I once heard a story about a person who had kept a journal of every book they had ever read, and I wished then that I had been that diligent in my reading and recording over the years. I have a terrible memory and often don't know the name of the last book I read, and I definitely do not do justice to author names. I find myself in conversations with people who are discussing a book I've read, but until they give a brief summary I don't remember. (Early Alzheimer's, perhaps?) Since it's a new year and I've been a reading feign lately, I thought now would be the perfect time to start making a list.
From 2010
1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. The WW2 story of Olympic runner Louie Zamperini who, in 1943, floated in a raft after his B-24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean for 47 days. He was then taken as a POW by the Japanese and endured horrible treatment until he was released at the end of the war. I loved this story as it reminded me of my Papa, who was also a bombardier (in a B-29) during WW2. He used to tell stories about repairing his airplane with chewing gum and floating on the plane's wing after his plane crashed. Those WW2 soldiers were amazing people.
2. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. A mystery novel set in Mississippi which tells the story of two men who were briefly friends as children and whose lives cross paths again as adults. I could clearly see the rural town Chabot, Mississippi in my mind as I read because the author did such a wonderful job of describing the setting and characters. My heart broke for Larry as I learned about his life, but I felt redemption at the end.
3. Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx.Although "memoir" is in the title, this book wanders through many different topics. Mainly it is the story of building the author's dream house (which by the end she decides she can't live in year-round and thus, this is not her dream-house after all) and all of the problems that arise because she is building in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming. My favorite chapters of the book however had nothing to do with the house, but with Proulx's French-Canadian family history, the history of the property she is building on (she has found ancient fire-rings among other things on the property), and the history of Wyoming. Quite a few Vermonters also show up in the book. The last chapter, which some reviewers have deemed "the best," is all about the many birds she observed while living in the house her first year post-construction. I found this part boring, but I imagine Tyler and his Uncle Cedric would love it.
4. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian. This book was given to me by a co-worker last week who really loves Bohjalian, especially another book he has written that she couldn't locate for me. I have read his columns in the Burlington Free press but had no idea he was an author. Midwives was the Oprah Book Club pick for October 1998, which is probably why I'd never heard of it - I was in my second month at UCF then. The book is narrated by the teen-daughter of a midwife in the Northeast Kingdom who is accused of killing a mother/patient by c-section. It was a super quick read and I enjoyed the story and the setting. The ending threw me though and I am still digesting it. He has another book coming out in February and I'm interested in reading it as well as some of his other books.
5. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
6. The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine
7. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
8. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. A book club selection that took me about three months to read - a record if you know how fast I read! I relished every page of this book however, and would highly recommend it if you love learning new things. The story held my attention from page one to page 560. Here is an excerpt of the review from Publishers Weekly:
10. Townie by Andre Dubus. A memoir of the author's life growing up poor with his brother and sisters and mom while his dad taught college and wrote short stories on the other side of town. A really fascinating read. NPR did a great review of the book if you want more.
11. Tiny Fay - Bossypants. One of the nurses here at Dartmouth let me borrow this - it's quite funny and a very quick read.
12. One Year to an Organized Life With Baby - a great book with weekly tasks to get your house and life organized before and after baby!
13. The Happiest Mom - I skimmed this one yesterday and it looks really good. It has all kinds of advice for moms once baby arrives.
14. Babywise - this book is considered controversial in some circles but I think I buy into their sleeping and eating schedule for baby. Of course, baby may not buy into it and then we'll have to come up with a Plan B!
15. Preemies: The Essential Guide... - I bought this on our first day in the hospital. It's definitely a reference book so I only read the first chapter (on the reasons why some babies come early) and will save the rest for when the time comes. No need to stress out of potential problems!
16. Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls - called a "real life novel" because the book is based on the author's grandmother who was born in 1901 in Texas... a wonderful story about a tough woman!
17. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls - memoir of life growing up with a crazy artist mother and an alcoholic father... always on the move but landing finally in West Virginia where the oldest three become determined to get away from this life by moving to NYC.
2012
1. The Life of Pi
2. Sarah's Key
3. Anti-Cancer
4. The Peach Keeper
5. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom
6. 50 Shades of Grey (all 3 - sort of embarrassing)
7. The Handmaid's Tale
8. Mama Makes Up Her Mind
9. Maine
10. Emily, Alone
11. The Best American Short Stories of 2011
12.The Red House(Quit book!)
12. The Buddha in the Attic
13. Gone Girl
14. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
15. The Roots of the Olive Tree: A Novel
16. Where'd You Go, Bernadette
17. The Age of Miracles
18. Wild
19. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
2013
1. The Sense of an Ending
2. The Timekeeper
3. The Sandcastle Girls
4. The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
5. Double Bind by Chris Bojahlian
6. The Playdate
7. Miss New India
8. Behind the Beautiful Forevers
9. Defending Jacob
10. Me Before You
11. Simplicity Parenting
12. And the Mountains Echoed
13. The Interestings
14. The Fault in Our Stars
15. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
16. The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
17. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
18. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
19. A Thousand Splendid Suns
2014
1. All Joy and No Fun
2. Casual Vacancy
3. Kids Beyond Limits
4. The Love Affairs of Nathaiel P.
5. Wonder
6. The Possibilities: A Novel
7. The One and Only - Emily Giffin
8. Old Yeller
9. Hatchet
10. The Giver (again)
11. Devil in the White City
12. Destiny of the Republic
13.
Moved list over to Goodreads.
From 2010
- The Help by Katheryn Sockett (LOVED)
- Holidays on Ice by David Sadaris (Just okay)
- The Grapes of Wrath by John Stein beck (didn't finish, but would like to)
- Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (quit - did not like this book)
- Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt (LOVED!)
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (quit - couldn't get into this)
- Go With Me by Castle Freeman (just okay)
- The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (dog book, so I loved it)
- Tinkers by Paul Hardin (very moving book, won the Pulitzer)
- The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Loved)
- The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (Loved)
- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (Loved)
- Little Bee by Chris Cleave (okay if you have nothing else to read, but I wouldn't recommend)
- A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal 1830-32 by Joan Blos (for school, we all thought it was boring)
- The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton (for school, we all loved it but hated the movie)
- The Giver by Lois Lowry (for school, loved it)
- The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (for school, we all loved it but I had to read it aloud to the kids)
- My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier (for school, everyone loved it)
- Insert other book from 7th grade here. 2 kids, summer camp, run away.
- What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
- The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (every American meat-eater should read this)
1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. The WW2 story of Olympic runner Louie Zamperini who, in 1943, floated in a raft after his B-24 crashed into the Pacific Ocean for 47 days. He was then taken as a POW by the Japanese and endured horrible treatment until he was released at the end of the war. I loved this story as it reminded me of my Papa, who was also a bombardier (in a B-29) during WW2. He used to tell stories about repairing his airplane with chewing gum and floating on the plane's wing after his plane crashed. Those WW2 soldiers were amazing people.
2. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. A mystery novel set in Mississippi which tells the story of two men who were briefly friends as children and whose lives cross paths again as adults. I could clearly see the rural town Chabot, Mississippi in my mind as I read because the author did such a wonderful job of describing the setting and characters. My heart broke for Larry as I learned about his life, but I felt redemption at the end.
3. Bird Cloud: A Memoir by Annie Proulx.Although "memoir" is in the title, this book wanders through many different topics. Mainly it is the story of building the author's dream house (which by the end she decides she can't live in year-round and thus, this is not her dream-house after all) and all of the problems that arise because she is building in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming. My favorite chapters of the book however had nothing to do with the house, but with Proulx's French-Canadian family history, the history of the property she is building on (she has found ancient fire-rings among other things on the property), and the history of Wyoming. Quite a few Vermonters also show up in the book. The last chapter, which some reviewers have deemed "the best," is all about the many birds she observed while living in the house her first year post-construction. I found this part boring, but I imagine Tyler and his Uncle Cedric would love it.
4. Midwives by Chris Bohjalian. This book was given to me by a co-worker last week who really loves Bohjalian, especially another book he has written that she couldn't locate for me. I have read his columns in the Burlington Free press but had no idea he was an author. Midwives was the Oprah Book Club pick for October 1998, which is probably why I'd never heard of it - I was in my second month at UCF then. The book is narrated by the teen-daughter of a midwife in the Northeast Kingdom who is accused of killing a mother/patient by c-section. It was a super quick read and I enjoyed the story and the setting. The ending threw me though and I am still digesting it. He has another book coming out in February and I'm interested in reading it as well as some of his other books.
5. Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
6. The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine
7. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy
8. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese. A book club selection that took me about three months to read - a record if you know how fast I read! I relished every page of this book however, and would highly recommend it if you love learning new things. The story held my attention from page one to page 560. Here is an excerpt of the review from Publishers Weekly:
Verghese turns his formidable talents to fiction, mining his own life and experiences in a magnificent, sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun, leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an English doctor bound for Ethiopia, Thomas Stone, who becomes a key player in her destiny when they meet up again at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies birthing twin boys: Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brothers long, dramatic, biblical story set against the backdrop of political turmoil in Ethiopia, the life of the hospital compound in which they grow up and the love story of their adopted parents, both doctors at Missing. The boys become doctors as well and Vergheses weaving of the practice of medicine into the narrative is fascinating even as the story bobs and weaves with the power and coincidences of the best 19th-century novel.9. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. I read about half of this book and then realized I'd already read it - that's how good it was! LOL! It is just chic lit that I read to pass time during our Duke Ellington course.
10. Townie by Andre Dubus. A memoir of the author's life growing up poor with his brother and sisters and mom while his dad taught college and wrote short stories on the other side of town. A really fascinating read. NPR did a great review of the book if you want more.
11. Tiny Fay - Bossypants. One of the nurses here at Dartmouth let me borrow this - it's quite funny and a very quick read.
12. One Year to an Organized Life With Baby - a great book with weekly tasks to get your house and life organized before and after baby!
13. The Happiest Mom - I skimmed this one yesterday and it looks really good. It has all kinds of advice for moms once baby arrives.
14. Babywise - this book is considered controversial in some circles but I think I buy into their sleeping and eating schedule for baby. Of course, baby may not buy into it and then we'll have to come up with a Plan B!
15. Preemies: The Essential Guide... - I bought this on our first day in the hospital. It's definitely a reference book so I only read the first chapter (on the reasons why some babies come early) and will save the rest for when the time comes. No need to stress out of potential problems!
16. Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls - called a "real life novel" because the book is based on the author's grandmother who was born in 1901 in Texas... a wonderful story about a tough woman!
17. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls - memoir of life growing up with a crazy artist mother and an alcoholic father... always on the move but landing finally in West Virginia where the oldest three become determined to get away from this life by moving to NYC.
2012
1. The Life of Pi
2. Sarah's Key
3. Anti-Cancer
4. The Peach Keeper
5. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom
6. 50 Shades of Grey (all 3 - sort of embarrassing)
7. The Handmaid's Tale
8. Mama Makes Up Her Mind
9. Maine
10. Emily, Alone
11. The Best American Short Stories of 2011
12.
12. The Buddha in the Attic
13. Gone Girl
14. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
15. The Roots of the Olive Tree: A Novel
16. Where'd You Go, Bernadette
17. The Age of Miracles
18. Wild
19. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
2013
1. The Sense of an Ending
2. The Timekeeper
3. The Sandcastle Girls
4. The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
5. Double Bind by Chris Bojahlian
6. The Playdate
7. Miss New India
8. Behind the Beautiful Forevers
9. Defending Jacob
10. Me Before You
11. Simplicity Parenting
12. And the Mountains Echoed
13. The Interestings
14. The Fault in Our Stars
15. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
16. The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
17. A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
18. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
19. A Thousand Splendid Suns
2014
1. All Joy and No Fun
2. Casual Vacancy
3. Kids Beyond Limits
4. The Love Affairs of Nathaiel P.
5. Wonder
6. The Possibilities: A Novel
7. The One and Only - Emily Giffin
8. Old Yeller
9. Hatchet
10. The Giver (again)
11. Devil in the White City
12. Destiny of the Republic
13.
Moved list over to Goodreads.