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Book Recommendations/Discussions > What were the best books you read in 2015?

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message 1: by Tanya (last edited Dec 18, 2015 05:16AM) (new)

Tanya | 6 comments I could go on and on but if I had to choose one I think I'll go for The Unaccustomed Earth Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri


message 2: by Yash (last edited Dec 18, 2015 11:26PM) (new)

Yash (ysharma) | 96 comments Like Tanya, I read some very very good stuff, but if I were to pick one it would have to be:
If on a Winter's Night a Traveller by Italo Calvino


message 3: by Nidhi (new)

Nidhi Srivastava (nidhisrivastava) | 109 comments Mod
I read my first Agatha Christie and Roald Dahl this year. Otherwise, I loved reading The Complete Maus, The Martian and A Princess of Mars!


message 4: by Chaitanya (new)

Chaitanya Harinath Best book I read this year is Inferno (Robert Langdon, #4) by Dan Brown


message 5: by Varun (new)

Varun Singh (vrunsingh) | 2 comments The highlights of my year were Guns, Germs, and Steel The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond , Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes and 1066 The Year of the Conquest by David Howarth . Honourable mention: Tamas by Bhisham Sahni


message 6: by Shivam (new)

Shivam Kalra (thatwriterfromdelhi) | 41 comments I think the best book I've read this year would be Holy Cow An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald . It has left a mark on me and changed me as person. I had to rethink some of baseless ideas of being atheiest or sceptic. A beautiful travelogue about India.


message 7: by Utkarsh (new)

Utkarsh Bansal (yourfriendlyneighborhoodbansal) | 68 comments This was the year where I expanded my reading a bit, trying to explore, so some of my all-time favorites as well as some of my most hated books ever can be found in my this year's read list. The book that left the greatest impression on me would be 1984 by George Orwell . I love the setting, love the characters, and most of all, love the ideas.


message 8: by Nithesh (new)

Nithesh S (nitheshsatish) | 3 comments What is Life by Erwin Schrodinger and Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb were two fabulous books I read this year. Both have done huge amount work in the fields of Physics and Markets respectively.

While Schrodinger delves deeply into the relationships between science, quantum physics , biology and life; Taleb lets you know how the entire universe is immersed in randomness and mere chance.

In addition to this , the book Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman was another fascinating insight into the workings/ psychology of the human brain.


message 9: by Nidhi (new)

Nidhi Srivastava (nidhisrivastava) | 109 comments Mod
Utkarsh wrote: "This was the year where I expanded my reading a bit, trying to explore, so some of my all-time favorites as well as some of my most hated books ever can be found in my this year's read list. The bo..."

1984 is a favourite! It rends your heart apart though.

Making a note of all the books mentioned in this thread!


message 10: by Utkarsh (new)

Utkarsh Bansal (yourfriendlyneighborhoodbansal) | 68 comments In the climax, yes. But before that, it turns your brain into scrambled egg.


message 11: by Shikha (new)

Shikha Gupta (shikhagupta) | 3 comments We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
A simple, charming, heartbreaking story.

Also, the entire 'Sweet Tooth' series of graphic novels. Excellent storytelling, complemented by equally compelling art.

Sweet Tooth, Vol. 1 Out of the Deep Woods by Jeff Lemire


message 12: by Utkarsh (new)

Utkarsh Bansal (yourfriendlyneighborhoodbansal) | 68 comments Shikha wrote: "We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
A simple, charming, heartbreaking story.

Also, the entire 'Sweet Tooth' series of graphic novels. Excellent storytelling, complemented..."


Hey, that's the one from the Secret Santa! Nice, I want to read it sometime.

Also, Jeff Lemire also wrote a series of graphic novels on Green Arrow, starting with Green Arrow, Vol. 4 The Kill Machine by Jeff Lemire . If you like Arrow, you'll love this.


message 13: by Siddhant (new)

Siddhant Jain (bluenotebook) | 1 comments A little late to the party, but, I guess I totally want this book to be added to everyone's lists:

Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality

I would have written a very flowery review here, but , I don't think I can do justice to the book through a review I write and hence will steer away people from it by writing a bad review. So, why don't you just check it out? Maybe read a few chapters (available for free online, legally) and decide for yourself. If you are the curious sorts you will end up checking it out and it's only the curious that this book might appeal to.


message 14: by Malvika (new)

Malvika (malvikonga) | 12 comments I think mine were Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz The Complete Maus (Maus, #1-2) by Art Spiegelman and Paying for It by Chester Brown to name a few.


message 15: by Utkarsh (new)

Utkarsh Bansal (yourfriendlyneighborhoodbansal) | 68 comments Malvika wrote: "I think mine were Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz The Complete Maus (Maus, #1-2) by Art Spiegelman and [bookcover:Paying for It..."

Maus! By far the best Nazi Germany/WWII book I've ever read. (Unfortunately, also the worst. I haven't read all that many of them.)


message 16: by Tanya (new)

Tanya (tanyadubey) | 3 comments Into the wild & metamorphosis!


message 17: by Yuvraj (last edited Jan 11, 2016 08:17PM) (new)

Yuvraj Singh | 5 comments one hundred years of solitude, beloved, crime and punishment, disgrace, never let me go


message 18: by Malvika (new)

Malvika (malvikonga) | 12 comments I absolutely loved Maus! The illustrations were what made the account so much more amazing. Utkarsh wrote: "Malvika wrote: "I think mine were Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz The Complete Maus (Maus, #1-2) by Art Spiegelman and [bookcov..."


message 19: by Utkarsh (new)

Utkarsh Bansal (yourfriendlyneighborhoodbansal) | 68 comments Malvika wrote: "I absolutely loved Maus! The illustrations were what made the account so much more amazing. Utkarsh wrote: "Malvika wrote: "I think mine were Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger [bookcover:Aristot..."

I know, right? All the metaphors!


message 20: by Vishal (new)

Vishal | 3 comments The best book I read in 2015 was undoubtedly Cuckold by Kiran Nagarkar . It is an absolute gem and should be read by more people. One of the best books by an Indian author


message 21: by Varun (last edited Jan 26, 2016 03:08PM) (new)

Varun Vasudev | 81 comments Ready Player One by Ernest Cline , The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson , Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) by Brandon Sanderson , Brave New World by Aldous Huxley , Batman Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb , The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1) by Brandon Sanderson


message 22: by Utkarsh (last edited Jan 26, 2016 08:41PM) (new)

Utkarsh Bansal (yourfriendlyneighborhoodbansal) | 68 comments Varun wrote: "Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) by Brandon Sanderson, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Batman Dark Victory by Jeph Loeb, [bookc..."

If you loved The Long Halloween and Dark Victory, try [book:Superman for All Seasons|106859]


message 23: by Varun (new)

Varun Vasudev | 81 comments Utkarsh wrote: "Varun wrote: "Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) by Brandon Sanderson, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, [bookcover:Batman: Dark Victory|1..."

Oh ok thanks but have to say, not a big superman fan


message 24: by Utkarsh (new)

Utkarsh Bansal (yourfriendlyneighborhoodbansal) | 68 comments Varun wrote: "Utkarsh wrote: "Varun wrote: "Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson, Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, #2) by Brandon Sanderson, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, [bookcover:Batman..."

That's the idea. This isn't a book for Superman fans (plot-wise, it's just a retelling of his origin, really), it's the book that makes people Superman fans.


message 25: by Shwetha (new)

Shwetha H.S. (shwethahs) | 3 comments The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht was "The Best" book I read in 2015. I not only liked the story and narration, but also liked texture of its cover and pages. I did not take up any other book even weeks after I finished this book.


message 26: by Nidhi (new)

Nidhi Srivastava (nidhisrivastava) | 109 comments Mod
Shwetha wrote: "The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht was "The Best" book I read in 2015. I not only liked the story and narration, but also liked texture of its cover and pages. I di..."

Ooooh a book hangover! What is the texture like?


message 27: by Lenny (new)

Lenny (lenny_ray) | 8 comments It had been a while since I'd literally fallen in love with a book. Then I met The Gone-Away World  by Nick Harkaway And I do mean literally :D What else do you call thinking about it all day, wanting to talk about it to anyone willing - and unwilling - to listen, not being able to wait to get home and curl up in bed with it? It's hard to compare it to anything, but if I had to, it would be Catch-22. It tackles the same theme - the utter absurdity of war, and what it does to the mind. What seems like a fun dystopian romp on the surface is much, much more. And these are really the best kinds of books, IMO. The ones that can be thoroughly enjoyed on different levels.
TL;DR: Just read it; it's amazing :P


message 28: by Nikhil (new)

Nikhil Deo | 3 comments The best book i read in 2015 was Goat Days. It was originally written in Malayalam and quite recently it was translated in English. Most of the book is tragic but ends with a happy ending. The book is about a man who dreams to earn money in a foreign land but fate turns him into a slave for his master. But certain of the book was so tragic that it would make a sensitive person cry but at the same certain minor incidents would even make the readers happy.


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