My friend, Jen Forbus, reminded me today that we’re half-way through 2015 already. She posted “The Half Way Point” on her blog, Jen’s Book Thoughts, summarizing her reading for the year so far. Thanks, Jen!
So, as of June 30, I had read seventy-four books. My reading isn’t as eclectic as Jen’s. I’ve read more of my favorite authors than she has. I’m impressed with the number of authors she’s read who are new to her. And, she listens to audiobooks. Everything I’ve listed is a print book.
Here are my five favorites for the first six months of the year, with links to my blog review of that book.
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
And Grant You Peace by Kate Flora
An Early Wake by Sheila Connolly
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Scent of Murder by James O. Born
Half-way through 2015, what books were your favorites?
Adrian McKinty, Sean Duffy trilogy (plus one), starting with I HEAR THE SIRENS IN THE STREET
Craig Johnson, DRY BONES (Walt Longmire)
Martin Edwards, THE GOLDEN AGE OF MURDER (the British Detection Club, ca. 1920-40)
Brett Battles, SICK
Patricia Abbott, CONCRETE ANGEL
Jeff M.
Thru June I've read 67 books, 14 of which were audio books (mostly audible on my Kindle). Of the print books, 21 were Kindle books and the rest were print. About 1/3 were not crime fiction, the rest were all about murder.
My 3 favorite non-mysteries were:
Hello from the Gillespies by Monica McInerney
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
My 5 Favorite Crime Fiction books were:
Rock with Wings by Anne Hillerman
Dry Bones by Craig Johnson
The God of the Hive by Laurie King
Hush Hush by Laura Lippman
A Ghostly Grave by Tonya Kappes (This is quite a frivolous series, butthis and the oterhs just keep me laughing!)
Okay, serious typos at the end of my post-but this and the others just keep me laughing.
Thanks, Jeff. I have that Adrian McKinty series, and I really need to find time to start it. Loved Dry Bones. It just didn't hit me as much as the others did.
Aren't Tonya Kappes' books funny, Caryn? I agree. I laugh at them, too.
I just read Fatal Fairies by Joyce and Jim Lavene. It's my favorite read so far this year.
The Cartel by Don Winslow
Our Souls At Night by Kent Haruf
Dry Bones by Craig Johnson
The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva
A Pleasure and A Calling by Phil Hogan
I'm nearly done with and really loving Naomi Novik's "Uprooted." It's fantasy, rather than a mystery, but will – well – rooted in traditional Polish folk tales and the characters are marvelous. Highly recommend. My favorite of the year thus far.
It's interesting to see the variety of titles. The only one I've seen repeated is Craig Johnson's Dry Bones – three times so far here, and it made Jen's list as well.
Of the 74 books I've read so far in 2015, here are my 5 favorite non-mysteries: Philip Gulley, A Place Called Hope; Martha Woodruff, Small Blessings; Sarah Addison Allen, First Frost; John Cleese, So Anyway; Adam Plantinga, 400 Things Cops Know.
And here are my 5 favorite mysteries (hard to decide!): Linda Castillo, The Dead Will Tell; Lou Berney, The Long and Faraway Gone; Kate Flora, And Grant You Peace; Bruce de Silva, A Scourge of Vipers; Laura Morrigan, A Horse of Another Killer.
There's an overlap, Margie; the Kate Flora. And, I still need to get to the Lou Berney book. You recommended it before, too.
I also loved The Nightingale! My other favorites so far this year are Mosquitoland (YA novel by David Arnold), The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn (Colorado Book Award winner in the thriller category), Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Bobbing for Watermelons by April J. Moore (women's fiction).
Patricia, I don't see The Nightingale falling off my favorites list for the year. It was just too compelling. And, my mother loved it as much as I did.
This year, I've enjoyed (In no particular order):
This Pen for Hire, by Laura Levine.
Mr. Monk is Open for Business by Hy Conrad
Death of a Crabby cook by Penny Pike
Independence Day by Ben Coes
Quarry's Choice by Max Allan Collins
Tell me about Quarry's Choice if you come back, Glen. I always find Max Allan Collins' plots intriguing.
I don't know how much you know about the quarry series, but here goes:
Set in the early seventies, quarry, a hitman, then still working for The Broker, is sent down to the deep south to kill a guy who is trying to take over all the roadhouses along the border of Mississippi and Tennessee. Think of the original Walking Tall movie, and you'll have an idea of what I mean.
Of course, things get complicated, and Quarry has to scramble to do the job, and make it back home without any holes in his own hide.
Ah, Walking Tall. I get it, Glen. Thank you. I haven't read any of the books in that series.