I read a mere 64 books this year which is more than I expected to find when I sat down and counted my posts this morning.  In the past I’ve hung around the 100 mark, usually close to it, topping it a couple of times.

One reason why my total is so low is that I’m not reading any where near the large amount of YA stuff that I used to read.  I should get back to reading more YA novels because being more on top of the current books made me a much better reading teacher.  I could try for two a month in 2016, that would not be difficult for me since I can read most of them in just over two hours.  I could do what an old librarian friend of mine used to do and read the first and last chapters.

And, to be honest, I haven’t been reading as much as I used to.  Too much time on-line; too much time watching television.  Both things that I can cut back on.

That said, when I sat down too look over what I have read, I came up with a pretty good list of favorite reads for the year.  My long list is below.  I’ll select a top ten for New Year’s Eve.

• The Duel by Giacomo Casanova.  A surprise favorite.  This is a selection from Casanova’s much longer memoirs.  I found it very entertaining. Kind of exciting and very funny.
• The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante.  Yes, I was one of those people this year.  Ms. Ferrante swept me up her story of Neopolitan childhood.  I’m saving the last two volumes for 2015.
• The Beach of Falesa by Robert Louis Stevenson.  While this was not the pirate story I was expecting, it was a very good piece. A much more grown-up adventure story with something to say about colonialism.
• The Duel by Alexander Kuprin.  The second duel to make my long list.  Kuprin has that Russian sense of humor that makes Gogol so much fun.
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I read this one for Austen in August for the fourth time, I think.  Loved it.  It’s Jane’s world–the rest of us just write in it.
• My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.  The first volume in the Neopolitan series.  I found to be ground-breaking.  More please..
• Edinburgh by Alexander Chee.  This one I had forgotten until I re-read the review which was full of high praise.  I hope I remember Mr. Chee’s name, just in case I spot more of his work on store shelves.
• As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner.  Probably the funniest book I read this year, also maybe the darkest.  If you’re hesitant about reading Faulkner because he’s difficult, don’t be.  He turns out to be a very entertaining read.
• Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck.  Another one that I had basically forgotten until re-reading the review.  I do plan on reading more by Ms. Erpenbeck.
• Wide Open Town by Myron Brinig.  This one will be hard to find, but it’s worth the effort. I loved it.
• Parnassus on Wheels by Christopher Morley.   This book is now my fantasy retirement plan.  The hero buys a mobile bookstore and the team of horses that go with it then takes to the open road, selling books.  How great is that?
• Concrete Island by J.G. Ballard.  Robinson Crusoe trapped between highways in modern London.  A strange and compelling story.
• Hate: A Romance by Christian Garcia.  Probably a guilty pleasure.  Life and love among the gay intelligensia of AIDS era Paris.
• The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford.  Yes, the story of two dogs and a cat who travel across country to find their missing owners.  But it’s full of wonderful writing and it never becomes unbelievable.  I loved it.
• The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst.  A guilty pleasure read about spiritually lost people who become physically lost in a town where missing things all turn up.  There are lots of socks on the lawns each morning.
• A Month in the Country  by J.L. Carr.  A guilty pleasure read.   The title pretty much sums it up.
• Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm.   An old piece of science fiction I read when I was 17 that still holds up.  What will humanity become when we are all descendants of clones?
• Hollywood by Charles Bukowski.  Based on the authors time in Hollywood making the movie Barfly.  My first Bukowski novel.  I’m a convert.  Funny, insightful, strange.  Loved it.

So, not too bad for an off year.

What were your favorite reads of 2015?