Books of 2016

This past year turned out to be another successful twelve months of reading. The first eight months I was living in a non-English speaking country which made me very dependent on my Kindle. Unfortunately, the secondhand Kindle I was gifted a few years ago finally hit the dust. Fortunately, it broke just a few weeks before a friend came to visit so she was able to bring me a replacement.

I hit my primary goal of reading more books than in 2015. I read 55 books. However, I did not reach my secondary goal of reading all the writers on Powell's 25 Women to Read Before You Die list. I only read works by four of the writers on the list. (However, I've read a total of 11 of the writers in my lifetime.)

Here they are:

1. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (160)

2. Room by Emma Donoghue (417)

3. Dare Me by Megan Abbot (305)

4. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (240)

5. The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin (335)

6. Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois (419)

7. Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary (192)

8. Wildflower by Drew Barrymore (288)

9. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit (171)

10. All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister (605)

11. In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (416)

12. When We Were on Fire by Addie Zierman (402)

13. Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (208)

14. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (327)

15. Wallflower at the Orgy by Nora Ephron (187)

16. How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger (576)

17. A Kim Jong-Il Production by Paul Fischer (366)

18. Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary (224)

19. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (176)

20. Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat is Killing Us by Garth Davis, MD (389)

21. Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein (320)

22. A Different Kind of Daughter: The Girl Who Hid from the Taliban in Plain Sight by Maria Toorpakai (337)

23. We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to Cover Girl the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by Andi Zeisler (304)

24. The Starch Solution by Dr. John A. McDougall (368)

25. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (146)

26. The Clasp by Sloane Crosley (385)

27. The Birth of Korean Cool by Euny Hong (282)

28. The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi, the Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West by Michelle Goldberg (336)

29. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (160)

30. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (180)

31. The Wrong Girl by Zoe Foster (266)

32. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (256)

33. Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism by Melanie Joy, Ph.D. (210)

34. Sex Object: A Memoir by Jessica Valenti (224)

35. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson (581)

36. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer (336)

37. Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty (432)

38. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (336)

39. You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein (304)

40. Weightless by Sarah Bannan (336)

41. Future Perfect by Jen Larsen (320)

42. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (208)

43. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West (272)

44. Modern Lovers by Emma Straub (366)

45. I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee (256)

46. The Girls by Emma Cline (368)

47. My Life On the Road by Gloria Steinem (304)

48. The Healthiest Diet On the Planet by Dr. John McDougall and Mary McDougall (224)

49. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (384)

50. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini (279)

51. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (288)

52. The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson (288)

53. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (368)

54. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (208)

55. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (240)

In 2017 the plan is to read at least 56 books, read more writers on Powell's 25 Women to Read Before You Die list, and to focus on reading more Canadian writers.