I realized at some point that I often blaze so quickly through books, I don’t always remember what I’ve read or even much of the detail of the story. So I decided to start a list of the books so I’ll at least know what I’ve already read. It was definitely harder to find time to read this last year with a little one between six and 18 months old! Sometimes I sneak a few pages during her naps, but the bulk of my reading is done late at night, and sometimes I stay up waaaay too late with a good book, much to my regret in the morning!
I realize my list from last year is quite random (and yes, I’m a nut for fiction)…some classics, some westerny types, Christian fiction, a tale of drug abuse and rehab, a tear-jerker about the Salem witch trials, two memoirs, three Christmas classics, nonfiction about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some good old Robert Frost poetry and a bunch more stuck in between.
I can’t say I liked all of these books (or would recommend some of them), but here they are nonetheless, in no real order…
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway (for the second time)
I Know This Much Is True (and) She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
All the Pretty Horses (for the second time) (and) The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
Widow for One Year by John Irving
The entire Mitford Series (and) Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon
The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
The Shape of Mercy by Susan Meissner
A Peculiar Grace (and) In the Fall (for the second time) by Jeffrey Lent
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
A Million Little Pieces by James Frey
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
Not Tonight, Honey: Wait ‘Til I’m a Size 6 by Susan Reinhardt
Until Tuesday by Luis Carlos Montalvan
To the Moon and Back by Jill Mansell
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate Dicamillo
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Christmas Angel by Abbie Farwell Brown
The Burglar and the Blizzard by Alice Duer Miller
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (for probably the 10th time…I read it in one night at my parents’ house over the holidays…it was one of my favorites growing up and I still love it!)
Mountain Interval by Robert Frost
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
And because I love me some “Chick Fiction Classics” as I call them in my Kindle grouping, I’ve started 2012 with Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. Next up? The Color Purple by Alice Walker…I’m ashamed to say I’ve never read it.
I want to know which ones you DO recommend!! I'd love to read me some fiction, but I have trouble knowing which ones are worth the time. :) So go through and put stars by the ones cousin April would like. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing! I have been feeling like I need to get into books again, so this is great motivation. If I can read 1/4 of this long a list, I'll be doing well!
ReplyDeleteI just downloaded "25 Favorite Novels" and "25 Favorite Novels II" on my Nook. I think they were only 99 cents each download. Not bad for 50 classics! :0)
ReplyDeleteVery impressive! A Moveable Feast has been on my list since reading The Paris Wife, I still think about scenes from Little Bee (did you like it?), and I LOVE that you've read Hatchet so many times!
ReplyDeleteYes, you must read A Moveable Feast, although I have to say that Islands in the Stream is my all-time favorite Hemingway, hands down. I did like Little Bee, but it was so sad, and definitely a unique story. If you're looking for a good read, I just finished The Dry Grass of August and LOVED it!
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