Nicole’s 5 Favorite Books of 2015

It’s that time of year again, the time where we start reflecting and making lists. And book lists are my favorite lists to share with you. But I’ve always felt so much pressure to limit my list to books published this year. No more! Instead, I’ve decided to make this a list of my favorite books I read for the first time in 2015. If you’d like to see all the books I read this year, and what I thought of them, check out my 2015 GoodReads Challenge.

1. Old Man’s War – I have a confession. I’m over dystopian science fiction. We’ve had so much of it in popular culture that I’m bored of it. There are exceptions to this of course (see Cinder below), but I want a return to traditional science fiction. And that’s exactly what Old Man’s War is. It’s a military science fiction that has a very human story to it that you can’t help but feel drawn into. It’s the first in a series that I’m looking forward to reading more of.
2. Cinder – And the rest of the Lunar Chronicles. This series was recommended to me early this year by Haley over at I Lay Reading. At first, I was skeptical. The last thing I wanted was another dystopian young adult novel with a female protagonist. But then I heard “cyborg” and decided to give it a try. And I’m glad I did. The series is a retelling of classic fairy tales with a cyberpunk twist. They feel fresh and new and I am completely hooked.
3. The Water Knife – I loved this book, but felt like I needed a gram of Soma to get through it. A near-future post-cyberpunk tale of what happens when drought hits and water is no longer pumped into the southwest. This could be the on the ground story of how Water and Power rise up in the years before Tank Girl. It’s dark and powerful and something you should put on your to-read list.
4. The Martian – More hard science fiction! When I read the reviews of The Martian, I was afraid it was going to be a very dry and technical book. Technical? Yes. Dry? Hardly. Weir does a great job of weaving a very human tale with scientific facts that is incredibly engaging. (I did a full review on the Martian here.)
5. Game of Thrones – I’m not really a fan of high fantasy. I’m not sure why, but it’s never really grabbed me. I haven’t even read Lord of the Rings (I tried, I just couldn’t get into it). But after hearing so many people say so many good things about this series, I gave it a try. And I’m hooked just like everyone else. I will recommend you read this book digitally if possible. There are so many characters and relationships that Kindle X-Ray made it much easier to keep up with who is who in the beginning.

Disclaimer: All Amazon links are affiliate links. With the exception of The Martian I bought all these books myself or checked them out from my local library (and I ended up buying a copy of The Martian anyway).