Each January, I put together a list of the books that I read the previous year. Some years, I put a star next to the ones I've liked and sometimes I provide a sentence or two about every book. This year, I've decided to provide my top 10 fiction reads (the full list of what I read this year is included at the end of this post). Please note that while I read all of these books in 2015, they were not all published this year). Here are my 10 favorites from 2015:

1. Euphoria, Lily King: I was in a reading slump when I finally got this book from the library after being on the waitlist for months. Within just a few pages, I was completely immersed. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

2. Did You Ever Have a Family, Bill Clegg: I started reading this book and could not stop. I read it in a day, and it was one of the most moving books that I have ever read. It explores the sometimes heartbreaking consequences of keeping secrets from those you love, even if you think you are doing it for their benefit.

3. Circling the Sun, Paula McLain: It's rare that a book that I am dying to read doesn't disappoint me in some way, but this book was everything I wanted it to be and more. Paula McLain does an amazing job of researching her subjects and expertly re-creating the environment in which they lived. This is another engrossing read about a compelling woman. See my longer review here.

4. The Secret Chord: A Novel, Geraldine Brooks: Like Paula McLain, Geraldine Brooks does deep research on her subjects, and on the era in which they lived. When reading her books, I am transported to a completely different time and place. The concept of reading about a biblical figure does not appeal to everyone, but after Brooks won me over on a novel about the Plague (Year of Wonders - an amazing book), I am willing to devour anything that she writes.

5. A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman (2014): This was a really lovely book. The story of an aging curmudgeon with a hidden heart of gold is not a new one, but Backman manages to augment it nicely in this book.

6. The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah: I've read many books about women working to survive in occupied France during World War II (All the Light We Cannot See, The Girl You Left Behind, and many more) so I was not clamoring to read this one. However, it went on sale for $1.99 so I bought it. I really, really liked it. It managed to surprise me when, in my experience too many books can be figured out before getting to the end, and it sure made me cry. Plus, I love anything about sisters.

7. The Secret Wisdom of the Earth, Christopher Scotton: I just loved this story about a young boy going through some difficulties who spends a summer with his Grandfather in Appalachia. I love to read anything that is set in Appalachia and the Grandfather was a truly lovable character.

8. The Queen of the Tearling, Erika Johansen (2014): There was so much hype about this that I was prepared to be terribly disappointed, but I loved it. At its heart it is a story about a young woman with a great deal of power and responsibility, which spoke to me. At the same time, it totally transports the reader to a different time and place, even if we don't know exactly what time and place that is. Unfortunately, I did not love the second book in this trilogy, but I will still be on board to see how it all plays out when the third book in released.

9. Close Your Eyes Hold Hands, Chris Bohjalian (2014): This is a twist on most of the post-apocalyptic literature that I have read in the past. I couldn't put it down and loved the main character.

10. Red Sparrow, Jason Matthews (2013): This spy novel helped me get through my withdrawal after "The Americans" went on hiatus, and it includes recipes! I've made a number of them and they are all delicious and very easy. I love the way Matthews incorporates a love of food and cooking into a detailed and intricate tale of espionage. I did not love the second book in the series quite as much but did enjoy it and am anxiously awaiting the third.

I did not read as much nonfiction this year, and did not have enough favorites to do a meaningful list of nonfiction. The nonfiction books I did like, along with all of the fiction that I would most highly recommend, are bolded in the list below.

January

Everything I Never Told You, Celeste Ng
Close Your Eyes Hold Hands, Chris Bohjalian
The Girl Who Came Home: A Novel of the Titanic, Hazel Gaynor
Us: A Novel, David Nicholls
Boy, Snow, Bird, Helen Oyayemi
Black Cloud, Juliet Escoria
The Blazing World, Siri Hustveldt
Crazy Rich Asians, Kevin Kwan
Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins

February

It Was Me All Along, Andie Mitchell
Reunion, Hannah Pittard
A Natural Woman, Carole King
It's What I Do, Lynsey Addario

March

Still Alice, Lisa Genova
Eve in Hollywood, Amor Towles
Funny Girl, Nick Hornby
My Sunshine Away, M O Walsh
Vanessa and Her Sister, Priya Parmar
Her, Harriet Lane

April

The Secret Wisdom of the Earth, Christopher Scotton
The Martini Shot, George Pelecanos

May

Inside the O'Briens, Lisa Genova
Euphoria, Lily King

June

The Bookseller, Cynthia Swanson
The Queen of the Tearling, Erika Johansen

July

A Reunion of Ghosts, Judith Claire Mitchell
So You've Been Publicly Shamed, Jon Ronson
Blackout, Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, Sarah Hepola
In the Unlikely Event, Judy Blume
The Summer of Good Intentions, Wendy Francis
Red Sparrow, Jason Matthews

August

Luckiest Girl Alive, Jessica Knoll
Circling the Sun, Paula McLain
Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own, Kate Bolick
Enchanged August: A Novel, Brenda Bowen
Saint Mazie, A Novel, Jami Attenberg
The Invasion of the Tearling, Erika Johansen

September

The Marriage of Opposites, Alice Hoffman
Great Kitchens of the Midwest: A Novel, J. Ryan Stradal
Infinite Home: A Novel, Kathleen Alcott
Barefoot to Avalon, David Payne
Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff (reviewed October 29).

October

After You: A Novel, JoJo Moyes
The Secret Chord: A Novel, Geraldine Brooks
Palace of Treason: A Novel, Jason Matthews
Eileen: A Novel, Ottessa Moshfegh
We Never Asked for Wings: A Novel, Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Girl in the Spider's Web: A Lisbeth Salander Novel, David Lagercrantz

November

A Window Opens, A Novel, Elizabeth Egan
This is Your Life Harriet Chance!: A Novel, Jonathan Evison
Did You Ever Have a Family, Bill Clegg
M Train, Patti Smith
Above the Waterfall, Ron Rash

December

A Man Called Ove, Fredrik Backman
The Divers Clothes Lie Empty, Vendela Vida
Why Not Me?, Mindy Kaling
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, David Shafer
The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah