Top Ten Tuesday - 2015 Favourites So Far!

Hello again blogosphere! So, I know I'm a little late on the Top Ten Tuesday front (only by one day!). but I have been reading other people's lists and enjoying reading about their favourite books of the year, so I just couldn't resist getting involved.

Of course, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted as always by The Broke and the Bookish, and this week's theme - as you can probably tell from the above paragraph and the title of the post! - is top ten books from the year so far.

My year of reading so far has been very stop-start, interrupted by uni stress and finals and post-final slumps where all I wanted to do was knit and watch YouTube videos... I haven't actually counted, but I'm pretty sure I haven't even read ten books in total this year yet (woops!). I certainly haven't put out that many reviews! I do have reviews lined up for all the books I read, I just haven't got round to polishing them and making them publish-worthy. Anyway, I'm still going to do the list, but I'm cutting it down to Top Four, otherwise it'd just be a list of the books I've read, and that's not quite so interesting ;) (also, I couldn't think of a fifth one to make it a Top Five!)

So let's just get down to the list then shall we?

(In no particular order...)

1. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

I didn't actually get as far as actually writing a review for this one, just because I really didn't know what to say about it, apart from that I LOVED it! This is a graphic memoir about Marjane Satrapi's life growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, and her then moving to Austria (I think that's actually in the second book, but I got a bind-up of the two). I whizzed through this book in one train journey, and I just found it so so interesting. It's a very hyped book but it's absolutely worth it! It was heart-wrenching and heart-warming at the same time, and also taught me a lot about the history of a country and time period with which I was wholly unfamiliar. Highly recommended!

3. The Martian by Andy Weir

This one was a very recent read, and one that I picked up because of all the hype that it's received. I thought the premise sounded really interesting, and had heard that it was really funny too! And I was absolutely not disappointed! At first, I did think the writing style might not be for me, but as I got into it I found it really engaging and I struggled to put the book down to carry out day-to-day tasks like eating and talking to people. In the end, I finished the book in almost one sitting and was gripped from start to finish. It perfectly balances nerdy scienciness with humour and action-adventure type shenanigans. And it feels really believable right to the end! Top stuff! :D

2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin

So I know everyone loves this book so it's kind of redundant to put it on a favourites list, but it's significant to me because I was sort of unconvinced that I would like it as much as everyone else. My brother got it for me for my birthday a couple of years ago, and I'd just kept putting it off, partly for that reason. But I'm glad to say that I absolutely loved it! Though it does come with the downside that I now care if I read spoilers, and there is no corner of the internet that is safe from GoT spoilers (cry).

3. The Beach by Alex Garland

This is probably vying for the top spot on this list. I absolutely LOVED this book! It was recommended by a friend who just told me that it was really clever and that it was her favourite book. And then she pressed it into my hands in the bookshop where we were browsing and coerced me into buying it (not that I really need much persuading when it comes to book buying). I won't say too much about it, just because I think it's one of those books where it's best to go in blind (besides, I have a full review coming soon! Be sure to stay tuned for that one!). But I will say that I couldn't stop talking about it when I'd finished it, and I kept making other people read it so I could discuss it with them. Just read this book! It's great! :D

Hmm... So I think I've exhausted my favourites for this year so far! 

Honourable mentions go to Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote (both re-reads), the former because it changed my opinion, and the latter because it confirmed it.

Let me know in the comments what your favourite books of the year so far have been! And feel free to link your TTT post :)