Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Best Books Read in 2015
I'm not sure why the Top Ten Tuesday for ten favorite books of the year comes so early in the month—what if you were to read an awesome book the week after Christmas, say? But hey, I'll take the gamble. This was an odd, up-and-down year for me so far as reading went. There were times when I just couldn't find anything that appealed to me, or times when everything I picked up seemed no better than mediocre. But when I came to look over my record book near the end of the year, I had no trouble finding ten bright shining spots for this list. (Also, considering that I read five of these ten in the first two months of 2015, it's understandable that the middle of the year should feel a little slow by contrast!) They appear here in the order I read them, not the order of favorites:
Long Live the King! by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Rinehart's take on the Ruritanian novel has a little of everything: drama, humor, suspense, and a cast of vivid and often lovable characters. In the fictional country of Livonia, the aging King and his Chancellor strive to protect the life of the small Crown Prince among growing unrest in the kingdom, a tangle of diplomatic alliances and personal intrigues.
A Tangled Web by L.M. Montgomery
This is Montgomery at her comic best. If you enjoyed the gossipy chapters in the later Anne books filled with tales of all the eccentric families and feuds in a small town, you'll love this novel, in which two much-intermarried clans wrangle over who's going to inherit an antique vase from the family matriarch.
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
I love collections of letters, and this one, a correspondence between an irrepressible New York writer and the staff of a used-book store in London, is such friendly, witty fun. Read my review here.
Postmark Murder by Mignon G. Eberhart
This mystery kept me up late at night finishing it. A tight cast of characters, twist-filled plot involving a fortune left to a little orphan refugee girl, and a setting in post-WWII Chicago at Christmastime with a great vintage feel—I enjoyed every bit of it.
High Rising by Angela Thirkell
I laughed so hard reading this book—a light, witty English comedy-of-manners, in which writer Laura Morland tries to rescue a bombastic author friend and his shy daughter from the machinations of a scheming secretary, all while dealing with her own energetic and mischievous small son.
Aspects of the Novel by E.M. Forster I really enjoyed this relaxed, thoughtful look at some of the essential elements that make up a novel, and make a novel enjoyable. Read my review here.
Gentle Julia by Booth Tarkington This was another side-splitter—a charming comedy in which a little girl decides to take a hand and aid an unlikely suitor of her young aunt, the belle of the town. Read my review here.
Lonely Vigil: Coastwatchers of the Solomons by Walter Lord
A fascinating slice of WWII history—the coastwatchers, mostly British and Australian civilians working with a large network of native islanders, operated deep behind enemy lines in the jungles of Japanese-occupied islands, radioing crucial information about enemy operations and helping to evacuate civilians and downed Allied pilots. Solidly written and engrossing like the best of Lord's books, this one kept me turning the pages.
The Bells of Paradise by Suzannah Rowntree
I'm sort-of-cheating again this year by including a not-yet-published work, and once again it's Suzannah's fault! I had the privilege of beta-reading this novella, a retelling of the fairytale "Jorinda and Jorindel" set in the world of Tudor England and Spenser's The Faerie Queen, and I simply loved it. You're going to want to watch for the release of this one. [Edit: you can now read my full review here.]
Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw If I were pressed to name my single favorite book of the year, this would have to be the one. A teenage girl trying to decide what to do with her life discovers more than she bargained for when she takes on a summer job helping to investigate the legatees of an eccentric will. Read my (long and effusive) review here.
Aside from the one beta-read, 84, Charing Cross Road, Aspects of the Novel and Lonely Vigil were library reads; the rest were Kindle purchases (Long Live the King! and Gentle Julia are public-domain and free). Check back around New Year's for my list of top ten favorite movies seen this year, and my annual roundup of other books read over the course of the year!