> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.ivarhagendoorn.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # The Best Books of 2015 - URL: https://www.ivarhagendoorn.com/blog/2015/12/27/the-best-books-of-2015/ - Published: 2015-12-27T15:09:00.000Z - Updated: 2025-02-23T17:44:54.000Z - Description: A selection of the best books I read this year in a number of categories: best fiction, best big history, best book I wish I had read years ago, best book by a French academic, best economics and most disappointing. - Author: Ivar Hagendoorn - Tags: Blog, Literature, Non-Fiction ### Best Fiction Vladimir Nabokov: Pale Fire Ali Smith: How To Be Both Jenny Erpenbeck: Aller Tage Abend Mathias Énard: Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'éléphants Kamel Daoud: Meursault, contre-enquête I greatly enjoyed *How To Be Both*. I didn't want it to stop and when I finished it I wanted to re-read it, to discover what I missed on first reading and what only becomes apparent once you've read both. *Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'éléphants* is an imaginative tale in the tradition of Borges, Calvino and Nabokov. I read *L'étranger* at the beginning of the year and *Meursault contre-enquête* towards the end. I didn't read L'étranger in high school, like most people. My French teacher chose some different books. I actually liked *Meursault, contre-enquête* better, but that's primarily because I found it highly inventive and because it made me realize that I hadn't read *L'étranger* as well as I thought. ### Best Book I Wish I Had Read Years Ago Vladimir Nabokov: Pale Fire Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: Terre des Hommes I loved *The Little Prince* so why didn't I read *Terre des Hommes*? Good question. I had put off reading *Pale Fire* for years, expecting it to be a daunting read, but it is a sheer delight. In the age of reality novels this type of fiction, multi-layered and rich in symbolism, is becoming exceedingly rare. ### Best Book About Life, Death, Hawks and Coping Helen MacDonald: H Is For Hawk ### Best Big History Yuval Noah Harari: Sapiens. A Brief History of Humankind Of course, millions of people can be wrong, but in this case they aren't: *Sapiens* is indeed a good read. For a different take on Big History I recommend *The Human Web* by J.R. McNeill and William H. McNeill and *Maps of Time* by David Christian. ### Best Physics Sean Carroll: The Particle at the End of the Universe ### Best Book By a French Academic Pierre Rosanvallon: La société des égaux Alain Ehrenberg: La fatigue d'être soi Both of these books deserve to be widely read. La société des égaux by Pierre Rosanvallon is the book that most readers of Thomas Piketty's *Capital in the Twenty-first Century* are looking to read. I, for one, found it a lot more interesting. Rosanvallon discusses the concept of equality and the different interpretations it has been given over time. Here's a good [review](https://www.princeton.edu/~starr/articles/articles14/Starr%5FFair%5FSociety%5FNYRB%5F5-2014.pdf?ref=ivarhagendoorn.com) by Paul Starr for the New York Review of Books. *La fatigue d'être soi* by Alain Ehrenberg is a history of depression and its treatment. As Ehrenberg shows, the distinction between being depressed or having a depression has far-reaching effects on how one thinks about subjectivity. If it's the person who IS depressed, does treating the depression change the person? If the person HAS a depression, does the person remain the same if we take away the depression? ### Best Economics John McMillian: Reinventing the Bazaar. A Natural History of Markets *Reinventing the Bazaar* is one of the best popular books about economics. ### Best Book About Russia Svetlana Alexievich: Second-Hand Time Svetlana Alexievich: Voices From Chernobyl ### Most Disappointing Patrick Mondiano: Rue des Boutiques Obscures Peter Buwalda: Bonita Avenue Elena Ferrante: My Brilliant Friend I'd never read a novel by Patrick Mondiano before, although I had read various positive reviews. When I learned that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize I thought I'd read one of his most lauded books. But I just don't get it. Elena Ferrante may well be one of the most hyped authors of the moment. I understand why it touches a chord with many readers, but I can't help thinking that this is because the author has successfully created the illusion of authenticity. Pas pleurer by Lydie Salvayre is far more inventive and moving.