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The record, which I maintain on my wall calendar, tells me much about my years. I read fewer books in January and February as a new school semester begins. My best reading month this year was May, particularly since I left town the morning after graduation ceremonies and headed to Dog Island, Florida, where no television or internet competed with books, allowing me to slough off the old school year.
I notice that I read quite a variety, lots of poetry (probably more than I've listed here) and more nonfiction that I once read. My reading has taken me all over the world and back in time. I've laughed out loud (a lot) and cried just a little. I've stopped in the middle of a page to call or email someone I think should be reading the same book. I can't even wait to finish to be sure. The one I'm reading right now, Shari Smith's I Am a Town, is just that kind of book. I have specific chapters earmarked for different people.
When people ask for book suggestions, my answers vary according to the asker. Some books I know one friend will love, while it would leave other reading friends untouched. Right now I'm assembling piles to passel out (part of my plan for cleaning out the study). I can't usually give my books away, but I can send them on long journeys. I'll have much to say later about my Christmas gift books (every one perfect choices) and my other to-read list. For now, here's my list. I'd love to see yours too.
Seventy Books I Read in 2014:
Robert Swartwood, ed. Hint
Fiction
Louise Erdrich, The
Round House
Curtis Sittenfeld, Sisterland
Wiley Cash, The Dark
Road of Mercy
Alan Bradley, The Dead
in Their Vaulted Arches
Amy Tan, Valley of
Amazement
Alison Kemper, Donna
of the Dead
Joseph Bathanti, Concertina
Fannie Flagg, The
All-Girls Filling Station Reunion
Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl
Sue Monk Kidd, The
Invention of Wings
Graeme Simsion, The
Rosie Project
Louise Shivers, Here
to Get My Baby out of Jail
Joyce Meyer Hostettler, Blue
Francine Rivers, Redeeming
Love
Emma Donoghue, Frog
Music
Anna Quindlen Still
Life with Bread Crumbs
Christine Baker Kline, The
Orphan Train
Elizabeth Blackwell, While
Beauty Slept
Frances Mayes, Under
Magnolia
Vivienne Schiffer, Camp
Nine
Laurie Kolp, Upon the
Blue Couch
Gabrielle Zevin, The
Storied Life of AJ Fikry
Pat Conroy, The Death
of Santini
Herman Koch, The
Dinner
Michael Beadle, Invitation
Tom Franklin and Beth Ann Fennelly, The Tilted World
Gabrielle Zevin, Elsewhere
Neil Gaiman, The Ocean
at the End of the Lane
E. Lockhart, We Were
Liars
Robert M. Edsel, The
Monuments Men
Piper Kerman, Orange
Is the New Black
Joe Formichella, ed. The
Shoe Burnin’: A Collection of Southern Soul
Lily Koppel, The
Astronauts’ Wives Club
Dianne Setterfield, Bellman
and Black
Jane Hertenstein, Freeze
Frame
Sherman Alexie, Lone
Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Suzanne Hudson, All
the Way to Memphis
Ilene Beckerman, Love,
Loss, and What I Wore
Peter Heller, The
Painter
Justin Go, The Steady
Running of the Hour
David Radavich, The
Countries We Live In
Courtey Maum, I Am
Having So Much Fun Here Without You
Joe Formichella, Waffle
House Rules
Rachel Joyce, Perfect
Kathryn Ma, The Year
She Left Us
Stephen King, Mr.
Mercedes
Jill McCorkle, Life
After Life
Anthony Doerr, All the
Light We Cannot See
Robert Galbraith, The
Cuckoo’s Calling
Judith Richards, Thelonius
Rising
Rainbow Rowell, Landline
Robert Galbraith, The
Silkworm
Smith Henderson, Fourth
of July Creek
JoJo Moyes, One Plus
One
Joe Queenan, One for
the Books
Bill O’Reilly, Killing
Lincoln
Adam Pick, The
Patient’s Guide to Heart Valve Surgery
Liane Moriarty, The
Husband’s Secret
Yvonne Wakefield, Suitcase Filled with Nails: Lessons Learned Teaching Art in
Kuwait
Alison Kemper, Dead
over Heels
Haruki Murakami, Colorless
Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
Tom Perotta, The
Leftovers
Joseph Mills, This
Miraculous Turning
Liane Moriarty, Big
Little Lies
Scott Owens, To
Peg Bresnahan, In a
Country None of Us Calls Home
Michael McFee, The
Smallest Talk
Edward Rutherford, Paris
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Americanah
If you're still with me, you may find an imbedded link to the IndieBound Next List, my not-so-subtle hint that you support independent booksellers.
If you're still with me, you may find an imbedded link to the IndieBound Next List, my not-so-subtle hint that you support independent booksellers.
2 comments:
Thanks, Nancy. I will print this out to take with me to the library in case I can't find some titles on my own. Already read several of these, but others sound intriguing! Love the idea of giving Avery a notebook to record what she reads. Will have to do that for my grands when they are a bit older.
Thanks, Nancy. I will print this out to take with me to the library in case I can't find some titles on my own. Already read several of these, but others sound intriguing! Love the idea of giving Avery a notebook to record what she reads. Will have to do that for my grands when they are a bit older.
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