I love to read. Being an English/Humanities major and having a mother who is a librarian might have something to do with that. I love it. Several years ago I decided that I was going to read as many books a year as I would have candles on my birthday cake. Some years I go way over. Some years I barely make it. This year I went over a little bit. I don't put any qualifications on my books--adult or juvenile, fiction or non, I just read. This year I wanted to read more non-fiction, so I made my goal to read 10 non-fiction, and the rest whatever caught my fancy. Sometimes I have huge "to-read" lists, and others I just find randomly and check out. I love my library. Libraries are great things. So, here is my list from last year. I think I can safely recommend all of them except one which I noted. As to favorites, hum, that is hard. I had several and will highlight them in the list. These are not in any particular order, just the order I read them in during the year. Enjoy and happy reading!
1. Halt's Peril: Ranger's Apprentice series #9 by John Flanagan **this series is one of my all-time favorites, and all my family's too, love it!
2. The Amaranth Enchangement by Julie Berry
3. Stone Tables by Orson Scott Card
4. Secret of the Sea by Richard Peck
5. Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore *non-fiction
6. The Emperor of Nijon-La: Ranger's Apprentice series #10 by John Flanagan
7. Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale * love Shannon Hales stuff!
8. A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz * non-fiction
9. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua * non-fiction, very interesting
10. Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin * non-fiction, biography
11. The Shoemaker's Wife by Adrianna Trigiani
12. Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruba * loved this adult mystery, there is a whole series I need to get to with this one, set in Afria in the 1920's
13. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
14. The Forgotten Tales of The Ranger's Apprentice Series by John Flanagan * after loving this series sooooo much it was fun to find this collection of short stories about the series
15. The Grey Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima
16. A Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson * not my favorite of hers, the one I would least likely recommend
17. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
18. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini * loved this series, but did not think it ended well.
19. A Song for Summer by Eva Ibbotson
20. Candy Bomber: The story of the Berlin Airlift's "Chocolate Pilot" by Michael O. Tunnell * non-fiction, this was one of my absolute favorites of the year, a kids non-fiction, and the true story was amazing! I had all my kids read it too, and they were very impressed!
21. A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson
22. When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Orsuka
23. The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
24. The Confession by Beverly Lewis
25. The Reckoning by Beverly Lewis
26. Temple Grandin by Sy Montgomery * another kids non-fiction that I loved, I had seen the movie before I read the book, and loved both
27. A Prince among Frogs by E.D. Baker * love her Frog Princess series, this is #8
28. The Invisible Wall by Harry Berstein * non-fiction and one of my favorites. It was written by a 95 year old about his youth in England after World War I and how an invisible wall existed down their street dividing the Jews from the Christians.
29. Recovering Charles by Jason Wright
30. The Tale of Hill Top Farm: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series #1 by Susan Albert * I love the movie Miss Potter, and if you watch that and then start reading this series right after it continues the story. The movie should be required viewing before reading the books. It is fiction/mystery, and a new series I really have enjoyed a lot. I have always been a fan of Beatrix Potter, and it has been fun to learn more about her 'real' life.
31. Moon Over Manifest by Claire Vanderpool * the Newbery award winner for 2012 which author I got to meet and have lunch with
32. The Tale of Holly How: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter #2 by Susan Albert
33. Feed the Children First: Irish Memories of the Great Hunger by Mary E. Lyons * non-fiction kids book about the potato famines in Ireland
34. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ * non-fiction, scripture which I try to read every year
35. Pearl Harbor Warriors: The Bugler, the Pilot, the Friendship by Dorinda Nicholson * non-fiction about how an American and a Japanese soldier become friends after fighting against each other at Pearl Harbor
36. The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood: The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter #3 by Susan Albert
37. Across American on an Emigrant Train by Jim Murphy * love Jim Murphy's kids non-fiction books, many are award winners, this one tells of the story of how Robert Louis Stevenson came to America
38. The Life of Our Lord by Charles Dickens * non-fiction written by Dickens for his children to be read at Christmas time, not published until after his death, a great Christmastime read
What good books did you read this year? What were some of your favorites? Please share in the comments so I can read them too! Thanks!
You are amazing! Thanks for the list.
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