We have a saying up here in the Miramichi: “the very best” (but you have to run all three words together to say it correctly). Typically, it comes in response to “how are you?” or “how’s the family?” and so on. I thought it would make a great award title for the best books that the Miramichi Reader has reviewed here over the past year (and since it is solely based on my opinion, it is trustworthy). According to the stats at Goodreads, I have read over 70 books this year, so it was difficult to pick only five finalists. I purposely limited the five choices to books by Atlantic Canada authors since that is the primary focus of this site. I have also tried to pick a title from different categories, fiction, non-fiction, and young adult.
Here are the ‘final five’ for 2015:
- Like any Other Monday by Binnie Brennan (Fiction)
- Indian School Road by Chris Benjamin (Non-fiction)
- The Lost Wilderness by Nicholas Guitard (Non-fiction)
- Random Acts by Valerie Sherrard (Fiction, Young Adult)
- Bay of Fundy’s Hopewell Rocks by Kevin Snair (Non-fiction, Photography)
It was very difficult to pick just five titles from all the ones that have been reviewed here this year. Here are some honourable mentions:
- Wake the Stone Man by Carol McDougall
- Grist by Linda Little
- A Hero by Charlotte R. Mendel
- Travels with Farley by Claire Mowat
While 2015 was a good year for Atlantic Canadian authors, 2016 is now in sight. If you haven’t yet read any of the above titles, I encourage you to do so and see for yourself if they are not some of “theverybest” of the year!
