Friday, December 28, 2012

Reading List 2012


 
Favorites
1. No Ordinary Time by Doris Kearns Goodwin   A great book! And a wonderful way to understand history.
 
2. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schalbe    Wonderful!

3. Destiny of the Republic, A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard   Excellent!  Enlightening and the way I like to learn history…via personalities.

4. Snowdrops by A. D. Miller

5. The Cat’s Table by Michael Ondaatje

6. The Round House by Louise Erdrich     Marvelous novel. Told from view of 13-year-old boy who seeks revenge for his mother’s brutal assault. A good look at the injustices endured by our Native Americans.

7. The Devil’s Star by Jo Nesbo

8. The Snowman by Jo Nesbo

9. The Leopard by Jo Nesbo

10. Phantom by Jo Nesbo

11. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn   The big mystery hit of the year and deservedly so.

12. The Sojourn by Andrew Krivak    Loved it! Finalist for the National Book Award.

13. It’s Fine By Me by Per Petterson  What is it with these Scandinavian writers? Another wonderful book. I  also read Petterson's “Out Stealing Horses” and became an admirer.

                                                                Classics:
14. My Antonia by Willa Cather

15. The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford    Supposedly a classic but I found both the plot and the writing annoying.

16. Washington Square by Henry James  The classic that became “The Heiress.” Wonderful!

17. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

18. Howards End by E. M. Forster

                                                                  Others:
19. Prague Winter by Madeleine Albright     Not really an autobiography since Albright was a little child at the beginning of WWII. I especially was taken with her chapter on the camp Terezin since I had been there. Those memories will never fade.

20. Nemesis by Jo Nesbo    I love Jo Nesbo but this is not his best.

21. Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

22. The London Train by Tessa Hadley

23. Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog

24. And Furthermore by Judi Dench

25. Blue Nights by Joan Didion

26. Then Again by Diane Keaton

27. Empire of the Summer Moon – Quanah Packard and the Rise and Fall of the Commanches, The Most Powerful Indian Tribe in History by S.C. Gwynne  Although I am very interested in the settling of the American West and the lives of Native Americans, I did not find this book very compelling.

28. What Remains by Carole Radziwill    Didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. Very compelling look at illness from the viewpoint of a caregiver.

29. How It All Began by Penelope Lively

30. Canada by Richard Ford

31. Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow   The true story of the Collyer Brothers, hoarders who lived in a Fifth Avenue mansion.

32. This Side of Brightness by Colm McCann  A very interesting tale of a generation of sandhogs.

33. Desperate Characters by Paula Fox   A selection of the NY Times “Big City Book Club.”

34. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

35. Care of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles What a surprise this was! Quirky, original and very entertaining.

36. Felicia’s Journey by William Trevor  I chose to read this because it was mentioned in Schwalbe’s book. Creepy story but well done.

37. This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz  Despite the hoopla, I didn’t enjoy it that much.

38. The Forgotten Man – A New History of The Great Depression, Amity Schlaes

39. The Likeness by Tana French

                                                     Not Up to Expectations:
40. Books– A Memoir by Larry McMurtry

41. The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler

42. Nocturnes– Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro


45. Mission to Paris by Alan Furst

46. How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran    Crude, crass and not worth its time. I actually threw it in the garbage.






2 comments:

  1. I am keeping this great list! Once again I am making my New Year's resolutions and one of them is to spend more time reading and less time on the computer! Thanks for categorizing and rating them too. Happy Reading in 2013!

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  2. Excellent list! I've had some on my "to read" list and your comments/ratings have bumped them to the top of my list. (I also agree with Kathy ~ loved how you categorized your list.)
    ~ Elaine
    P.S. Have you seen the film of Fahrenheit 451? If not, you should watch it. It has one of my favorite movie endings ever! : )

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