Laurie R. King Virtual Book Club discussion

Goodreads Choice Award voting just got started today! So lets discuss our favorite books of 2015!

What books really stood out for you this year?

I am now realizing that I basically failed at reading new releases this year. I think I read maybe ten books that were published in 2015. This year was kind of a year of re-reads for me, actually.

The most memorable book for me this year is The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins, which was a fantasy novel with some mystery and horror elements. And I think the thing that grabbed me was the unusual plot construction, which just pulled me along with lots of "wait, what??"

Erin, I am with you on not reading many books that were released this year but two that I can think of are The Skeleton Haunts a House by Leigh Perry which is a humorous mystery which I just loved. The other is Jade Dragon Mountain by Elsa Hart which is a wonderful debut mystery set in China 1708.

The two books are very, very different but I enjoyed them both.

Dina wrote: "Erin, I am with you on not reading many books that were released this year but two that I can think of are The Skeleton Haunts a House by Leigh Perry which is a humorous mystery which I just loved...."

I also liked Jade Dragon Mountain very much, Dina. I reviewed it on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Did you know that the Goodreads Choice Awards includes books published in 2014 from November 15- December 31? These books weren't eligible in 2014 because eligibility runs from November 15 of the previous year to November 14 of the current year.

Funny, I read Jade Mountain and found it slow moving.

Eleanor, I thought that the pace was slow but appropriate in this society. For me, it matched the formality of the times.

This has been my worst year at reading a large amount of books in a long time. I've had lot of house renovation and fixing up going on, and it just stopped last week for good, or at least until next year when we tackle the family room, the last remaining room to do. That doesn't mean that I have a lack of great books I have read.

Ones that I've gotten to so far that were published in 2015 are Dreaming of Spies by Laurie; The Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust by Alan Bradley; Murder in Hindsight by Anne Cleeland; Night Night, Sleep Tight by Hallie Ephron; The Edge of Dreams by Rhys Bowen; Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett; The Ghost Fields by Elly Griffiths; Burnt River by Karin Salvalaggio; The Fatal Flame by Lyndsay Faye; Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day; Entry Island by Peter May; The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny; The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson; What You See by Hank Phillippi Ryan; and Mrs. Roosevelt's Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal (currently reading, but know it's a favorite).

Books that I sadly haven't gotten to that I know are going to be favorites are A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson; Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith; Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen; The Lake House by Kate Morton; LaFayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell; and When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning.

My favorites were Dreaming Spies by Laurie R King and Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Edgar Award nominees have been posted! And I realize that I don't know any of these authors. Are they all pretty new names, or have I just been super bad about the mystery genre lately?

Has anyone read any of these nominees yet?

http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html

Erin wrote: "Edgar Award nominees have been posted! And I realize that I don't know any of these authors. Are they all pretty new names, or have I just been super bad about the mystery genre lately?

Has anyone..."
Erin, I read "The Strangler Vine," which was very good. Have probably read some of the others but there were so many books listed I didn't have time to go thorough the whole post. There were quite a few names that were new to me on a quick glance, though.