brewergirl's 75 book list for 2015

Discussão75 Books Challenge for 2015

Aderi ao LibraryThing para poder publicar.

brewergirl's 75 book list for 2015

Este tópico está presentemente marcado como "adormecido"—a última mensagem tem mais de 90 dias. Pode acordar o tópico publicando uma resposta.

1brewergirl
Editado: Jan 9, 2016, 9:26 am






Also see my thread in the 2015 ROOT Challenge group

January ... 7 books ... see message 3
February ... 5 books (plus 1 re-read) ... see message 5
March ... 2 books ... see message 7
April ... 6 books (plus 1 re-read) ... see message 8
May ... 3 books ... see message 9
June ... 3 books ... see message 10
July ...13 books ... see message 11
August ... 9 books (2 re-reads) ... see message 13
September ... 7 books (1 re-read) ... see message 14
October ... 3 books (1 re-read) ... see message 15
November ... 2 books ... see message 16
December ... 2 books (1 re-read) ... see message 17

2drneutron
Jan 1, 2015, 6:49 pm

Welcome back!

3brewergirl
Editado: Ago 5, 2015, 8:23 am

January progress

#1: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham ... Really good historical fiction aimed at young readers that I got through SantaThing. Reminded me of Johnny Tremain.

#2: In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl ... Another SantaThing book. Interesting story about an Australian woman's time as nurse in WWI France.

#3: Here by Richard McGuire ... Great graphic "story" about changes in a single house/location through the ages.

#4: Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? by Roz Chast ... Graphic memoir about caring for aging parents.

#5: Enchanted Objects: Design, Human Design, and the Internet of Things by David Rose ... Heard him talk at Boston Book Festival last fall. About incorporating technology into everyday objects rather than relying on screens (phones, computers, etc.).

#6: Euphoria by Lily King ... I liked her Father of the Rain and also heard her at the Boston Book Festival. Very good.

#7: Nothing Left Sacred by Daniel Diehl ... Got this through Early Reviewers. Historical fiction about the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.

4scaifea
Jan 26, 2015, 5:31 pm

>3 brewergirl: Oh, I *love* Carry On, Mr. Bowditch! It's waiting for Charlie on his shelves...

5brewergirl
Editado: Fev 28, 2015, 9:37 pm

February progress

RE-READ: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ... Re-read for my book group.

#8: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz ... My first book by Diaz. I enjoyed it and will be reading others.

#9: Die Again by Tess Gerritsen ... Got this through Early Reviewers. A good read ... but I stayed up WAY too late reading because I didn't want to stop!

#10: The Bone Orchard by Paul Doiron ... Latest in the Mike Bowditch series. Very good.

#11: Red Moon by Benjamin Percy ... Good read. Werewolves, politics, thriller, sort-of-dystopian ... all rolled into one.

#12: The Heir Apparent: A Life of Edward VII, The Playboy Prince by Jane Ridley ... Nice biography of Edward VII.

6drneutron
Fev 17, 2015, 9:21 pm

Nice list!

7brewergirl
Abr 1, 2015, 8:59 am

March progress

#13: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce ... Read for book group. I really liked it.

#14: Lila by Marilynne Robinson ... Another beautiful book following Gilead and Home.

8brewergirl
Editado: Abr 28, 2015, 12:42 pm

April progress

#15: Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ... Read for book group. Good.

#16: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr ... Read for a different book group. It won the Pulitzer just before our meeting.

#17: Revival by Stephen King ... Not one of my favorites of his, but a good read.

#18: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton ... A SantaThing present. Great mystery spanning 3 generations.

RE-READ: The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells ... Listened to this on audio.

#19: This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper ... Dysfunctional family sits shiva for their father.

#20: A Three Dog Life by Abigail Thomas ... Interesting memoir by woman whose husband suffered traumatic brain injury.

9brewergirl
Editado: Jul 10, 2015, 3:05 pm

May progress

#21: The Island of Dr. Moreau by H.G. Wells ... Finally read this because it is mentioned on TV show Orphan Black.

#22: The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell ... Interesting read ... Jesuits leading a mission to an alien planet.

#23: Unforgettable: A Son, A Mother, and the Lessons of a Lifetime by Scott Simon ... Listened to this on audio, narrated by the author. Son tells his mother's life story while sitting with her in intensive care through her last days.

10brewergirl
Jul 10, 2015, 2:56 pm

June progress

#24: Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell ... Read for book group where one member lives in Hawaii (and joins us via Skype). Interesting history of missionaries and their influence in Hawaii.

#25: Death at La Venice by Donna Leon ... The first book of her mystery series set in Venice ... and my first of her books. A good read.

#26: Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King ... Took me a while to get to it but it was good.

11brewergirl
Editado: Ago 5, 2015, 8:28 am

July progress

#27: Finders Keepers by Stephen King ... Second book in the Mr. Mercedes trilogy.

#28: Last Queen of Hawaii: Liliuokalani by Hazel Hutchins Wilson ... This book has been on the family shelves my entire life, but I don't think I ever read it. It is a juvenile/young adult biography of Liluokalani, which I read after finishing Unfamiliar Fishes.

#29: How We Die: Reflections on Life's Final Chapter by Sherwin B. Nuland ... Excellent look at what happens to our bodies when we die of various things ... heart attack, congestive heart failure, cancer, AIDS, etc. Also a great argument for palliative & hospice care.

#30: The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by Daniel James Brown ... This was a book group pick and not something I would have chosen. But it was very interesting ... even though I knew the ending!

#31: The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon ... A decent read but not as chilling as I had expected it to be.

#32: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe ... Another memoir by a son about spending time with is dying mother. They discussed various books during chemo treatments. The focus is more on the memoir than the individual books.

#33: The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather ... I didn't enjoy this as much as O Pioneers or My Antonia. I got bogged down about three-quarters of the way through.

#34: The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs by Nick Trout ... I have a non-fiction book by Nick Trout and so wanted to try his fiction. It was a good read.

#35: Father of the Bride by Edward Streeter ... I never realized this was a book but loved the movie with Spencer Tracy. A very quick read but entertaining.

#36: The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell ... Read this for book group after having read Unfamiliar Fishes. Another entertaining history ... this time about Puritans in Boston in 1630.

#37: Fighting for Common Ground: How We Can Fix the Stalemate in Congress by Olympia Snowe ... Interesting read written by Maine's former moderate Republican U.S. Senator ... truly a dying breed. Part memoir, part history lesson, part suggestions for how to change Congress.

#38: The Point of Vanishing: A Memoir of Two Years in Solitude by Howard Axelrod ... Got this as an early reviewer copy. The author talks about losing the vision in one eye and then choosing to retreat to the Vermont woods.

#39: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty ... A look at death and what happens to bodies. She makes a good case for foregoing the traditional route (embalming, casket, burial, etc.).

12drneutron
Jul 12, 2015, 7:09 pm

You've done some good reading!

13brewergirl
Editado: Set 1, 2015, 10:55 am

August Progress

#40: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel ... Great read about the before, during, and after of a super flu.

#41: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande ... Excellent look at aging and dying, including great arguments for better assisted living facilities and use of hospice care.

#42: Southern Cross the Dog by Bill Cheng ... I'm not sure what to say about this one. It tells the story of people in the years following the 1927 Mississippi flood.

#43: The Case of the Not-So-Nice-Nurse: A Nancy Clue and Cherry Aimless Mystery by Mabel Maney ... A lesbian spoof of Nancy Drew and Cherry Ames mysteries.

RE-READ: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee ... I listened to an audiobook version read by Sissy Spacek.

#44: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy ... I have a copy of this but listened to it on audio. A fun read.

#45: The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope ... Another classic adventure where I knew the story but had never actually read. I listened to it on audio.

#46: A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller ... My sister recommended this after I liked The Sparrow ... more Catholics in space (sort of).

#47: Imperfect Harmony: Finding Happiness Singing with Others by Stacy Horn ... Really liked the first half but kind of lost steam in the second half. I agree that several decades with my church choir has kept me sane!

#48: Lamentation by C. J. Sansom ... Another excellent entry in the Matthew Shardlake series ... this one near the end of Henry VIII's reign.

RE-READ: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte ... This was a re-read for book group where the assignment was to re-read a seminal/influential book. I still love it!

14brewergirl
Editado: Out 1, 2015, 11:47 am

September progress

#49: The Professor's House by Willa Cather ... Not one of my favorites of hers but still very good.

#50: Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl ... Interesting mix of autobiography and psychology.

#51: The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett ... Listened to this on a hike on audiobook. I've seen a few parts of the movie but never the whole thing ... so I didn't know the plot line.

#52: Eat that frog! 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy ... Some good advice, but not sure it will cure my procrastination completely!

#53: The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton ... Finally got around to reading this. A great portrait of society and the perils of stepping out of line.

RE-READ: Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng ... Re-read for my book group.

#54: Lord of the Flies by William Golding ... Never read this in school. Listened to an audiobook version read by the author.

#55: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel ... A great memoir in graphic format.

15brewergirl
Editado: Out 31, 2015, 8:30 am

October progress

#56: A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler ... Read this for book group. It didn't really grab me but I'm not sure why.

#57: The Martian by Andy Weir ... Listened to this in one day on audio. I'm not into science but that didn't matter. It was a great read.

#58: Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee by Dee Brown ... Read this for a different book group. Took me a while to get through it.

RE-READ: The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett ... Charming read about Queen Elizabeth and the joys of reading.

16brewergirl
Nov 30, 2015, 9:47 am

November progress

#59: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman ... Read for book group. Very good.

#60: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy ... Finally got around to this one.

17brewergirl
Jan 9, 2016, 9:25 am

December progress

#61: The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny ... Another entertaining Inspector Gamache mystery.

#62: Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen ... A stand-alone novel, not part of the Rizzolli & Isles series.

RE-READ: Bellwether by Connie Willis ...