tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27529141049594292232024-03-04T23:59:34.514-08:00pilliebee.books"She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain." - Louisa May AlcottJillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.comBlogger102125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-18565081615127060112023-01-11T07:41:00.002-08:002023-01-11T07:41:14.654-08:00Books of 2022<p>Even fewer books read in 2022... unless you count Little Blue Truck, Tails, Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs, etc. </p><p>Books of 2022</p><div style="text-align: left;">1. Girls Like Us by Christina Alger (288)</div><div style="text-align: left;">2. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (474)</div><div style="text-align: left;">3. Book Lovers by Emily Henry (398)</div><div style="text-align: left;">4. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (320)</div><div style="text-align: left;">5. Dead on Deadline by Lara Bricker (234)</div><div style="text-align: left;">6. Scarred: The True Story of How I Escaped NXIVM, the Cult that Bound My Life by Sarah Edmondson (253)</div><div style="text-align: left;">7. The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang (351)</div><div style="text-align: left;">8. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy (319)</div><div style="text-align: left;">9. A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy (338)</div><div style="text-align: left;">10. One by One by Ruth Ware (383)</div><div style="text-align: left;">11. Hercule Poirot's Christmas (272)</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Let's see what 2023 brings!</div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-87918946573077166272023-01-11T07:23:00.001-08:002023-01-11T07:23:51.168-08:00Books of 2021<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">2021 was not a banner year for reading... but it was a very special year for growing a baby! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's what I managed to read before things got hectic:</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer (384)<br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: inherit;">2. The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine (400)<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: inherit;">3. This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell (160)<br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: inherit;">4. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (272)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">5. I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown (182)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Long Bright River by Liz Moore (480)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Trust Exercise by Susan Choi (257)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">8. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson (247)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. The Survivors by Jane Harper (374)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">10. The Other Woman by Sandie Jones (294)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">11. How to Be a Good Creature by Sy Montgomery (208)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">12. Flush by Virginia Woolf (177)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">13. Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery (339)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">14. My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing (390)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">15. Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris (352)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">16. The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena (320)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">17. Peace Pipe Dreams: The Truth About Lies About Indians by Darrell Dennis (224)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">18. The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University by Kevin Roose (315)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">19. Loathe at First Sight by Suzanne Park (354)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">20. The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park (298)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">21. The Haunting of Alma Fielding by Kate Summerscale (368)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">22. Ghosting: A Love Story by Tash Skilton (338)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">23. Made in Korea by Sarah Suk (322)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">24. Cribsheet by Emily Oster (291)25. The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse (388)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">26. Untamed by Glennon Doyle (328)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">27. The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw (179)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">28. The Babysitter: My Summers with a Serial Killer by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan (308)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">29. Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston(421)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">30. Crooked House by Agatha Christie (236)</span></div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-15812111212543365292021-01-17T09:56:00.000-08:002021-01-17T09:56:19.442-08:00Books of 2020<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I know a lot of people found more time for reading this past year due to lockdowns and cancelled social gatherings. It turned out to just be a typical year for me. I hit my goal of reading more books than the previous year. </div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><span>1. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham (455)</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2. The Uncollected David Rakoff by David Rakoff (352)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">3. Educated by Tara Westover (334)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">4. My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite (223)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">5. Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow (414)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">6. Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy (722)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">7. Pantsdrunk: The Finnish Path to Relaxation by Miska Rantanen (175)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">8. Looker by Laura Sims (180)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">9. What You Don't Know About Charlie Outlaw (326) by Leah Stewart</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">10. Demelza by Winston Graham (521)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">11. Normal People by Sally Rooney (273)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">12. The Witches Are Coming by Lindy West (261)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">13. Broken Faith: Inside Word of Faith Fellowship One of America's Most Dangerous Cults by Mitch Weiss and Holbrook Mohr (382)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">14. Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham (344)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">15. Warleggan by Winston Graham (471)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">16. Girl, 15, Charming but Insane by Sue Limb (310)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">17. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (384)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">18. 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne (368)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">19. Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (322)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">20. The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary (321)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">21. Too Late to Say Goodbye by Ann Rule (480)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">22. Dead by Sunset by Ann Rule (566)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">23. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (320)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">24. Big Sky by Kate Atkinson (368)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">25. The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (192)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">26. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (386)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">27. Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (335)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">28. Dear Girls by Ali Wong (216)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">29. Ghost by Jason Reynolds (208)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">30. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (240)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">31. Stay Up with Hugo Best by Erin Somers (273)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">32. Me and White Supremacy by Layla Saad (256)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">33. Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino (303)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">34. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens (368)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">35. Little Princes by Conor Grennan (304)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">36. In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (247)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">37. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (286)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">38. You're Not Special by Meghan Rienks (278)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">39. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (281)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">40. Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (78)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">41. Birdie by Tracey Lindberg (256)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">42. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn (62)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">43. The White Album by Joan Didion (223)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">44. Quakers by Peter Furtado (62)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">45. Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer (162)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">46. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (159)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">47. Three Blind Mice and Other Stories by Agatha Christie (235)</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">48. Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams (328)</div>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-68307290803326918812020-01-11T18:32:00.001-08:002020-01-11T18:32:05.892-08:00Books of 2019<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It was another great year for reading. Here are the titles:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">1. Becoming by Michelle Obama (421)</span><br />
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2. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (304)</div>
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3. To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (368)</div>
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4. P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (337)</div>
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5. Love! by Zoe Foster Blake (387)</div>
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6. Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han (337)</div>
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7. Playing the Field by Zoe Foster Blake (352)</div>
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8. Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman (272)</div>
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9. Too Close to the Falls by Catherine Gildiner (400)</div>
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10. We're All in This Together by Amy Jones (418)</div>
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11. Women Talking by Miriam Toews</div>
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12. Arcadia by Lauren Groff (298)</div>
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13. The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World by Sarah Weinman (320)</div>
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14. A Jest of God by Margaret Laurence (227)</div>
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15. Fake Plastic Girl by Zara Lisbon (276)</div>
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16. Lightly: How to Live a Simple, Serene, & Stress-free Life by Francine Jay (256)</div>
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17. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriaty (458)</div>
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18. The Stand-In by Steve Bloom (360)</div>
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19. Buffy Sainte-Marie: The Authorized Biography by Andrea Warner (275)<br /><div>
20. Not Without My Sister by Celeste Jones, Kristina Jones, and Juliana Buhring (416)</div>
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21. The Lost Man by Jane Harper (337)</div>
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22. We Oughta Know: How Four Women Rules the 90s and Changed Canadian Music by Andrea Warner (170)</div>
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23. Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin (352)</div>
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24. Bunny by Mona Awad (320)</div>
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25. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (352)</div>
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26. Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (427)</div>
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27. The Private World of Tasha Tudor by Tash Tudor and Richard Brown (134)</div>
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28. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson (396)</div>
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29. Tasha Tudor's Garden by Tovah Martin (160)</div>
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30. The Bride Test by Helen Hoang (320)</div>
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31. This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Philipps (321)</div>
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32. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie (241)</div>
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33. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christis (224)</div>
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34. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (226)</div>
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35. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (103)</div>
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36. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie (266)</div>
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37. Have a Little Faith in Me by Sonia Hartl (329)</div>
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38. Three Women by Lisa Taddeo (302)</div>
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39. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson (348)</div>
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40. Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (304)</div>
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41. Unfollow: A Memoir of Loving and Leaving the Westboro Baptist Church by Megan Phelps-Roper (386)</div>
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42. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (232)</div>
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43. The Whisper Man by Alex North (355)</div>
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44. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (349)</div>
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45. Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton (368)</div>
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46. How Do You Like Me Now? by Holly Bourne (368)</div>
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Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-87708638050859720642019-01-26T07:26:00.002-08:002019-01-26T07:26:29.226-08:00Books of 2018 <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yikes! I was not very diligent about reading this past year. I'm not even sure I kept proper track of the titles I read...I could have sworn that total was little higher! I also did not focus on reading more Canadian writers like I had planned. In fact, I only read one (Scaachi Koul).<br />
<br />
At least it should be easy to read more than 22 books in 2019.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">1. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin (324)</span><br />
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2. One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul (256)</div>
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3. Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman by Anne Helen Petersen (288)</div>
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4. We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantah Irby (272)</div>
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5. I'm Judging You: The Do Better Manual by Luvvie Ajayi (256)</div>
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6. The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside the Room, the Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell (288)</div>
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7. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (352)</div>
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8. The Hate U Give by April Thomas (447)</div>
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9. Greetings from Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood by Claire Hoffman (293)</div>
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10. Tangerine by Christine Mangan (317)</div>
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11. Force of Nature by Jane Harper (329)</div>
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12. The Power by Naomi Alderman (400)</div>
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13. I've Got Your Number by Sophia Kinsella (448)</div>
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14. Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis (241)</div>
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15. The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth (480)</div>
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16. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (336)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
17. I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (340)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
18. How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran (357)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
19. How to Be Famous by Caitlin Moran (352)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
20. The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty (400)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
21. Sisu: The Finnish Art of Courage by Joanna Nylund (156)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">
22. Calypso by David Sedaris (273)</div>
</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-36743099551213484932018-01-08T18:14:00.000-08:002018-01-08T18:14:29.669-08:00Books of 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was another successful and enjoyable year for reading. I reached my goal of more books than the previous year, but just barely. I finished my final book on December 31 just a few hours before midnight for a total of 56 books in 2017.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I strayed a bit from my goal of reading more Canadian authors, but there's always 2018!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are the books:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo (224)</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks (239)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. Spark Joy! by Marie Kondo (304)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (64)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Air Kisses by Zoe Foster (350)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (304)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Canada Year by Year by Elizabeth MacLeod (93)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Karma Cola: Marketing the Mystic East by Gita Mehta (208)</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">9. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert (263)</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">10. Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple (273)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">11. The Dry by Jane Harper ( 336)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">12. 10% Happier by Dan Harris (256)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">13. Joe College by Tom Perrotta (321)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">14. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay (320)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">15. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (588)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">16. A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki (433)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">17. Fifteen Dogs by Andre Alexis (175)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">18. I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron (160)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">19. I Remember Nothing: And Other Reflections by Nora Ephron (160)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">20. Tomatomania! by Scott Daigre and Jenn Garbee (210)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">21. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham (224)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">22. I'll Be Right There by Kyung-Sook Shin (336)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">23. Finding Ultra by Rich Roll (290)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">24. Eat and Run by Scott Jurek (273)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">25. The Bear by Claire Cameron (217)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">26. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (658)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">27. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (728)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">29. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (674)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">30. How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell (374)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">31. Kay's Lucky Coin Variety by Ann Y.K. Choi (288)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">32. When You Find Out the World is Against You by Kelly Oxford (320)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">33. It's All in Your Head: Stories From the Frontline of Psychosomatic Illness by Suzanne O'Sullivan (316)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">34. The Cheese Trap by Dr. Neal Barnard (320)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">35. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (544)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">36. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan (400)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">37. Blubber by Judy Blume (193)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">38. Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave (257)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">39. The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking (285)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">40. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan (384)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">41. Floret Farm's Cut Flower Garden by Erin Benzakein (308)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">42. My (Not So) Perfect Life by Sophia Kinsella (449)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">43. Ruthless by Ron Miscavige (258)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">44. Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (148)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">45. You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain by Phoebe Robinson (320)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">46. My Story by Elizabeth Smart (308)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">47. Beyond Belief by Jenna Miscavige Hill (427)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">48. Jubilee by Patricia Reilley Giff (162)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">49. Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo (231)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">50. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (272)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">51. The Little Book of Lykke: The Danish Search for the World's Happiest People by Meik Wiking (285)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">52. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 by Beverly Cleary (208)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">53. Ramona Forever by Beverly Cleary (213)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">54. Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary (240)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">55. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (332)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #666666;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">56. Completely Clementine by Sara Pennypacker (192)</span></div>
</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-90570347736266532362017-01-12T12:33:00.002-08:002017-01-12T12:33:27.462-08:00Books of 2016<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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.<br />
<br />
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 <a href="http://www.powells.com/25-women-to-read-before-you-die">25 Women to Read Before You Die</a> 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.)<br />
<br />
Here they are:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">1. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz (160)</span><br />
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
2. Room by Emma Donoghue (417)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
3. Dare Me by Megan Abbot (305)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
4. Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary (240)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
5. The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin (335)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
6. Cartwheel by Jennifer duBois (419)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
7. Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary (192)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
8. Wildflower by Drew Barrymore (288)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
9. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit (171)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
10. All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister (605)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
11. In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume (416)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
12. When We Were on Fire by Addie Zierman (402)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
13. Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary (208)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
14. Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman (327)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
15. Wallflower at the Orgy by Nora Ephron (187)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
16. How Not to Die by Dr. Michael Greger (576)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
17. A Kim Jong-Il Production by Paul Fischer (366)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
18. Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary (224)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
19. Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates (176)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
20. Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat is Killing Us by Garth Davis, MD (389)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
21. Girls and Sex: Navigating the Complicated New Landscape by Peggy Orenstein (320)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
22. A Different Kind of Daughter: The Girl Who Hid from the Taliban in Plain Sight by Maria Toorpakai (337)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
23. We Were Feminists Once: From Riot Grrrl to Cover Girl the Buying and Selling of a Political Movement by Andi Zeisler (304)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
24. The Starch Solution by Dr. John A. McDougall (368)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
25. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson (146)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
26. The Clasp by Sloane Crosley (385)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
27. The Birth of Korean Cool by Euny Hong (282)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
28. The Goddess Pose: The Audacious Life of Indra Devi, the Woman Who Helped Bring Yoga to the West by Michelle Goldberg (336)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
29. The Vegetarian by Han Kang (160)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
30. A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park (180)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
31. The Wrong Girl by Zoe Foster (266)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
32. Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion (256)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
33. Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism by Melanie Joy, Ph.D. (210)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
34. Sex Object: A Memoir by Jessica Valenti (224)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
35. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson (581)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
36. The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo by Amy Schumer (336)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
37. Truly, Madly, Guilty by Liane Moriarty (432)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
38. The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (336)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
39. You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein (304)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
40. Weightless by Sarah Bannan (336)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
41. Future Perfect by Jen Larsen (320)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
42. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson (208)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
43. Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West (272)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
44. Modern Lovers by Emma Straub (366)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
45. I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee (256)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
46. The Girls by Emma Cline (368)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
47. My Life On the Road by Gloria Steinem (304)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
48. The Healthiest Diet On the Planet by Dr. John McDougall and Mary McDougall (224)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
49. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (384)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
50. Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini (279)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
51. Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (288)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
52. The Gap of Time by Jeanette Winterson (288)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
53. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter (368)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
54. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (208)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
55. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander (240)</div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
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. </div>
<div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-55281690251030187312017-01-06T15:30:00.001-08:002017-01-06T15:31:34.292-08:00Books of 2006<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've recently been going through my belongings and pared everything down to just a few boxes. In the process I came across an old notebook that contained the list of books I read in 2006. For safekeeping I'm adding that list to the blog.<br />
<br />
Books of 2006<br />
<br />
1. Why I'm Like This by Cynthia Kaplan<br />
2. An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jamison<br />
3. Barrel Fever by David Sedaris<br />
4. Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger<br />
5. Nine Stories by JD Salinger<br />
6. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey<br />
7. Feminism is For Everybody by bell hooks<br />
8. The Kandy Kolored Tangerine Flake Streamline Baby by Tom Wolfe<br />
9. The Almond Picker by Simonetta Agnello Hornby<br />
10. A Private State: Stories by Charlotte Bacon<br />
11. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen<br />
12. The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe<br />
13. Nickel and Dimed: On Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich<br />
14. Queen of the Oddballs and Other Stories of Life Unaccording to Plan by Hillary Carlip<br />
15. Bad Haircut: Stories from the Seventies by Tom Perrotta<br />
16. Candyfreak: A Journey Through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond<br />
17. Old School by Tobias Wolff<br />
18. In the Garden of North American Martyrs by Tobias Wolff<br />
19. The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories by Steve Almond<br />
20. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston<br />
21. Namedropper by Emma Forrest<br />
22. Thin Skin by Emma Forrest<br />
23. The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body by Desmond Morris<br />
24. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster<br />
25. My Life in Heavy Metal: Stories by Steve Almond<br />
26. The Sign of the Burger: McDonald's and the Culture of Power by Joe L. Kincheloe<br />
27. Mad Cowboy: The Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat by Howard F. Lyman<br />
28. An American Tragedy: Volume One by Theodore Dreiser<br />
29. The Remain's of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro<br />
30. An American Tragedy: Volume Two by Theodore Dreiser<br />
31. The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas by Davy Rothbart<br />
32. The Underground Man by Mick Jackson<br />
33. Everybody Into the Pool: True Tales by Beth Lisick<br />
34. Vegan and Vegetarian FAQ by VRG<br />
35. Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare<br />
36. Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal<br />
37. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon<br />
38. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd<br />
39. The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist Vegetarian Criticial Theory by Carol J. Adams<br />
40. College Girls: Bluestockings, Sex Kittens, and Co-Eds, Then and Now by Lynn Peru<br />
41. The Los Angeles Diaries: A Memoir by James Brown<br />
42. The Book of Bright Ideas by Sandra Kring<br />
43. Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris<br />
44. Bitchfest edited by Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler<br />
45. I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence by Amy Sedaris<br />
46. The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester<br />
47. Running with Scissors b y Augusten Burroughs</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-58219613546903566832016-01-24T01:01:00.002-08:002016-05-22T04:54:53.792-07:0012 Interesting and Influential Women <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">In addition to reading 54 books in 2015, I had a secondary goal. I wanted to read a biography a month of an interesting and influential woman. This turned out to be an excellent, though slightly challenging goal. It turns out the collection of biographies of diverse women available through my library's ebook database is quite small. It took a lot of searching to find titles available to me. In the end, I read more memoirs than biographies because they were easier to access. </span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Here are the titles:</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1JKY-u52pYj_PKykbZPdNj-1rIIet6j7uLTZ9oVl7KXgkckZXRfEzFuIAUNP43bNRpaubOrP6RljfescoAF5lgdoPTe67XMFRWibT4UM4Fnvww1TNX3xRsNNLh7GQde_gadCyCQVbZs/s1600/Female+Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB1JKY-u52pYj_PKykbZPdNj-1rIIet6j7uLTZ9oVl7KXgkckZXRfEzFuIAUNP43bNRpaubOrP6RljfescoAF5lgdoPTe67XMFRWibT4UM4Fnvww1TNX3xRsNNLh7GQde_gadCyCQVbZs/s400/Female+Books.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px;">
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<div style="font-size: 16px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 16px;">
<span style="font-size: small;">January - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/infidel-9780743289696/1-10">Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">Hirsi Ali went from a traditional Islamic childhood in Somalia and Kenya to political life in the Netherlands. She is an outspoken critic of Fundamentalist Islam based upon her personal experiences. I found myself cheering for Hirsi Ali but also feeling some discomfort at her harsh words. Her opinions are strong and wide sweeping and do not always match the experiences of other Muslim women I know. </span></i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">February - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/why-be-happy-when-you-could-be-normal-9780802120878/18-1">Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal by Jeanette Winterson</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">One of those books that makes you want to go hug your mother. Jeanette Winterson grew up queer in a strict Pentecostal household in the north of England. A story of identity, heartbreak, and the search for acceptance from those who are supposed to love you the most. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">March - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/margaret-fuller-a-new-american-life-9780544245617/2-5">Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">A Transcendentalist we should know more about. She was a premier thinker of her time, a war journalist, a social activist, and died tragically in a shipwreck. This one took a little work to get through but was excellent. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">April - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/just-kids-9780060936228/2-5">Just Kids by Patti Smith</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">I wish I had never read this book so I could read it again for the first time. I've never had much interest in New York City until reading this book. I literally wanted a time machine. Highly recommended. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">May - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/girl-in-a-band-9780062295903/18-0">Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">I've never been a fan of Sonic Youth but felt compelled to read Gordon's memoir nonetheless. I'm always amazed by people who just do their thing and that thing turns into *the thing*. I enjoyed reading about Gordon's experiences in NYC so shortly after reading about Smith's experiences there a few decades prior. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">June - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/this-child-will-be-great-9780061353475/1-5">This Child Will Be Great: A Memoir of a Remarkable Life of Africa's First Woman President by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</a></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">This memoir reads like an informercial for the word determination. It's basically impossible to feel sorry for yourself after reading this. You've had a challenge come your way? Get over it. Sirleaf was abused and imprisoned yet still managed to become the first female president in Africa. Recommended. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">July - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/american-rose-9780812978513/2-3">American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare - The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee by Karen Abbot</a></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">Before reading this book, I only knew the name Gypsy Rose. This biography reveals the woman, as well as the world of burlesque and the business of fame. You'll want to hug your mom after this one too. Recommended. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">August - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/empty-mansions-the-mysterious-life-of-huguette-clark-the-spending-of-a-great-american-fortune-9780345534538/2-8">Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">The fascinating story of a very rich and very quirky recluse. I found myself spending her money in my head while reading. </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">September - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/iran-awakening-one-womans-journey-to-reclaim-her-life-country-9780812975284/2-7">Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">I liked this book because in addition to learning Ebadi's story, you learn much more about the history of the conflict in Iran. I admire Ebadi's strength, determination and pursuit of justice. </span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">October -<a href="http://www.powells.com/book/lakota-woman-9780060973896/2-15"> Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">The story of growing up poor on Indian land in North Dakota and later joining the American Indian Movement. Crow Dog's depiction of reservation life was eye-opening and heartbreaking.</span></i><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">November - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/the-girl-with-seven-names-9780007554850/66-0">The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story by Hyeonseo Lee</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">This book gave me a much richer picture of what life is like in North Korea. Lee grew up near at the border between NK and China. One day she decided to visit relatives in China, crossed the border, and found out days later that she could never go back.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">December - <a href="http://www.powells.com/book/mary-mcgrory-9780525429715/1-1">Mary McGrory: The First Queen of Journalism by John Norris</a></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: small;">The story of a pioneer in journalism beginning in the 1950s. McGrory was intelligent, determined, and more than a little feisty. Very enjoyable. </span></i></div>
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I did happen to read other memoirs over the year, but these 12 were the official picks.<br />
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I loved working on this goal over the year. For this year, I've decided to have another sub-goal focusing on female writers. I'm planning to read all of the writer's on <a href="http://www.powells.com/25-women-to-read-before-you-die">Powell's 25 Women to Read Before You Die</a> list. </div>
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Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-5392101823088754842016-01-10T01:42:00.000-08:002016-01-10T01:42:56.116-08:00Books of 2015<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
2015 was a pretty successful year for reading. Despite once again living in a non-English speaking country, I was able to reach my goal. I brought a few books with me to Korea and asked my mom to bring over a few more when she visited. The rest of the books I read through my home library's ebook collection on my Kindle. The selection is not great, but nonetheless, I was able to find plenty to read.<br />
<br />
My goal for the year was to read 53 books. However, I made a puzzling discovery that caused me to revise my goal to 54. I was recording a back up copy of my book lists into Excel when I realized that at some point during the last few years I failed to record Skippy Dies by Paul Murray. I felt it only right to account for it now.<br />
<br />
So, it was close. I completed my 54th book on December 31, but I made it. Another fulfilling year of reading. Here are the books:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">1. The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty (416)</span><br />
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2. Without You, There is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea's Elite by Suki Kim (291)</div>
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3. Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali (350)</div>
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4. For Bread Alone by Mohamed Choukri (169)</div>
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5. Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson (176)</div>
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6. Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson (240)</div>
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7. Living the Secular Life: New Answers to Old Questions by Phil Zuckerman (288)</div>
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8. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (345)</div>
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9. Margaret Fuller: A New American Life by Megan Marshall (390)</div>
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10. Looking for Alaska by John Green (221)</div>
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11. Just Kids by Patti Smith (320)</div>
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12. So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson (290)</div>
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13. A New Year by Pearl S. Buck (255)</div>
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14. The Leftovers by Tom Perotta (355)</div>
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15. Heart Burn by Nora Ephron (176)</div>
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16. Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (180)</div>
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17. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn (393)</div>
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18. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes (150)</div>
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19. The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie (207)</div>
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20. Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham (290)</div>
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21. Fresh Off the Boat by Eddie Huang (277)</div>
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22. Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon (273)</div>
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23. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (326)</div>
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24. Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer (368)</div>
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25. This Child Will Be Great: Memoir of a Remarkable Life by Africa's First Female President by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf</div>
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26. If You're Not Yet Like Me by Edan Lepucki (55)</div>
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27. American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare - The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee by Karen Abbott (448)</div>
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28. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg (320)</div>
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29. Please Look After Mom by Kyung-Sook Shin (272)</div>
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30. Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and the Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman (432)</div>
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31. Amsterdam: A Novel by Ian McEwan (193)</div>
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32. The Eternal Wonder by Pearl S. Buck (364)</div>
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33. Iran Awakening by Shirin Ebadi (256)</div>
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34. Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog (263)</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">35. I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Young-Ha Kim (119)</span><br />
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36. Dracula by Bram Stoker (406)</div>
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37. Challenger Deep by Neal Shusterman (306)</div>
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38. The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story by Hyeonseo Lee (320)</div>
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39. M Train by Patti Smith (272)</div>
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40. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (264)</div>
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41. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling (240)</div>
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42. Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl by Carrie Brownstein (256)</div>
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43. Clementine and the Spring Trip by Sara Pennypacker (150)</div>
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44. You and Me and Him by Kris Dennison (288)</div>
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45. Blackout: Remember the Things I Drank to Forget by Sarah Hepola (231)</div>
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46. Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead (304)</div>
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47. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit (160)</div>
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48. The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (275)</div>
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49. The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison (326)</div>
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50. Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary (176)</div>
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51. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (65)</div>
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52. Mary McGrory: The First Queen of Journalism by John Norris (328)</div>
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53. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (198)</div>
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54. The Fever by Megan Abbot (314)<br />
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I'm already three books in for the new year. 52 more to go. Let's do it!</div>
</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-38783635607738791182015-01-05T13:08:00.000-08:002015-01-05T13:09:29.410-08:00Books of 2014<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This past year was a great one for reading. Despite living in a non-English speaking country for half of the year, in general, I had easy access to books. Thankfully, I was able to borrow from the school library that was fairly well stocked with novels. I was also pleasantly surprised when a parent came in and offered me her old Kindle. I've always been a bit against e-readers so it sat on my desk for a few months while I worked up the courage to use it. In the end, I'm still a paper book person. However, I definitely appreciate the convenience of an e-reader, especially while living abroad. Sometimes you need a book that you just can't get your hands on.<br />
<br />
My goal for 2014 was to read 37 books. I very happily exceeded that goal.<br />
<br />
Here's what I read this past year:<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">1. Hope was Here by Joan Bauer (186)</span><br />
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2. Sold by Patricia McCormick (263)</div>
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3. Bob: No Ordinary Cat by James Bowen (293)</div>
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4. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez (290)</div>
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5. Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan (252)</div>
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6. Just Juice by Karen Hesse (137)</div>
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7. Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote (194)</div>
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8. Mr. Stink by David Walliams (267)</div>
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9. Gangsta Grandma by David Walliams (297)</div>
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10. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough (673)</div>
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11. Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple (352)</div>
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12. Buster Keaton: Tempest in a Flat Hat by Edward McPherson (253)</div>
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13. Habibi by Craig Thompson (664)</div>
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14. No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe (194)</div>
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15. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (771)</div>
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16. The Spider's House by Paul Bowles (406)</div>
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17. Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud (186)</div>
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18. In Arabian Nights by Tahir Shah (414)</div>
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19. The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun (165)</div>
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20. A Life Full of Holes by Driss Ben Hamed Charhadi (295)</div>
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21. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp (304)</div>
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22. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (337)</div>
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23. A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers (354)</div>
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24. Maggie and Me by Damian Barr (242)</div>
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25. Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked by James Lasdun (218)</div>
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26. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin (245)</div>
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27. This One is Mine by Maria Semple (289)</div>
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28. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence (306)</div>
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29. Northern Exposed by Darren Burrows (220)</div>
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30. Under Wildwood by Colin Meloy (559)</div>
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31. The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum (280)</div>
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32. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (325)</div>
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33. Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkington (133)</div>
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34. Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami (195)</div>
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35. Wildwood Imperium by Colin Meloy (580)</div>
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36. The Circle by Dave Eggers (491) </div>
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37. Clementine and the Family Meeting by Sara Pennypacker (162)</div>
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38. Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley (160)</div>
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39. Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick (273)</div>
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40. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (433)</div>
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41. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (256)</div>
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42. Mighty Be Our Powers by Leymah Gbowee (262)</div>
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43. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai (289)</div>
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44. Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein (192)</div>
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45. California by Edan Lepucki (393)</div>
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46. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (422)</div>
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47. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (112)</div>
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48. The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood (267)</div>
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49. Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight (400)</div>
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50. Anatomy of a Misfit by Andrea Portes (336)</div>
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51. Yes Please by Amy Poehler (352)</div>
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52. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (480)</div>
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<br /></div>
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52 books...that's an average of a book a week. Not bad. That means 53 is the goal for 2015. Better get started. </div>
</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-66028183293569292022014-01-03T09:08:00.000-08:002014-01-03T09:08:24.371-08:00Books of 2013<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I'd say I did pretty well with my reading this year despite two fairly large obstacles. The first six months of the year I was in Australia where the price of books (and everything else for that matter) is quite high. Luckily, during our last three months we lived down the road from an excellent used book store. I was able to buy books at decent prices and get a few dollars back when I finished. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My second obstacle occurred when I moved to Morocco in August. Not only was my life consumed by my new job, there is also a dire lack of English reading material here. Thankfully, I've been able to borrow books from friends and check out a few books from the school library. A definite perk of working at a K-12 school is the Upper School reading material. I'll need to keep that in mind for the future.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As always, my goal for 2013 was to read more books than I did in 2012. That meant I needed to read 36 books. And yep! I did it. I managed to finish my last book on December 30th with one day to spare. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
Without further ado, here's what I read this past year:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (550)</span></span><br />
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassson (387)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (512)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">4. Seaworthy: Adrift with William Wallace and the Golden Age of Rafting by T.R. Pearson (304)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">5. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (200)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">6. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (424)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">7. Wedlock: How Georgian Britian's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore (512)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">8. Dirt Music by Tim Winton (480)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">9. Everything I Knew by Peter Goldsworthy (304)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">10. The Laughing Clowns by William McInnes (195)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">11. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (511)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">12. My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl (204)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">13. The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson (260)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">14. Praise by Andrew McGahan (279)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">15. Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner (192)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">16. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (394)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">17. Eucalyptus by Murray Bail (255)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">18. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton (425)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">19. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (275)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">20. Summer Crossing by Truman Capote (139)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">21. Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi (291)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">22. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (311)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">23. Wildwood by Colin Meloy (541)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">24. The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (309)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">25. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (204)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">26. Hector Finds Time by Francois Lelord (235)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">27. Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">28. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (287)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">29. Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch (344)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">30. Secret Son by Laila Lalami (274)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">31. Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (314)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">32. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (315)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">33. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (217)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">34. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (274)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">35. Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson (307)</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">36. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (246)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
I'm halfway through my current book, so here's hoping I make it to at least 37 in 2014.</div>
</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-45453721126473947562013-01-01T19:35:00.002-08:002013-01-01T19:37:19.102-08:00Books of 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I'm happy to report that I achieved my resolution for 2012. I read more books during 2012 than I did in 2011. I needed to read 29 books, and I finished 35! It wasn't too hard... and I actually should have read much much more. 2012 was a year with plenty of down time. To be fair, I spent the vast majority of the year in places not very conducive to reading. The book selection in UAE is somewhat lacking (unless you love Pablo Coelho), and book prices in Australia are quite high.<br />
<br />
Despite succeeding in my resolution, this place is still pretty sleepy. Maybe that's just the way it's going to be.<br />
<br />
Here are my books for the year:<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (304)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">2. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (324)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">3. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs (352)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">4. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (397)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (328)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">6. Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea (304)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">7. Freedom by Johnathan Franzen (708)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">8. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (560)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">9. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (352)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">10. Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel (210)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">11. Bit of a Blur by Alex James (274)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">12. Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker (231)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">13. The Understudy by David Nicholls (404)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">14. Bossypants by Tina Fey (274)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">15. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker (274)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">16. Submarine by Joe Dunthorne (309)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">17. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (374)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">18. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (391)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">19. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (390)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">20. Then Again by Diane Keaton (256)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">21. Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods (264)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">22. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (240)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">23. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (331)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">24. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall (599)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">23. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs (272)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">24. Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester (198)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">25. Breakfast at Tiffany's and other stories by Truman Capote (160)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">26. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (368)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">27. How to Be Good by Nick Hornby (305)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">28. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (384)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">29. The Different World of Fin Starling by Elizabeth Stead (313)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">30. The Water Underneath by Kate Lyons (284)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">31. The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson (259)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">32. Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (307)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">33. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (352)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">34. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (399)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">35. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (279)</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16px;">I finished my first book of 2013 today, so it looks like I'm off to a good start! </span></div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-24573657736155511562012-02-19T09:50:00.003-08:002012-02-20T10:47:23.586-08:00The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kHCfh8lXhZ2CY7ju0bw2nTj2zZYGNWAeWrTgW4pyk7w?feat=embedwebsite"><img style="width: 328px; height: 500px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-UUBx__fywSQ/T0HxTb6E44I/AAAAAAAAHjE/7bANnd6U768/s640/ImmortalLifeofHenriettaLacks-749798.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />I think I first heard about <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781400052189-9">The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks</a> by Rebecca Skloot on a podcast. If I had to guess I'd say it was Radio Lab. It sounded really interesting but fell to the back of my mind. When Shauna visited me last year she was reading it and enjoying it. Again I thought that I should pick it up, and again I forgot. So yeah, it's been on my "To Read" list for a few years. Fortunately it arrived in my Christmas package from my dad this year!<br /><br />Henrietta Lacks died of cervical cancer in the 1950s. Without her consent, doctors removed a slice of her tumor and began using her cells in medical research. Her cells, named HeLa, reproduced so quickly and easily that they soon became widespread in the scientific community. HeLa cells were used in research relating to cancer, polio, AIDs, and so on. Unfortunately, Henrietta's family wasn't told about the medical research until a few decades later. In this book, Skloot tells the story of Henrietta's cells as well as the story of Henrietta and the Lacks family.<br /><br />Recommendation: Superb. Even if you're not a fan of non-fiction, Skloot tells a fascinating story.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-19409627824269301892012-02-10T09:54:00.000-08:002012-02-12T10:13:16.424-08:00Swamplandia!<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2umy9NrRqIABe6udnNkUfzj2zZYGNWAeWrTgW4pyk7w?feat=embedwebsite"><img style="width: 324px; height: 500px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-HpiXficZfWM/TzgAjtah-RI/AAAAAAAAHfg/zeQGkcOfKkE/s640/Swamplandia_cover.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />It would be pretty difficult for me to pass up a book with a title like <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/18-9780307276681-0">Swamplandia!</a> You just know there are good things between the pages. So naturally when I saw Swamplandia! by Karen Russell recommended by staff members at <a href="http://www.powells.com/">Powell's</a>, I put it on my Christmas list.<br /><br />Ava Bigtree grew up in Swamplandia!, an alligator themed amusement park in Florida. When Ava's mother, the "Swamp Centaur", dies of cancer it seems like the family won't be able to go on without the star of the show. As Swamplandia! begins to decline, so does the livelihood of the family. Ava's brother runs away, her father leaves for the mainland, her sister starts to communicate with ghosts, and Ava is left to try to save the park on her own. Turns out, that's not going to be very easy.<br /><br />The blurb on the back cover states that Russell "takes us to the shimmering edge of reality." So true.<br /><br />Recommendation: Sometimes sweet, sometimes sad, Swamplandia! is worth your time. I enjoyed it much more than Russell's other work <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780307276674-9">St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves.</a>Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-18336711168375127912012-02-07T00:49:00.000-08:002012-02-12T01:15:01.436-08:00Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zHfvIyTTsIJc58oOm2MHrjj2zZYGNWAeWrTgW4pyk7w?feat=embedwebsite"><img style="width: 330px; height: 499px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zJOvzBFtdt0/TzeBHhSj1zI/AAAAAAAAHfM/cXyQvc8XpXA/s640/miss-peregrine-s-home-for-peculiar-children.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />I noticed <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781594744761-4">Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children</a> by Ranson Riggs when it was recommended by <a href="http://www.powells.com">Powell's</a>. It was one of those books that I judged by its cover because the picture was just so eerie. How intriguing. I was even more interested when I received the book for Christmas and cracked it open. The end papers are beautifully designed and old photographs are spread throughout the entire book.<br /><br />The story of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children begins when Jacob's grandfather dies. Jacob is left with his grandfather's fanciful stories from childhood and begins to have nightmares he can't shake. Something isn't right. With hopes of quelling their sons anxiety, Jacobs parents agree to let him visit a tiny island off the coast of Wales to see the boarding house where his grandfather grew up. It doesn't take Jacob long to discover that something very peculiar is happening on the island.<br /><br />Riggs used an interesting technique to illustrate his book. Remember those old photographs I mentioned before? They are all "authentic, vintage found photographs" that Riggs discovered via various collectors. The process of using photographs to shape a story is really interesting to me. It also adds to the delightful eeriness of the book.<br /><br />Recommendation: Check it out, even if you're only planning on perusing the vintage photographs.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-57795981502195048222012-01-20T09:43:00.000-08:002012-02-08T10:17:36.664-08:00A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PirXoPDlqYhcv9sIvx-vcDj2zZYGNWAeWrTgW4pyk7w?feat=embedwebsite"><img style="width: 320px; height: 500px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-T92hmnEaeGY/TzK352kbrVI/AAAAAAAAHGo/IVtbCSn3u-U/s640/History-of-Tractors-Cover.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br />A came across <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780143036746-11">A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian</a> by Marina Lewycka while I was browsing at a book store in Kuala Lumpur. I was looking for something nice and light for my plane ride the next day. I was drawn to the unique title and the quotes on the cover. This book was going to be funny.<br /><br />Well, it wasn't really funny, more like amusing. I didn't laugh out loud but I was kept entertained.<br /><br />Nadezdha's father has fallen in love with a young beautiful woman from the old country. His new love has high expectations and Nadezhda quickly becomes worried. What could this younger woman see in her elderly father? It becomes quite clear that she's more interested in fancy cars, new appliances, and a good school for her son than she is in Nadezhda's father. To rescue her father Nadezhda must first join forces with her estranged sister. The series of events that follow are sometimes sad, sometimes silly, but consistently entertaining.<br /><br />Recommendation: Suitable for the beach or plane, you'll learn a lot about tractors tooJillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-92202087456810470442012-01-15T09:24:00.000-08:002012-02-08T10:07:51.343-08:00Never Let Me Go<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/edc7otJRMhJyuA-OwlQuszj2zZYGNWAeWrTgW4pyk7w?feat=embedwebsite"><img style="width: 317px; height: 499px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-ArUvgHoRunk/TzKzI-LNUGI/AAAAAAAAHGg/jyiZKPTJ92A/s640/neverletmego.jpg" /></a><br /></div><br /><a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781400043392-20">Never Let Me Go</a> by Kazuo Ishiguro caught my eye at the bookstore a few months ago. I texted the title to myself for future reference. Later that day I asked Mike to send a text using my phone and he was really curious about the person who sent me a text saying, "Never let me go." That's understandable but I couldn't stop laughing. It sounded so silly to have to admit I sent it to myself. Thank goodness he believed me that it was a book title and that I'm not crazy.<br /><br />The novel is one of those science-fiction books that people who don't like science-fiction (like me) will still enjoy. Although central to the plot, the sci-fi elements still feel subtle. Is that even possible? Basically, you are reading a coming of age story about three people who happen to be a bit... different. Halisham boarding school seems like a perfect environment to grow up in, except it isn't. The story unfolds slowly as you learn more and more details about this special program established to aid in society's survival.<br /><br />Never Let Me Go was recently <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334260/">made into a movie</a>. It wasn't incredible but I really liked the color scheme and cinematography.<br /><br />Recommendation: Give it a go, but watch the movie <span style="font-style: italic;">after</span>.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-69216459424185730772012-01-05T20:05:00.000-08:002013-01-01T19:37:38.106-08:00Books of 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another sleepy year on the book blog, but I'm hoping for that to change. At least a little.<br />
<br />
The good news is I did it this year. To read more books than the previous year I needed to complete 27 books. Thanks to a fairly relaxing holiday in Vietnam the official 2011 total is: 28!<br />
<br />
So the bar wasn't set very high... but let's not worry about that.<br />
<br />
Here are my books for the year:<br />
1. Empire Falls by Richard Russo (483)<br />
2. Half the Sky: How to Change the World by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn (278)<br />
3. Sheik's Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World by Richard Poplak (333)<br />
4. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (335)<br />
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart (393)<br />
6. Made in America by Bill Bryson (509)<br />
7. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (326)<br />
8. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (256)<br />
9. Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen (279)<br />
10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (241)<br />
11. 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian by Pamela Rice (204)<br />
12. Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga (351)<br />
13. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (292)<br />
14. Clemetine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker (161)<br />
15. The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago (205)<br />
16. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (137)<br />
17. Starter for Ten by David Nicholls (473)<br />
18. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson (196)<br />
19. Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord (167)<br />
20. The Help by Katheryn Stockett (522)<br />
21. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (324)<br />
22. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson (287)<br />
23. Silas Marner by George Eliot (384)<br />
24. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell (307)<br />
25. The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith (419)<br />
26. Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson (328)<br />
27. One Day by David Nicholls (448)<br />
28. Freefall by Oran Canfield (336)<br />
<br />
Even better news is that I'm already about to finish my second book for 2012!</div>
Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-65812826892058587082011-01-23T08:55:00.001-08:002011-01-23T09:09:15.387-08:00Empire Falls<div style="text-align: center;"><img src="file:///Users/jillcox/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///Users/jillcox/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot-1.png" alt="" /><img src="file:///Users/jillcox/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/moz-screenshot-2.png" alt="" /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dAp8SeAJctxRgu4lKg4K9_qMG75k18xVTfo66C262cE?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_7OkcQGJGB6U/TTxf7rbg70I/AAAAAAAACis/Cl2CKCFAGRU/s400/Empire-Falls-0375726403-L.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></a><br /></div><br />A friend loaned me <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780375726408-3">Empire Falls</a> by Richard Russo over the summer. I brought it back to Abu Dhabi with me and opened it up a few weeks later. Finally... I've finished.<br /><br />The story of Empire Falls is the story of a small once robust New England town that is diminishing each day. Not too much happens in Empire Falls but it all seems to be orchestrated by the wealthiest resident, Mrs. Whiting. The protagonist, Miles Roby, feels the weight of Mrs. Whiting the most. As the story unfolds, Russo reveals deeper connections between the townspeople.<br /><br />This story felt a bit like a meander to me. Perhaps it's that I was only able to read small bits at a time and never fully felt absorbed. I kept at it, enjoying the mellow storyline enough. Finally, near the end of the story a big event occurs that was able to hold my attention.<br /><br />Recommedation: It's a Pulitzer Winner, but not for me.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-61358440361385188172011-01-01T06:19:00.000-08:002011-01-02T07:22:32.063-08:00Books of 2010Ouch. This blog fell into such a deep sleep that it rolled off the bed and kept on snoozin'.<br /><br />Oh, and I failed again. I should have read 62 books to beat 2009's reading list. Do I get credit for my actual count being the reverse? No?<br /><br />Only 26 books in 2010.<br /><br />I like to think I'm really just setting myself up for success in 2011. Surely I can read 27 books this year. Surely...<br /><br />Here are my books for the year:<br /><br />1. Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore (280)<br />2. Fluke or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore (383)<br />3. The Private Diaries of Catherine Deneuve: My Life Behind the Camera with Luis Bunuel, Francois Truffaut, Roman Polanski, and Lars Von Trier by Catherine Deneuve (164)<br />4. Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters by J.D. Salinger (92)<br />5. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (432)<br />6. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (272)<br />7. The Other Hand by Chris Cleave (374)<br />8. Towelhead by Alicia Erian (319)<br />9. Flush by Carl Hiaasen (295)<br />10. My Friend Leonard by James Frey (375)<br />11. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (288)<br />12. Love in a Headscarf: Muslim Woman Seeks the One by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed (263)<br />13. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (249)<br />14. Population: 485 Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry (234)<br />15. Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer (325)<br />16. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes (505)<br />17. Barcelona Plates by Alexei Sayle (215)<br />18. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (495)<br />19. Misconception by Ryan Boudinot (214)<br />20. Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk by Tony Dushane (214)<br />21. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl (514)<br />22. Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson (259)<br />23. The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred by Carl-Johan Vallgren (282)<br />24. The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff (514)<br />25. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (270)<br />26. May Contain Nuts by John O'Farrell (392)Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-20557408254658644812010-03-12T10:04:00.000-08:002010-03-12T10:55:43.799-08:00My Friend Leonard<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-100/1536-1/%7B1DFE365F-5D2D-4D54-B3CC-C8437616480F%7DImg100.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 334px;" src="http://images.contentreserve.com/ImageType-100/1536-1/%7B1DFE365F-5D2D-4D54-B3CC-C8437616480F%7DImg100.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I picked up <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9781594481956-3">My Friend Leonard</a> by James Frey a few weeks ago in Dubai. It caught my eye because I recently read his first book, <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780307276902-20">A Million Little Pieces</a>.<br /><br />Here's the thing. This book is horrible.<br /><br />I'm sure you remember the hubbub over these books. Frey was endorsed by Oprah for A Million Little Pieces... that is until the <a href="http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0104061jamesfrey1.html">Smoking Gun revealed that the majority of the book is absolute junk</a>. Still, it was fun to read the book and try to decipher the real from the fake.<br /><br />By the time I read My Friend Leonard, the novelty had worn off. Before the book begins a note explains to the reader that hefty chunks of the book were made up. Not the best way to start a memoir.<br /><br />So here's the story:<br /><br />James is just being released from his fictional jail time. Unfortunately, he's a day too late to prevent his girlfriend from committing suicide. (That's honestly not a spoiler). The rest of the book is James putting his life back together with the help of Leonard, his mobster friend from rehab. James earns money illegally and then decides to be an honest man... trying to make his living as a writer. After a move to Los Angeles James makes an attempt at filmmaking.<br /><br />Doesn't really sound that interesting, does it? Yeah, it's not. In addition to reading like straight bull****, some of the sentences were actually painful. I could just imagine Frey reading these lines with deep intensity... gross. An example:<br /><br />"The pain I feel the sadness and sorrow and grief that are with me all day every second in every breath and beat of my heart in every thought in every step in everything I see and hear there is nothing but pain and sadness and sorrow and grief and I know drinking will make it go away."<br /><br />Yep, that's one sentence.<br /><br />Recommendation: Not.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-35024354445370534052010-02-18T19:48:00.000-08:002010-02-18T20:20:26.479-08:00The Other Hand / Little Bee<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://everydatalab.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/other_hand_front_orange.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 375px;" src="http://everydatalab.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/other_hand_front_orange.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Last summer <a href="http://www.thelazyperfectionista.blogspot.com/">a few</a> <a href="http://www.homespunyarns.blogspot.com/">friends</a> came through town for a visit and <a href="http://www.flavourspot.com/">waffle sandwiches</a>. Quickly the conversation turned to my friend's new book. Naturally, I asked, "What's it about?" "I can't tell you" she very quickly replied, "but you have to read it." It seems that the editor believed so strongly in the unfolding of the story that she requested readers not spoil it for others.<br /><br />Several months later I came across <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/18-9781416589648-0">The Other Hand</a> by Chris Cleave while browsing the bookshop. I flipped to the back and read, "<span style="font-style: italic;">We don't want to tell you what happens in this book."</span> Immediately I thought of that summer day eating our waffles at a picnic table and my friend's very mysterious book recommendation.<br /><br />After a little research I discerned that indeed it was the same book only under a different title. It was published as Little Bee in North America and The Other Hand worldwide. (Why?)<br /><br />Since I can't give you a recap of the story... here's a bit more from the back of the book from where I left off:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it. Nevertheless, you need to know enough to buy it so we will just say this:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">This is the story of two women. Their lives collide one fateful day, and one of them has to make a terrible choice. Two years later, they meet again - the story starts there...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your frinds about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds."</span><br /><br />So there you have it.<br /><br />Recommendation: When you're ready for a quick engaging read that just might possibly give you night sweats, let this be it.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-70768597836923036262010-02-17T08:41:00.000-08:002010-02-17T09:16:08.130-08:00Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://rgr-static1.tangentlabs.co.uk/images/bau/97803167/9780316769518/0/0/plain/raise-high-the-roof-beam-carpenters-and-seymour-an-introduction.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 330px;" src="http://rgr-static1.tangentlabs.co.uk/images/bau/97803167/9780316769518/0/0/plain/raise-high-the-roof-beam-carpenters-and-seymour-an-introduction.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I've suddenly found that my reading resources are somewhat... limited. Not only are books expensive in this bit of the world, the title selection is lacking. Since I've kept track of the books I've read over the past few years, I've learned that I have quite the eclectic reading habit. I might be reading a biography one day and children's literature the next. Not having such a wide variety to choose from led me to the classics section while I was looking for a book to bring with me to Thailand. Thankfully I noticed a new-to-me title in the petite J. D. Salinger section... and that's how I found, <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9780316769570-0">Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters</a>.<br /><br />This publication is bundled with another short story, <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-9780316769570-0">Seymour: An Introduction</a>... but I won't mention that here.<br /><br />Raise High is another story detailing the life of members of the Glass family. A family whose dinner table I would love to join, for the record. This time Buddy is telling about Seymour's wedding. Buddy attends the wedding and later finds himself in a stuffy car with the bride's aunt, the angry matron of honor and her husband, and a small man in a dashing top hat. What an uncomfortable place to be for the brother of the absent groom! You see, Seymour never arrived...<br /><br />The bulk of the story is comprised of the time spent in the car and the intrigue is housed in the question of whether the party will discover Buddy's connection to the groom... a fact he has skillfully sidestepped.<br /><br />As with all of Salinger's writing, I was immediately captivated. I appreciated being let in on Buddy's "little joke" of a concealed identity and almost forgot the fictitious nature of the Glass family, in general.<br /><br />And I can't close without mentioning Salinger's death just days before my reading of the selection. I didn't learn of the news until after returning from Thailand but was saddened altogether to hear it.<br /><br />Recommendation: Fans of Salinger will be delighted but start with <a href="http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9780316769501-0">Nine Stories</a> if you haven't yet.Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2752914104959429223.post-9495303791136080352010-01-01T09:31:00.001-08:002010-01-01T09:38:56.877-08:00Books of 2009Well, I didn't do it.<br /><br />I think I had to read 80+ books in 2009 in order to meet my standing resolution: Read more books than the previous year.<br /><br />I only finished 61.<br /><br />But I did pack up my life, move to the other side of the world, and start a new job, so... can we call it even?<br /><br />Here are my books for the year:<br /><br />1. The Kid in the Red Jacket by Barbara Park (113)<br />2. Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee (162)<br />3. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (232)<br />4. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (568)<br />5. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (485)<br />6. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (134)<br />7. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (116)<br />8. Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke (209)<br />9. Rules by Cynthia Lord (200)<br />10. Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker (150)<br />11. The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman (146)<br />12. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin (134)<br />13. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (335)<br />14. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 by Joan W. Blos (144)<br />15. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (440)<br />16. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (217)<br />17. Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (230)<br />18. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (161)<br />19. Anchored In Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash by John Carter Cash (197)<br />20. Coraline by Neil Gaiman (194)<br />21. The Mysteries of Pittsburg by Michael Chabon (336)<br />22. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (174)<br />23. Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp by C. D. Payne (498)<br />24. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney (217)<br />25. Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander (310)<br />26. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (128)<br />27. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (297)<br />28. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (307)<br />29. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (244)<br />30. Tracks by Robyn Davidson (254)<br />31. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (270)<br />32. The Giraffe, and the Pelly, and Me by Roald Dahl (80)<br />33. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti (216)<br />34. On Subbing: The First Four Years by Dave Roche (121)<br />35. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (80)<br />36. Rock On: An Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy (224)<br />37. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (217)<br />38. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (190)<br />39. Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (197)<br />40. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs (332)<br />41. The Kid: An Adoption Story by Dan Savage (246)<br />42. A Reenchanted World: The Quest for a New Kinship with Nature by James William Gibson (254)<br />43. Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah (360)<br />44. The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked by Brian Thomsen (246)<br />45. 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, OyxContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania by Matthew Chapmen (288)<br />46. Culture Smart! UAE by John Walsh (164)<br />47. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (216)<br />48. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin<br />49. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (262)<br />50. In America by Susan Sontag (387)<br />51. Q & A by Vikas Swarup (318)<br />52. Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs (268)<br />53. The Twenty One Balloons by William Pene Dubois (180)<br />54. The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin (206)<br />55. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (444)<br />56. Super Sunday in Newport: Notes From My First Year in Town by Matt Love (157)<br />57. Simple Guide to Islam by Neal Robinson (120)<br />58. The Southern Gates of Arabia by Freya Stark (237)<br />59. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (216)<br />60. The Wave by Morton Rhue (107)<br />61. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (209)Jillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04855743406500494206noreply@blogger.com3