This year's reading included 74 books, of which 15 were Kindle, and the rest were audio. I don't even know what a paper book feels like anymore, although I perpetually have a stack on my nightstand.
My top 10% were:
- Sprinting Through No Man's Land by Adin Dobkin
- The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
- The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White
- The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
- They Said They Wanted Revolution by Neda Toloui-Semnani
- Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon
- One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
January:
1. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - A very interesting fantasy, but it was so slow. I don't think I'll get around to reading the others in the series.
2. The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth* - An interesting read. Maybe considered a thriller? I know that I figured out the the truth well before the end of the book.
3. The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore* - Such an interesting story, but it literally could have been one third as long as it was. I wouldn't have touched it at all because I really hated this author's telling of another story in history, but we chose it for book group.
February:
4. Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore* - Possibly my favorite of the series. I just really enjoyed all the aspects of this book.
5. Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand* - I had never read this author before, and now I might take a dive into all of her books. This was just funny, poignant, and still pretty light.
6. Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell* - I blew through this super fast, but I was disappointed in the ending. It seemed unbelievably unrealistic.
7. The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty - Not my favorite of hers, but I found it likeable. My book group was underwhelmed.
8. Persist by Elizabeth Warren* - Some interesting ideas here. I'm not sure if all of her plans would go exactly as she imagines, but at least she has some specific ideas.
9. Anxious People by Fredrick Backman* - So many laugh out loud moments on this one. I really enjoyed the characters.
10. The Unflinching Ash by Angela Armstrong - It's pretty special when you get to read a book written by a friend. Even more special if the book is legitimately good.
March:
11. Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan* - I couldn't stop listening to this one.
12. The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner* - Pretty good. No bones to pick with the history, but the overall plot was a bit outlandish.
13. Ban This Book! by Alan Gratz* - This was a fun one.
14. Sprinting Through No Man's Land by Adin Dobkin - If you didn't listen to me ramble on about the Tour de France while I read this book, then you sure missed out.
15. The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud* - Very enjoyable.
16. One by One by Ruth Ware* - Pretty forgettable.
April:
17. Savvy by Ingrid Law* - The boys and I really enjoyed this one and had lots of suggestions for prequels and sequels. Turns out, they already exist or are in the works.
18. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster* - The boys and I liked this one too.
19. Whatever After: Two Peas in a Pod by Sarah Mlynowski* - The whole family listend to this one, and we were surprised by how much we all liked it.
20. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah* - Loved it. Probably my favorite of hers that I've read.
21. The Lost Family: How DNA Testing is Upending Who We Are by Libby Copeland - I thought this was a fair assessment of DNA testing within the non-professional genealogy world. She did a good job discussing the pros, cons, and difficulties of genetic testing. Much of it wasn't "new" to me, but I appreciated an outsider's view of things.
22. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud* - Very amusing.
23. Whatever After: Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski* - Not as fun as the first one we listened to.
24. Whatever After: Abby in Oz by Sarah Mlynowski* - Perfectly adequate.
May:
25. Going There by Katie Couric* - I really enjoyed this one. Some people thought it was too full of gossip, but I thought it was a good balance.
26. Tears of Amber by Sofia Sergovia - I really appreciated this historical fiction. It's about WWII, but it's from the viewpoint of people in East Prussia, which I was really not familiar with.
27. Whatever After: Dream On by Sarah Mlynowski* - Just more of the same from this series. It's a decent series that I don't mind for my kids, but it's not something I'd read on my own. The boys were also pretty tired of it by this point.
28. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo* - What a fun one!
29. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Wrecking Ball by Jeff Kinney* - I stand by my dislike of this book series.
30. Whatever After: If the Shoe Fits by Sarah Mlynowski* - I felt like this one was one of the better ones from a mom perspective.
31. The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary* - I've said it before, and I still feel it: Where was Beverly Cleary in my childhood? How did I miss her altogether?
32. Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt* - Such a good one for our cross-country trip.
June:
33. The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White* - This book is positively delightful and hilarious and wonderful. I'm going to have to buy a copy.
34. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl* - We all loved this one too.
35. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar* - A family favorite.
36. Wayside School is Falling Down by Louis Sachar* - We loved this one too.
37. Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar* - And this one.
38. Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan* - Such a wonderful audiobook. My third listen, the boys' second, Eric's first.
39. The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl* - Another fun one.
40. The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare - I was surprised by how much I liked this one.
41. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate* - I'm a sucker for stories about adoption and lost families. I'm not sure how well this will age with the rise of DNA testing. I appreciated the history about the Tennessee Children's Home Society. Before DNA testing was ubiquitous, I worked with a client who believed her parent had been illegally adopted through this organization.
July:
42. An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by P. D. James* - This was a well-paced book to listen to while I get back into distance running.
43. The Skull Beneath the Skin by P. D. James* - I didn't like this one as well as the previous, but it was fine. I wasn't terribly sad to learn there were only two in the series. I'm sure I'll seek more by this author.
44. Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud* - A nice conclusion to this series.
45. As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark* - Meh.
46. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin - Loved it so much. I was surprised by how delightful it was.
47. Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal - This was just such a delightful little book. I laughed a lot and may have even shed a tear or two.
48. Family Money by Chad Zunker - Meh. I got this free from Amazon. It didn't do a lot for me, but it was short enough that I went ahead and finished it.
49. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson* - I'm always surprised by how much I enjoy books written in verse.
50. Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor* - It was really nice to listen to a series that was only a duology instead of a trilogy. This was such a satisfactory ending.
51. Cover Her Face by P. D. James* - I can't even remember what this one was about, but I liked it well enough to continue the series.
August:
52. Into the Water by Paula Hawkins* - This one is a bit dark, but I appreciated how the character lines fit together.
53. The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan* - Delightful and sweet. I wish I had known more about Pablo Neruda before starting the book. Or even that the book was a historical fiction of his childhood.
54. A Mind to Murder by P. D. James* - It was hard to keep track of all these characters.
55. A Tiger Mom's Tale by Lynn Liao Butler* - This was really good contemporary fiction. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.
56. Unnatural Causes by Dawn Eastman* - I came upon this one while looking up a P. D. James novel of the same title. It got me through some runs, but was nothing to write home about.
57. Unnatural Causes by P. D. James* - I was really intrigued by this one and was a bit surprised by the ending.
September:
58. Shroud for a Nightingale by P. D. James* - Maybe it's time for a break from this series. I'm having a hard time keeping track of all the characters.
59. They Said They Wanted Revolution by Neda Toloui-Semnani - A fascinating perspective of the Iranian revolution and some who participated in it. Written by the daughter of a couple of late revolutionists, relying on as many primary documents and family members and friends as would participate.
60. Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer - Fell a little flat for me.
61. Where the Lost Wander by Amy Harmon - Loved this one a lot.
62. The 1619 Project by Nikole Hannah-Jones* - Heavy stuff. Some of the essays should be required reading.
63. Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid* - I just love her stuff. This new one was fantastic.
64. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng* - There's this underlying theme that you can only be truly happy if you thrust off the shackles of all societal constraints. I think that is complete nonsense.
October:
65. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline* - Despised.
66. Last Summer Boys by Bill Rivers - Thoroughly enjoyable.
67. Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor - This one does dueling time periods really well.
November:
68. Hunt, Gather, Parent by Michaelee Doucleff* - Some interesting ideas here.
69. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann* - A little slow at first, but this is a crucial and overlooked part of our history. Eric nearly quit while listening, and I encouraged him to keep going.
70. The Brighter the Light by Mary Ellen Taylor* - Didn't like this as well as the other one by her. The relationships were kind of weird and confusing, and I'm a person who handles weird and confusing relationships very well.
December:
71. The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate* - This one made me want to work on genealogy projects focused on African-Americans. There are materials out there, and we need to prioritize their digitization and indexing!
72. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig* - How many ways are there to beat a dead horse?
73. One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid* - Amazing exposition of relationships and how our personalities are defined by them. I couldn't stop listening to this one and couldn't wait to see how it unfolded.
74. The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab* - Wasn't thrilled from the get-go, but I persisted. Then I regretted. So dark, so meaningless. I do not get the hype.
