For Today’s Top Ten Tuesday Prompt (Books I’ve been reading on this day for the last ten years), I’m tweaking it just a bit and reblogging a post from January in which I list my top book of the year for eleven years. This is an annual post! Have you read one of my favorites? Do you keep a best of the year list?
Best of the Best: 2015 to 2025
Inspired by Davida @ The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog, I’ve put together my own “Best of the Best” list, which I’ll add to each year.
Each year I’ve been blogging, I’ve put together a most memorable reads of the year list. Now, inspired by Davida, here are my top ELEVEN reads of the last ELEVEN years. I’ve only been blogging for eight and a half years, but I started keeping records a few years before that, so I’m including all eleven years. For each year, I’ve included a link to my most memorable reads of that year. It’s excruciating to pick the best of the best and I’ve excluded many favorite reads. However, these are the books I still think about years after I’ve read them and will probably want to reread at some point.
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
2015:
(Preblogging) The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
(reviewed the first year I started blogging)
2016:
(Preblogging) Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (not reviewed on the blog)
2017:
(I didn’t choose a favorite this year because I chose to use categories.) Looking back at the list now, I will have to choose Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman as my favorite of the year (not reviewed on blog). See my complete list for the year here: 2017 Really Recommendable Reads
2018:
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
See my complete list for the year here: Most Memorable Reads of 2018
2019:
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
See my complete list for the year here: Most Memorable Reads of 2019
2020:
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
See my complete list for the year here: Most Memorable Reads of 2020
2021:
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
See my complete list for the year here: Most Memorable Reads of 2021
2022:
The Girl From Guernica by Karen Robards
See my complete list for the year here: Most Memorable Reads of 2022.
2023:
Go as a River by Shelley Read
See my complete list for the year here: Most Memorable Reads of 2023
I’ve made a FREE Book Club Kit for Go as a River for your book club!
2024:
James by Percival Everett
I’ve created a FREE Book Club Kit for James for your book club!
See my complete list for the year here: Most Memorable Reads of 2024.
2025:
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
(The audio format is fabulous!)
I had a difficult time choosing between The Correspondent and Theo of Golden this year!
I’ve created a FREE Book Club Kit of The Correspondent for your book club!
See my complete list of memorable reads for 2025 here.
Ranked in Order:
Ok….this isn’t my favorite thing to do but Davida has set the bar high, so I’ll give this daunting task a try! All of these are on my lifetime favorites list and I have vivid memories of reading each one. I have awarded each of these books five stars, so they could all be #1. Tomorrow I might arrange them differently.
#11
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
#10
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
#9
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
#8
Go as a River by Shelley Read
#7
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
#6
The Girl With the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
#5
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
#4
The Girl From Guernica by Karen Robards
#3
James by Percival Everett
#2
A Place For Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
(The book with the most emotional, heartfelt, and poignant ending.)
#1
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
QOTD:
If you ranked your books over the past few years, which would be your #1 read?
Do you keep a list of favorites from year to year?
Do we share a favorite?
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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I’ve read nearly all of your favorites and agree on how good the books are: James. The Correspondent, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, The Girl with the Louding Voice, The Rose Code, Go as a River, and Homegoing.
Thanks for sharing the love! 📚🌷
Fab list, Carol, nice tweak!
Thanks!🌹
Loved The Girl with the Louding Voice too, I should check out the Sue Monk Kidd
I think you’d love Invention of Wings!
Honestly picking favourites stresses me out too much, lol
Thanks for sharing your #TTT
It can be stressful!
There are so many great choices on your list!
It’s fun to look back!
I’ve read a little more than half of the books on your list, and, I agree, these were all excellent books. And now you have made me very curious about A Place for Us.
looking back over the years is like visiting old friends!
Nice list. Have a great week. Here is my TTT. https://dmhoisington.wordpress.com/2026/08/11/top-ten-tuesday-37-books-i-was-reading-on-this-day-over-the-last-ten-years/
Thanks!🌷
Homegoing was a good read.
Yes it was! Can’t believe it was a debut!
I have heard many great things about The Correspondent so I am not surprised you ranked it number 1! The Rose Code has been keeping place on my own TBR for a while now.
Nice List!
My Post:
https://thegentlechapter.blog/2026/08/11/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-read-this-time-in-the-past/
Thanks! 🌷 looking back over the years is like visiting old friends!
What a beautiful way of putting that! I agree 🙂
So many good ones! It’s fun to see the reading history — there are several here I’ve read and loved! (The Correspondent would be my top choice… but I’m sure the fact that it’s also the most recent of all of these for me makes a difference!)
So many memorable reads!
Good work! I’ve read two–Eleanor Oliphant and Book Woman. I must get to James.
Yes, James will be a modern classic I think and an important companion read to Huckleberry Finn.
I’ve read and enjoyed a few of these over the years.
Here’s my TTT for the week: https://readbakecreate.com/b-author-names-alphabet-challenge/
So many memorable books!
I’ve read 7 of your 11 and many of them are favorites. And I agree with your statement, “It’s like visiting with family”!! And my bookcases are like groups of well loved friends….
I can’t pick out favorites, nor rank them, but The Correspondent and Project Hail Mary are probably in the lead.
I concur with your lead favs! Thanks for sharing!
This is a great list, Carol. I’m happy to say that I have read, reviewed and loved 9 of these books. The other two are still on my TBR shelf though.
Thanks Carla! I’m happy to hear you’ve read and enjoyed so many!