It’s chilly outside, it gets dark by five, and you need gifts for family, friends, and that nice neighbor who picks up your kid from school.
There’s a simple solution to these issues: books! Too cold outside? Cuddle up with a book. Need a Christmas gift for your child’s teacher? You know what I’m gonna say.
But here’s the thing – you need good book ideas.
I am here for you.
Together, we can compile a monster list of reading recommendations for every age and taste, but I need your help. If you tell me your favorite book from 2015, I’ll compile everyone’s suggestions into an organized list for easy reference. And the best part? Everyone who contributes a book to my favorites list will enter a giveaway to win a book of his or her choice.
Word Nerds Favorites of 2015: the giveaway details:
- You may enter the giveaway by commenting on my blog, my Facebook profile, my Twitter feed, or my Instagram Favorite Book post by December 11, 2015.
- Your comment must include your favorite book from 2015 and a short explanation of why you recommend it.
- The book doesn’t have to be published in 2015, just read in 2015.
- I will announce the winner on Monday, December 14 with the full list of favorites. That will give you plenty of shopping time. 😉
- The giveaway winner must choose a book and provide mailing address.
I found one of my favorite books of 2015 on last year’s favorite list. This really works!
The First Additions to the List
Ok, here are my favorites of 2015. I’m giving several; you need only submit one.
Best Young Adult Fiction: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart. Frankie is smart and determined to prove herself. This book isn’t super deep, but it includes a lovely combination of wit and girl power.- Best Non-fiction: Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan. A memoir of a daughter learning to appreciate her mother. (To mothers of teen daughters everywhere, there IS hope.)
- Best Historical Fiction: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. My friend Paula added this to the favorites list last year, and I’m so glad she did. Excellent writing, interweaving story lines, and a boy who loves to tinker with radios.
Some suggestions from my kids:
Young Adult Fiction: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen because “it’s awesome.” It’s about learning how to speak up when something is very wrong, and it’s got a lot of music in it.
Middle Grade Fiction: All the Wrong Questions series by Lemony Snicket. It’s a smart mystery with lots of word play. All Four Stars by Tara Dairman because it’s well written and has good pacing, even for a realistic book. (This from my 11-year-old son who prefers fantasy and adventure stories.)
For more gift ideas, see My Favorite Things post, Amy’s Favorite Things post, and Dana’s Theme-less Gift Guide.
Now, your turn… tell me about a great book.
Oops – that’s “no” permanent physical shell. Sorry!
Got it! No worries, Dana. These are great suggestions. I’m going to give The Martian to some teens I know this Christmas. I’ve heard the language is rough, but that it’s a good read. What do you think? I now own Every Day based on your suggestions on your blog and hope to read it soon. Thanks for contributing these great ideas!
I think it’s fine for teenagers. I don’t remember tons of bad language, and it’s used in an understandable way. I would be cursing quite a bit if I had to figure out how to get home from Mars!
Okay, here are a few of mine. I can’t pick just one!
The Martian by Andy Weir: A book about one man stranded on Mars should be a snore, but when the man is a witty and engaging narrator, it totally works. Read it before you see the movie!
Every Day by David Levithan (YA): Haunting and intriguing – who are we if we inhabit a different body every day? What makes us who we are if we have to permanent physical shell?
The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer: A family drama and character study combined over five decades, Packer’s characters are fascinating.
Oh wow…how am I ever going to pick just one? I am SO bad at favorites! Thanks for tweeting me and letting me know!
Thanks for stopping by. Pick one or two that really stick out in your mind. 🙂
Fiction: The City by Dean Koontz
Classic: Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
YA: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Non-fiction: 5 Editors Tackle the 12 Fatal Flaws of Fiction Writing (C. S. Lakin, Linda S. Clare, Christy Distler, Robin Patchen, Rachel Starr Thomson)
These look great Janice. Thanks for sharing! Can you tell me why you liked these – at least for one of them? 😉
I just posted a review of the last one here: http://www.jlynnsheridan.com/
Thanks!
2nd try:
All The Light We Cannot See tops my list too. Just captivating. Great writing.
The Round House by Louise Erdrich got 5 stars from me too. Great character building and she really nailed the 14 year old boy character.
I liked Garden Spells and First Frost: I want to believe in a little bit of magic and an apple tree that throws it’s apples at people it doesn’t like.
Judy, I’m sorry you had trouble posting and appreciate your persistence. I found your comment in my spam folder. These are great suggestions, and I’m glad you took much time to add them!
Hi!
I went through the list of books that I reviewed this year and came up with some winners.
Mystery – The Louse Penny mysteries. The first book is Still Life. The books center around a small town in Canada. The main character, Chief Inspector Armand Gamache is well drawn and so are the eclectic townsfolk. There are 11 books in the series. (one note – be careful when picking the next book in the series. I was not and inadvertently read book 9 instead of book 7)
Fiction – I have two in this category. The first is a new book in 2015, The Sound of Glass a book that successfully weaves the story of three women. The author is Karen White.
Then an older book that I just read this year. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. While it is the story of a shepard, it is a full of larger life lessons.
Can’t wait to see the compiled list! Thanks for putting this together!
Thanks for contributing such great ideas!
Here are my recs:
Cozy mystery: Quicksand by Gigi Pandian (a Treasure Hunt Mystery–think Indiana Jones, but with Jaya Jones as the lead!)
Young adult: The Kidney Hypothetical by Lisa Yee (fun take on high school life!)
Short stories: Crosscurrent and Other Stories by Gerry Wilson (beautiful and profound stories; every single one)
(Also, I’m biased, but I like my own YA book, Dragonfly Dreams 🙂 )
Hi, Julia! I’ll add Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies! I was all prepared not to like this book because of the hype, but I had read Groff’s story collection, Delicate, Edible Birds, which just blew me away, so I decided to give this novel a go. I’m so glad I did. Groff’s prose is astonishing, her insights into the characters so true and believable that I came away envious of her abilities to do what she does. She gets away with a structural trick that works beautifully. If you haven’t read it, think about how each of us has our own version of a particular story! Highly recommend.
Sounds fantastic Gerry! Thanks for stopping by with this.
All the Light We Cannot See is at the top of my list this year. The writing is beautiful, the characters were likable and the interwoven stories were captivating and realistic.
Other favorites this year were Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Go Set a Watchman, and Skipping Christmas ( a great book for December!).
Oh man, I have 12 “favorites” I just put on my sidebar…how to choose???
I can possibly whittle it down to this:
Glitter and Glue (memoir)
The Husband’s Secret (fiction)
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up (non-fiction)
Great. Can you tell me why you like The Husband’s Secret?
I have two favourites this year but neither was published in 2015
Under The Keel by Michael Crummey is a book of gorgeous narrative poetry and A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam has a knock-you-out story that is still haunting me 10 months after I finished it.
Fantastic Debbie! These sound great. I’m especially glad you got some poetry on the list.