The Long List, 2015 Edition

Y’all know I never post my yearly Best Of list until early January, my reading habits being what they are, but I do like to get a Long List up in late December. The following books all earned 4.5- or 5-star ratings, and may appear on my list of Top 7 Things I Read In 2015.

(Note that the Top 7 thing is carved in crumbly snow. I might read something totally awesome in the next few days, necessitating an upgrade to a Top 8 or a Top 9 or whatever. Likewise, I may add to this Long List if something blows me away. Life, she is uncertain.)

As always, the list excludes rereads because they have an unfair advantage. The books appear in the order I read them, not my order of preference, and not all of them were published in 2015. Links go to my reviews (or review-like things), where reviews (or review-like things) exist.

Saga Vol. 4 by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan
The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine
Young Avengers Vol. 2: Alternative Culture by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
Beautiful Darkness by Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascöet
The Wicked + The Divine Vol. 1: The Faust Act by Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie
Hawkeye Vol. 3: L.A. Woman by Matt Fraction, Annie Wu, and Javier Pullido
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding
The Virgin by Tiffany Reisz
The Martian by Andy Weir
Skip Beat Vols. 1-35 by Natsuki Takaya¹
Prophecies, Libels, and Dreams by Ysabeau S. Wilce
Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Half Wild by Sally Green
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb
Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
An Ember In the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
The Dogist by Elias Weiss Friedman
Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin
The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Vol. 1: Squirrel Power by Ryan North and Erica Henderson
The Sandman: Overture by Neil Gaiman and J.H. Williams III
Jesse’s Girl by Miranda Kenneally
Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold
Feed by Mira Grant
Status Update by Annabeth Albert
Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster Bujold

And because it’s always fun to squee about stuff, here are my 4.5-, 5-star, 6-star, 7-star, and too-beloved-to-rate rereads from 2015:

Saga Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Saga Vol. 2 by Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan
Saga Vol. 3 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life As A Weapon by Matt Fraction and David Aja
Hawkeye Vol. 2: Little Hits by Matt Fraction and David Aja
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman
Amy Unbounded: Belondweg Blossoming by Rachel Hartman
Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb
Nimona by Noelle Stevenson
The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
Mélusine by Sarah Monette
The Virtu by Sarah Monette
The Mirador by Sarah Monette
Corambis by Sarah Monette
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
A Companion To Wolves by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear

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1. Some of the individual volumes are only 4-star material, but the series as a whole is 5-star gold.