Year 2015 Lists: Books I've Read This Year Half-Year Edition

I haven't read much good stuff this year yet.  Hopefully the post-July period will see better luck.

Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris--a heart-stirring adaptation of the King Arthur legends.

The Martian: A Novel by Andy Weir--A traditional sci-fi novel of Asimov descent.  Strictly no characters whatsoever.  Science to word ratio is 1:1.  The subtitle is there so you will know you have a novel on your hands and not, say, a work of Noh Drama or a lawn flamingo.

Dirty Parts of the Bible by Sam Torode--a barely-adult pastor's son is sent on a cross-country mission in the 30s and chivarously sacrifices anything in his power for every woman he meets.  On the title, your guess is as good as mine.

Rachel Griffin Series by L. Jagi Lamplighter--A group of students goes to magic school in a world vulnerable to destruction from instabilities in the multiverse.  Rachel is an interesting character that one never sees these days--a young teen who is giggly and boy-crazy.  She is not involved with her ONE TRUE LOVE WHO IS HER DESTINY BUT TRAGICALLY IS IN ANOTHER ROOM RIGHT NOW; she simply crushes on whatever boy that happens to be around.  A much more realistic portrayal of middle-schoolers than the usual.  And, that cover on the second one.  I love it.

Allan Mendelsohn the Boy from Mars by Daniel Pinkwater--two boys meet a series of weird guys, culminating in one who sells them a course on developing one's psi powers.  I like the way the crazy slowly creeps up in this book.

Wayward Pines by Blake Crouch--A federal agent finds an amazing amount of resistance to his investigation in a small town.  He also can't seem to leave...

Unsung Villains by Missy Meyer--Meyer's chic-lit superhero series continues.  This time, our heroine leads a caper on her own.  It's all pretty low-key but enjoyable.

Hard Luck Hank by Steven Campbell--Hank is dense enough to deflect bullets.  He thinks of himself as a small-time tough on a ganster-ridden space station, but people keep asking him to save the universe.

Queen of the Trailer Park by Alice Quinn--The charm of this book is its not-quite translation to English so that the pages are filled with interesting turns of phrase.  This is about a French welfare mom who alternates applying makeup and miniskirts with yelling at the Mafia and herding her kids.

Sweet Dreams are Made of Teeth by Richard Roberts--The Archetype of Being Chased in Dreams is our protagonist, and the plot is the origin story for Jeffrey Dahmer.  It just gets weirder from there.  I don't know, man.

Ill Met by Moonlight by Sarah Hoyt--Fairies mess with a young apprentice glovemaker  and his wife.  The humans may escape, but will life ever be the same afterwards?  Much of the text is Shakespeare quotes worked into the story.  An interesting endeavor, but the resulting story is a bit meh.