TOP FIVE WEDNESDAY: Top five books of the year

(Top Five Wednesday was created by GingerReadsLainey. Find out more at the Goodreads group!)

A couple of weeks ago, Top Ten Tuesday focused upon the ten best books read in 2015, but I had many, many more that I wanted to include, so I'm really grateful that this topic is so similar! I won't be including any of the ten books on that list, which you can view here, but these are five more books that definitely deserve a mention.

5) 'A Million Years In A Day' by Greg Jenner

I was attracted to this book because of its beautiful cover: I don't normally randomly acquire non-fiction, but as soon as I started this one I was hooked. Greg Jenner writes the history of humanity by following your daily routine: from waking up in the morning and discovering who created the toilet and how they evolved, through to getting ready for a party and deeply examining the evolution of clothing. If you have an inquisitive mind and a thirst for knowledge, read this one - every page is fascinating. 

4) 'Bad Feminist' by Roxane Gay

I have read a helluva lot of feminist books this year, but 'Bad Feminist' was one of the ones I loved the most. Roxane's voice is hilarious at the same time s being informative and thought-provoking, and her essays range from racism in the media to the competitiveness of Scrabble tournaments throughout America.

3) 'Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Avengers'

I loved the film, so getting to read more of the adventures of Star-Lord, Rocket Raccoon and Groot was a dream come true. I have some more volumes of this that I'm really looking forward to reading in the New Year - I'm hoping they'll be as good.

2) 'Red Rising' by Pierce Brown

Okay, this is sort of, maybe, almost cheating, because it was a reread, but I finished my second read through of 'Red Rising' earlier this week and I still absolutely adore it. Darrow, Cassius, Mustang, Sevro, Roque... All of the characters are so easy to care for, despite their mixed backgrounds and sometimes awful actions, but I care for everyone in this world. I've finally started the sequel, 'Golden Son', so I'm just hoping it'll do them all justice throughout.

1) 'This Is Where It Ends' by Marieke Nijkamp

This is also kind of cheating, because I only started 'This Is Where It Ends' last night and I haven't finished it yet, but I flew through the first half of the book and I can't wait to finish it off. Dealing with the harrowing topic of a school shooting, and told in real time - each chapter being merely three or four minutes of time, told through multiple perspectives - it's one of the most emotionally realistic and fast-paced novels I've ever read. I'm hoping that the rest of it will continue on at this standard. 

I hope you enjoyed this Top Five Wednesday! By looking back at all of the books I've read this year, I've discovered that 2015 has been my most diverse reading year ever: I've just picked up anything and everything! What was the best book you read in 2015?