Best Books of 2015

If you’re reading this post, I’ve caught you.

You’re a reader.

You can’t help yourself.

You read the back of cereal boxes.  The bottom of Kleenex boxes while on the john.  You take a bite of sandwich and click with your other hand on another blog post at work.  You juggle a colicky baby in one arm and the other hand cradles an iPhone, scrolling to the end of the internet in the middle of the night.  You pack 30 pounds of books for vacation and loading up your Kindle is as essential a packing item as remembering the toothbrush and toothpaste.  You’ve had a library card since you were young enough to write your name in block letters.  You listen to audiobooks while running/washing dishes/vacuuming/walking the dog/stirring the sauce/ferrying kids to swim team.

You’re a reader.

We are of the same tribe.

We dream of large chunks of time in which to travel to new universes and lives.  When we can’t spare ourselves for that kind of immersion, we dabble with words in whatever ticks the clock allows us.

These are the books that have been my worthwhile reads of 2015.  You should check them out in 2016, fellow tribesman.

Best Overall

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Best Cookbook

The Yellow Table Cookbook by Anna Watson Carl

Best Near-Future

Shine, Shine, Shine by Lydia Netzer

The Book of Strange New Things by Michael Faber

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Best Feel-Good

Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon

Best Laugh-Out-Loud Inspiration

For the Love by Jen Hatmaker

Best Nail-Biter

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes

Best Guy Read (that Gals Will Like Too)

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Best Non-Fiction if You Don’t Love Non-Fiction

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman