Books from 2015 and Reading Goals for 2016

My goal in 2015 was to read 30 books, and I read 28. I'm not going to say I "failed" because 12 of the 28 books were 800+ pages (I read both the Outlander series and the Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones series, which were monstrous). I do wish I would have made it to 30, but I'm still happy with the amount that I crossed off my list!

Here are the books I read in 2015:

All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
The Giver - Lois Lowry
The Girl You Left Behind - Jojo Moyes
The Last Original Wife - Dorothea Benton Frank
Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand
Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
Dragonfly in Amber - Diana Gabaldon
Voyager - Diana Gabaldon
Peter Pan - J.M. Barrie
Drums of Autumn - Diana Gabaldon
Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
The Fiery Cross - Diana Gabaldon
Madame Picasso - Anne Girard
The Good Girl - Mary Kubica
A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
An Echo in the Bone - Diana Gabaldon
Written in My Own Heart's blood - Diana Gabaldon
Mad miss Mimic - Sarah Henstra
The Five Love Languages - Gary Chapman
Georgia Bottoms - Mark Childress
The Matchmaker - Elin Hilderbrand
The Last Letter From Your Lover - Jojo Moyes
A Game of Thrones - George R. R. Martin
A Clash of Kings - George R. R. Martin
A Storm of Swords - George R. R. Martin
A Feast for Crows - George R. R. Martin

Started (but didn't finish in 2015)
A Dance with Dragons - George R. R. Martin
May we be Forgiven - A. M. Homes

My goals for 2016 are much the same as last year, to continue reading at a steady pace and to introduce new authors into my life. I'm keeping the goal of 30-40 books this year (I still think 50 is too stout to attempt) and I want to try to find one more series to get into.

Here are some books I'm interested in reading  in 2016:

The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
"A historical fiction based during the 17th century in Canada after the arrival of French Jesuit missionaries. The book is written from three perspectives: (1) Snow Falls, a young Iroquois girl, (2) Pere Christoph, the missionary kidnapped along sider her, and (3) Bird, the Huron warrior who is holding both of them captive."

Safekeeping by Jessamyn Hope
"This novel follows Adam, an addict from NYC, traveling to an Israeli kibbutz in 1994 to fulfill his grandfather's dying wish. But the woman he's set out to find, and the legend behind a stored famiy keepsake he carries, soon set him on a course far more complex than he anticipated."


After You by Jojo Moyes (sequel to Me Before You)
I was a big fan of Me Before You, but was never expecting a sequel. Me Before You ended the way a good book should - it left me wanting more, but it also had a sense of finality and closure. I'm still a huge fan of Moyes and am interested to see what some of the characters are up to now.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hopkin
"Mara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there. It can."
That quote alone left me wanting to get my hands on this book ASAP! I'm a big fan of mysteries and this one seems like it will satiate my craving for a little while.

The Mountain Story by Lori Lansens
The jacket teaser alone ("Five days. Four lost hikers. Three survivors.") has me on the edge of my seat already.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of my nook (if you're a nook user, let me know so we can share some books!) and I love having an e-reader, but I'm not at all opposed to hard-copy books. I was actually given a huge box of John Grisham novels by a sweet patient's family member and plan on diving in to some of those as well.

If you have any recommendations on books to read this year, I'd love to hear them!