Standout Books 2015

Quite a few pieces have crossed my path this year, several of which have been worthy of mention and quite a few really not so.

I think my standout books for the year are:

Looking through Lace by Ruth Nestvold - an excellent little Sci-Fi novel (though looking back at my review, I really ought to re-write it or at least make it understandable in parts.)

On the Edge of Sunrise by Cynthia Miller - Which is quite a lengthy historical romance novel and I enjoyed it far more than I thought.

Angels to Ashes by Drew Foote - because I'm a sucker for well written angel stories.

Honourable mention goes to anything by Lizz Lund, which I will be picking up when I get a chance.

So, what did you all like this year?

 

I don't think I've had a standout, but I liked the Hanger Dance.

 

This may be long.

From Bookangel there are four:
Looking through Lace, a definite stand out in the sci-fi category for its unique approach and strong characters. I wasn't as fond of the sequel.
The London Bones: The Secret Dead and a Murder of Crones are both excellent paranormal/horror stories with shades of the old World of Darkness.
Spiderstalk, an absolutely gripping mix of horror and thriller with a well-designed plot that just doesn't stop. I had to put the book down to take a breath and still kept coming back to it.

Next would be Terry Pratchett's novel, "The Shepherd's Crown". It's bittersweet and stand out because it is his last, and the end of the Discworld series, and I know that the idea was that he was tying up loose ends but...I personally would have prefered the Tiffany books to end with "I shall wear Midnight". Through the first four books, Tiffany is determined to be a different type of witch, one who will wear blues and greens, and be her own person. In the last book, everything she has done towards this feels negated, and she ends up following in her grandmother's footsteps to a lonely hut on the chalk, but unlike her grandmother she hasn't had a life, family, or children, first. I love his work, but... and no I don;t expect this view to be popular.

Finally, the standout read for me for 2015 wasn't published as such. It was one of the original surviving copies of the Magna Carta, on display in the British Library, and frankly it was the standout read. I'm never likely to be able to read the original again in my lifetime, even if I can find the text in many other sources, and as a once in a lifetime read and the foundation of modern society by curbing the powers of kings, it definitely stands out.

 

I am so very jealous right now.

 

Read a few but most of them have been forgettable, mainly been going over old books this last year.

Mebbe I can find some good ones next year.