Books of 2013

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. 

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.

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. 

Without further ado, here's what I read this past year:

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (550)

2. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonassson (387)

3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (512)

4. Seaworthy: Adrift with William Wallace and the Golden Age of Rafting by T.R. Pearson (304)

5. Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay (200)

6. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez (424)

7. Wedlock: How Georgian Britian's Worst Husband Met His Match by Wendy Moore (512)

8. Dirt Music by Tim Winton (480)

9. Everything I Knew by Peter Goldsworthy (304)

10. The Laughing Clowns by William McInnes (195)

11. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (511)

12. My Uncle Oswald by Roald Dahl (204)

13. The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson (260)

14. Praise by Andrew McGahan (279)

15. Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner (192)

16. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (394)

17. Eucalyptus by Murray Bail (255)

18. Cloudstreet by Tim Winton (425)

19. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (275)

20. Summer Crossing by Truman Capote (139)

21. Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir and Michele Fitoussi (291)

22. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed (311)

23. Wildwood by Colin Meloy (541)

24. The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (309)

25. A Separate Peace by John Knowles (204)

26. Hector Finds Time by Francois Lelord (235)

27. Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi

28. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (287)

29. Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch (344)

30. Secret Son by Laila Lalami (274)

31. Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (314)

32. Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald (315)

33. Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume (217)

34. A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (274)

35. Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson (307)

36. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver (246)

I'm halfway through my current book, so here's hoping I make it to at least 37 in 2014.

Books of 2012

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.

Despite succeeding in my resolution, this place is still pretty sleepy. Maybe that's just the way it's going to be.

Here are my books for the year:
1. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (304)
2. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka (324)
3. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs (352)
4. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell (397)
5. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (328)
6. Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea (304)
7. Freedom by Johnathan Franzen (708)
8. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (560)
9. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (352)
10. Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel (210)
11. Bit of a Blur by Alex James (274)
12. Blood Work: A Tale of Medicine and Murder in the Scientific Revolution by Holly Tucker (231)
13. The Understudy by David Nicholls (404)
14. Bossypants by Tina Fey (274)
15. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker (274)
16. Submarine by Joe Dunthorne (309)
17. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (374)
18. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (391)
19. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (390)
20. Then Again by Diane Keaton (256)
21. Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods (264)
22. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling (240)
23. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (331)
24. The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall (599)
23. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs (272)
24. Surgeon of Crowthorne by Simon Winchester (198)
25. Breakfast at Tiffany's and other stories by Truman Capote (160)
26. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (368)
27. How to Be Good by Nick Hornby (305)
28. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (384)
29. The Different World of Fin Starling by Elizabeth Stead (313)
30. The Water Underneath by Kate Lyons (284)
31. The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson (259)
32. Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus (307)
33. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (352)
34. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (399)
35. The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler (279)

I finished my first book of 2013 today, so it looks like I'm off to a good start! 

Books of 2011

Another sleepy year on the book blog, but I'm hoping for that to change. At least a little.

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!

So the bar wasn't set very high... but let's not worry about that.

Here are my books for the year:
1. Empire Falls by Richard Russo (483)
2. Half the Sky: How to Change the World by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn (278)
3. Sheik's Batmobile: In Pursuit of American Pop Culture in the Muslim World by Richard Poplak (333)
4. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (335)
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner's Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart (393)
6. Made in America by Bill Bryson (509)
7. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer (326)
8. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (256)
9. Married to a Bedouin by Marguerite van Geldermalsen (279)
10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (241)
11. 101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian by Pamela Rice (204)
12. Between the Assassinations by Aravind Adiga (351)
13. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender (292)
14. Clemetine, Friend of the Week by Sara Pennypacker (161)
15. The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago (205)
16. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (137)
17. Starter for Ten by David Nicholls (473)
18. Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson (196)
19. Hector and the Search for Happiness by Francois Lelord (167)
20. The Help by Katheryn Stockett (522)
21. A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (324)
22. The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson (287)
23. Silas Marner by George Eliot (384)
24. Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell (307)
25. The Autograph Man by Zadie Smith (419)
26. Them: Adventures with Extremists by Jon Ronson (328)
27. One Day by David Nicholls (448)
28. Freefall by Oran Canfield (336)

Even better news is that I'm already about to finish my second book for 2012!

Books of 2010

Ouch. This blog fell into such a deep sleep that it rolled off the bed and kept on snoozin'.

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?

Only 26 books in 2010.

I like to think I'm really just setting myself up for success in 2011. Surely I can read 27 books this year. Surely...

Here are my books for the year:

1. Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore (280)
2. Fluke or I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings by Christopher Moore (383)
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)
4. Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters by J.D. Salinger (92)
5. A Million Little Pieces by James Frey (432)
6. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (272)
7. The Other Hand by Chris Cleave (374)
8. Towelhead by Alicia Erian (319)
9. Flush by Carl Hiaasen (295)
10. My Friend Leonard by James Frey (375)
11. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (288)
12. Love in a Headscarf: Muslim Woman Seeks the One by Shelina Zahra Janmohamed (263)
13. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (249)
14. Population: 485 Meeting Your Neighbors One Siren at a Time by Michael Perry (234)
15. Modoc: The True Story of the Greatest Elephant That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer (325)
16. Arthur & George by Julian Barnes (505)
17. Barcelona Plates by Alexei Sayle (215)
18. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (495)
19. Misconception by Ryan Boudinot (214)
20. Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk by Tony Dushane (214)
21. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl (514)
22. Astrid and Veronika by Linda Olsson (259)
23. The Horrific Sufferings of the Mind-Reading Monster Hercules Barefoot: His Wonderful Love and His Terrible Hatred by Carl-Johan Vallgren (282)
24. The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff (514)
25. Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (270)
26. May Contain Nuts by John O'Farrell (392)

Books of 2009

Well, I didn't do it.

I think I had to read 80+ books in 2009 in order to meet my standing resolution: Read more books than the previous year.

I only finished 61.

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?

Here are my books for the year:

1. The Kid in the Red Jacket by Barbara Park (113)
2. Looking for Bapu by Anjali Banerjee (162)
3. Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (232)
4. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen (568)
5. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart (485)
6. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (134)
7. How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell (116)
8. Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke (209)
9. Rules by Cynthia Lord (200)
10. Clementine's Letter by Sara Pennypacker (150)
11. The Homework Machine by Dan Gutman (146)
12. The Year of the Dog by Grace Lin (134)
13. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (335)
14. A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32 by Joan W. Blos (144)
15. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (440)
16. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney (217)
17. Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan (230)
18. From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (161)
19. Anchored In Love: An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash by John Carter Cash (197)
20. Coraline by Neil Gaiman (194)
21. The Mysteries of Pittsburg by Michael Chabon (336)
22. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry (174)
23. Youth in Revolt: The Journals of Nick Twisp by C. D. Payne (498)
24. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney (217)
25. Foreskin's Lament by Shalom Auslander (310)
26. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (128)
27. Silent Spring by Rachel Carson (297)
28. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (307)
29. Kira Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (244)
30. Tracks by Robyn Davidson (254)
31. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (270)
32. The Giraffe, and the Pelly, and Me by Roald Dahl (80)
33. The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity Is Hurting Young Women by Jessica Valenti (216)
34. On Subbing: The First Four Years by Dave Roche (121)
35. Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman (80)
36. Rock On: An Office Power Ballad by Dan Kennedy (224)
37. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (217)
38. Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie (190)
39. Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (197)
40. The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs (332)
41. The Kid: An Adoption Story by Dan Savage (246)
42. A Reenchanted World: The Quest for a New Kinship with Nature by James William Gibson (254)
43. Does My Head Look Big In This? by Randa Abdel-Fattah (360)
44. The Awful Truths: Famous Myths, Hilariously Debunked by Brian Thomsen (246)
45. 40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, OyxContin, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania by Matthew Chapmen (288)
46. Culture Smart! UAE by John Walsh (164)
47. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (216)
48. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
49. Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (262)
50. In America by Susan Sontag (387)
51. Q & A by Vikas Swarup (318)
52. Magical Thinking: True Stories by Augusten Burroughs (268)
53. The Twenty One Balloons by William Pene Dubois (180)
54. The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin (206)
55. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore (444)
56. Super Sunday in Newport: Notes From My First Year in Town by Matt Love (157)
57. Simple Guide to Islam by Neal Robinson (120)
58. The Southern Gates of Arabia by Freya Stark (237)
59. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (216)
60. The Wave by Morton Rhue (107)
61. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (209)

Books of 2008

I love that I've found a New Year's resolution I can actually keep: Read more books than I did during the previous year.

2008 kicked the pants off of 2007. This year I needed to read 58 books... well I read 81! Next year I better at least read 82.

1. Frindle by Andrew Clements
2. Speaking with the Angel edited by Nick Hornby
3. Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff
4. Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
5. Six of One by Rita Mae Brown
6. Listening Is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life from the Storycorps Project edited by Dave Isay
7. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
8. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta
9. Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks
10. The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
11. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
12. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
13. Compost by Clare Foster
14. Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
15. Mike McGrath's Book of Compost by Mike McGrath
16. Slam by Nick Hornby
17. Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
18. King of the Mild Frontier: An Ill-Advised Autobiography by Chris Crutcher
19. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
20. The Sledding Hill by Chris Crutcher
21. Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
22. I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert
23. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
24. Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes
25. Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler
26. Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky
27. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
28. A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
29. The Moffats by Eleanor Estes
30. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
31. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
32. When I Was Elena by Ellen Urbani Hiltebrand
33. Control Theory in the Classroom by William Glasser
34. Holes by Louis Sachar
35. How to Live Your Dream of Volunteering Overseas by Joseph Collins, Stefano DeZerega, & Zahara Heckscher
36. Strider by Beverly Cleary
37. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
38. The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth
39. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
40. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
41. The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl
42. Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America by Dan Savage
43: The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid: A Memoir by Bill Bryson
44: The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls
45: Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
46: The Teacher's Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck
47: When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris
48. Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink
49. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
50. Hold On To Me Tightly As If I Knew The Way by Bryan Charles
51. Dishwasher by Pete Jordan
52. God's Harvard by Hannah Rosin
53. Staying Fat For Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher
54. Bachelor Girl: 100 Years of Breaking the Rules, A Social History of Living Single by Betsy Israel
55. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
56. Brian's Winter by Gary Paulsen
57. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
58. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
59. Shopgirl by Steve Martin
60. Geek Love by Kathrine Dunn
61. Little Children by Tom Perrotta
62. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
63. Criss Cross by Lynne Mae Perkins
64. Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeney Book of Lists by the editors of McSweeney
65. Amy's Answering Machine: Messages from Mom by Amy Borkowsky
66. Cringe: Teenage Diaries, Journals, Notes, Letters, Poems, and Abandoned Rock Operas edited by Sarah Brown
67. Tales from the Teacher's Lounge by Robert Wilder
68. Stories from a Moron: Real Stories Rejected by Real
Magazines by Ed Broth
69. Recycle with Redworms: The Red Wiggler Connection by Shelley C. Grossman & Toby Weitzel
70: Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
71. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
72. My Own Two Feet by Beverly Cleary
73. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
74. The Talented Clementine by Sara Pennypacker
75. Crazy Lady! by Jane Leslie Conly
76. The Legend of Spud Murphy by Eoin Colfer
77. Who is Stealing the Twelve Days of Christmas? by Martha Freeman
78. The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements
79. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
80. Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles
81. Everything On A Waffle by Polly Horvath