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Well, hello! I am ashamed to say that its been nearly a year since my last confession blog post! I was lurking reading some friends' recaps of 2018 and I decided to round up a few of my own. I do always like looking back at my own recaps sometimes a few years later. So, even if its just for my own eyes, here goes nothing!
Each year I list a few of my favorite books from the last year of reading. In 2018, although I spent hundreds of hours studying for the CFA, I still rewarded myself with a good book at the end of the day. My goal for the year was 52 books, but I actually surprised myself and ended up with a total of 67!
You can find prior best of book lists here: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.
We Were The Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter: Of course, book numero uno is a book about WWII. Set in 1939, this details an entire Jewish Polish family, split into a million tiny pieces after the commencement of the war. For years they try to survive however they can, they dodge Germans and Russians, they get sent to France and Africa and South America. I am amazed by how resilient some people were during these times, how much death and suffering they had to witness and how some of them overcame it all and survived.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman: This is a book regarding the small town politics surrounding accusations of sexual harassment against players on the award winning junior hockey team. This book reminded me a little of the book Missoula, which also touches on the same conflicts. Although translated from Swedish, this book flows like water and I finished it in no time at all.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: A single mom and her daughter rent an apartment from a wealthy family in town and before you know it, they are all tangled together in life. As the story progresses, secrets are uncovered that were supposed to remain buried, and a twist comes unexpectedly at the end. I also enjoyed her book Everything I Never Told You.
This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel: A touching book about gender stereotypes and the prejudices surrounding them. Five year old Claude is a little boy who likes to wear dresses and to play princess and who identifies as a girl. We grow up with Claude (Poppy) and the family and we learn about the hardships that come along with bucking the "norm."
Love and Ruin by Paula McLain: Yes, its another book about my foe, Ernest Hemingway. But its not really a book about him. It's about one of his (many) wives. I am annoyed with these women, who cheat with him and then get cheated on, but it doesn't make the situations any less fascinating. Although I don't love the characters, I like learning about the time and the author tells her story well. This is the third book I have read by her and she does not disappoint.
Here are a few others that made the cut: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. You can also find several others that I gave 4 stars to here.
What were your favorite reads of 2018?
Each year I list a few of my favorite books from the last year of reading. In 2018, although I spent hundreds of hours studying for the CFA, I still rewarded myself with a good book at the end of the day. My goal for the year was 52 books, but I actually surprised myself and ended up with a total of 67!
You can find prior best of book lists here: 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.
We Were The Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter: Of course, book numero uno is a book about WWII. Set in 1939, this details an entire Jewish Polish family, split into a million tiny pieces after the commencement of the war. For years they try to survive however they can, they dodge Germans and Russians, they get sent to France and Africa and South America. I am amazed by how resilient some people were during these times, how much death and suffering they had to witness and how some of them overcame it all and survived.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman: This is a book regarding the small town politics surrounding accusations of sexual harassment against players on the award winning junior hockey team. This book reminded me a little of the book Missoula, which also touches on the same conflicts. Although translated from Swedish, this book flows like water and I finished it in no time at all.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: A single mom and her daughter rent an apartment from a wealthy family in town and before you know it, they are all tangled together in life. As the story progresses, secrets are uncovered that were supposed to remain buried, and a twist comes unexpectedly at the end. I also enjoyed her book Everything I Never Told You.
This is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel: A touching book about gender stereotypes and the prejudices surrounding them. Five year old Claude is a little boy who likes to wear dresses and to play princess and who identifies as a girl. We grow up with Claude (Poppy) and the family and we learn about the hardships that come along with bucking the "norm."
Love and Ruin by Paula McLain: Yes, its another book about my foe, Ernest Hemingway. But its not really a book about him. It's about one of his (many) wives. I am annoyed with these women, who cheat with him and then get cheated on, but it doesn't make the situations any less fascinating. Although I don't love the characters, I like learning about the time and the author tells her story well. This is the third book I have read by her and she does not disappoint.
Here are a few others that made the cut: A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate and The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. You can also find several others that I gave 4 stars to here.
What were your favorite reads of 2018?
In 2017, I read over 90 books. According to Goodreads stats, I only gave two of them five stars, 35 were given four stars and 44 were given three stars. I tend to not hand out five star review casually, although it ends up being hard to sort through the four star reviews when there were so many. Probably some of the fours should have been fives, but such is life.
An interesting stat: this year, 26 of the books I "read" were audio books. However, they tend to not get as high of ratings. I am not sure if this is because I probably do not focus as much when I am listening, or that many tend to be non-fiction, or that I just don't pick the "fun" books as audio books. Only one of the books on my list was an audio book. However, 6 of the 13 books I picked were non-fiction! Anyway, without further ado, here are my top thirteen reads from 2017 in no particular order.
You can see my lists here from 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.
My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir: I gave this book five stars and I liked it so much I even wrote an entire post about it! So I won't go on about it too much. In summary, it is a fresh new look at some of the places that I know and love, and it brings a new appreciation to the outdoors as well as to life itself.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi: This was the second (and last) book I gave five stars to this year. It is a true story about a neurosurgical resident who in an interesting twist of fate ends up becoming a patient himself. I liked it so much that I read it in one sitting. It is well written and you can't help but love and relate to the writer and main character, and I was rooting for him throughout the entire book.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver: Kingsolver and her family, who live in northern Virginia, decide to grow or raise their own food for one year, only supplementing when absolutely necessary and then only from local sources. I was inspired by her description of growing asparagus and raising (and slaughtering) her own turkeys. This book made we want to run out and get some baby chicks! Its a fun story and an interesting look at what it takes to be self supported, food wise.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn: This was a late addition; I actually just finished it. It is set during both WWI where you meet the first character, who is an English spy working in France. Then it takes you to modern day, which is just after WWII, where you meet second set of characters, whose lives end up tangling with the spy from WWI. All the characters are likeable and brave and interesting and the story line is fun and informative.
To the Bright Edge of The World by Eowyn Ivey: This book is written as a series of letters and journals between an Alaskan explorer and his wife in the 1800s. I love books written in this form as you really feel like you are in the person's head and you feel like you get to know them really well.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah: A story of a boy growing up in South Africa during apartheid who has a black mother and a white father, which was a no-no in those days. He details some of the difficulties as well as how his family got through them. He does it in a humorous way, although the story is anything but funny. I didn't realize this but he is also the host of the Daily Show, and after reading this book, I watched some of his standup, which was really funny. I like that he is a multifaceted individual, not just a funny guy.
The Year of Yes by Shonda Rimes: This was the only audio book that made the cut this year. Shonda Rimes is the writer of Grey's Anatomy as well as several other shows and I was sure this book would be another richy rich talking about their problems and how they overcame them. However, Shonda is a painfully shy introvert who hates public speaking and would rather be behind a desk writing. When she decided to say "yes" to everything, she had to step out of her comfort zone. This book is a funny rendition of the uncomfortable things she ended up having to do (for instance, give a speech where she talks about "pooping her pants.")
Here are some others that made the cut: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick, All The Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood, Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
What was your favorite book that you read in 2017? I am always looking for suggestions for my to-read list!
An interesting stat: this year, 26 of the books I "read" were audio books. However, they tend to not get as high of ratings. I am not sure if this is because I probably do not focus as much when I am listening, or that many tend to be non-fiction, or that I just don't pick the "fun" books as audio books. Only one of the books on my list was an audio book. However, 6 of the 13 books I picked were non-fiction! Anyway, without further ado, here are my top thirteen reads from 2017 in no particular order.
You can see my lists here from 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011.
My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir: I gave this book five stars and I liked it so much I even wrote an entire post about it! So I won't go on about it too much. In summary, it is a fresh new look at some of the places that I know and love, and it brings a new appreciation to the outdoors as well as to life itself.
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi: This was the second (and last) book I gave five stars to this year. It is a true story about a neurosurgical resident who in an interesting twist of fate ends up becoming a patient himself. I liked it so much that I read it in one sitting. It is well written and you can't help but love and relate to the writer and main character, and I was rooting for him throughout the entire book.
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver: Kingsolver and her family, who live in northern Virginia, decide to grow or raise their own food for one year, only supplementing when absolutely necessary and then only from local sources. I was inspired by her description of growing asparagus and raising (and slaughtering) her own turkeys. This book made we want to run out and get some baby chicks! Its a fun story and an interesting look at what it takes to be self supported, food wise.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn: This was a late addition; I actually just finished it. It is set during both WWI where you meet the first character, who is an English spy working in France. Then it takes you to modern day, which is just after WWII, where you meet second set of characters, whose lives end up tangling with the spy from WWI. All the characters are likeable and brave and interesting and the story line is fun and informative.
To the Bright Edge of The World by Eowyn Ivey: This book is written as a series of letters and journals between an Alaskan explorer and his wife in the 1800s. I love books written in this form as you really feel like you are in the person's head and you feel like you get to know them really well.
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah: A story of a boy growing up in South Africa during apartheid who has a black mother and a white father, which was a no-no in those days. He details some of the difficulties as well as how his family got through them. He does it in a humorous way, although the story is anything but funny. I didn't realize this but he is also the host of the Daily Show, and after reading this book, I watched some of his standup, which was really funny. I like that he is a multifaceted individual, not just a funny guy.
The Year of Yes by Shonda Rimes: This was the only audio book that made the cut this year. Shonda Rimes is the writer of Grey's Anatomy as well as several other shows and I was sure this book would be another richy rich talking about their problems and how they overcame them. However, Shonda is a painfully shy introvert who hates public speaking and would rather be behind a desk writing. When she decided to say "yes" to everything, she had to step out of her comfort zone. This book is a funny rendition of the uncomfortable things she ended up having to do (for instance, give a speech where she talks about "pooping her pants.")
Here are some others that made the cut: The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick, All The Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood, Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult, Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton, Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys and The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead.
What was your favorite book that you read in 2017? I am always looking for suggestions for my to-read list!
Wow, this year has really flown by and it's time again for the best of the best lists! I enjoy looking back at other people's prior year's lists as well as my own and seeing how things went in years past. So I can't pass it up this year and am looking forward to checking out everyone else's posts. As much as I love all lists, the best of lists for books are probably my favorites.
This year I read 71 books and I gave five of them five stars on Goodreads. They were:
Winter of the World by Ken Follett: This is book two in the Century Trilogy. The first is about WWI, the second takes the characters through WWII. He does a great job of introducing characters from different walks of life which gives you a lot of insight into what different sides and countries were going through during the war. I am looking forward to reading the third set of the series, although these books are a bit long, so I have to space them out a little!
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult: This was a great story of a girl working at a bakery who befriends an old man, who ends up being a former Nazi SS officer. To make it even worse, the girl's grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. This book was recommended to me years ago by Lisa and I am glad that I finally took her up on her suggestion!
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: The first book in the Shades of Magic trilogy, this is a great step away from reality. The story takes you to several variations of London, some good, some bad, and is full of magic, kingdoms, good, evil and adventure. The characters are likable and the second book in the series is also a lot of fun as well!
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly: Set in WWII, this is a story about three different girls, a doctor from Germany who ends up working at Ravensbruck, a Polish girl who ends up imprisoned in Ravensbruck and an American socialite who ends up entangled in the mix. I learned a lot about the horrors that happen in the camps that I hadn't really known much about before.
In addition to these, some of my other favorites were: Aristotle and Dante Discovery the Secrets of the Universe, Circling the Sun, Between the World and Me, Ready Player One, Homegoing and Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. See other 4 star recommendations here.
I also participated in the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, which encourages people to try new types of books. I did not finish the list of 24 categories, but I had a lot of fun exploring new categories! Below is my list. Yellow are the ones I did not complete.
1 A horror book - The Terror
This year I read 71 books and I gave five of them five stars on Goodreads. They were:
Winter of the World by Ken Follett: This is book two in the Century Trilogy. The first is about WWI, the second takes the characters through WWII. He does a great job of introducing characters from different walks of life which gives you a lot of insight into what different sides and countries were going through during the war. I am looking forward to reading the third set of the series, although these books are a bit long, so I have to space them out a little!
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult: This was a great story of a girl working at a bakery who befriends an old man, who ends up being a former Nazi SS officer. To make it even worse, the girl's grandmother was a Holocaust survivor. This book was recommended to me years ago by Lisa and I am glad that I finally took her up on her suggestion!
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: The first book in the Shades of Magic trilogy, this is a great step away from reality. The story takes you to several variations of London, some good, some bad, and is full of magic, kingdoms, good, evil and adventure. The characters are likable and the second book in the series is also a lot of fun as well!
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly: Set in WWII, this is a story about three different girls, a doctor from Germany who ends up working at Ravensbruck, a Polish girl who ends up imprisoned in Ravensbruck and an American socialite who ends up entangled in the mix. I learned a lot about the horrors that happen in the camps that I hadn't really known much about before.
In addition to these, some of my other favorites were: Aristotle and Dante Discovery the Secrets of the Universe, Circling the Sun, Between the World and Me, Ready Player One, Homegoing and Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake. See other 4 star recommendations here.
I also participated in the Book Riot Read Harder challenge, which encourages people to try new types of books. I did not finish the list of 24 categories, but I had a lot of fun exploring new categories! Below is my list. Yellow are the ones I did not complete.
1 A horror book - The Terror
2 A nonfiction book about science
3 A collection of essays - A Manual for Cleaning Women
4 Read a book out loud to someone
5 A middle grade novel - Finding Someplace
6 A biography
7 A dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel - Ready Player One
8 A book originally published in the decade you were born
9 Listen to an audiobook that has won an Audie Award - Euphoria
10 A book over 500 pages long - The Lake House
11 A book under 100 pages long - Holy the Firm
12 A book by or about a person that identifies as transgender
13 A book that is set in the Middle East - Prisoner of Tehrah
14 A book that is by an author from Southeast Asia
15 A book of historical fiction set before 1900 - The Taming of the Queen
16 The first book in a series by a person of color - Blanche on the Lam
17 A non-superhero comic that debuted in the last three years
18 A book that was adapted into a movie, then watch the movie
19 A nonfiction book about feminism or dealing with feminist themes - Spinster
20 A book about religion - 1000 Lashes
21 A book about politics, in your country or another
22 A food memoir - Cleaved
23 A play - Death of a Salesman
24 A book with a main character that has a mental illness - Tender Points
How was your year of reading? What was your favorite book of 2016? Did you participate in any reading challenges this year?
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