? It's such a fun little book, and my husband is named Ron!

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    Replies
    1. I loved the numbers, too. though a literature major, I do enjoy cool number things. Oh, primes! I'll look into the Munsch book.

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    2. A catchy song about Primes:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsX-SjZXScA

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    3. I love the song! Thank you. And Tom mentioned a guy at UNH, and here is his updated prime info. http://unhmagazine.unh.edu/f13/yitang-zhang.html

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  3. Cutting For Stone - such a wonderful book! And, of course, the Crombie book. I love that series.

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    Replies
    1. It was wonderful. I just loved it. And my favorite in the Crombie series is always the last one I've read!

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  4. I loved that latest Isabel Dalhousie book and, of course, the Morse. x

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    1. Alexanader McCall Smith is never mentioned in people's or magazines' favorite books, and yet he is hugely popular. It seems that people can read grief and horror but not good, plain, uplifting literature. And that Morse book is fantastic. I may still try to write about it.

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  5. I love the Alexander McCall Smith series and I bought the Totterings book at Christmas - hilarious. I have only read one of the Morse books but recently watched the Morse series on Netflix. Maybe I should try audio books, I can never seem to get through my TBR list. Too many great reads.
    Ann

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    Replies
    1. There are lots more Totterings books, and I want to get as many as I can. Pure joy!! This Morse book is quite, quite wonderful. I would watch a Morse episode on Netflix (I've since bought the whole series) and then read the chapter about that ep. It was just so wonderful. And from what I learned, I don't really care about the books. I think the tv version was way superior.

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  6. Ooh, I have Stranger in the House on my bookshelf to read! I'll try and pull it down from there this year :-)

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    1. It is really excellent. I was riveted by all the stories. I think you will really, really like it.

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  7. How I loved catching up at Hill Farm this morning ... All the way back to the Chickpea Stew .. It's terrible when I get too busy to visit good friends! Thanks for all the great reading suggestions....and it's fun that some of your favorites are some of mine. I love your study! Happy New Year to all !

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    Replies
    1. I understand busy, and am just so pleased you could come visit. Wish you could in person! I'd like to know which faves are your faves.

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  8. I loved Cutting for Stone when I listened to the audio a few years ago. Marvelous story and writing!

    You probably remember my thoughts on Dave Barry's book. You commented on my post back in 2007.

    And, you enjoyed Can't We Talk About Something More PLEASANT? much more than I did.

    So, one out of three (that we've both read) isn't too bad. ;)

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