Friday, January 01, 2016

My 2015 Reading List

Another year has past, and it's time to share the books I read in 2015.  This year I participated in the Good Reads Reading Challenge.  At the beginning of the year I decided that I would try to read 60 books.  I knew at the time that it was probably a conservative estimate, and that I would try to surpass that, which I did, big time.  I have a list of 92 books, with a few of those being books I re-read for my monthly book discussion group at the library. 

I enjoyed most of the books, but there were a few stinkers.  A few books I found exceptional I would highly recommend Being Mortal by Atul Gawande as being an essential book for anyone who's planning on getting old and dying someday.  Or for anyone who's going to at some point face the issue of aging and dying parents.  Other non-fiction standouts include The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Green, and The Prize: Who's in Charge of America's Schools by Dale Russakoff.  

There were also several fiction titles that I really enjoyed.  I'd not read Kate Morton before, but read her latest, The Lake House, which reminded me a bit of The Thirteenth Tale.  I also finally got around to reading Jojo Moyes, One Plus One, and will definitely read more of her works.  One of my favorites was The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.  A fast-paced, gripping thriller, I thought it lived up to the hype. I also discovered a local mystery writer - Laura DiSilverio is a retired Air Force Intelligence officer who lives in nearby Colorado Springs.  Her mysteries feature spunky detectives with interesting lives.  I've read three of her series, and her one stand-alone, and enjoyed them all.

I could go on, but time and space preclude me from going into too much detail.  If you'd like to know more about a particular book, just let me know. I love discussing books as much as I enjoy reading them.  Happy New Year, and have a great year full of love and books.

Here's the list: 
1.       Smith, Alexander McCall     The Handsome Man's DeLuxe CafĂ©                        
2.       Penny, Louise                      The Long Way Home                                                                       
3.       Strout, Elizabeth                The Burgess Boys                                                                              
4.       Strout, Elizabeth                Amy and Isabelle                                                                              
5.       Hawkins, Paula                   The Girl on the Train                                                                         
6.       Larson, Erik                           In the Garden of Beasts                                                                  
7.       Gaffigan, Jim                        Food: A Love Story                                                                           
8.       Gawande, Atul                    Being Mortal                                                                                       
9.       Anderson, Neal                  The Bondage Breaker                                                                      
10.   MacDonald, Paul                Smile Now, Cry Later                                                                       
11.   Notaro, Laurie                     The Potty Mouth at the Table                                                      
12.   Semple, Maria                     Where'd You Go, Bernadette                                                        
13.   Stengel, Richard                 Mandela's Way                                                                                 
14.   Pickard, Nancy                    The Scent of Rain and Lightning                                                 
15.   Bradley, Alan                       As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust                                         
16.   Pym, Barbara                       No Fond Return of Love                                                                 
17.   Adiga, Aravind                    Last Man in Tower                                                                            
18.   O'Nan, Stuart                       West of Sunset                                                                                   
19.   Martin, Jim                           The Just Church                                                                                 
20.   Manning, Molly Guptill   When Books Went to War                                                             
21.   Hornby, Nick                        Funny Girl                                                                                             
22.   Weaver, Ashley                  Murder at the Brightwell                                                               
23.   Soli, Tatyana                        The Last Good Paradise                                                                  
24.   Shattuck, Susan                  Invisible Ellen                                                                                      
25.   Hannah, Sophie                  The Monogram Murders                                                               
26.   Walter, Hal                           Full Tilt Boogie                                                                                    
27.   Beaton, M.C.                        Death of a Liar                                                                                   
28.   Joyce, Rachel                       The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessey                              
29.   Brannan, Sandra                 In the Belly of Jonah                                                                        
30.   Yates, Richard                      Revolutionary Road                                                                         
31.   McConnon, Aili and Andres       Road to Valor                                                                                     
32.   Alcott, Kate                          A Touch of Stardust                                                                         
33.   Rotert, Rebecca                  Last Night at the Blue Angel                                                         
34.   DiSilverio, Laura                 The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco                                    
35.   Tyler, Anne                           A Spool of Blue Thread                                                                   
36.   Blackman, Fredrik              A Man Called Ove                                                                             
37.   DiSilverio, Laura                 Swift Justice                                                                                        
38.   DiSilverio, Laura                 Swift Edge                                                                                            
39.   DiSilverio, Laura                 Swift Run                                                                                              
40.   Bunjevac, Nina                    Fatherland                                                                                           
41.   Berg, Elizabeth                    The Dream Lover                                                                               
42.   DiSilverio, Laura                 Die Buying                                                                                            
43.   Coben, Harlan                     The Stranger                                                                                       
44.   Lutz, Lisa                                How to Start a Fire                                                                           
45.   Brown, Daniel James        The Boys in the Boat                                                                        
46.   Haruf, Kent                           Our Souls at Night                                                                            
47.   Packer, Ann                          The Children's Crusade                                                                   
48.   Tey, Josephine                    To Love and Be Wise                                                                        
49.   Booth, Michael                   The Almost Perfect People                                                            
50.   Gibbs, Chad                          Jesus Without Borders                                                                    
51.   McCreight, Kimberly        Where They Found Her                                                                   
52.   McGuire, Richard               Here                                                                                                        
53.   Todd, Charles                      A Fine Summer's Day                                                                       
54.   Corrigan, Maureen            So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It                                                              Matters
55.   McLain, Paula                      Circling the Sun                                                                                  
56.   McLarty, Ron                        Memory of Running                                                                        
57.   Grisham, John                     Gray Mountain                                                                                  
58.   Ephron, Hallie                     Night, Night, Sleep Tight                                                                
59.   Lee, Harper                           Go Set a Watchman                                                                         
60.   Van  Wagenen, Maya       Popular                                                                                                 
61.   Benson, E.F.                         Mapp and Lucia                                                                                
62.   Marsh, Ngaio                       The Nursing Home Murder                                                           
63.   Moyes, Jojo                          One Plue One                                                                                      
64.   Diament, Anita                   The Boston Girl                                                                                   
65.   Hannah, Sophie                  Woman with a Secret                                                                      
66.   Backman, Fredrik               My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry              
67.   Barrows, Annie                   The Truth According to Us                                                             
68.   Hatmaker, Jen                     For the Love                                                                                        
69.   Bryson, Bill                           A Short History of Nearly Everything                                        
70.   Stegner, Wallace                Crossing to Safety                                                                            
71.   Strout, Elizabeth                Olive Kitteridge                                                                                  
72.   Rusakoff, Dale                     The Prize: Who's in Charge of America's Schools?                 
73.   Lowry, Lois                            The Giver                                                                                              
74.   Karon, Jan                             Come Rain or Come Shine                                                             
75.   Trigiani, Adriana                 All the Stars in the Heavens                                                          
76.   Benjamin, Ali                       The Thing about Jellyfish                                                               
77.   Chance, Maia                       Come Hell or Highball                                                                      
78.   Carlino, Renee                    Before We Were Strangers                                                            
79.   Morton, Kate                       The Lake House                                                                                  
80.   Vowell, Sarah                      Lafayette in the Somewhat United States                              
81.   Steinbeck, John                  The Grapes of Wrath                                                                       
82.   Smith, Alexander McCall    The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine                  
83.   DiSilverio, Laura                 The Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle                                     
84.   Chandler, Raymond          The Big Sleep                                                                                       
85.   Stradal, J. Ryan                    Kitchens of the Great Midwest                                                    
86.   Keller, Timothy                   Jesus the King                                                                                     
87.   DiSilverio, Laura                 The Reckoning Stones                                                                     
88.   Dallas, Sandra                      Tallgrass                                                                                               
89.   Seitz, Matt Zoller               Mad Men Carousel                                                                          
90.   Kellerman, Harry                Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet                                                   
91.   Boyle, T.C.                             The Women                                                                                         
92.   Christie, Agatha                  Dead Man's Mirror