Woo Hoo - who knew that I was going to so outrageously surpass my reading goal this year! According to Goodreads I read 100 books (my goal was 75). When I saw I was at 92 books in early December I knew I could reach the magic number of 100. woo hoo!
How do I read so much? Well a few things contribute to this prolific habit of mine. First my job is teaching math so for my complete break from that job I read books (not very often related to my subject area) - this is a perfect de-stresser for me. I read plenty of math things but that is mostly on math blogs and other internet sites. Also I read fast - no I don't skim, I just read fast. And I don't watch TV. I like TV okay but I love to read books. Finally reading books is my "sleeping pill" at night - helps me relax and go to sleep easily. Unfortunately that also means that when I read in the middle of the day I often fall asleep as I have been conditioned to get very sleepy while reading. But I read fast enough that even though I get sleepy I still get a lot read before I fall asleep. I'll often read an hour every night before bed.
And some folks have asked me - how do you happen to read so many good books? Well I'm picky about what I read. I don't really walk into a book store or library and pick up a book and read it. I get suggestions from friends, catalogs, blogs, "best book postings", etc. So some research goes into my book choices. I also don't buy many books. I use my town library a lot. They are wonderful! Especially since most of my books come through inter-library loan. And the cool thing about that is that I get an email when a book is ready for me and the library is less than 5 minutes from my school and is an easy "on the way home" stop for me.
So what did I read in 2015? First some stats:
And here are my books from January 2015 - December 2015:
What did I like? What did I not like? Well I never finish a book that I don't like so all of these got at least 2 stars and most got 3-4 stars. My average "goodreads rating" was 3.8 stars. It's pretty difficult for a book to earn 5 stars with me.
BTW if you are a reader and you haven't discovered goodreads yet - check it out! I record all the books I read (and get cool stats and graphics - see above) and keep a running list of what I want to read. Plus I keep in touch with friends as to what they are reading. Sometimes I even get a free book from one of their giveaways. It's a cool site, check it out.
So now for my favorites! My most favorite book of 2015 was:
I've read a lot of books about WW2 but this is not just "another one" - it is beautifully written and gives you a very different perspective as you follow the stories of a blind French girl and a brillant German boy. This book was very popular in 2015 for a very good reason.
My sccond favorite book was:
Ove is a grumpy old man who sees no point in living. As the story unfolds you learn a great deal more about his life - past & present. This was really fun to read, as well as heart warming, sad & funny. I just loved it. I gave it to people as Christmas gifts this year....
My favorite YA book was:
Simon is a high school aged boy with all the usual fears and insecurities. He does have a secret that he is trying to come to terms with. The author deals with this in a frank and sensitive manner. Again, funny, sad, heartwarming, etc. Really a great read that I would highly recommend.
These were the best but other "5 star" books for the year include: Two Boys Kissing, Station Eleven, All I Love and Know, Eleanor & Park, Before I Go to Sleep, The Lowland, The Long and Faraway Gone, The Martian (yes I saw the movie too, it was excellent), One Plus One, Yes Please,
So 2016 is underway and yes I've begun my first book for 2016.....
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