My Favourite Books of 2015

Its that time of year again where I share my favourite books. 2015 has been an amazing year for books, normally I make a disclaimer stating that these are just the books I have read this year, not books that have been released in 2015. But a surprising number were actually released in 2015.

You may also notice that I split my fiction section into fiction and science-fiction, this is purely because if I hadn’t my favourite fiction books would have been all science-fiction which excludes all the amazing non sci-fi books I’ve read this year.

MY FAVOURITE BOOKS OF 2015

FICTION BOOKS

THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE

The Rest of Us Just Live Here is a contemporary YA by Patrick Ness. It focuses on the normal ones. In a world with a chosen few selected to save the planet what happens to everyone else. What happens to the normal kids with normal problems like family drama and relationship problems.

I got this book at the Edinburgh Book Festival. And was able to see a talk by Patrick Ness about the book. I didn’t get it signed because the line was rather long. But it was really interesting hearing Ness talk about his inspirations for the book. And how it links to mental health.

The way I find good books is by reading them on a train. If I have to put the book down because of too many feels/ not wanting to look stupid in front of other people, then the book is a good one. I was basically unable to read this book on the train. Because one of the characters made me want to giggle so much. I won’t tell you which character but I will give you a clue, it involves cats.

THE ROOK

The Rook by Daniel o’Malley is an urban fantasy novel set in London. It follows Myfanwy Thomas. As she attempts to re-integrate into her life of administrating a clandestine government organisation. Responsible for protecting the U.K. from supernatural threats.

This book was actually sent to me by a friend because its their all time favourite book. And after reading I can understand why. The Rook is a surprisingly funny take on quite a serious subject. The author could have taking a Le Carre approach to the story. Instead imagine something between Torchwood and Men In Black.

O’Malley has since released a sequel called Stiletto. Which unfortunately doesn’t have quite the same charm as the first book in the duology. The Rook has also recently been adapted into a television series.

AFTERWORLDS

Afterworlds was a really interesting book. The story is told in alternating chapters. First Darcy, a young author who has just moved to New York to write her first novel. The other chapters are Darcy’s novel. A suspenseful thriller about Lizzie, a teen who slips into the ‘Afterworld’ to survive a terrorist attack.

The “novel” chapters didn’t really interest me a huge amount. But I really loved Afterworlds for the little insights you got into the publishing world. And how Darcy navigates this totally new world on her own.

MY HEART AND OTHER BLACK HOLES

My Heart and Other Black Holes is a YA novel by Jasmine Warga. This is the story of two teens who find themselves in an unusual partnership where they both want to commit suicide.

This is quite a tough subject for a YA book but I think Warga has done a brilliant job of telling the story. It has one of the most accurate depictions of depression that I’ve ever seen. It was a really great read and the author has been using it as a way of getting people to be more open about depression. Which I think is a fantastic thing.

WE ARE ALL COMPLETELY BESIDE OURSELVES

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves is a 2015 Man Booker shortlisted novel by Karen Joy Fowler. It tells the story of Rosemary, a young girl just beginning college who doesn’t want to share anything about her family.

I think this is the type of book which is best read without knowing too much. So I won’t say any more than that. I did start this expecting to not like it. Simply because it had been nominated for the Man Booker Award. I am so glad to say that this book was fantastic. You need to read it if you like animals.

MORE LIKE THIS: My Favourite Books of 2016

NON-FICTION

REASONS TO STAY ALIVE

Reasons To Stay Alive is a self-help book written by Matt Haig. This book is more than just Haig’s memoir. Its a guide to living better and enjoying your life. This is partly a handbook for those with depression/ anxiety and partly Matt Haig’s account of his experience with depression. Really good, a must read for people with depression.

Matt Haig is another author I was able to meet this year at the Edinburgh Book Festival. Which was really interesting because he went more in depth into depression and how it affects him as an author.

RUNNING LIKE A GIRL

Running Like A Girl is a non-fiction memoir by Alexandra Heminsley. This goes into detail about Heminsley’s attempts to run the London Marathon. Even though I don’t run I still found this book really interesting. It also touches on the more technical details of long distance running like injuries and equipment.

ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Orange Is The New Black. It was interesting to see the similarities between the book and the show. But I mostly enjoyed it because reading about life in a women’s prison was really fascinating.

THE ART OF ASKING

The Art of Asking is partly Amanda Palmer’s autobiography and partly her TED talk which she did about crowdfunding and asking people for money. It was fantastic.

BORN WITH TEETH

Born With Teeth is a memoir written by Kate Mulgrew. An actress who is possible most well known for playing Kathryn Janeway in Star: Trek Voyager. I love Kate Mulgrew. When I found out she had written an autobiography I immediately went out and bought a copy. You may disagree with me and think this book isn’t good enough to make it onto a ‘best of year’ list. But at one point in my life I was basically obsessed with Kate Mulgrew and still am a little bit.

MORE LIKE THIS: Looking Back On 2015

SCIENCE-FICTION

THE BOOK OF STRANGE NEW THINGS

The Book of Strange New Things is a genre-defying novel by Michel Faber. This is the story of a minister who travels halfway across the galaxy to teach aliens about the bible. I don’t know how to describe this book. But it’s fantastic and brings up some really interesting questions about religion (also the cover is really pretty).

SEVENEVES

Seveneves is a hard science-fiction novel written by Neal Stephenson. I’m not even going to tell you what this book is about. Only that that the first line is “The moon blew up without warning and for no apparent reason.” If that isn’t enough then I don’t think you’ll like it.

LUNA: NEW MOON

Luna: New Moon is the first part of a science-fiction trilogy written by Ian McDonald. I don’t know how to describe this book. It’s the story of a family who own a helium mining industry on the moon. It’s amazing. Like I got over my fear of talking to people just so I could talk to the author about this book. It’s that good. Also it’s being made into a TV show.

STATION ELEVEN

Station Eleven is a novel written by Emily St John Mandel. This book is a fantastic post apocalyptic story. Like really really good. Like seriously you guys if you only read one book from this list make it this one.

THE LONG WAY TO A SMALL, ANGRY PLANET

The Long Way To A Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers is basically an episode of Star Trek. It does that really clever thing Star Trek was known for. Where it takes very modern issues like class and race and puts it into a futuristic setting. I loved this book and it is one you must read if you get the chance.

MORE LIKE THIS: My Favourite Books of 2017

And that was my favourite books of 2015. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe even found some of your new favourite books.