A Year In Books: 2023

 

I'm always delving into stories to escape my own life. I love to listen to audiobooks when I'm doing things around my house or tedious things at work, etc. I love being able to have the best of both worlds with reading great stories and still getting other things done. I was just shy of my yearly goal of reading 30 books, but 28 books is still pretty darn close. Here are the books I read this year:

1. Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan
2. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
3. Trigger Warning by Neil Gaiman
4. Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
5. New Spring by Robert Jordan

6. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
7. The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
8. Dying of Politeness by Geena Davis
9. Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
10. The Cloisters by Katy Hays

11. The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith
12. A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
13. All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley
14. Hooked by Sutton Foster
15. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell

16. Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
17. The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
18. Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
19. Piranesi by Susanna Clark
20. Pines by Blake Crouch

21. The Signalman by Charles Dickens
22. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
23. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
24. Someone Else's Shoes by Jojo Moyes
25. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab

26. Wayward by Blake Crouch
27. The Woman in Me by Brittney Spears
28. Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

I finished the entire Wheel of Time series in 2 years, which I'm pretty surprised by honestly, and it left a hole after I finished because I could always fall back on reading the next book in the series. I've never been a series gal, but I did like that I didn't have to think about what I wanted to read next because there was more to the story. I also read the first 2 books of Wayward Pines and I'm waiting my turn with the final book there. The only series I'm reading that is still actively going is the Cormoran Strike books and I anxiously await the next installment all the time. I just love Rowling's writing style and will read everything she does. Some of the books I read were duds, but overall I enjoyed most everything I read in 2023. Here's hoping that 2024 brings more insights and great stories to enrich us all :)

A Year In Books - 2018

Another year, another reading challenge. This year I managed to beat my goal of 50 books by a whole 2 books! lol There were some really good books on the list this year. But first - here's the nice Goodreads infographics :)

And now for the books themselves :) As always, I've linked all the reviews I managed to post (and as always, I only managed to get about halfway down the list with reviews). So here is what I read this year:

1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey
2. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
3. Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
4. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
5. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

6. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
7. Postcards From the Edge by Carrie Fisher
8. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
9. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
10. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain
11. The Queen of Spades by Alexander Pushkin
12. The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
13. State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

14. Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
15. Secondhand Time by Svetlana Alexievich
16. Flat Broke with Two Goats by Jennifer McGaha
17. Thérèse Racquin by Émile Zola
18. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

19. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
20. Circe by Madeline Miller
21. Howard's End by E.M. Forster
22. Two on a Tower by Thomas Hardy

23. The Odyssey by Homer
24. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
25. Les Liasons Dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Lasclos
26. Seven Years in Tibet by Heinrich Harrer
27. The Practicing Mind by Thomas Sterner

28. A River Runs Through It by Norman Maclean
29. At the Water's Edge by Sara Gruen
30. Calypso by David Sedaris
31. The Martian by Andy Weir
32. How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm by Mei-Ling Hopgood

33. I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron
34. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer + Annie Barrows
35. Women & Money by Suze Orman
36. Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol

37. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
38. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
39. Five by Fitzgerald by F. Scott Fitzgerald
40. Uncommon Type by Tom Hanks
41. Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébayọ̀

42. The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures by Aaron Mahnke
43. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
44. No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
45. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

46. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
47. Artemis by Andy Weir
48. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
49. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
50. The Green Mile by Stephen King

51. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman
52. The Love of the Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Out of the 52 books I read, I gave 4 of them 5 star ratings. The best books were:

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• Gone with the Wind
• Secondhand Time
• East of Eden

And the easy winner on this list for me is East of Eden. Wow, what a great book. I can't believe I hadn't heard it spoken of more on the big lists of books you should read. This really makes me excited to read more Steinbeck next year, to say the least. I also finally read something by Stephen King (I know, right?), and I knocked Crime and Punishement and Gone with the Wind off my list. All in all I'm happy with the mix of books for fun and books with purpose.

So that's my year in books :) I definitely recommend some of these. To get my full reviews or my star ratings (if you're interested), head over to My Goodreads Profile. Now I get to start on the next 50 books for 2019 :)

A Year In Books - 2014

In the same strain as last year's round-up, I wanted to report on the things I've read this year. I did pretty good as far as my reading schedule goes - I made a goal to read 24 books (2 books per month), and I ended up reading 31! It's nice to sign into Goodreads and see this off to the side:

129% suckahs!  Heck yes :) I not only read more, but I feel the quality of what I read was very good overall. I did succumb to a few YA and pop novels, but a few of the classics I read definitely make up for those (Les Mis, I'm lookin at you). Some of these I have yet to write reviews about, but I will update this list as I post about them. So, here is what I read in 2014:

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
5. My Lucky Life In and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke
6. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
7. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (ugh)
8. Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris
9. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
10. Sanditon by Jane Austen
11. Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman
12. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
13. Watership Down by Richard Adams
14. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
15. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
16. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Book Store by Robin Sloan
17. When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris
18. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
19. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
20. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
21. After The Funeral by Agatha Christie
22. The Mermaid: A Love Tale by Lily Dougall
23. Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte
24. The Book of Mormon
25. Animal Farm by George Orwell
26. The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor
27. The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg
28. Mindfulness for Beginners by Jon Kabat-Zinn
29. Who Switched Off My Brain? by Caroline Leaf
30. An Education by Lynn Barber
31. Yes Please by Amy Poehler

This year seems to have brought out some new trends in what I like to read. According to my ratings, I am less and less satisfied with modern novels and I favor classics and non-fiction. I've grown to really detest YA fiction, lol, to the extent that if something is even in that category it will make me not want to read it. I crave the depth of characters provided in classic fiction. It's funny to think I'm a classic book lover now when I think of what a drudgery I found reading them back in high school. I guess it shows I've grown or something :) I also have discovered I love autobiographies of people I admire, and I do love books that have interesting or strange perspectives (ahem, Neil Gaiman). Toward the end of the year, I started looking into non-fiction, particularly about general attitude improvement and brain function. I'm becoming pretty involved in the search for why we think and feel the way we do and what we can do about it (hopefully that makes sense) - I know it will be a subject that I can learn about throughout my life as there's no way to every know or understand the human mind. I'm happy with what I have learned in my reading thus far though.

I've read so many great books this year that it is impossible to pick a definitive favorite. I will just let you know which books I gave 5 out of 5 stars:

• The Silver Linings Playbook
• Anna Karenina
• Les Misérables
• Fahrenheit 451
• Watership Down

See what I mean? There is only one modern book on that list. I have turned into a literary snob, but there is no denying the superior quality of these stories that have stood the test of time, some of them for hundreds of years. The characters are so much more developed and real in these older books, and none of them are afraid to give you enough back story to understand them on a deeper level. I honestly look forward to the many books I have yet to read in my life. I'm up to 239 thus far that I can count - only 761 left to go to reach my life goal!

Book Review: Mary Poppins by P.L.Travers

After my "eh" feeling from finishing The Island of Dr. Moreau, I really wanted something fun to read. This made me reach for a book that has been on my "to read" list for quite a while: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers.

Being a big Disney fan my whole life, of course I love the Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke movie of this beloved kids book, but I had never officially read the book. The book has many decided differences from the Disney film, but I have yet to read the rest of the series (there are 7 Mary Poppins books) so the other adventures from the movie may be mentioned there, I don't know. This book does cover the exciting lives of Jane and Michael Banks (along with their twin infant siblings John and Barbara) when the east wind blows their new nanny, Mary Poppins, into their lives. She is inexplicably magical, yet will never admit to it herself. The children see and experience many impossible things, but when they ask Mary about them she acts like they are crazy and accusing her of being very improper :) They mystery continues on throughout the book and finally the wind changes, taking Mary Poppins away with it.

I really enjoyed this story :) It is definitely written for children - I would think that any 4th grader could read it with a mild amount of help. The plot is very inventive and honestly P.L. Travers had a fantastic imagination. I kept thinking to myself, "Who thinks of that!" but in the best way possible. This book was written in 1934 and I would say it is still just as interesting today as it was then. It's a very quick read and I highly recommend it if you just want something light and fun to read :) I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: My Life in France by Julia Child

It's been way to long since I posted a book review, I know. That doesn't mean I haven't been reading though! I actually have a big group of books I plan to review at once when I'm finished entirely, so that is to come soon.

As a precursor to this review, just know that I did not want to read this because of the movie Julie and Julia. I hated that movie. So, moving on...

I picked this book up a few months ago on Half.com and I just got a chance to read it. The book begins when Julia and her husband, Paul, move to Paris for the USIS. Her husband works while she tries to figure out what to do with herself. She learns French and quickly falls in love with the people, the customs, and especially the food. She decides to attend Le Cordon Bleu which starts her lifelong passion for cooking and teaching.

I love the amount of detail paid to her day to day routine while she is writing Mastering The Art of French Cooking and the turmoil she went through just to have it published. My husband bought me her cookbook set several years ago for my birthday (at my request), and I have always enjoyed everything I've made from them. Now that I've read the back story of the book, it gives me a much deeper appreciation of the care and perfectionism that went into making it. Julia is part cook part scientist and tested out every possible option of ingredients on top of every mistake that could be made so that she could tell the reader with surety what to use and how to fix things that go wrong. She also took a lot of time converting the French recipes to use American ingredients, which were extremely different at the time (and let's face it, it's still almost impossible to get crème fraîche here) and can yield different results. She deliberately made the book fool proof so that anyone could make a delicious, authentic French meal just by following her instructions. She also went into great detail to explain all the different methods of preparation needed for each recipe. Reading this book makes me want to read her cookbooks like a book! They are designed to be like a culinary course in your home - pretty fantastic if you ask me.

One of my favorite pics from the book. They sent this out as a Valentine card to their friends and family one year, lol.

I love the casual way this was written. You can absolutely hear Julia Child saying everything - it's like she is talking to you through the book. She uses cute words like phooey, lol. She is a very interesting but also very kind and open person and that really shows through in this book. On top of that she uses quite a bit of French in the book, some of which isn't translated for the reader. It will sound ridiculous, but I studied French for most of my life (it was even my major in college), so I get a snooty kick out of the fact that I could read and understand everything, lol. But hey, it's about France so it needs a little snootiness.

I absolutely loved this book. It is very engaging and I just wanted to keep reading it to see what happened to her next. If you have any interest in cooking, France, or Julia Child (or all 3!), I highly recommend giving this a read. You will enjoy it :)

Keep Track of Your Reading with Goodreads

One of the hardest parts of joining The Thousander Club has been trying to remember all of the books that I have already read! I've been reading above 8th grade level for longer than I can remember (fyi - 8th grade level or higher is part of the club guidelines for the book to count), and I used to get books from the library all the time as a kid.

As I was counting my books and discovering "my number", I knew there had to be a better way to keep track other than my not-so-great memory. So, I asked The Thousanders - how do they keep track? Cortney (one of the group leaders) recommended Goodreads.

Goodreads is a website/app designed to keep track of your reading and share with your friends. You can list books you've read, give them a star rating and review, what you are currently reading, what you want to read, see what your friends are reading, have books recommended based on your likes and much more. I'm still learning all the different features of this site and it's lots of fun. I like to use the app on my iPhone and I love the "scan" feature. You can scan the barcode of a book and see the reviews, ratings, etc as well as add it to your own library.

As I've racked my brain to remember books I've read, I am up to 184 books I've read. I know that I'm missing some, so I'm guessing it's closer to 200, but until I remember what they are I'm just going to go with the ones in my Goodreads library. You can even join The Thousander Club Goodreads Group and be connected with me and all the other group members to see what we are reading :)

So, check out this app if you're getting more into reading like me :)

I Am A Thousander!

I made a decision a few months ago to read more books. I have always loved reading, but in the last 5-6 years I haven't really devoted any time to reading and I missed it. Also, World Book Night was coming up and the whole purpose behind it is to promote casual reading. How could I promote something that I don't even do myself? So, I picked up Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert since it was something I had always wanted to read. This book was fantastic and definitely gave me the reading itch; after I finished it, I just wanted to read more.

Coincidentally, a friend of mine from college started a book club of sorts back in 2011 and I decided to join in. It's called The Thousander Club. The premise behind this club is a common goal: to read 1,000 books in our lifetime. This is a pretty lofty and prestigious goal in my opinion, so I joined up :) The group has a nice Facebook presence and members are encouraged to contribute reviews of the books that they read and they are posted to the blog for others to benefit from. They are even having their first official meet up next week!

The Thousander Club is open to anyone who wants to join! You can go here to see the group's guidelines (they are really simple) and you can 'like' them on Facebook to get updates on  reviews and group happenings.

I hope to see some reviews from you in the group! Let's better ourselves together!

World Book Night 2013

Well, I had the fantastic opportunity to be a giver again for World Book Night 2013 yesterday :) I was lucky enough to be chosen as a giver last year as well, but I am happy to report that this year was so much more fun! Last year, I really didn't know too much about the program (ex. I hadn't read the book even and didn't know I was supposed to have). This year, World Book Night was much better organized as far as getting info around to the givers and I greatly benefited from that - so thanks to all those who ran it! This year I printed myself a badge (the I Am A Book Giver circle pictured above) and I also made a makeshift sign that I carried around; it had a poster on one side and an explanation of World Book Night on the back. Basically, I embraced all of the extra promotion items they put up on the website. It all made me look much more official, so people didn't seem so weirded out by me trying to give them a book. I've found that most people are afraid you are trying to sell something or give them a religious pamphlet and are not so likely to believe you just want to give them a national bestseller scott free!

This year, my book was Bossypants by Tina Fey. I made sure to borrow it from the library back in March and it was awesome! I can totally see why it was a bestseller - so funny! Just what you would expect from Tina Fey. I highly recommend it.

I had so much more luck with giving my 20 copies away this year! I'm not sure if it's because it was a better known book this time or because I was able to tell people about it,  probably a little of both, but I had all of my copies given out by lunch time. I started by giving a few to customers and coworkers at work - all light readers! The whole purpose behind World Book Night is to promote casual reading to those who normally don't casually read. After giving away a few there, I dropped by my friend's salon and gave away some to the stylists there. Next, I needed to get lunch, and thought the people who work at my favorite local place (Philly Station) would like a copy - which they did :) I also ended up giving away 3 more to other customers in the restaurant. I rounded it off by giving a few more away to some customers at work.

I had so much fun with World Book Night this year :) I got to giveaway a book that was really fun and funny, and I got to connect with lots of random people as well as promote reading in the process!

If you are interested in being a giver next year, you can sign up for their emails here and they will alert you when the time comes. It's loads of fun - trust me, I've done it 2 years in a row now and I plan on doin git again next year (if I'm lucky)!