It’s so hard to pick favorites when I read so many great books, but here are some of the outstanding titles I encountered this year, to which I’ve awarded the Emerald City Book Review Gem. Check out Top Ten Tuesday for many more year’s best lists.
2015 Releases: Fiction – Girl Waits with Gun / Nonfiction – The Fellowship
Historical fiction: New – The Wild Girl / Classic: Shadows on the Rock
Translated fiction: The True Deceiver
Fantasy: The Golem and the Jinni
New-to-me Author: Margery Sharp
Memoir/Nature: H Is for Hawk; The Shepherd’s Life
Nonfiction: Is that a Fish in Your Ear?
Children’s/YA: El Deafo; Krabat and the Sorcerer’s Mill; Seacrow Island; The Hired Girl
Rereads: Tam Lin
Series: The Wolves Chronicles
What were your favorite reads this year?
The Emerald City Book Review Archive 
I love how you did this list – especially the categories! I haven’t read any of these, but have seen H is for Hawk pop up on a ton of best of the year lists so far!
Question – how did you get the books in your graphic to look almost 3D? Which program did you use?
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It was fun to pick my own categories! š
The graphic was done with PicMonkey. You have to create a collage, then go into “edit” mode to add the drop shadow. It took me a while to figure that out but there are probably tutorials to help.
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I haven’t read any of these books, and I might have said this before, but your blog is just lovely. The header, how clean and neat everything looks. I seriously love it š Great job!
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Thanks Allyson! I have to give credit to Stephanie of These Paper Hearts for doing my header and design (with minimal input from me). I love it too.
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Her blog is lovely, too š She is a talented lady!
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You’ve read some great books in 2015! I loved The Wild Girl and The Golem and the Jinni too, though I think I read them last year or the year before. I haven’t made my own list yet, but I’m starting to think about it.
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Can’t wait to see your list!
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I like how you’ve split your choices into categories. I am still working on a Top 10 post to round off the year – as you never know what great reads you may have in the last few days of the year!
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Very true. I have to sneak them into the next year’s list if that happens.
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So many possibilities! I haven’t read any of these but would be interested in any one of them. I am especially interested in Tam Lin and The Hired Girl.
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Very good taste you have!
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Yes to Girl Waits with Gun and The Golem and the Jinni! I’ll have to look at some of your other books as well.
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I’m glad you liked those too!
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Great list! H is for Hawk and The Hired Girl are both on my list for the new year; I’ve been waiting on the hold list for The Hired Girl for a couple months now, but I should get a copy soon…fingers crossed. š
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It will come through eventually — hopefully not at a time when you have to leave town or something.
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That’s the worst when that happens…or when you already have too many books checked out of the library…which, with me, is more likely. š
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Love how you split this one up! The Golem and the Jinni was a favorite of mine as well!
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I hope we’ll see another book from that author soon.
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I started reading The Hired Girl the other day, and I’m enjoying it so much. It’s like an updated version of the “spunky pioneer girl” stories I loved so much when I was a kid. A little grittier, a little more aware, but still sweet, fascinating, and inspiring!
I’m also reading Is That a Fish In Your Ear. I can read nonfiction at breakfast safely without risking being late to work (fiction sucks me in too easily), so I’m reading it early in the morning, a chapter at a time. I’m thinking of buying a copy for my brother-in-law, who used to do Japanese and Russian translation.
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Oh good, I’m glad you find that one of interest. I thought it was so fascinating.
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I love how you covered a number of genres and both new and re-reads in your list! There are several here that I want to read, but there are three I definitely plan to read whenever I can squeeze them in: H is for Hawk, The Golem and the Jinni, and Tam Lin.
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That’s a very good assortment right there.
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I love your variety!! My TTT
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I do like to mix things up as much as possible.
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The Fellowship sounds outstanding–I will have to read that soon! What an interesting, eclectic set of books. Looks like you had a marvelous reading year. H is For Hawk is also on my 2016 list.
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I’m grateful to other bloggers for guiding me to many of these — of course I can’t remember now who they were. Perhaps I should make a 2016 resolution to keep better track.
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TAM LIN!! Oh gosh that is the comfortingest of comfort reads. Have you read other stuff by Pamela Dean? I tried two of her other books and just couldn’t get into them.
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I read Juniper, Gentian and Rosemary, which was all right but never rated a reread. My library didn’t have any of her other books and I wasn’t motivated to seek them out. Love Tam Lin though.
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Great list! It reminds me of some books I have been meaning to read, and there are also a couple of new ones for me to check out! The Golem and the Jinni has been sitting on my shelf for far too long, and Girl Waits With Gun is one I’m pretty anxious to read.
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Those have been two very popular choices. Hope you enjoy them too!
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I plan to read Girl Waits with Gun and The Hired Girl very soon! They sound very good. š I hope 2016 brings you many wonderful reads as well.
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They were both excellent. I do hope for some more great finds in 2016.
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Fun list! I need to get to H is for Hawk soon — only heard good things about it!
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Yes, I’ve seen it on so many best-of-year lists.
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Great list! I love the way you did this by genre and I love it even more because of all the different genres you’ve read.
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It is fun to see what categories I can come up with each time (so as to fit in as many favorite books as possible).
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