Top Five Books of 2015

I had a pretty good reading year. I finished only twenty two books overall but of what I read I absolutely loved a ot of it, and think I'm really starting to cultivate my reading tastes and learn what I love. (Mostly women's literary fiction, fantasy and graphic novels.) I thought I'd share my most loved books of 2015. I've seen some people listing 10-15 but as I read far fewer books than most of them I just picked my top five: 

5. Nimona - Noelle Stevenson 

The only graphic novel to make it to my list. A lovely story about friendship and how hard it is to feel alone. This story started out a whole heap of fun and cuteness and ended up ripping my heart out and throwing it on the floor. The art is also the cutest thing ever.

4. The Magic Toyshop - Angela Carter

A beautiful dark fairy tale-like story of a young woman coming of age. I've never been so captivated by imagery, and Carter's characters are strange hall-of-mirror figures: human but distorted into odd mythical creatures.The whole thing was like something out of a captivating dream. 

3. A Room of One's Own -Virgina Woolf

A teeny tiny little essay that calmly and quietly asserts that women do not get enough opportunity to achieve their ambitions, and that the life of women is one of restriction and compromise for the ideals of men. Clever, gentle and charming, much like Woolf herself. 

2. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides

The one book I read this year that made me think 'yes, this is the kind of novel I want to write'. Eugenides' sprawling novel follows Calliope and her parents and grandparents, exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and how past secrets will always have consequences. Masterfully crafted and told with skill and beauty, Middlesex rekindled my love of reading mid-way through the year and the story stays with me still.

1. The Bluest Eye - Toni Morrison

It was a tough decision between the two but Morrison came out as my favourite book of the year. Read in a day, this short novel tells the devastating story of Percola, a young black girl living in 1940's Ohio, who longs for blue eyes. The novels follows her and her family through the reality of the black experience in the Southern states at the time, and the fact that the events of the novel were simply a reflection on reality made it even more heartbreaking. Morrison's book is one that I would urge anybody to read. Short and powerful, and will stay with me forever. 

Thank you for reading! 

Isabelle
xox