Good reading

According to Good Reads, I have almost met my goal of 65 books read in 2015.   Just a few to go, and I suspect I'll meet that goal by New Year's.  Looking over the list, I see quite a variety.  In between some of the more literary titles, I really enjoyed some mystery series and a couple of "chick lit" books, too.  Here are my favorites:

All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr
     Absolutely the best.  I'm sorry I waited until a week or so ago to read this.  I was dragging my feet because it was on the best seller list all year.  It tells two stories - one of a blind young French woman and the other of a young German radio operator during World War II.  It's scary, thrilling, amazing, and literary without being stuffy.

A Duty to the Dead - Charles Todd
      This was the first book of seven in the series I read this year, featuring English nurse Bess Crawford during World War I.  I wonder what she will do when the war ends.

A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman
     Swedish retiree and widower Ove tries to kill himself, but something keeps coming up every time.

Catfish Alley - Lynn Bryant
     A Junior Leaguer uncovers a great deal of important history when she decides to include the black part of her Mississippi town in an annual Civil War tour.

Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? - Roz Chast
      A graphic novel about the ends of her mother's and father's lives.  Very touching, with funny moments and all too real ones.

The Storied Life of A J Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin
      My second favorite of the year.  A sweet story about the owner of a small bookshop and the publisher's representative.

No Time On My Hands - Grace Snyder
     Written in 1962, this is a memoir of a woman who grew up in a sod house on the plains and all the changes American life over her lifetime.  She was an amazing quilter, but she hardly talks about quilting.  It was "just something she did."

Murdered Sleep - R A Harrold
     Sequel to the mystery set on an island in Lake Champlain, this has actor/detective Wade working in Washington, DC, during the Gilded Age.  Race issues play a large role in the plot.

The Magician's Assistant - Ann Patchett
     What does the assistant do after the magician dies?  

Kitchens of the Great Midwest - J. Ryan Straddal
     Snippets of the life of a young chef.

Come Rain or Come Shine - Jan Karon
     Father Tim and the whole gang return as Dooley finishes veterinary school and gets married.  It was so nice to be "home" again with these wonderful characters.

The Last Midwife - Sandra Dallas
     A midwife in a late 1880's Colorado mining town is accused of murdering a baby.  The accuser is encouraged by a new young doctor.