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Smiling Shelves

Top Ten Tuesday - Best Books I Read in 2015

12/15/2015

17 Comments

 
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This weekly frenzy of listing is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
2015 was a great year of reading! I read so many books I loved that it's going to be hard to narrow it down to just ten. Here goes!
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Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground by Mark Mason (I read this book in May and have been raving about it ever since. Random trivia about London automatically makes this one of my favorite books of all time.)
Cinder & Scarlet by Marissa Meyer (I finally started reading this series after hearing how amazing it was. And now I can echo all of those reviews. It is amazing!)
The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared by Alice Ozma (A memoir that is just as delightful as the title sounds.)
Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo (Such a satisfying ending to this series.)
Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermer (If only Victorian England had magic. . .​)
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The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan (Because it showed a real relationship, not just a fairy tale. And because those characters are still living in my head.)
Because I Said So! by Ken Jennings (I learned so many random things from this book. It was great fun.)
Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman (I read several reviews that said this second book in the series stretched on way too long. I disagree - I could have lived in that world for several hundred more pages!)
My Salinger Year by Joanne Rakoff (This was such an enjoyable memoir of life in a literary agency in the 1990s.)
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown (You don't even have to be science geeky like me to enjoy this book. And as an added bonus, I finally understand why Pluto isn't considered a planet anymore!)
17 Comments
Rosie @ Rosie Reads link
12/15/2015 07:59:26 am

I *STILL* need to read the Lunar Chronicles series! I need to bump it up on my priorities! XD

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/19/2015 02:54:14 pm

So many people have been talking about it that I figured I was pretty much the last one to read them. Glad I wasn't alone! And now I can say with confidence that you definitely should read them soon. :)

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Dena @ Batch of Books link
12/15/2015 09:49:13 am

I liked Ruin and Rising. I want to read Rachel Hartman's series too. I've heard such good things about it. I also noticed you are currently reading Grave Consequences. I loved that series! Just loved it.

Here's my <a href="http://batchofbooks.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015/">Top Ten Tuesday</a>

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/19/2015 02:55:27 pm

I read the first book in the Grand Tour series last summer, but it's taken me awhile to get my hands on the rest of the series. Now that I finally have books 2 & 3, I can devour them! :)

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Kate @ Mom's Radius link
12/15/2015 10:02:56 am

I'm so happy Cinder made your list! I really want to read Sorcery & Cecilia, The Royal We, and My Salinger Year. Great list!

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/19/2015 02:56:12 pm

Cinder was definitely a no-brainer when I started compiling this list. :)

All three of those are awesome reads. I hope you enjoy them!

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Christine @Buckling Bookshelves link
12/15/2015 01:30:27 pm

So good to hear about Shadowscale! I won a copy of the 1st book, but haven't dove in yet -- I was a little hesitant about the sequel, I must admit which may have caused my delay.

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/19/2015 02:56:56 pm

I really enjoyed both books, so much so that I plan on rereading them someday (which I only do with my favorites). I hope you give them a try! :)

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Lisa @ Captivated Reader
12/15/2015 04:53:31 pm

Nice list of books in your post this week!!

Here's a link to my Top Ten Tuesday post for this week: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2015/12/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-best-books-i.html

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/19/2015 02:57:24 pm

Thanks, Lisa!

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Lois link
12/15/2015 06:41:22 pm

I need to get around to reading the Lunar Chronicles! They're at the top of my list for next year.

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/19/2015 02:57:48 pm

They are really good! And really fast reads, too! :)

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Missie link
12/19/2015 01:12:41 pm

I really need to re-read The Grisha series, it was so good! Awesome list :) New follower!
<a href="http://www.aflurryofponderings.com/"> Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings </a>

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/19/2015 02:58:33 pm

That series is definitely one I plan on rereading, and soon! Glad to hear you loved it, too! :)

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Kim (Sophisticated Dorkiness) link
12/19/2015 05:44:14 pm

I just finished up the fourth Lunar Chronicles book, Winter, this week -- such a fun series! I'm glad you're enjoying them!

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Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
12/21/2015 08:31:30 pm

I'm definitely enjoying them! And I'm kind of glad I waited until they were all published so I don't have to wait for the next one to come out. :)

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Emily link
12/27/2015 12:34:44 pm

I've never heard of Walk the Lines - but it looks like so much fun! Adding it to my TBR list now. Also - The Reading Promise is sitting on my shelves - I need to read it! The Royal We is sitting in on my iPad to read as well - I tried to start it once this year, but I wasn't in the right mood. I hope to read it soon when I'm in the right mindset - maybe while on a vacation.

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    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

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