2015 was a good year for books. First-time authors scored best-sellers. Every new thriller with a twisted female protagonist was being called the ‘next Gone Girl‘, we got a sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird, the Millennium series got a new book and Lisbeth Salander came back into our lives. The best part for me? Our queen, J.K Rowling (under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith) wrote the third book in the Cormoran Strike series. So, check out our list of the best books which released in 2015 and totally managed to knock our socks off (in random order) and tell us your fave.
1) The Girl On The Train – Paula Hawkins
Rachel takes the same train everyday to catch a glimpse of a couple she has named Jess and Jason who she knows nothing about but just imagines how their life will be. She’s never met the couple in reality, but after she sees something shocking in one of her journeys, Rachel HAS to tell the police about it. The police and everyone around her obviously thinks she’s crazy. What happens next is an extremely thrilling and weirdly bumpy train ride of your emotions. The book is so good, it’s being made into a movie too!
2) Dear Daughter – Elizabeth Little
We at Team MissMalini liked this book so much, we arranged a Google Hangout with the author to discuss Dear Daughter. The book is about an ‘IT girl’ Janie Jenkins (think Serena van der Woodsen but based in Los Angeles) who was put behind bars for the murder of her mother. Now released on a mere technically, Janie has to find out who was the real murderer and she has to do it fast. Janie, as a character is unlikable, and that’s what I like about this book.
3) The Girl With No Past – Kathryn Croft
So many books start with ‘The Girl’, na? That’s because girls are best, jaan lo. Okay sorry, but really, this book came up on my Goodreads recommendation list quite randomly. I read it because the reviewers were calling it the next Gone Girl, and after finishing it in one day, I know what people meant. No, it doesn’t have an Amazing Amy, out there to f*ck shit up. This one has Leah Mills who is a Grade A introvert, so much so that she panics if she has to make a little detour on her way to work. Why is she like that? The answer will manage to shock you (especially the end). I went and hugged my mother after finishing the story, I think so will you.
4) Career Of Evil – Robert Galbraith
The Cuckoo’s Calling was nice, Silkworm was interesting, but Career Of Evil by J.K Rowling (writing as Robert Galbraith) BLEW MY MIND! Rowling went into an extremely dark territory with this one as this book dealt with difficult issues like rape, incest, child molestation, acrotomophilia, and apotemnophilia! Cormoran Strike and Robin have to deal with a serial killer of the grossest kind in this story and some scenes will make you extremely uncomfortable. My advice would be to read it with caution and some hot chocolate.
5) I Take You – Eliza Kennedy
Our Pocket Stylist Anushka was reading and explaining the plot of this maddening novel to all of us at work the other day. After reading I Take You, I couldn’t figure if I like or hate the main protagonist – Lily Wilder and that’s what sets this book apart from other chick-lits.
6) Go Set A Watchman – Harper Lee
The sequel to the Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, To Kill A Mockingbird, Go Set A Watchman caused a lot of controversy because the author made the iconic Atticus Finch racist. Set in the 1950’s, this novel is a beautiful journey of Jean Louise Finch- “Scout”, but comparing it to Mockingbird will not be a good idea.
7) Modern Romance – Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg
Reading #ModernRomance by @azizansari and looking at relationships in the digital age in a whole new way. How long do YOU wait to text back?
— MissMalini (@MissMalini) August 22, 2015
The New York Times has called it – A hilarious, thoughtful, and an in-depth exploration of the pleasures and perils of modern romance from one of this generation’s sharpest comedic voices. Boss Lady MissMalini loves it. How can this hilarious book NOT feature in this list?
8) Why Not Me? – Mindy Kaling
What would the world be without Mindy Kaling? A dreadful place, that’s what it would be. After her debut book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me (And Other Concerns), Mindy wrote Why Not Me? and no book has made me laugh as hard as this one, apart from my all-time favorite, Bridget Jones’s Diary.
9) The Girl In The Spider’s Web – David Lagercrantz
Lisbeth Salander is back, bitches! This time, she and Blomkvist have been given to the gifted hands of David Lagercrantz, the author who has taken forward the Millennium series so lovingly created by the late Stieg Larsson. The Girl In The Spider’s Web is definitely a little different than the trilogy written by Stieg but in a good way. The new author has his own style which I’m sure the fans of this book series will like. Plus, we’re finally introduced to Lisbeth’s enigmatic twin sister Camilla Salander, and that’s when it all gets super interesting!
10) Mrs Funnybones
Twinkle Khanna is a sharp, sarcastic and hilarious woman. I’m sure, in a parallel universe, we’d be best buds. Mrs Funnybones is an easy and delightful read and a great start to Twinkle’s bright future as a novelist.
11) Shopaholic to the Rescue – Sophie Kinsella
The Shopaholic series will always remain a guilty pleasure for all of us. The one deals with the disappearance of Becky‘s father and best friend’s husband, Tarquin! To find out what this is all about, Luke drives Becky, their daughter Minnie, Jane, and Suze across the country from LA to Las Vegas in search of the missing men. And no, the book holds no similarity to The Hangover.
12) The Kind Worth Killing – Peter Swanson
A modern retelling of Patricia Highsmith’s novel Strangers On A Train (which was the source material for the Alfred Hitchcock classic by the same name), this is a tale of Lily and Ted and their secrets that involve sex, deception, and an accidental encounter that leads to murder. And no, they’re definitely not like the Ted and Lily you know in How I Met Your Mother.
13) Almost Famous Women: Stories – Megan Mayhew Bergman
As the title suggests, this book is a collection of stories that explores the lives of talented, gutsy women throughout the history. The novel includes stories of women like Lord Byron‘s illegitimate daughter, Allegra; Oscar Wilde‘s troubled niece, Dolly; West With the Night author Beryl Markham; Edna St. Vincent Millay‘s sister, Norma and their extraordinary stories.
14) The Bazaar Of Bad Dreams – Stephen King
This one is another collection of Stephen King‘s stories, several of them brand-new, featuring autobiographical comments on when, why, and how he came to write (or rewrite) each story. And come on, it’s Stephen King, you don’t need a reason to read his book.
15) Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined – Stephenie Meyer
This book has been put in this list solely because Stephenie Meyer actually managed to knock my socks off (in the most unpleasant way possible). No seriously. Only she can celebrate the 10th anniversary of Twilight with a ‘reimagining‘ of the same story. The difference here is that Edward and Bella have been gender swapped. Bella is now a boy named Beaufort Swan (I’m not kidding) and Edward is now a female vampire called Edythe Cullen. That’s how ridiculous this whole series was. Amaze.
Any more suggestions on the best (and one worst) books of 2015? Tell us in the comments below!