2014
- “The Golem and the Jinni,” Helene Wecker. (01/03/14)
- It was so lovely that I wanted to start it again as soon as I’d finished it. …
- “Life After Life,” Kate Atkinson. (01/07/14)
- I enjoyed the book, but I was still a little confused at the end of it. …
“11/22/63,” Stephen King. (01/17/14) This is the first Stephen King book I’ve read in about a decade. It wasn’t as creepy as most of his stuff (that I’ve read), but there are references to some of his other, creepier books. It was an enjoyable read.
“Hollow City,” Ransom Riggs. (01/20/14) I’ll read the final book in the trilogy regardless … but I’m really hoping it’s better than this one was.
“The Silver Star,” Jeanette Walls. (01/25/14) I was really into this book, and then it was suddenly over. The ending felt very abrupt.
“Someone Else’s Love Story: A Novel,” Joshilyn Jackson. (01/29/14). I didn’t find the characters relatable, and the “twist” irritated me.
“World War Z,” Max Brooks (01/31/14) I wondered how they turned this into an action movie, so I looked up the plot. And discovered that they’d just written an entirely different story. So there’s that.
“Unbroken,” Lauren Hillenbrand (02/05/14) This book is about a guy who was a POW in Japan during World War II. It made me feel pretty bad about complaining about my cold.
“The Twelve Tribes of Hattie,” Ayana Mathis (02/07/14)
“And the Mountains Echoed,” Khaled Hosseini (02/12/14)
“The Paris Architect,” Charles Belfoure (02/16/14) The story was interesting but the writing was a little stiff.
“The Demon King,” Cinda Williams Chima (02/21/14) Promising start to another young-adult fantasy trilogy. I love a good trilogy (emphasis on “good”).
“Burn,” Julianna Baggott (02/22/14) The final book in the excellent “Pure” trilogy.
“The Maze Runner,” James Dashner (02/28/14) The whole thing felt like it was just an introduction to yet another YA trilogy. Not my favorite.
“Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” Reza Aslan (03/04/14).
“Orphan Train,” Christina Baker Klein (03/09/14).
“The Cuckoo’s Calling,” Robert Galbraith (03/16/14). “The Cuckoo’s Calling” — written by JK Rowling under a pseudonym — is a good old-fashioned PI story, and it’s a pretty good one. The more I thought about the conclusion, though, the less I cared for it. So I’m opting not to think about it any more. I’ll read the next one.
“The Whole Golden World,” Kristina Riggle (03/20/14).
“The Exiled Queen,” Cinda Chima Williams (03/23/14).
“Sisterland,” Curtis Sittenfeld (03/25/14).
“The Gray Wolf Throne,” Cinda Chima Williams (03/29/14).
“The Crimson Crown,” Cinda Chima Williams (03/29/14).
“Wonder,” R.J. Palacio (03/30/14).
“Ketchup is a Vegetable,” Robin O’Bryant.
“The Dead in their Vaulted Arches,” Alan Bradley.
“The Sparrow,” Mary Doria Russell.
“The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt,” Edmund Morris (07/01/14).
“Washington: A Life,” Ron Chernow (08/22/14).
“Annihilation,” Jeff VanderMeer (10/4/14).
“The Book of Life,” Deborah Harkness (12/4/14). The conclusion to a pretty weird trilogy about vampires, witches, demons, science and historical documents. Read what I thought about it at “I pretty much liked ‘The Book of Life’.”
“Lila,” Marilynne Robinson (12/8/14).
“Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel (12/9/14).
2013
- “Astray,” Emma Donoghue (01/06/13).
- “1Q84,” Haruki Murakami (02/2013).
- “A Good American,” Alex George (02/2013). “A Good American” was just what I needed.
- “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk,” Ben Fountain (03/16/13)
- “Start,” Jon Acuff (03/28/13)
- “Divergent,” Veronica Roth (05/01/13)
- “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” Maria Semple (05/28/13)
- “Speaking from Among the Bones,” Alan Bradley (06/2013)
- “The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making,” Catherynne M. Valenti. (??)
- “Fuse,” Julianna Baggott (08/17/13)
- “Among Others,” Jo Walton (08/21/13).
- “The Orphan Master’s Son,” Adam Johnson (08/23/13).
- “Tell the Wolves I’m Home,” Carol Rifka Brunt (09/05/13).
- “What Alice Forgot,” Liane Moriarty (10/2013).
- “Aloha Also Means Goodbye,” Jessica Rosenberg (10/2013).
- “To Say Nothing of the Dog,” Connie Willis (11/23/13).
- “The Doomsday Book,” Connie Willis (11/26/13).
- “Allegiant,” Veronica Roth (12/2/13).
- “Blackout,” Connie Willis (12/2013).
- “All Clear,” Connie Willis (12/2013).
- “Flight Behavior,” Barbara Kingsolver (12/12/2013).
- “The Other Boleyn Girl,” Phillipa Gregory (12/18/2013).
- “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe,” Fannie Flagg (12/20/13).
- “The Goldfinch,” Donna Tartt (12/28/13)
- “MaddAddam,” Margaret Atwood (12/31/13)
2012
- “Anansi Boys,” Neil Gaiman (01/06/12). “A book review that’s mostly about something else altogether.”
- “Lost Memory of Skin,” Russell Banks (01/12/12). “This book made me feel gross.”
- “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” Ransom Riggs (01/13/12). “I enjoyed this book, as evidenced by all the exclamation points herein.”
- “The Night Strangers,” Chris Bohjalian (01/14/12)
- “Ice Bound: A Doctor’s Incredible Battle for Survival at the North Pole,” Jerri Nielsen (01/15/12)
- “The Dovekeepers,” Alex Hoffman (01/21/12)
- “The Art of Fielding,” Chad Harbach (01/29/12). “I’m a sucker for a good baseball story.”
- “Swamplandia!” Karen Russell (02/07/12)
- “The Paris Wife,” Paula McLain
- “One of Our Thursdays is Missing,” Jasper Fforde (02/19/12)
- “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,” Alan Bradley (02/2012)
- “A Red Herring without Mustard,” Alan Bradley (02/2012)
- “The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag,” Alan Bradley (02/13/12)
- “I am Half-Sick of Shadows,” Alan Bradley (02/22/12)
- “A Drop of the Hard Stuff,” Lawrence Block (04/07/12)
- “Death of Kings,” Bernard Cornwall (04/27/12)
- “Playing for Pizza,” John Grisham (04/28/12)
- “Train Dreams,” Denis Johnson (05/04/12)
- “Let’s Pretend This Never Happened,” Jenny Lawson (06/04/12)
- “The Cove,” Ron Rash (06/21/12)
- “The Last Girls,” Lee Smith (07/04/12)
- “No One is Here Except All of Us,” Ramona Ausubel (07/07/12)
- “The Princess Bride,” William Goldman (07/09/12)
- “The March,” E.L. Doctorow (07/16/12)
- “Feast Day of Fools,” James Lee Burke (07/19/12)
- “Skippy Dies,” Paul Murray (07/25/12)
- “Shadow of Night,” Deborah Harkness (08/05/12)
- “Cloud Atlas,” David Mitchell (08/14/12)
- “Sacre Bleu,” Christopher Moore (08/24/12)
- “The Gilly Salt Sisters,” Tiffany Baker (09/03/12)
- “Then Came You,” Jennifer Weiner” (09/26/12)
- “The Language of Flowers,” Vanessa Diffenbaugh (09/29/12)
- “Gone Girl,” Gillian Flynn (09/30/12)
- “Pure,” Julianna Baggott (11/17/12)
- “The Lightning Thief,” Rick Riordan (11/29/12)
- “The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King,” Rich Cohen (12/2012)
- “The Night Circus,” Erin Morgenstern (12/2012)
- “The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane,” Katherine Howe (12/20/2012)
2011
- “The Sky Is Everywhere”
by Jandy Nelson.
- “The Things a Brother Knows”
by Dana Reinhardt.
- “The Golden Compass
” by Philip Pullman
- “Magyk
” by Angie Sage
- “Mr. Peanut”
- “The Giver,” Lois Lowry
- “Blink”
- “The Cutout”
There were a lot of other books between “Magyk” and “Mr. Peanut,” but I came to the last page in my reading journal and failed to write them down. And then I stopped writing things down altogether for a lot of months, and then came these:
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2010
- “The Once and Future King” by TH White
Far more depressing than I’d expected it to be.
- “Fatally Flaky”
by Diane Mott Davidson. Par for the goofy, vaguely plotted course. The series seems to be going the way of the “Cat Who” books.
- “Road Dogs”
by Elmore Leonard. Substandard Leonard. The conclusion seemed really rushed.
- “Her Fearful Symmetry”
by Audrey Niffenegger. Well, that was weird. I didn’t find the characters all that sympathetic or engaging. A rather icky story all around.
- “Dead and Gone”
by Charlaine Harris. These books are so darn silly. I wish I’d liked the TV series.
- “Midwives”
by Chris Bohjalian. This was a harsh, visceral book. It was well-paced and suspenseful, though.
- “Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us)”
by Tom Vanderbilt. This was a really interesting book, but I have to include a caveat: It could cause marital strife. If you were to, say, tell your husband that it contained scientific evidence that you were the superior driver, for example. (Which is totally does.)
- “Supreme Courtship”
by Christopher Buckley. This was just OK. Several of the main characters were a bit too precious to be believable.
- “Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop”
by Cynthia Bulik.
- “Prep”
by Curtis Sittenfeld. This was well-written, but I didn’t really enjoy reading it. I think I identified too much with the protagonist, who has a really low opinion of herself and is pretty irritating. I found myself growing crabbier and crabbier while I read it, and that’s never good.
- “Aunt Dimity’s Death”
by Nancy Atherton. This was the coziest cozy mystery ever. It’s the first in a series. I may read the others if I find myself storm-bound in a seaside bed and breakfast in Maine, with only Aunt Dimity stories or back issues of Lobster Fancy for entertainment. (Note: YoungNichole had a subscription to Cat Fancy
. Yes indeed.)
- “That Old Cape Magic”
by Richard Russo. I like most of Russo’s books. This one, though, was a big downer right up until the very end.
- “Jeeves And The Tie That Binds”
by PG Wodehouse. These books never fail to be great.
- “Long Lost”
by Harlen Coben.
- “Harm Done”
by Ruth Rendell.
- “The Hour I First Believed”
by Wally Lamb.
- “April and Oliver” by Tess Callahan
- “The Sheltering Sky” by Paul Bowles.
- “Lord of the Flies” by William Golding.
- “Ironweed” by William Kennedy
- “The Magnificent Ambersons” by Booth Tarkington
- “The Postman Always Rings Twice” by James Cain
- “A Visit from the Good Squad” by Jennifer Egan
- “Born Round” by Frank Bruni
- “The Help” by Kathryn Sockett
- “Right Ho, Jeeves” by PG Wodehouse
- “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood
- “Animal Dreams” by Barbara Kingsolver
- “The Lacuna” by Barbara Kingsolver
- “Beloved” by Toni Morrison
- “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” by Aimee Bender
- “Homicide in Hardcover” by Kate Carlisle
- “This Must Be the Place” by Kate Racculia
- “The Wonder Spot” by Melissa Bank
- “Oryx & Crake” by Margaret Atwood
- “The Year of the Flood” by Margaret Atwood
- “Crooked Letter Crooked Letter” by Tom Franklin
- “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
- “Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins
- “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins
- “Backseat Saints” by Joshilyn Jackson
- “Loving Frank” by Nancy Horan
- “Man in the Woods” by Scott Spencer
- “The Surrendered” by Change-rae Lee
2009
- “New Moon” by Stephenie Meyer.
- I enjoyed “Twilight,” but the characters started getting annoying in “New Moon.” I found it maudlin and goopy.
- “The Invention of Everything Else” by Samantha Hunt.
- I started out wondering whether I’d finish this book, and I ended up not being able to put the book down. The story isn’t flawless, but it definitely grabbed my attention.
- “Daphne” by Justine Picardie
- I wasn’t aware that Daphne duMaurier was related to the Peter Pan boys. Her story is pretty disturbing.
- “Eclipse” by Stephenie Meyer.
- Here’s what I wrote in my reading journal: “I don’t like where this is headed.”
- “Breaking Dawn” by Stephenie Meyer.
- I’m not sure why I felt so compelled to finish this series. The books overall were OK. I didn’t care for the ending, but I guess the author didn’t really have a choice unless she wanted to write an “unhappy” ending.
- “The German Bride” by Joanna Hershon.
- This was a nice departure from the typical Western.
- “Last Night at the Lobster” by Stewart O’Nan.
- “Serena” by Ron Rash.
- Disturbing
- “The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes: The Life and Times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” by Andrew Lycett.
- “Serve the People: A Stir-Fried Journey Through China” by Jen Lin-Liu.
- “The Fruit Hunters” by Adam Leith Gollner.
- “Red Harvest” by Dashiell Hammett.
- “The Lace Reader” by Brunonia Barry.
- “About a Boy” by Nick Hornby.
- “Fight Club” by Chuck Palahniuk.
- “The Geography of Bliss” by Eric Weiner.
- “Dead to the World” by Charlaine Harris.
- “Tara Road” by Maive Binchy.
- “Infinite Jest” by David Foster Wallace.
- “The Cross-Country Quilters” by Jennifer Chiaverini.
- “Blood Brothers” by Nora Roberts.
- “I Capture the Castle” by Dodie Smith.
- “Three Bags Full” by Leonie Swann.
- “The Chamber” by John Grisham.
- I read this in July, when we were at my uncle’s cabin. He’s been staying at the same little lakeside resort for decades, and it’s just lovely. I thought, “It would be great to have a family reunion or something here.” Which is how I found out that the cabin reservations are standing and someone basically has to die and then their kids have to not want to take over their week before there’s an opening. So much for that plan. What does this have to do with “The Chamber”? Very little. Except that there are hundreds of books in the resort’s office, and “The Chamber” was one of them.
- “The Hollow” by Nora Roberts.
- This, along with the first of the trilogy, was on my dad’s bookshelf. And so I read it, and I wrote in my reading journal: “I can’t believe I read this.” That’s about all I have to say about that.
- “The Education of Little Tree” by Forrest Carter.
- This is a really good book. It was also on Dad’s shelf.
- “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by JK Rowling.
- I’d read the first three (maybe four) of the Harry Potter books. When I saw a bunch of them at Dad’s, I thought I’d reread them and then finish the series. I read the ones he had while we were there this summer, then I got the rest from the library once we’d returned. There were a few little things I wish would’ve been included in the final book, but all in all the series was enjoyable.
- “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets“
- “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban“
- “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire“
- “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix“
- “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince“
- “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows“
- “P is for Peril” by Sue Grafton.
- “Black and White and Dead All Over” by John Darnton.
- “Out of Sight” by Elmore Leonard.
- Exceptional dialogue.
- “The Orchard Keeper” by Cormac McCarthy.
- Rockford loves Cormac McCarthy. I’ve read a few of his books and enjoyed a few of them, but this one? Not so much.
- “The Cider House Rules” by John Irving.
- This is one of my favorites, and it’s one of the reasons I find his disappointing books so disappointing.
- “Carter Beats the Devil” by Glen David Gold
- “Sunnyside” by Glen David Gold.
- “Carter” was pretty good, but “Sunnyside” nearly bored me to tears.
- “American Wife,” by Curtis Sittenfeld.
- I really enjoyed this, but I can’t remember why exactly. And I didn’t write anything down about it.
- “Run” by Ann Patchett.
- I started this after Rockford and the kids had left for my brother’s wedding in September. The house was absolutely silent, and the book was lovely.
- “What Was Lost” by Catherine O’Flynn.
- “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini.
- This book is well written and crushingly sad. It made me so grateful to have been born in the United States.
- “Something Missing” by Matthew Dicks.
- This is a strange little book about a thief who … I’m not going to try to explain it. It’s not a perfect book, but the main character is compelling enough to make it worthwhile.
- “The Angel’s Game” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
- “Julian Comstock” by Robert Charles Wilson.
- We were in the middle of watching the “Deadwood” series when I picked this up. I thought it was a Western. It is most certainly not. It’s sci-fi, but it was pretty good anyway.
- “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak.
- Broke my heart again.
2008
- “The Blackbird Papers” by Ian Smith
- “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan
- “The Man Who Tried to Save the World” by Scott Anderson
- “Bel Canto” by Ann Patchett
- “The Double Bind” by Chris Bohjalian
- “Mary Modern” by Camille DeAngelis
- “The Rabbit Factory” by Marshall Karp
- “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen
- “The Day After Roswell” by Philip Corso
- “Bridge of Sighs” by Richard Russo
- “The Best American Mystery Stories”
- “Good Poems for Hard Times“
- “The Rolling Stone Interviews“
- “At Risk” by Patricia Cornwell
- “Promise Me” by Harlan Coben
- “Toehold” by Stephen H. Foreman
- “Big Boned” by Meg Cabot
- “Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women Who Created Her” by Melanie Rehak
- “Sammy’s Hill” by Kristin Gore
- “Sammy’s House” by Kristin Gore
- “I Don’t Know How She Does It” by Allison Pearson
- “The Magician’s Assistant” by Ann Patchett
- “Devil in a Blue Dress” by Walter Mosley
- “A Red Death” by Walter Mosley
- “Dead Until Dark” by Charlaine Harris
- “Autism’s False Prophets” by Paul Offit
- “So Brave, Young and Handsome” by Leif Enger
- “Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger’s” by John Elder Robison
- “People of the Book” by Geraldine Brooks
- “Living Dead in Dallas” by Charlaine Harris
- “Made in the USA” by Billie Letts
- “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer
- “The Mulberry Tree” by Jude Devereaux
- “A Wicked Snow” by Gregg Olsen
- “Darkly Dreaming Dexter” by Jeff Lindsay
(My favorites are in bold.)
2007
My 10 favorite books of 2007:
10. “Very Good, Jeeves!” by P.G. Wodehouse.
Quite British, and delightfully goofy.9. “Plot It Yourself
” by Rex Stout.
Nero Wolfe novels never fail to disappoint, and this one is especially good.8. “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life” by Barbara Kingsolver.
I don’t think I’m ready to pluck chickens, but it did make me put a bit more thought into the origin of our family’s food.7. “Silence of the Grave” by Arnaldur Indridason.
A cleverly plotted Icelandic mystery.6. “Thursday Next: First Among Sequels” by Jasper Fforde.
Extremely silly and quite fun. If you like puns, you’ll probably like Fforde.5. “About Alice” by Calvin Trillin.
Sweet and so sad.4. “"No Country for Old Men“
Great writing.3. “A Spot of Bother” by Mark Haddon. A sweet and funny story of a family that’s falling apart. (It really is sweet. By the end. Really.)
2. “Peace Like a River” by Leif Enger.
I read this in 2006, too. I loved it both times. I may make it an annual event.1. “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak.
Touching, well written and so very sad.The books that I really, really didn’t like (but for one reason or another finished anyway):
“At First Sight” by Nicholas Sparks.
With my most sincere apologies to Amy, this was my least favorite book of 2007.“"The Jane Austen Book Club"“
I don’t remember what I didn’t like about this one, but I remember very clearly that I didn’t like it.“The Five People You Meet in Heaven ” by Mitch Albom
Oh, Mitch. You’re so schmaltzy.“The Missing” by Chris Mooney
Far too creepy.And finally, the rest of the bunch!
“The Children of Men” by P.D. James “Suite Francaise“ “The Night Gardener“ “Special Topics in Calamity Physics” by Marisha Pessl “The Dead Beat” by Marilyn Johnson “Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs” by Chuck Klosterman “The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency” by Rockfordander McCall Smith “Out of the Night that Covers Me” by Pat Cunningham Devoto “End of Story” by Peter Abrahams “Never Let Me Go” by Kazuo Ishiguro “The Silent Speaker "All the Pretty Horses" "The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid" “Sweet and Low: A Family Story“ “The Queen’s Gambit” “Moby Dick “The Woods” “The Forgotten Man” “The Innocent Man” “The Post-Birthday World” “The Second Confession” by Rex Stout “The Man of My Dreams: A Novel “Whiteout “Stigma” by Philip Hawley Jr. “To the Hilt” by Dick Francis “Longshot” by Dick Francis “How I Learned to Cook” “Our Man in Havana” “As Simple As Snow” “The Butterfly Hunters: Adventures of People Who Found Their True Calling Way Off the Beaten Path” “A Corpse in the Koryo” “Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously “Caught Stealing” “Six Bad Things” “Heat” “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits” “The Brief History of the Dead: A Novel” “The Careful Use of Compliments “Sweet Revenge“
2006
- “The Big Nap” by Ayelet Waldman.
- “Playdate with Death” by Ayelet Waldman.
- “Death Gets a Timeout” by Ayelet Waldman.
- “The Cradle Robbers” by Ayelet Waldman.
- “While I Was Gone” by Sue Miller.
- “Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
- “The Known World” by Edward P. Jones.
- “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell.
- “March” by Geraldine Brooks.
- “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion.
- “Atonement” by Ian McEwan.
- “The Shadow of the Wind” by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
- “Devil in the Details” by Jennifer Traig.
- “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown.
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
- “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Ken Kesey.
- “Tishomingo Blues” by Elmore Leonard.
- “Marley & Me” by John Grogan.
- “Monkeys, Go Home!” adapted by Mel Cebulash.
- “Carry On, Jeeves” by P.G. Wodehouse.
- “Watership Down” by Richard Adams.
- “Into Thin Air” by Jon Krakauer.
- “Fer-de-Lance” by Rex Stout.
- “The Mother Hunt” by Rex Stout.
- “Black Orchids” by Rex Stout.
- “Might As Well Be Dead” by Rex Stout.
- “Saints at the River” by Ron Rash.
- “Some Buried Caesar” by Rex Stout.
- “The BFG” by Roald Dahl. Dec. 28
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