Holiday Post 2015: Books and Reading

Image from Nina Matthews on Flickr

We are still in the midst of the 12 Days of Christmas, so the holidays are still on. I continue my annual series of holiday posts today with my post on books and reading. This is the time of year when many folks reflect on what they read the previous year, and they often post it online somehow. I will be doing my end of year reading post a bit later this month. This is also the time of year when folks start choosing books to read in the new year. Some people do reading challenges. Thus I hope some of these lists I have found may be helpful for some folks looking for reading ideas. I will add my comments to the links, including highlights of books I have read and reviewed to help readers have some additional information.

The Big Lists

Yea, I feel like I at least have to give a nod to the big lists out there. This is the stuff everyone mentions.

• Amazon has its lists of best of 2015. Feel free to look them over and see if you find something you like. 
• Publishers Weekly also has their list of the best for the year. 
• The New York Times Book Review has their 10 Best for 2015 list.
• English PEN has highlights of books from various PEN Centers.

Some ideas for graphic novels and comics

I read quite a bit in this genre, so naturally I would like to share some suggestions and ideas. There are a few titles on these lists that I have read, and there are a lot I have not. Some of those not read I may even add to my TBR lists. If you need more ideas, you can also explore some of my book reviews on this blog by following the label links.

• Comics Beat 2015 Best list. 
• School Library Journal has a list of Top 10. From this list, I already have Ultraman on my TBR. 
• Michael Cavna of The Washington Post has a list too. From this list, I read and highly recommend March: Book Two. 
• Of course IO9 has their list. From this list, I have read the first three volumes of the Saga series, and I will continue reading the series in 2016 (my review of the first two volumes and of volume three). I have also read the first two volumes of Palmiotti's run of Harley Quinn, which I have enjoyed (review for volume one and for volume two); I already have the third volume loaded on my e-reader, thanks to NetGalley, so stay tuned for that review. I read the first volume of Stewart's run of Batgirl as well; it was a bit "too teen" for me, but I think young readers will enjoy it. Bitch Planet I had on NetGalley, but I decided not to read it at this time. IO9 describes it as "a raw, gritty love letter to exploitation and grindhouse movies with an unabashedly feminist core." I like the exploitation and grindhouse genres, but I am not honestly in the mood to read a feminist treatise, which is how some early reviews describe it. If my public library picks it up, I may borrow it, but it is not on my "must read" options. There are couple other titles on this list that sound interesting to me such as Midnighter and Democracy.
• Comic Book Resources (CBR) has their master list of 100 Best for 2015. There are a lot of things here, including some good ones, so I am sure many of you can find something to read. The list features some titles I have read and reviewed here including Saga, March: Book Two, and Harley Quinn.
• Interested in manga? The Manga Bookshelf blog has some posts of interest. Brigid Alverson gives some links in "Best of 2015". Katherine Dacey gives us the "Best and Worse Manga of 2015." 
• For more manga, Experiments in Manga gives us a list of notables for the year.

Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, and other Speculative Fiction

•  Looking for science fiction and fantasy? IO9 has their list of what they consider the best for 2015. 
• Kirkus fills a tall order with what they deem as the absolute best of SF/F in 2015. I will let my readers look it over and decide. Feel free to comment.

En Español

If you read in Spanish, like I do, this section may be for you. Articles here are in Spanish, so are most of the books they highlight; other books they highlight can be Spanish translations of books in English, or other international titles in Spanish translation, all of which I always find interesting to see.

• From El Pais, their 2015 Books of the Year list.  This is a website with various sections highlighting the best of the year. 
• La Nacion has a list of 15 books you should have read in 2015.

Other Miscellaneous Lists

This is where I am putting other lists that have a bit of everything, that I cannot easily categorize, I just do not want to put in a separate category.

• The Booklist Reader highlights the 2015 Library Reads Favorites List. They also put together an "Oddly Specific Guide to Holiday Gift-Giving" which is basically a bit humorous and eclectic book list for gifts. And of course, they have their own best of the year list. 
• The Art of Manliness has their list of best books they read in 2015. They are not all books that came out in 2015, but books they picked up last year. From this list, I have read and enjoyed The Godfather, which is one of my all time favorite novels. While the list overall has a decidedly masculine bent, there are some titles on it worth a look. 
• If you feel a need to balance out the manliness above, or just want to diversify your reading, Ms. magazine does have a holiday reading list of feminist books. 
• Want science books? Gizmodo has a list of science books they loved in 2015.
• Want some books for kids? Shelf Talk has a list with some emphasis on nonfiction.
• On an interesting take, The Spectator has a list of best and overrated books of 2015. Apparently that did well, so they did a second follow-up list. 
• If you are interested in reading works from abroad in English translation, World Literature Today has a list of 75 notable translations.
• And then, there are the worst books of 2015 in fiction, according to Steve Reads. If anyone has read any of these, and they want to confirm or deny how bad they are, feel free to comment.
• The Arabic Literature (in English) blog has some posts of interest. First, there is their "10 Authors' Favorites of 2015" which is a nice summary of some of what is available of Arabic literature in English translation. Next, they offer a small overview of Algerian literature in 2015. And finally they offer a list of forthcoming works to consider for 2016. 
• Guys Lit Wire give a list of five of their favorites. 
• The Book Smugglers have their top books of 2015.
• The Prosen People blog has a list of fiction, nonfiction, and memoir for 2015. They also offer a list of essential essays and interviews for the year.

Books as Gifts and Other Trivia

These articles are things about books I thought would be of interest for my four readers.

•  Are you giving books or book-related items as gifts? Book Riot has some rules (or firm suggestions) on the topic.
• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books has an interesting list: tech related to reading that may make your life easier, say if you use an e-reader.
• Wise Bread has some gift suggestions for book lovers. 

LGBTQ, Sex Books and Erotica

Finally, to wrap up, I found some lists on sex books, queer topics, and erotica that may be of interest to some readers. Some of this material may be NSFW, so if this is not your cup of tea, that is cool,  just stop reading here. Otherwise, read on and enjoy.

•  Jiz Lee has put together an excellent list of "The Best Sex Books of 2015." These are mostly nonfiction titles about sex, the sex industry, porn, theory, queer, and related topics. From the list, I did read and review Best Sex Writing of the Year, Volume 1 book (link to review). She did intentionally skip erotica but does provide a couple of links to good erotica editors if you wish to explore those as well. 
• Bending the Bookshelf has posted a Best of 2015 list. If you enjoy erotica in topics like crossdressing, femdom, and transgender, this is a list for you.
• Via Autostraddle, here is a list of "Top 10 Queer and Feminist Books of 2015." While these are not all NSFW per se, given the topics may be sensitive, I listed the link under this heading. 
• And to close, this is an interesting item. Comicosity presents "Year of the Queer: DC Comics in 2015." It is a look at queer moments in DC Comics.