Winter was a great season for book choices. For the sake of keeping this post fairly short, I didn’t include all of my favorites, but you can see all the books I’ve read this year on my Goodreads and the individual ratings I gave each.

Favorites

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
This book was, hands down, my favorite book of 2015 and has probably joined my top five favorite books list. The title gives a good summary of the book, as it follows a man who uncontrollably time travels and his wife (both before and after she becomes his wife). I have never read a book before that has made me feel so emotionally raw. I laughed and I cried (and I mean like ugly cried), was scared and happy, angry and depressed. This book is an emotional roller coaster and I couldn’t read it fast enough. I may have bought this book as a Christmas gift for at least two friends. I would recommend it to everyone because it is amazing.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
This book was a pleasant surprise. The main character is an unemployed, divorced alcoholic who becomes involved in a murder mystery. It was a bit slow in the beginning, and so depressing! But it’s told in such an interesting manner, with different characters adding bits to the story. Another interesting point is how unlikable almost all of the characters are. It wasn’t annoying though, it was refreshing for me. I’ve read a couple of reviews where the characters were too unlikable, but I thought it just added to the overall story. Plus, humans in real life can be pretty crappy so it’s not like it’s unrealistic.

Why not Me? by Mindy Kaling
I have loved Mindy Kaling since The Office, and I really enjoyed her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? So when I found out she had come out with another book, I picked it right up. Even though this is an autobiography, Kaling includes such interesting stories and is so effortlessly funny to me, it doesn’t read like one at all.

Some of the bits she included were fictional stories she made up in her head. One of my favorites was a story she told through emails about herself if she was a teacher and was throwing a party. Just weird nonsensicals that are funnier than they should be.

One More Thing and Other Short Stories by B.J. Novak
Since I had enjoyed Mindy Kaling’s autobiographies so much, I thought I would try another Office alum. Novak’s isn’t an autobiography though, it’s just a collection of short stories as the title suggest. This was a really easy read and all of the stories were so punny. They didn’t make me laugh out loud, but instead made me go Ohhhh.

I listened to this as an audiobook, so this was a bonus because Jenna Fischer, Rainn Wilson, Katy Perry, and other celebs offered their voices for characters and B.J. Novak narrated it. I’d recommend if you enjoy puns and short stories!

Disappointments

The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
This book was just so, freaking, long. I listened to it as an audiobook, which may have made it worse, but it was definitely an 800 page book that I feel could use some major editing and could be condensed down into 350 pages. The story follows a young boy after his mother dies in a museum explosion and he steals a painting (The Goldfinch being the painting). It wasn’t especially interesting, and I feel like the plot was just the same thing over and over again. Oh look, he is getting drunk and making dumb decisions with his friends. Again. Not a fan. Wouldn’t recommend.

Overall, a good haul! I didn’t read as much as I wanted to, but I only need to finish one more book to reach my goal of reading 52 books this year. So I am on track!

What books have you read recently?