2015 Overview and Favorites (repost from Facebook)

[Overly-long] Book Status!

In 2014, my yearly goal (which I met) had been to read 200 books. For 2015, I didn't have a set numbers goal - I just wanted to read a variety of things. I figured I'd end up reading somewhere between 100-120 books when all was said and done. When I counted it up, the total was 118.

Previous to the past two years, I'd been stuck mostly re-reading books I'd already read many times before. It was rare that I'd actually get around to a new book, and I definitely wasn't getting use out of the local libraries. I wanted to get back into reading new things and a wide variety of books like I used to before I graduated college, and making number goals, writing down all the books I finished, and posting periodically to Facebook has really helped me break out of the reading stagnation I'd been in.

I kind of miss my old habit of re-reading favorite books or favorite portions of books, so I think I'll try to give myself some more slack on doing that in 2016 (even though I didn't have a true numbers goal for 2015, I was choosing new books to complete rather than reading partials of old favorites in part so I could record them).

All that said, I'll put the entire year's list of books in the comments, but here's a quick list of a few of my favorite reads/book recommendations from the past year (in no particular order). I read a lot of books that I liked and many more than these that I would consider great reads, but these ones stood out to me for one reason or another (and sometimes they represent a few similar books I read).
And as always, I'm interested in what everyone else is reading and happy to discuss anything I've read :)

-Burmese Days (Orwell)
This was actually a fairly depressing book, but I particularly enjoy reading Orwell works outside of the usual 1984. Burmese Days is unflattering, realistic, introspective, and historically important. And I dig Orwell's writing style.
http://www.amazon.com/Burmese-Days-…/…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…

-Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy (Abbott)
Despite quibbles about a few historical inaccuracies and extrapolations made by the author, this book managed to be an entertaining, sympathetic, emotional, and realistic read for me (it reads like fiction). Although the book should probably be read with a grain of salt in terms of hardline historical accuracy, I enjoyed it because it expanded on some of the books on the subject of women in the Civil War I had read as a child and managed to give a good overall sense of the women's stories and history without taking itself too terribly seriously.
http://www.amazon.com/Liar-Temptres…/…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…

-The Reluctant Communist (Jenkins)
I've read a number of books over the past couple of years on the subject of North Korea, each written from a different perspective by people who escaped. This one, written by one of the small handful of U.S. soldiers who deserted to North Korea during the Korean War, stood out as uniquely interesting for a variety of reasons. The consequences of Jenkins' choice and the way he chose to deal with it in the years to come are thought-provoking.
http://www.amazon.com/Reluctant-Communi…/…/ref=mt_paperback…

-I Capture the Castle (Smith)
Technically "Young Adult" fiction, I suppose, this book is both charmingly old-fashioned and surprisingly modern. It's an unusual and bittersweet take on a coming-of-age story.
http://www.amazon.com/I-Capture-Cast…/…/ref=tmm_pap_title_0…

-Beautiful Boy (D. Sheff)
The subtitle "A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction" pretty much sums it up. The book is well-written, well laid out, and does an amazing job of describing the true story of emotional turmoil and pain that an imperfect family goes through during a child's drug addiction.
http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Boy…/…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…

-We Have Always Lived in the Castle (Jackson)
Dark, brooding, strange, too-realistic. Yes.
http://www.amazon.com/Always-Castle…/…/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0…

-The Line Between (Beagle)
Those who are familiar with Peter S. Beagle probably are so from The Last Unicorn. If you enjoyed that book or enjoy fantasy in general, this collection of short stories/novellas is a very worthwhile read.
http://www.amazon.com/Line-Between-Peter-S-Be…/…/ref=sr_1_1…