Books Read During 2015

Here, in no particular order, are my favorite books read in 2015. I was surprised to see that most of them are nonfiction.  I read more fiction this year; it just wasn’t that good.

Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

This is an account of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, a rowing team from the University of Washington, and a government on its way to World War II.

 

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Coates writes, in the form of a letter to his son, of the danger to the body for black boys and men in the U.S.

The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

This is a fascinating account of Orville and Wilber Wright’s thinking and creativity as they designed their airplane.

Our Kids by Robert D. Putnam

This is a disturbing account of the difference between the opportunities of rich and poor children.

Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller

A novel about a playwright who loses her lover during the period where she knows she must break up with him but hasn’t told him and his death by terrorism.

Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

A novel about life and how it would be different if one small thing were changed.

Can’t We Talk about Something More Pleasant? By Roz Chast

Cartoonist Chasz writes a memoir about her parent’s death using the kind of drawings she is known for and more prose than usual.