My Favorite Books of 2015

I’ve felt extremely fortunate for various reasons this year. Not only have I been granted the rare luxury of free time, I’m also lucky enough to live across the road from a ridiculously well-funded library.

At the time of writing this, I’ve read 99 books this year, and working my way through two others. I’ve collected an interesting batch of stats on what I’ve read, but we’ll save those for another day. Below are my literary highlights of the year, in no particular order. Some were published in 2015, some were not.

Patrick Ness
2015 was the year I finally got around to appreciating the genius of Patrick Ness. I’ve got through three of his books this year, two of which I completely adored.

A Monster Calls may be the book that made me cry the most this year. It was so beautiful and so human; it just ripped a hole in me. On the surface, it’s a story about a young boy dealing with his mother’s cancer, but the story is completely unconventional. It will take you about two hours to read it, and the illustrations are beautiful. Just brace yourself to be quite severely moved.

If that doesn’t convince you, here’s a trailer for the forthcoming movie.

Ness’s 2015 release was The Rest of Us Just Live Here, which is a fantastic spin on the onslaught of sub-par zombie, vampire, werewolf movies which have popped up over the last decade or so. Except this book focuses on the “normal” people in these crazy scenarios, and how supernatural warfare can effect “the rest of us”. It’s insanely brilliant and very clever.

Horror

I devoured A Head Full of Ghosts (Paul Tremblay) in a single day. It was like Ghostwatch meets The Exorcist, but with a very modern twist. It was absolutely terrifying for various reasons.

The Loney (Andrew Michael Hurley) is such a perfect British, unsettling novel. The whole thing is just tinged with a sense of unease that you can’t really explain. It’s been nominated for various awards, for good reason.

The Boy Who Drew Monsters (Keith Donohue) has been on my radar since last year, and I’m so glad I finally got around to reading it. It’s so bizarre, and I couldn’t really work out what was going on most of the time. But when things became clearer, it was just so perfect. And one of the best endings I’ve ever read. Haunting.

I’ve also been reading a lot of Shirley Jackson, and the short stories of Daphne du Maurier. Du Maurier’s story, The Old Man, instantly became my favorite short story ever. Seek it out if you can.

Graphic Novels
I’ve read more graphic novels than I normally would this year, largely due to the fantastic selection at the library. Highlights have been Wilson by Daniel Clowes, who I have loved since I was a teenager. Clowes’ sense of humor is just so bleak. I appreciate him more than older I get. I’m very excited for his new book, Patience, which will be released in a few months.

I have also discovered the wonderful artist Lucy Knisley, and have managed to get hold of three of her books this year. Displacement, about a cruise she took with her grandparents, was very sweet and honest. And An Age of License is about Knisley’s travels around Europe. Knisley’s illustrations are colorful and clean, and she’s a hell of a writer.

Offbeat

I’m drawn towards odd fiction. If a book review contains the words “unsettling” or “unnerving”, there’s a chance it will make it onto my “to read” pile at some point. Here are my favorite weird books of the year.

Whilst reading Eileen (Ottessa Moshfegh), I spent a lot of time not really knowing where the book was heading, but very much enjoying the ride. The eponymous character is such an enigmatic misfit that I was happy to follow her.

I’d attempted to listen to the audiobook of Wolf in White Van (John Darnielle) a few times, but for some reason found myself tuning out. So I’m glad I was finally able to give it my full attention. It’s like a dramatic monologue, requiring your full concentration to follow the twisting plot. The intentions of the protagonist aren’t always very clear, but it’s one of those books where everything just falls together, and you want to go back to the start and experience it all over again.

Our Endless Numbered Days (Claire Fuller) is about a young girl, Peggy, who is kidnapped by her survivalist father to go and live in the forest. Peggy’s father convinces her that the world has been destroyed, but Peggy soon finds evidence to the contrary. It’s very weird, and quite similar to Room, and I still think about parts of it now.

The Best of the Rest

A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara) – Epic, heartbreaking, completely engrossing. The author created a world I didn’t want to leave. Not for the faint-hearted, but definitely worth the effort.

Redshirts (John Scalzi) – I almost described this as a Star Trek parody, but I think that devalues the beauty of this book. It’s funny, with lots of sci-fi references, but very moving in places.

Not My Father’s Son – I’m not too keen on autobiographies, but I made an exception for cheeky Scot Alan Cumming. Plus, it was about two quid on Audible, so definitely worth a punt. It’s such a shocking and intensely personal account of Cumming diving into his uncertain family history. It’s incredibly well-written, and consistently surprising.

A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing (Eimear McBride) – Poetic, disturbing, vital. I have a quote from this saved in my phone because it’s just so beautiful.

What a fantastic year. What have your favorites been?

Spooky Special!

I bloody love Halloween. Probably more than I like Christmas. So it’s pretty cool to live in a country where they completely embrace it. Look at this house, just down the street from where we live.
Amazing.

The main reason I love Halloween so much is that I’m slightly obsessed with the supernatural. I prety much always have been. I think I got it from my Grandma, who is convinced she’s seen at least two ghosts in her life. My Grandma also introduced me to the wonders of Tommy Cooper and Morecambe and Wise. In short, she’s an absolute badass.

Anyway, the point of this is to share with you a few recommendations for reading, watching and listening for Halloween. Please feel free to share any obscure terrors with me!

Bewitching Books

The Loney – Andrew Michael Hurley

No, that’s not a spelling mistake. This book really is called The Loney, the name of the mysterious location where this book is based. A teenage boy, Tonto, goes on a pilgrimage to this strange location with his family, a priest, and other strange characters, in the hopes of healing Tonto’s brother, Hanny, of his learning disabilities. Throw in a few weird locals, an unnerving local ceremony, and you can almost hear Edward Woodward’s cries of “Oh Jesus Christ!” on the wind.

For fans of: The Wicker Man, Kill List

A Head Full of Ghosts – Paul Tremblay

I thought I’d already mentioned this in the blog, and frankly I can’t believe I haven’t. This is one of my favourite books of this year; I devoured it in a day. A Head Full of Ghosts is about the Barrett family, as they struggle to deal with their oldest daughters mental health problems. When the word “possessed” is mentioned, father of the family John sees a quick money-making opportunity, and the family find themselves the subject of a reality TV show. And then, of course, shit goes bananas.

For fans of: Ghost Watch, The Exorcist 

The Silent Land – Graham Joyce

I will be eternal grateful to Neil Gaiman for recommending this book on his blog. I first read it about four years ago and it has stayed with me ever since. It’s about a couple who go on a skiing holiday, and get caught in an avalanche, they somehow manage to survive. However, the ski resort is now completely empty, and weird things are happening. I think it’s probably the one book I actively had to put down because I was so scared (I should have followed Joey’s advice and put it in the freezer). Joyce died last year of cancer, and I was absolutely heartbroken. I can’t express how atmospheric, terrifying, and ultimately beautiful this book is. It’s wonderful.

For fans of: Neil Gaiman, beautiful fiction

Spooky Sounds

The Same Dog – Robert Aickman (read by Reece Shearsmith)

This story is taken from Aickman’s short story collection, Cold Hand in Mine. I struggle with Robert Aickman. I find some of his “short” stories a little long, and too short on terror. However, this one is incredibly disturbing. It’s a story about a man recalling his youth, and a strange girl he made friends with. When he tries to revisit the place where they met as an adult, things get very peculiar indeed. It’s one of those stories that willl have your bloody running cold by the end, and Shearsmith’s narration is just perfect. It’s available in its entirety on Soundcloud. Click here if you dare!

Radio 4 Fright Night

You can’t really beat Radio 4 for spooky radio plays. Over the years they’ve done amazing adaptations, such as The Willows by Algernon Blackwood, The Exorcist, and a terrific series of scary shorts (which I still regularly listen to) called Fear on Four.

Anyway, this year we’ve got two cracking new adaptations to look forward to. First up is Ring, based on a film that you’ve all hopefully seen already. If not, don’t fear. Yet. The captivating premise of Ring is that there is a video tape that can cause you to die within a few days of watching it. So, of course, people try it, don’t they? What can possibly go wrong? Anyway, I won’t spoil it, but you should definitely listen in on Halloween.

The next adaptation you may not be so familiar with; Nigel Kneale’s The Stone Tape. This was originally a TV play (remember those?!) that was broadcast in the 1970s. It’s about a team of scientists who discover that stones can “record” bits of history. Unfortunately, some bits of the history they discover aren’t very pleasant. I bloody love Nigel Kneale, as he’s a bit of a hero of mine, and this adaptation looks very promising indeed. Both plays will be on BBC Radio iPlayer (available worldwide, thank god) for a month or so after the Halloween broadcast.

More info on Fright Night

Link to the original Stone Tape TV play – worth a watch. Incredibly good.

Vile Videos

The Signalman

The BBC used to do this bloody brilliant thing in the 70s called A Ghost Story for Christmas. And rather than them being full of laughable CG ghosts and pointless jump scares, they were properly horrifying. My personal favourite is The Signalman, based on the Charles Dickens ghost story, and starring the delightful Denholm Elliot. Elliot plays an isolated railway signal worker, who is visited by a man who immediately unnerves him. They eventually warm to each other, and our eponymous hero shares a few disturbing stories concerning the railway.

If you watch this, and like it, I’d recommend Whistle and I’ll Come to You (the 1960s one, not the recent one), A Warning to the Curious, and Lost Hearts. There is a lovely box set including some great extras if that’s your bag too.

Link to The Signalman

Ghosts on the Underground

This is probably my favourite documentary of all time. All the information you need is in the title. There are some seriously creepy stories contained in the film, so if you ever want to travel alone on the tube at night again, you might want to steer clear. But I love it. The one about the weird photograph is especially unnerving.

Link to Ghosts on the Underground

The Woman in Black

No, not the one with Harry Potter. This is another Nigel Kneale masterpiece, based on Susan Hill’s incredible novel. No CG, no happy ending, just out-and-out terror. You probably know the story already; Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer, is sent to the mysterious Eel Marsh House to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased client. Things go bump in the night, there’s a curse on the village, it’s all very horrifying. But this film mentally scarred me as a youth. There’s a particular scene (and you’ll know it if/once you’ve seen it) that gave me nightmares for years afterwards. My English teacher made us watch it in our second year of high school. And I’m eternally grateful for it.

The whole movie is available on YouTube, link below. Settle in.

Link to The Woman in Black