Read in 2017

Let's take a look back at what I read last year!




1. The Unwanted - Lisa McMann
2. Holding on to Zoe - George Ella Lyon
3. The Accidental Abduction - Darcie Wild
4. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School - Jeff Kinney
5. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice - Curtis Sittenfeld
6. March: Book One - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell
7. March: Book Two - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell
8. The Sound of Gravel - Ruth Wariner
9. March: Book Three - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell
10. Porridge the Tartan Cat and the Brawsome Bagpipes - Alan Dapre
11. Porridge the Tartan Cat and the Bash Crash Ding - Alan Dapre
12. Leaving Fishers - Margaret Peterson Haddix
13. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down - Jeff Kinney
14. A Fierce and Subtle Poison - Samantha Mabry
15. Where We Want to Live: Reclaiming Infrastructure for a New Generation of Cities - Ryan Gravel
16. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? - Roz Chast
17. Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food and Saving the Family Farm - Forrest Pritchard
18. Searching for Whitopia: An Improbable Journey to the Heart of White America - Rich Benjamin
19. Pancakes in Paris: Living the American Dream in France - Craig Carlson
20. No One is Coming to Save Us - Stephanie Powell Watts
21.Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer


It doesn't feel like I read as much in 2017, but there's a pretty diverse mix of titles - some middle grade, a few YA, some adult non-fiction, some graphic novels.



picture credit: Jeune fille lisant, Charles Chaplin 1857

Read in June

Last month I read the following:


1. Leaving Fishers - Margaret Peterson Haddix



picture credit: Little Girl Reading Book, 1899

Read in May

Last month I read the following:


1. Porridge the Tartan Cat and the Brawsome Bagpipes - Alan Dapre
2. Porridge the Tartan Cat and the Bash Crash Ding - Alan Dapre



picture credit: Portrait of a Young Woman Reading, Dean Cornwell 1924

Read in April

Last month I read the following:


1. March: Book Three - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell



picture credit: Jeune fille lisant, Charles Chaplin 1857

Read in March

Last month I read the following:

1. The Sound of Gravel - Ruth Wariner


picture credit:  Bertha Reading, Albert Anker

Read in February 2017

Last month I read the following:

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School - Jeff Kinney
2. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice - Curtis Sittenfeld
3. March: Book One - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell
4. March: Book Two  - John Lewis, Andrew Aydin & Nate Powell


picture credit:  A Reader, Albert Moore

Read in January 2017

Last month I read the following:

1. The Unwanted - Lisa McMann
2. Holding on to Zoe - George Ella Lyon
3. The Accidental Abduction - Darcie Wild


picture credit:  Elegante, Frederic Soulacroix

2016 Reading Roundup

Last year was an interesting one for me. I tended to read in spurts... lots of books in the spring, and just a sprinkling of titles through the rest of the year. 27 books this year! A lot less than in years past, but that's still more than 2 books a month. I branched out quite a bit and ended up reading a lot of non-fiction and adult fiction. I also read 388 board books this year as part of my project to read at least a book a day to my daughter! Here's my complete list:

1. The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry - Jon Ronson
2. The Storybook of Legends - Shannon Hale
3. Pivot Point - Kasie West
4. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
5. Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion - Elizabeth L. Cline
6. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
7. Firefight - Brandon Sanderson
8. Uprooted - Naomi Novik
9. You're Never Weird on the Internet - Felicia Day
10. The Ring and the Crown - Melissa de la Cruz
11. The Autobiography of James T. Kirk - David A. Goodman

12. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail - Cheryl Strayed
13. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life - Henry Cloud
14. Moloka'i - Alan Brennart
15. Becoming Grandma - Lesley Stahl
16. Cruel Beauty - Rosamund Hodge

17. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-up Bubble - Dan Lyons
18. Life Before Death - Abby Frucht
19. Lily and the Octopus - Steven Rowley
20. This Body - Laurel Dowd

21. What to Do With a Houseful of Memories: A Heartfelt Guide to Downsizing - Marni Jameson
22. This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab
23. The Angel and the Highlander - Donna Fletcher
24. The Midnight Queen - Sylvia Izzo Hunter
25. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly - Anthony Bourdain
26. Come What May - A.M. Arthur

27. Three Dark Crowns - Kendare Blake

Read in December 2016

Last month I read the following:

1. Three Dark Crowns - Kendare Blake
2. Come What May - A.M. Arthur


picture credit:  Reading, Herman Richir

Read in November

Last month I read the following:

1. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly - Anthony Bourdain


picture credit:  Reflection, Francis John Wyburd

Read in October 2016

Last month I read the following:

1. The Midnight Queen - Sylvia Izzo Hunter


picture credit:  A Quiet Moment, Fernand Toussaint

Baby 365

We did it! This year I vowed to read a book day to my daughter. We finished up reading our 365th board book this month, but we'll keep on reading! This has been such a neat experience. Of course, we have a lot (really a lot) of books around the house, but this project has allowed me to explore what our library has to offer, and given me the excuse to shop for more.

I also felt really humbled by statistics that show nearly half of children are not read to every day. Reading nearly every day was a challenge! And there were a lot of days that we skipped, and a lot of days where we'd read 4 or 5 books. So technically, we didn't read "every day." If a librarian can't read Every. Single. Day without fail, who can?

It has been really fun reading old favorites with my child, and reading those books which were always my favorites to perform during storytime and see her reaction. She likes making chomping noises for The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and patting the fluffy dog in Touch and Feel Farm. I also discovered a lot of new authors, and even found that some of my daughter's favorites were affordable books we picked up at the dollar store. Her all-time favorite has to be Jungle Noises. "What sound does a tiger make? Rawr!"

Read in September

Last month I read the following:

1. This Savage Song - Victoria Schwab
2. The Angel and the Highlander - Donna Fletcher


picture credit:  Reading on the Rocks, John George Brown, 1877

Read in August

Last month I read the following:

1. What to Do With a Houseful of Memories: A Heartfelt Guide to Downsizing - Marni Jameson


picture credit:  The Bluestocking by Reginald Higgins, 1923

Read in July

Wow, a first. This July, I was reading multiple books at once, and finished none of them!
Summer reading (the library programs, not the reading part) at the library have kept me busy.

Read in June

Last month I read the following:

1. Disrupted: My Misadventure in the Start-up Bubble - Dan Lyons
2. Life Before Death - Abby Frucht
3. Lily and the Octopus - Steven Rowley
4. This Body - Laurel Dowd


picture credit:  Portrait of Lucie Reading by Jacques Emile Blanche, 1890

Read in May

Last month I read the following:

1. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail - Cheryl Strayed
2. Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life - Henry Cloud
3. Moloka'i - Alan Brennart
4. Becoming Grandma - Lesley Stahl
5. Cruel Beauty - Rosamund Hodge


picture credit:  Mihrap by Osman Hamdi Bey, 1901

Read in April

Last month I read the following:

1. The Ring and the Crown - Melissa de la Cruz
2. The Autobiography of James T. Kirk - David A. Goodman


picture credit:   Tatyana from Evgeni Onegin Elena Samokysh-Sudovskaya

Read in March

Last month I read the following:

1) You're Never Weird on the Internet - Felicia Day

picture credit G. Cooper Reading by Hulton Archive

Read in February

Last month I read the following:

1. The Storybook of Legends - Shannon Hale
2. Pivot Point - Kasie West
3. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
4. Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion - Elizabeth L. Cline
5. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
6. Firefight - Brandon Sanderson
7. Uprooted - Naomi Novik



picture credit:   La Liseuse by Alexandre Charpentier