Kerri Miller's top reads of 2015

MPR News host Kerri Miller's top reads of 2015
MPR News host Kerri Miller shared her top reads of 2015.
Courtesy of publishers

Every week, The Thread recommends a book that offers a fresh perspective on the news.

Books really do make the best gifts. With the holidays upon us, I'm recommending not just one book, but three.

"The Mare" by Mary Gaitskill

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I wasn't immediately interested in "The Mare." I don't consider myself a horse enthusiast, so the premise of "horse as healer" didn't grab me. But the novel is absorbing, convincing and terrific. It follows a young girl named from Brooklyn who is sent to live in upstate New York with a middle-aged couple considering adoption. It's there that she bonds with an abused horse. Best of all, Gaitskill doesn't tie all up in a neat bow at the end.

"H is for Hawk" by Helen Macdonald

In her lyrical memoir, Macdonald describes teaching a young hawk to fly as she grieves the death of her father. The raptors that appear in this book are fierce, clawed beings that eat cute little furry creatures. I thought I'd find that off-putting, but Macdonald's language is so sweeping and beautiful, the memoir is as much poem as prose.

"The Wright Brothers" by David McCullough

For the history lover in your family, you can't do better than McCullough's new book about the first brothers in flight. Revealing and dramatic, the book also tells the story of influential their sister, Katherine Wright, was.

What were your favorite reads in 2015? Tell me on Twitter @kerrimpr and @TheThreadMPR.

More book picks from MPR News host Kerri Miller are available in the weekly newsletter from The Thread.