I hope the new year is going well for everyone! Since I actually reviewed all the books I read in December, I’m skipping the monthly wrap-up post and doing this list of my favorites for 2015 instead.
Books
In 2015, I read a total of 134 books, which is about 75 less than I read in 2014. Out of those books, the majority of them were erotica (I blame you Kindle Unlimited!) and about 22 were published in 2015 (that’s less than the 64 new releases I read in 2014).
Overall, this was a weird reading year for me. I started out 2015 strong, but things tapered off in March. Around that time I started a new job and was going through a major relocation. So, I had a huge gap where I didn’t read anything that was over 100 pages in the spring and summer. What I read during that time mostly consisted of back issues of Time magazine and random Kindle Unlimited short stories that I could whip through in one sitting. This made it a little difficult to create a favorites list for last year.
Where what I read came from in 2015:
- Bought and Read Immediately: 49
- Kindle Unlimited: 53
- ARC: 13
- Library: 9
- TBR Pile: 9 (more than I thought!)
- Keeper Shelf/Re-Read: 1
Author Breakdown by Gender: 90% female, 10% male (this is actually the most male authors I’ve read in a year since probably 2008)
Favorite New Releases in 2015
All links go to my review for the book.
Favorite New Release
Archangel’s Enigma by Nalini Singh (Guild Hunter #8)
Favorite New Series
Lumberjanes, Vol 1 by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis
Favorite Novella
Unbearable Desire by Vivi Andrews (Lone Pine Pride #4)
Best of What I Read in 2015
The following books are my favorite picks of what I read in 2015. If I read more than 4 in a particular genre, I made a category for it below and listed my favorite. So, some of these categories are different than what I listed in 2014.
Favorite Overall
Radiance by Grace Draven (Wraith Kings #1)
Favorite Urban Fantasy
Dead Heat by Patricia Briggs (Alpha and Omega #4)
Favorite Paranormal Romance
Soulbound by Kristen Callihan (Darkest London #6)
Favorite Mystery/Thriller
Innocent in Death by J.D. Robb (In Death #3)
Favorite “New to Me” Comic Series
Chew by John Layman
Favorite New Adult Book
Lead by Kylie Scott (Stage Dive #3)
Favorite Young Adult
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (Cruel Beauty Universe #1)
Film
All links below go to IMDB.
Favorite TV Series
The X-Files (1993 – 2002)
I discovered this was on Netflix over the summer and randomly decided to try watching a couple episodes. That decision led to the most hardcore binge watching I have ever done. I swear the only reason I took breaks was because I had to go to work. I was essentially a hermit until I hit season 6 and finally started to lose interest. I plan to do some sort of Film Friday feature about it, eventually. I just need to decide exactly how I want to handle talking about TV shows in those posts. Best and worst episode lists? Season by season reviews? Any thoughts?
Runner-up
Frasier (1993 – 2004)
I unintentionally binged on a lot of shows from the 90’s this year. I’d always caught glimpses of “Frasier” growing-up but it never really interested me. Late this fall I was looking for something light to watch and this fit the bill. I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, so it was a pleasant surprise.
Favorite Movie
Darjeeling Limited (2007)
I saw exactly zero new releases this year. Even though I had every intention of going to see at least “The Martian” while it was in theaters, time slipped away too fast. I did, however, manage to stream a few movies I had been wanting to see for a while. Out of them all, “The Darjeeling Unlimited” was my favorite. I really have a soft spot for Wes Anderson’s films. The tone he sets with each one hits all the right chords for me.
Games
All the links below go to Steam.
Favorite Game Overall
Contrast
What else was I doing besides reading this year? Playing random video games. Out of all the games I played, “Contrast” was by and far my favorite one. It’s pretty short (only took me about 5-ish hours to completely finish), but extremely atmospheric. I loved that it’s set in the 1920’s and mixes elements from film noir and vaudeville together. Even better is that it features some great female characters. I’m hoping that we eventually get another game set in this world, since it feels like there’s so much more left to explore.
Favorite Otome Game
Amnesia: Memories
I played a lot of otome games this summer. They’re a big guilty pleasure for me. Out of all of them “Amnesia: Memories” was my favorite. The story lines can be pretty disturbing and most of the time you end up dying or meeting some other rather horrifying fate… I loved that. It also helps that the artwork is gorgeous and the stories are all very interesting.
Frasier repeats are on here a few times a day at the moment, and it’s the first time I’ve ever watched it! I don’t know if it’s just nostalgia, but I seem to be watching more Nineties shows than new shows these days.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same here! It was my first time watching Frasier as well. I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
2015 was all about the 90’s shows. For me, I think it was a mix of nostalgia and that shows from the 90’s are what seem to be mostly available on Netflix right now.
LikeLike
I so loved Archangel’s Enigma. Naasir… I also enjoyed Dead Heat. I do also love The X-Files. I remember watching it years ago when it first aired. I still go back and reruns on Netflix. I laugh at some of the bad clothing, but still love the stories. Great list. Here’s to a great 2016!
Melanie @ Hot Listens and Rabid Reads.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! The clothing in the early X-Files episodes are pretty amazing. I really loved most of the stories as well, with the exception of a few (mostly ones where they concentrated on technology) they all held up pretty well.
Mmmm, yes. Naasir is one of my favorite character’s of Singh’s now. That book was pretty excellent.
Happy 2016!
LikeLike
Cruel Beauty is definitely one of my favorites. I just finished her other book Crimson Bound, but I still like her Cruel Universe better. Happy Monday!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ooo nice! Crimson Bound is on my TBR pile. I’m planning to get to it soon. Happy Monday to you as well, Lekeisha!
LikeLike
Great list of favorites!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! 😀
LikeLike
Lumberjanes! I love that series as well. I can’t wait for the next volume. I had the same issue with starting out strong and then slowing down. I was ahead on my goodreads challenge and then I hit a major slump. Hoping to work on that this year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t wait for the next issue either. I’m going to be patient with the library though and resist the urge to just buy it.
LikeLike
Great year! And I really like your breakdown of where your books came from! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Lisa! 😀
LikeLike
Happy New Year! What a great year in books, and I was so surprised and happy to see Frasier in your TV list too. Its great, isn’t it? I still like to put it on every once in a while, just because it’s such a feel good show. They don’t make sitcoms like that anymore 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Mogsy! Happy New Year to you too. Yes! I love the show quite a bit (especially Niles’ character).
LikeLike
Oh some great looking reads in there. I need to try more from male authors. I don’t know that I even read one in 2015. Eeps!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel ya. I have had many years like that too, Anna. 😛
LikeLike
Oh, real life always gets in a way. At least, you know why your number is down.
It’s a nice list you have up there 🙂 out of it, I’ve read Archangel’s Enigma, Dead Heat, Innocent in Death and Lead.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice! We’ve read quite a few similar titles. 😀
LikeLike
Kindle Unlimited does make it WAY too easy to get sucked up in the erotica whirlpool. Lumberjanes was so much fun. And CHEW! Welcome to the fold. One of us. One of us. I started Contrast, but I need to finish it. I don’t know why I stopped playing. I think I just got busy and other stuff was released and it got lost in the shuffle. I’ll make that a priority once I finish Undertale. Hurray for a great reading/gaming/media year. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha! Yes! So glad to be apart of the fold. 😛
It’s easy to get busy with other stuff and forget to come back to a game. I have several that I started this year and enjoyed but just got distracted with other shiny games and never got back to them. I just went and looked up Undertale. That one looks awesome, I think I might need to get it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I highly recommend it. It has that old school rpg feel, but with a twist. The puns in it are hilarious. I didn’t expect it to be as much fun as it was.
LikeLike
You have some great titles here! I love Lumberjanes, I can’t wait to read the second volume soon. The Alpha & Omega series is also one of my favourites, although admittedly there was a LOT of talk about horses in Dead Heat…maybe too much, haha. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Omg, yes! All the horse talk in Dead Heat drove me insane. That was the one downside of that book for me. Even though it started to get amusing after a while. Especially when Briggs went so far as to the start describing not just the “real” horses but the horses in a picture that one of the characters was looking at. 😛
LikeLike
Nicely done! OMG my # of adult romance reads pretty much doubled, from 2014 to 2015! Or something like that. I got waaaaay too many cheap and free ones! lol. I hope you have a wonderful year in reading! 🙂
Alyssa @ The Eater of Books!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Alyssa! I hope you have a great reading year, as well.
LikeLike
Excellent lists!
And I didn’t realise you had Kindle Unlimited! I’ve been wondering if it’s worth it – may have a closer look at the books in it now.
Li
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Li! I actually just canceled my Kindle Unlimited subscription this month.
If you like erotica I think it’s definitely worth it, but I was only able to really find one book outside of that genre that I was interested during the year that I was subscribed. I think they give you the first month or two free when you first sign-up. So if you decide to check it out and don’t like it, then it shouldn’t be too bad.
LikeLike
I’d love to see some best and worst episodes lists for X-Files from you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay! I’ll have to work on narrowing them down. It’s going to be hard to narrow the best episodes to just 10. 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Sunday Post: January 10, 2016 | Book Minx Reads
Pingback: 2016 in Review | Book Minx