Last month I asked my Facebook friends for recommendations for my book club, which is meeting next week to select the books we'll read this year. I was overwhelmed by the tremendous response, although I guess I shouldn't have been, as most of my friends and relatives share my enthusiasm for reading. But goodness, how to decide which to recommend! Here's the list of suggestions for your perusal. I wish I had the time to include the cover art images and links, but you all know how to use Google so I won't worry about it.
1. The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson
2. My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent
3. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
4. The Song of Hartgrove Hall by Natasha Solomons (I loved The House at Tyneford, so this one gets my vote.)
5. Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (After hearing so many good things about this book, I decided to buy a copy - in hardcover - which I never do!)
6. Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain
7. This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
8. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (recommended twice)
9. The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers
10. The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker
11. Origin by Dan Brown
12. The Son by Phillip Meyer
13. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (just snagged a copy of this at the library)
14. The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (you can read my review here)
15. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromanaco
16. We Are All Shipwrecks by Kelly Grey Carlisle
17. White Teeth by Zadie Smith
18. Lincoln In the Bardo by George Saunders (two recommendations)
19. News of the World by Paulette Jiles (I read this last month and loved it)
20. Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
21. The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane by Lisa See
22. The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede
23. Heating and Cooling by Beth Ann Connelly
24. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (this was my #1 read in 2017)
25. The Chilbury Ladies' Choir by Jennifer Ryan
26. The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn
27. The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
28. Nuclear Family by Susanna Fogel
29. Sourdough by Robin Sloan
30. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley
31. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain
32. Swing Time by Zadie Smith
33. Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (I just posted my thoughts here)
34. Salem's Lot by Stephen King
35. 7 Habits of Highly Successful People by Stephen Covey
36. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
37. The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Louise Cannon
38. The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
39. The Man He Would Become: How FDR Defied Polio to Win the Presidency by James Tobin
40. Roosevelt's Centurions by Joseph Persico
41. Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker
42. The Elephant Company by Vicki Croke
43. Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
44. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (I loved this one!)
Remember this?
Spring Reading
Well, I don't think I did too poorly. I managed to read more than I thought I would, given that spring is usually a very busy time of year around here. I had a couple of trips out to Oregon (and other than the flights to and from, I rarely spend any time reading while on vacation), several pots to fill with pretty flowers, weeds to pull, a porch and deck to scrub, windows to wash, friends to entertain... did I mention the weeds? I even managed to squeeze in a couple of bike rides.
So, what did I read from this lovely stack? In no particular order:
1. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Blunt (review pending, but it was very, very good!)
2. Landline by Rainbow Rowell (review pending)
3. The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes (review pending)
I also read four or five other books that weren't in this stack and I started All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr, which is AMAZING!
Now to put together my summer reading list. I hope to spend my weekends relaxing out on the deck, ignoring the weeds and piddly housework. We have a young houseguest arriving a week from Saturday and a short getaway trip to Kansas City toward the end of July, but other than that, I should have plenty of time for reading, as well as catching up on my reviews, blog-hopping, and getting out on the bike trails. Yes, I am ever the optimist! ;)
Inspired by Trish's recent post (and her pretty button, pictured above) in which she lists her Top Ten picks for springtime reading, I decided to gather a stack of my own books to focus on, hopefully beginning in another week. Yes, I realize spring began on the 20th, so I'm a tad bit late to the party, but I'm currently reading East of Eden (finally made it to the last third of the novel!) and have high hopes to finish before I head out of town on the 1st. It's too big of a book to haul in my carry-on bag!
Here are the books that I'm most anxious to read before summer arrives. Some have been on my shelves for a few years, some were given to my by a wonderful friend, one is on loan from a co-worker, and the rest were either sent to me by the publisher or purchased at work. Now to decide which to read first! Any suggestions?
Not familiar with some of these gems? Click on the links to read more. I've heard nothing but great things about all of this books!
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The Last Letter From Your Lover by JoJo Moyes
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Gemini by Carol Cassella
We Are Water by Wally Lamb
The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen
A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Yep. That's an ambitious list (and 11 books, not 10), but the first day of summer isn't until June 21st. Of course, I'd have to read one book a week in order to finish this entire stack, but you never know. With the crazy weather we've had this winter, we could wind up getting snowed in anytime in April. You just never know with the weather in Nebraska! ;)
Still looking for that perfect book to give this holiday season? Take a listen to this wonderful program on NHPR. I plan to refer back to the show in the coming year.
