My 2013 Reading LIst

Something happened to me this past year that I thought would never happen.  I hit a reading wall. The year started out with such promise, reading-wise.  I read 10 books in January, and I thought for sure that I'd surpass the number of books I'd read in 2012. But then last summer I got to the point where I just couldn't read another book.  This is something that's never happened to me, and I found it quite discouraging.  

So, I took a bit of a reading vacation.  I decided that I would only read the books that I wanted to read, and would not worry about how much I read, or about reading the books everyone's talking about.  I started this at the end of June when I was going to be spending a lot of time in airports and on planes.  I'd been wanting to read Hilary Mantel's Wolf Hall for some time, so I decided that would be a perfect  book to bring along.  I got about halfway through when I returned from all my traveling, and managed to finish it over the next month.  For the rest of the year I've continued to read, but have slowed down the pace. Now I'm focusing on the books I need to read (or re-read) for book discussion, and the books I really want to read.  

As much as I love being a librarian, I think that one of the problems inherent with the job is the danger of losing the joy of reading.  Keeping up with the reading interests of our patrons is an important part of the job, and can become a chore, rather than something done for pleasure. So my  goal for 2014 is to not worry about how much I read, but to slow down and savor each book. 

With that introduction, I'm presenting the list of books I did read in 2013.  Feel free to ask me about any of them; despite my sluggish attitude this year, I do still love talking about books. Happy New Year, and Happy Reading.

Books Read - 2013

1.      Smith, Amy - All Roads Lead to Austen

2.      Martel, Yann - The Life of Pi (Book Discussion)

3.      Hoffman, Beth - Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

4.      Evans, Rachel Held - A Year of Biblical Womanhood

5.      Manzano, Sonia - The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (Juvenile Fiction)

6.      Dallas, Sandra - The Persian Pickle Club  (Re-read for Book Discussion)

7.      Bradley, Alan - Speaking from Among the Bones

8.      Donovan, Jeremy - How to Deliver a Ted Talk

9.      Taub, Patricia - The Mother of My Invention

10.  Kidder, Tracy and Todd, Richard - Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction

11.  Pym, Barbara - A Glass of Blessings (Re-read)

12.  Martin, Demetri - This Is a Book

13.  Grissom, Kathleen - The Kitchen House (Book Discussion)

14.  Wodehouse, P.G. - Right Ho, Jeeves (Re-read)

15.  Patchett, Ann - Bel Canto (Book Discussion)

16.  Crombie, Deborah - The Sound of Broken Glass

17.  Jennings, Ken - Because I Said So

18.  Fuller, Gary - The Trivia Lover's Guide to the World

19.  Haruf, Kent - Benediction

20.  Clayton, Meg Waite - The Four Ms Bradwells (Book Discussion – skype with author!)

21.  Haruf, Kent - The Tie that Binds

22.  Beaton, M.C. - Death of Yesterday

23.  Moore, Edward Kelsey - The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat

24.  Close, Jennifer - The Smart One

25.  Fforde, Jasper - The Eyre Affair (Book Discussion)

26.  Lipman, Elinor - The View from Penthouse B

27.  Sloan, Robin - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

28.  Semple, Maria - This One Is Mine

29.  Fowler, Therese Ann - Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald

30.  Arsenault, Emily - The Broken Teaglass

31.  Wein, Elizabeth - Code Name Verity (Young Adult – audiobook)

32.  Barnes, Julian - The Sense of an Ending ( Book Discussion)

33.  Hainey, Michael - After Visiting Friends: A Son's Story

34.  Koppel, Lily - The Astronaut Wives Club

35.  Sedaris, David - Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls (audiobook)

36.  Potok, Chaim - The Chosen

37.  Cullen, Lisa Takeuchi - Pastor's Wives

38.  Ryan, Tom - Following Atticus (Book Discussion)

39.  Gaffigan, Jim - Dad Is Fat

40.  Salzman, Mark - The Soloist (re-read for Book Discussion)

41.  Grabenstein, Chris - Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library (Juvenile Fiction)

42.  Mantel, Hilary - Wolf Hall

43.  Lethal, Mac - Texts from Bennett

44.  Lutz, Lisa - The Last Word

45.  Moran, Johanna - The Wives of Henry Oades  (Re-read for Book Discussion)

46.  Goolrick, Robert - A Reliable Wife (Re-read for Book Discussion)

47.  Paton, Alan - Cry the Beloved Country (Re-read)

48.  Steinbeck, John - Travels with Charley: In Search of America (Re-read for Book Discussion)

49.  Thompson, Jean - The Year We Left Home

50.  Bradley, Alan - The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches

51.  Skloot, Rebecca - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Book Discussion)

52.  Mantel, Hilary - Bring Up the Bodies

53.  Pullman, Philip - Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm

54.  O'Flynn, Catherine - Mr. Lynch's Holiday

55.  Steadman, M.L. - The Light Between Oceans (Book Discussion)

56.  Faulks, Sebastian - Jeeves and the Wedding Bells

57.  Zierman, Addie - When We Were on Fire

58.  Smith, Alexander McCall - The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon

59.  Setterfield, Diane - The Thirteenth Tale (Re-read for Book Discussion)

60.  Semple, Maria - Where'd You Go, Bernadette (Re-read for Book Discussion)

61.  Attenberg, Jamie - The Middlesteins (Re-read for Book Discussion)