Top 10 Novels of 2015

…according to Seattle Public Library’s Reader Services department

As Reader Services Librarians, we spend our days at the Central Library talking to people and suggesting books we think they might enjoy. Of course, we’re readers too. With the end of the year approaching we sat down and collaborated on a list of the novels we loved most this year. We hope you’ll love them, too.

~Happy Reading,
Andrea, David, Karen, Linda, Misha

The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough – Love and Death have chosen the players for their game – two teenagers in 1930s Seattle. Romance, jazz, airplanes, and issues of race and class.

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy – Thirteen children must agree what should happen to their family home. A beautifully written saga of a Detroit family.

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff – The story of an electric marriage, told from both sides. Recently President Obama listed this as his favorite novel of 2015; we agree.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – In this fantasy tinged with elements of horror, 12 librarians in a very peculiar family vie to control the world.

Welcome to Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson – Following a group of students from the rarefied atmosphere of UC Berkeley to a small town Civil War reenactment, this timely social satire looks at the ways we miscommunicate when we try to talk about race.

A Reunion of Ghosts by Judith Claire Mitchell – The darkly funny story of three sisters who pledge to commit suicide on the same day, but decide first to write the history of their cursed family.

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen – What happens when you defeat a nation that can never lose? A brilliant and revelatory look at the other side of the Vietnam War.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik – An atmospheric fairy tale for adults, complete with a quest, steadfast friendship, a hint of romance, and a heroine you root for.

Honeydew by Edith Pearlman – Wise and wistful short stories about everyday people navigating life and love, full of keen and startling observations.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara – A moving portrayal of friendship over the course of four mens’ lives. You will care about these characters long after the book ends.