“A great book should leave you with many experiences, and slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading.”
2015 was a great reading year. I discovered new authors, enjoyed styles of writing I had not read before, and came across books that soon became a treasured part of my bookshelf.
When choosing my favourites of the year, I selected those that I not only loved but would love to re-read.
1. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Sometimes a book finds you at at the right time, and The Storied Life A.J. Fikry was one of those books. I went through a long period of time where I fell out of reading, when life started to feel overwhelming. When I was looking for a book to get back into the swing of things, I ended up picking up The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and it really touched my heart. A bookstore owner, who is grieving the loss of his wife and isolated himself from others, finds an unexpected package left at his store that changes the course of his life. It’s a beautiful story, and on top of that, one that serves as a love letter to books.
2. Signal to Noise by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
A charming debut novel that alternates between 1988 and 2009 in Mexico City. It follows a girl named Meche and her two best friends, Sebastian and Daniela. Inseparable friends each dealing with personal challenges who discover they can cast spells through music.
3. A Robot in the Garden by Deborah Install
Another wonderful debut novel. This one is about a man named Ben Chambers who is stuck in a rut and dealing with marriage problems. One day his wife discovers a robot in their garden, which makes Ben embark on a journey that changes his life.
4. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
The title completely got me with this one, and the book as a whole delivers. A unique story about a girl named Rose who can taste people’s emotions through the food they make. We follow Rose from the age of eight, when she first discovers her ability, to her early twenties and see the ways it alters her reality.
5. Vicious by V.E. Schwab
The moment I finished the last page of Vicious, it became an all time favourite. It’s one that has been on my reading list for a while, and I only wish I had read it sooner. Two best friends turned enemies set on revenge. The story, the characters, the writing… all brilliant.
6. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A smart, character driven debut novel that is absolutely brilliant. It follows a nine-member crew travelling on a tunnelling ship whose job it is to punch holes through space in order to create shortcuts.
Hope 2016 brings many more brilliant reads. 🙂
“I have a shelf of comfort books, which I read when the world closes in on me or something untoward happens.”
“It was half past seven in the morning when the robot entered our lives.”
About a Book 
