{"id":4580,"date":"2015-12-30T12:50:28","date_gmt":"2015-12-30T20:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.209.169.194\/blogs\/paul\/?p=4580"},"modified":"2020-12-31T13:35:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T21:35:12","slug":"2015-the-year-in-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/paul\/2015-the-year-in-books\/","title":{"rendered":"2015: the year in books"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in 2009 I started posting a summary at the end of the year of what I read during the year (see my posts from\u00a02009<\/a>,\u00a02010<\/a>,\u00a02011<\/a>, 2012<\/a>, 2013<\/a>, 2014<\/a>) and people have been enjoying it, so here I present the 2015 end-of-year post. I set a moderate goal of 50 books this year and I managed 88! I thought about pushing for 100 like I did in 2009 but I didn’t read enough in October and November to be able to do it. Just like last year, I wanted to get through some of my larger non-fiction books but ended up not doing as many as I thought (reading more, shorter books). Next year I\u2019m setting myself a goal of reading 50 books again.<\/p>\n

For the record, I read \u2018real\u2019 books \u2013 i.e. not in electronic form \u2013 I don\u2019t like reading off a screen. Yes, I\u2019ve seen electronic readers \u2013 we both\u00a0have iPads \u2013 and I\u2019m not interested in ever reading electronically. I also don\u2019t \u2018speed read\u2019 \u2013 I read quickly and make lots of time for reading.<\/p>\n

Why do I track metrics? Because I like doing it,\u00a0and being able to compare against previous years. Some people don\u2019t understand the logic in that \u2013 each to their own :-)<\/p>\n

I vacillated for the last few days about which book to crown as my favorite, and I just couldn’t come to a decision, so just like in 2012, I give you my favorite 3 books:\u00a0Seveneves<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0by Neal Stephenson,\u00a0<\/strong>All The Light We Cannot See<\/a>\u00a0by Anthony Doerr<\/strong>, and\u00a0The Bone Clocks<\/a>\u00a0by David Mitchell<\/strong>. All three are just superb books and I strongly recommend you give them a try. You can read my review of them\u00a0in the top-10 (well, 14) list below.<\/p>\n

Now the details. I enjoy putting this together as it will also serve as a record for me many years from now. I hope you get inspired to try some of these books \u2013 push yourself with new authors and very often you\u2019ll be surprisingly pleased. Don’t forget to check out the previous year’s blog posts for more inspiration too.<\/p>\n

Once again I leave you with a quote that describes a big part of my psychological make-up:<\/p>\n

In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Analysis of What I Read<\/h2>\n

I read 37353\u00a0pages, or 102.34\u00a0pages a day, and a book every 4.1\u00a0days or so. The chart below shows the number of pages (y-axis) in each book I read (x-axis).<\/p>\n

\"2015lengths\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2015genres\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The average book length was 423\u00a0pages, more than\u00a0100\u00a0pages shorter\u00a0than last year. That’s because I read a lot of series books where each isn’t hugely long.<\/p>\n

The Top-10<\/del>14<\/h2>\n

I read a lot of truly *superb*\u00a0books this year, and I just couldn’t whittle it down to a top-10, so here’s my top-14 (well, really more as some of them are the start of series).\u00a0If you don\u2019t read much, at least consider looking at some of these in 2016. It\u2019s impossible to put them into a priority order so I\u2019ve listed them in the order I read them, along with the short Facebook review I wrote at the time.<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>\u00a0#2; All The Light We Cannot See<\/a>; Anthony Doerr; 531pp; Historical Fiction; January 10; (Fabulous book about a blind French girl and an orphaned German boy who both experience WWII in their teenage years in vastly different ways, and come together briefly at the end of it. Wonderfully told, with richly evocative writing – I could visualize everything that was happening. Describes some of the horrors faced by those living through and perpetrating the occupation of France. Heading to Amazon to investigate his earlier works. Very strongly recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"2\"\u00a0#10; Mr. Midshipman Hornblower<\/a> (and the rest of the series); C.S. Forrester; 320pp; Historical Fiction; February 7; (I’m rereading the Hornblower Saga this year after having last (and first) read them in 2000. An excellent start to the series, this book introduces the young, inexperienced Hornblower and sees him transform into an honorable, competent Lieutenant. This book was also the inspiration for the first 4 episodes of the terribly good A&E television series starring Ioan Gruffudd. Looking forward to getting into the second one, and maybe I’ll shoot for 100 read books again this year?)<\/p>\n

\"3\"\u00a0#12; Ready Player One<\/a>; Ernest Cline; 384pp; Science Fiction; February 12; (Really good novel about players competing to ‘win’ a world-encompassing immersive, VR game after the founder dies and leaves a giant fortune to the winner. Quite similar in scope to Snow Crash, but obviously a different story. Quite a page turner, recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"4\"\u00a0#13; The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry<\/a>; Gabrielle Zevin; 288pp; Contemporary Fiction; February 13; (Start reading this yesterday morning and it became a page turner for me. It’s a great chick flick basically (which I love, but not usually in book form), about a book store and its owner and his life. Lots of little twists in the gentle story and a nice read. Now I’m taking the girls to Elliot Bay Bookstore in Seattle to buy more books. Chain book stores just don’t cut it unfortunately. Recommended!)<\/p>\n

\"5\"\u00a0#40; The Girl Who Played With Fire<\/a>; Stieg Larsson; 630pp; Contemporary Fiction; May 4; (I read the first book (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) back in 2011 and loved the movie last year (the new one, not the older Swedish one). This book’s even better than the first one I think – it turned into a real page turner for me over the last couple of hundred pages. Again it’s hard to talk about the plot without giving things away, but it’s a great thriller and strongly recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"6\"\u00a0#41; Gone Girl<\/a>; Gillian Flynn; 432pp; Contemporary Fiction; May 8; (Excellent page turner with some great twists. Highly recommended and I can’t wait to see the movie!)<\/p>\n

\"7\"\u00a0#44; Seveneves<\/a>; Neal Stephenson; 869pp; Science Fiction; June 14; (Really excellent, and long, novel about the destruction of the surface of the Earth (from the break up of the moon and subsequent bombardment with trillions of meteorites) and the human race’s survival in space (over a period of 5,000 years until the Earth’s surface cools down again) and re-colonization of the Earth. Very believable with no sci-fi that requires suspension of belief. Hugely recommended and I hope there’s a sequel.)<\/p>\n

\"8\"\u00a0#48; Nexus<\/a> (and the rest of\u00a0the series); Ramez Naam; 528pp; Science Fiction; June 30; (Excellent book! Start of a trilogy (I have the other two with me) about a mind-altering drug that expands consciousness and allows minds to talk to each other. The protagonists have extended the concept to run a Linux-like OS in their heads, with all kinds of interesting apps. And of course the US govt. is against it so all kinds of clandestine ops result, with lots of mayhem. A page-turner – highly recommended!)<\/p>\n

\"9\"\u00a0#50; Master and Commander<\/a> (and the rest of the series); Patrick O’Brian; 403pp; Historical Fiction; July 8; (First of the fantastic Aubrey-Maturin novels by Patrick O’Brian. I listened to all 20 of them in 2000-2002 while driving back-and-forth to work at Microsoft. This book introduces the principals, and deals with Jack Aubrey’s eventful captaincy of the sloop Sophie in the Mediterranean. Highly recommended, the entire series.)<\/p>\n

\"10\"\u00a0#56; Avogadro Corp<\/a> (and the rest of the series); William Hertling; 240pp; Science Fiction; July 23; (Cool start to the Singularity Series about runaway A.I. technology. In this book Avogadro gives it’s email program the capability to rewrite and\/or send emails for maximum chance of success, based on who the email is being sent to. And then someone adds another directive to maximize the chances of the survival of the project, and the story takes off from there. Clever concept and a quick read. Looking forward to the rest of them. Recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"11\"\u00a0#67; The Bone Clocks<\/a>; David Mitchell; 624pp; Contemporary Fiction; August 25; (What an excellent book! A very clever story, woven through long chapters\/novellas, each set in a different time, introducing and cleverly drawing together the principal characters. The character development is brilliant and I couldn’t put the book down – enormously entertaining and so far the best book I’ve read this year. Highly recommended!)<\/p>\n

\"12\"\u00a0#70; Outlander<\/a>; Diana Gabaldon; 640pp; Historical Fiction; September 6; (Several people have recommended this to me over the last year, given my Scottish roots, and I finally took the plunge and bought the first four books in the series. I\u2019m glad I did! It\u2019s a really good story about a woman who is transported back 200 years to just before the 1745 rebellion under Bonnie Prince Charlie and has to suddenly find her way in that time. It has plenty of colorful characters and action and I\u2019m really looking forward to continuing with the next books. And of course there’s the T.V. series (which I haven’t watched yet but I’ve heard is really good). Highly recommended!)<\/p>\n

\"13\"\u00a0#72; In Xanadu<\/a>: A Quest; William Dalrymple; 320pp; Travel; September 17; (Excellent travelogue following Marco Polo’s journey along the Silk Road to Xanadu. They travel through Israel, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and China in the late ’80s, with all kinds of interesting encounters along the way. Highly recommended – love Dalrymple’s writing style!)<\/p>\n

\"14\"\u00a0#76; The Golem and the Jinni<\/a>; Helene Wecker; 512pp; Historical Fiction; September 30; (Excellent debut novel set in early 1900s New York, following the story of a golem (a creature made from clay and brought to life with Kabbalistic magic) and a jinni (a natural, elemental creature made of fire) that was trapped in a copper flask by a wizard a thousand years ago. It covers their problems integrating into the populace of New York, their eventual meeting, and problems when their true nature starts to be discovered. Very well written and high engaging – highly recommended!)<\/p>\n

The Complete List<\/h2>\n

And the complete list, with links to Amazon so you can explore further. One thing to bear in mind, the dates I finished reading the book don\u2019t mean that I started, for instance, book #2 after finishing book #1. I usually have anywhere from 10-15 books on the go at any one time so I can dip into whatever my mood is for that day. Some books I read start to finish without picking up another one and some books take me over a year. Lots of long airplane flights help too!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Mission Mongolia<\/a>; David Treanor; 351pp; Travel; January 5<\/li>\n
  2. All The Light We Cannot See<\/a>; Anthony Doerr; 531pp; Historical Fiction; January 10<\/li>\n
  3. The Pagan Lord<\/a>; Bernard Cornwell; 300pp; Historical Fiction; January 14<\/li>\n
  4. A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts<\/a>; Andrew Chaikin; 720pp; History; January 17<\/li>\n
  5. Design for Survival<\/a>; General Thomas Power; 255pp; History; January 19<\/li>\n
  6. Turing’s Cathedral: The Origins of the Digital Universe<\/a>; George Dyson; 464pp; History; January 25<\/li>\n
  7. The Soul of a New Machine<\/a>; Tracy Kidder; 295pp; History; February 1<\/li>\n
  8. The Book of Air and Shadows<\/a>; Michael Gruber; 280pp; Contemporary Fiction; February 3<\/li>\n
  9. State of the Art<\/a>; Stan Augarten; 108pp; Nonfiction; February 6<\/li>\n
  10. Mr. Midshipman Hornblower<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 320pp; Historical Fiction; February 7<\/li>\n
  11. African Air<\/a>; George Steinmetz; 216pp; Photography; February 11<\/li>\n
  12. Ready Player One<\/a>; Ernest Cline; 384pp; Science Fiction; February 12<\/li>\n
  13. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry<\/a>; Gabrielle Zevin; 288pp; Contemporary Fiction; February 13<\/li>\n
  14. Half Way Home<\/a>; Hugh Howey; 359pp; Science Fiction; February 14<\/li>\n
  15. Lieutenant Hornblower<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 320pp; Historical Fiction; February 16<\/li>\n
  16. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference<\/a>; Malcom Gladwell; 304pp; Nonfiction; February 17<\/li>\n
  17. Daemon<\/a>; Daniel Saruez; 640pp; Science Fiction; February 18<\/li>\n
  18. See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA’s War on Terrorism<\/a>; Robert Baer; 320pp; Nonfiction; February 28<\/li>\n
  19. Inferno<\/a>; Dan Brown; 620pp; Contemporary Fiction; March 6<\/li>\n
  20. Freedom<\/a>; Daniel Saruez; 496pp; Science Fiction; March 8<\/li>\n
  21. The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour Through Alan Turing’s Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine<\/a>; Charles Petzold; 384pp; Nonfiction; March 14<\/li>\n
  22. Influx<\/a>; Daniel Saruez; 528pp; Science Fiction; March 15<\/li>\n
  23. Diamond Dogs Turquoise Days<\/a>; Alastair Reynolds; 304pp; Science Fiction; March 19<\/li>\n
  24. Inferno: The Longfellow Translation<\/a>; Dante; 200pp; Contemporary Fiction; March 19<\/li>\n
  25. Wool<\/a>; Hugh Howey; 528pp; Science Fiction; March 20<\/li>\n
  26. Prador Moon<\/a>; Neal Asher; 256pp; Science Fiction; March 21<\/li>\n
  27. Halting State<\/a>; Charles Stross; 336pp; Science Fiction; March 29<\/li>\n
  28. Rule 34<\/a>; Charles Stross; 352pp; Science Fiction; April 3<\/li>\n
  29. Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest<\/a>; Derek Hayes; 208pp; History; April 4<\/li>\n
  30. Hornblower and the Hotspur<\/a>; C. S. Forrester; 400pp; Historical Fiction; April 9<\/li>\n
  31. Hornblower During the Crisis<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 176pp; Historical Fiction; April 11<\/li>\n
  32. Hornblower and the Atropos<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 342pp; Historical Fiction; April 16<\/li>\n
  33. Maps of North America<\/a>; Ashley & Miles Baynton-Williams; 189pp; History; April 18<\/li>\n
  34. Beat To Quarters<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 273pp; Historical Fiction; April 19<\/li>\n
  35. Ship of the Line<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 304pp; Historical Fiction; April 24<\/li>\n
  36. The New Health Rules<\/a>; Frank Lipman & Danielle Claro; 224pp; Nonfiction; April 24<\/li>\n
  37. Flying Colours<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 256pp; Historical Fiction; April 25<\/li>\n
  38. Commodore Hornblower<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 343pp; Historical Fiction; April 26<\/li>\n
  39. Lord Hornblower<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 336pp; Historical Fiction; May 2<\/li>\n
  40. The Girl Who Played With Fire<\/a>; Stieg Larsson; 630pp; Contemporary Fiction; May 4<\/li>\n
  41. Gone Girl<\/a>; Gillian Flynn; 432pp; Contemporary Fiction; May 8<\/li>\n
  42. A Place Beyond Courage<\/a>; Elizabeth Chadwick; 504pp; Historical Fiction; May 14<\/li>\n
  43. Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies<\/a>; C.S. Forrester; 336pp; Historical Fiction; May 16<\/li>\n
  44. Seveneves<\/a>; Neal Stephenson; 869pp; Science Fiction; June 14<\/li>\n
  45. Kill Decision<\/a>; Daniel Saruez; 513pp; Science Fiction; June 25<\/li>\n
  46. Cibola Burn<\/a>; James S. A. Corey; 610pp; Science Fiction; June 27<\/li>\n
  47. Infinite Worlds: The People and Places of Space Exploration<\/a>; Michael Soluri; 352pp; Photography; June 28<\/li>\n
  48. Nexus<\/a>; Ramez Naam; 528pp; Science Fiction; June 30<\/li>\n
  49. Into The Black: Odyssey One<\/a>; Evan Currie; 580pp; Science Fiction; July 5<\/li>\n
  50. Master and Commander<\/a>; Patrick O’Brian; 403pp; Historical Fiction; July 8<\/li>\n
  51. Crux<\/a>; Ramez Naam; 577pp; Science Fiction; July 11<\/li>\n
  52. The Heart of Matter: Odyssey One<\/a>; Evan Currie; 627pp; Science Fiction; July 14<\/li>\n
  53. Homeworld: Odyssey One<\/a>; Evan Currie; 500pp; Science Fiction; July 16<\/li>\n
  54. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena<\/a>; Anthony Marra; 383pp; Contemporary Fiction; July 18<\/li>\n
  55. Apex<\/a>; Ramez Naam; 602pp; Science Fiction; July 21<\/li>\n
  56. Avogadro Corp<\/a>; William Hertling; 240pp; Science Fiction; July 23<\/li>\n
  57. A.I. Apocalypse<\/a>; William Hertling; 239pp; Science Fiction; July 28<\/li>\n
  58. The Last Firewall<\/a>; William Hertling; 305pp; Science Fiction; July 30<\/li>\n
  59. The Turing Exception<\/a>; William Hertling; 290pp; Science Fiction; July 31<\/li>\n
  60. The Kill Artist<\/a>; Daniel Silva; 490pp; Contemporary Fiction; August 3<\/li>\n
  61. Henry I<\/a>; C. Warren Hollister; 588pp; History; August 9<\/li>\n
  62. For The King’s Favor<\/a>; Elizabeth Chadwick; 530pp; Historical Fiction; August 13<\/li>\n
  63. Mapping the World<\/a>; Michael Swift; 256pp; History; August 15<\/li>\n
  64. Out of the Black<\/a>; Evan Currie; 440pp; Science Fiction; August 16<\/li>\n
  65. To Defy a King<\/a>; Elizabeth Chadwick; 523pp; Historical Fiction; August 21<\/li>\n
  66. @War: The Rise of the Military-Internet Complex<\/a>; Shane Harris; 288pp; Nonfiction; August 22<\/li>\n
  67. The Bone Clocks<\/a>; David Mitchell; 624pp; Contemporary Fiction; August 25<\/li>\n
  68. The Lions of Lucerne<\/a>; Brad Thor; 624pp; Contemporary Fiction; August 28<\/li>\n
  69. In An Antique Land: History in the Guise of a Traveller’s Tale<\/a>; Amitav Ghosh; 400pp; Nonfiction; August 31<\/li>\n
  70. Outlander<\/a>; Diana Gabaldon; 640pp; Historical Fiction; September 6<\/li>\n
  71. The Abyss Beyond Dreams<\/a>; Peter F. Hamilton; 608pp; Science Fiction; September 12<\/li>\n
  72. In Xanadu: A Quest<\/a>; William Dalrymple; 320pp; Travel; September 17<\/li>\n
  73. Post Captain<\/a>; Patrick O’Brian; 467pp; Historical Fiction; September 22<\/li>\n
  74. On The Steel Breeze<\/a>; Alastair Reynolds; 532pp; Science Fiction; September 24<\/li>\n
  75. The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters<\/a>; William Dalrymple; 356pp; Travel; September 29<\/li>\n
  76. The Golem and the Jinni<\/a>; Helene Wecker; 512pp; Historical Fiction; September 30<\/li>\n
  77. Veritas<\/a>; Monaldi and Sorti; 693pp; Historical Fiction; October 7<\/li>\n
  78. The Years of Rice and Salt<\/a>; Kim Stanley Robinson; 784pp; Science Fiction; October 17<\/li>\n
  79. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress<\/a>; Robert Heinlein; 382pp; Science Fiction; October 18<\/li>\n
  80. The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers; Geniuses; and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution<\/a>; Walter Isaacson; 542pp; History; November 1<\/li>\n
  81. Hunter Killer: Inside America’s Unmanned Air War<\/a>; T. Mark McCurley; 368pp; Nonfiction; November 14<\/li>\n
  82. Nemesis Games<\/a>; James S. A. Corey; 544pp; Science Fiction; November 17<\/li>\n
  83. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest<\/a>; Steig Larsson; 672pp; Contemporary Fiction; November 30<\/li>\n
  84. The English Assassin<\/a>; Daniel Silva; 416pp; Contemporary Fiction; December 10<\/li>\n
  85. Afghanistan: A Military History from Alexander the Great to the Taliban Insurgency<\/a>; Stephen Tanner; 392pp; History; December 23<\/li>\n
  86. H.M.S. Surprise<\/a>; Patrick O’Brian; 416pp; Historical Fiction; December 24<\/li>\n
  87. The Confessor<\/a>; Daniel Silva; 480pp; Contemporary Fiction; December 26<\/li>\n
  88. The Mauritius Command<\/a>; Patrick O’Brian; 348pp; Historical Fiction; December 27<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Back in 2009 I started posting a summary at the end of the year of what I read during the year (see my posts from\u00a02009,\u00a02010,\u00a02011, 2012, 2013, 2014) and people have been enjoying it, so here I present the 2015 end-of-year post. I set a moderate goal of 50 books this year and I managed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-personal"],"yoast_head":"\n2015: the year in books - Paul S. Randal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/paul\/2015-the-year-in-books\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2015: the year in books - Paul S. Randal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Back in 2009 I started posting a summary at the end of the year of what I read during the year (see my posts from\u00a02009,\u00a02010,\u00a02011, 2012, 2013, 2014) and people have been enjoying it, so here I present the 2015 end-of-year post. I set a moderate goal of 50 books this year and I managed […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/paul\/2015-the-year-in-books\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Paul S. 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