My Year of Reading
This is my worst year in Reading since I started keeping track of the books I read. I am generally happy when I can say I read a book a week, which I did not do this year. (45 books)
I do have some excuses. I have been under doctors care for Depression and Anxiety, also had a Stress Test and then a Heart Cath (hospitalized for test), then had cataract surgery, and then another hospital for a D&C. In between my back and hip and shoulders are getting more painful which means more shots as needed. Other than that I am at least glad that even in March when I only read one book, it was one that was almost 600 pgs and at least I didn't have a month with no books at all!
Of course there were many good reads!
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot is probably one of the most interesting. A black lady dying of cancer and cells are taken in hopes to help find a cure. For some reason the cells never died as others always did and were used all over the world to help find cures, yet the family never knew this nor did they receive a cent from it all.
I went back and read two of the Piers Anthony Xanth books which I read eons ago for some enjoyment.
I read some Biographies and Autobiograpies such as Walt Disney, Charlton Heston, Judy Garland & Eleanor Roosevelt.
But of all the books, I guess the "one" I would say was the best was: Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole. For some reason I had a hard time setting the book down when my eyes just couldn't read more. And the moment I thought they could read more... the book was back in my hands!
Letters from Skye:
A sweeping story told in letters, spanning two continents and two world wars, Jessica Brockmole’s atmospheric debut novel captures the indelible ways that people fall in love, and celebrates the power of the written word to stir the heart.
March 1912: Twenty-four-year-old Elspeth Dunn, a published poet, has never seen the world beyond her home on Scotland’s remote Isle of Skye. So she is astonished when her first fan letter arrives, from a college student, David Graham, in far-away America. As the two strike up a correspondence—sharing their favorite books, wildest hopes, and deepest secrets—their exchanges blossom into friendship, and eventually into love. But as World War I engulfs Europe and David volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait for him on Skye, hoping he’ll survive.
June 1940: At the start of World War II, Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, has fallen for a pilot in the Royal Air Force. Her mother warns her against seeking love in wartime, an admonition Margaret doesn’t understand. Then, after a bomb rocks Elspeth’s house, and letters that were hidden in a wall come raining down, Elspeth disappears. Only a single letter remains as a clue to Elspeth’s whereabouts. As Margaret sets out to discover where her mother has gone, she must also face the truth of what happened to her family long ago.
I also read The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield for the 3rd time. Guess you'd say I like the book...you'd be right!
Looking over my list I did manage to read quite a few female authors! I never really care if the author's are male or female..but the list makes it obvious!
JANUARY
1..The Golem and the Jinni............Helen Wecker.........(512 pgs)
2..Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks..Rebecca Skloot........(400 pgs)
February
3..Walt Disney.......................Neal Gabler...........(912 pgs)
4..Never Come Back...................David Bell............(448 pgs)
5..Accidents Happen..................Louise Millar.........(385 pgs)
6..The Night Watch...................Sarah Waters..........(544 pgs)
March
7..In the Arena Biography............Charlton Heston.......(590 pgs)
April
8..Xanth Times Two...................Piers Anthony.........(528 pgs)
9..The Lightening Thief..............Rick Riordan..........(375 pgs)
10.The Sea of Monsters...............Rick Riordan..........(279 pgs)
May
11.Titan's Curse.....................Rick Riordan..........(352 pgs)
12.You Must Remember This............Robert Wagner.........(272 pgs)
13.What's So Funny?..................Tim Conway............(272 pgs)
June
14.Get Happy.........................Gerald Clarke.........(528 pgs)
15.This Time Together................Carol Burnett.........(288 pgs)
16.The Devil's Workshop..............Alex Grecian..........(386 pgs)
17.The Bookman's Tale................Charlie Lovett........(384 pgs)
July
18.The Thirteenth Tale...............Diane Setterfield.....(432 pgs)
19.Eleanor Roosevelt.................Eleanor Roosevelt.....(504 pgs)
August
20.Witch Wrath.......................Terry Brooks..........(512 pgs)
21.Bloodfire Quest...................Terry Brooks..........(368 pgs)
22.Wards of Faerie...................Terry Brooks..........(464 pgs)
September
23.Bone Bed..........................Patricia Cornwell.....(480 pgs)
24.The Unburied......................Charles Palliser......(400 pgs)
25.Others............................James Herbert.........(512 pgs)
26.The Witches.......................Roald Dahl............(240 pgs)
October
27.Red Mist..........................Patricia Cornwell.....(544 pgs)
28.Five Came Back....................Mark Harris...........(511 pgs)
29.This House is Haunted.............John Boyne............(291 pgs)
30.Rustication.......................Charles Palliser......(323 pgs)
31.Letters from Skye.................Jessica Brockmole.....(287 pgs)
32.The Dark..........................James Herbert.........(442 pgs)
November
33.The Tutor's Daughter...............Julie Klassen.........(409 pgs)
34.A Half Forgotten Song..............Katherine Webb........(486 pgs)
35.A Place of Secrets.................Rachel Hore...........(384 pgs)
36.Garment of Shadows.................Laurie R King.........(266 pgs)
37.Death Comes to Pemberly............P D James.............(291 pgs)
38.The Dark Rose......................Erin Kelly............(336 pgs)
39.The 6th Lamentation................William Brodrick......(416 pgs)
40.Shadowy Horses.....................Susanna Kearsley......(342 pgs)
December
41.The Beach Trees....................Karen White...........(432 pgs)
42.The Kitchen House..................Kathleen Grissom......(384 pgs)
43.The Solitary House.................Lynn Shepherd.........(368 pgs)
44.The Secret Rooms...................Catherine Bailey......(512 pgs)
45.Twilight at the World of Tomorrow..James Mauro...........(432 pgs)
Now it's your turn to tell us how your year in reading went!
posted by DesLily | 2:38 PM
7 Comments:
For whatever reasons I've been pretty slack in the book reading department this year, too. I've done a lot of reading, but just not as many books as I usually read. This must change in 2015.
I hope 2015 treats you more kindly, Deslily. Best wishes...take care. :)
As you know from my post, we had a similar reading year, numbers-wise. Though I did have a few months in which there were no completed reads. I think that is a first since I started blogging.
We watched a really well done, though sad, documentary on Judy Garland the other night. The studios treated her, and other actors, horribly, back in the day.
Glad you are getting medical help for the things you are struggling with, and I pray it is truly helping. Hopefully we'll both have equally enjoyable, but more productive, reading years in 2015.
All things considered I think you did really great, Pat. And anyway, it's not a competition to see who can read the most, it's all about enjoyment. :-) I certainly won't be reading as many books next year as I plan to take it a lot easier, especially with things like challenges.
That's an impressive list especially with everything that you've been through! I hope it's all helping. I love your bookshelf and all your dragon hatchlings. I also loved the Setterfield book but I've never reread it - that might be an idea - go and revisit and see how I feel about it the second time. I don't tend to do rereads any more which I think is a bit of a shame because a second read is always beneficial - I tend to miss a lot of detail when I'm speeding through a book for the first time.
Happy New Year and all the best for 2015.
Lynn :D
The Xanth series, it's years since I read one of those! Love your dragons!
I'm sorry you had such a rough year mama!! I hope we BOTH have much much better 2015s than we did 2014s. Sounds like the quality of your reading was pretty good even if you weren't happy with the quantity! The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks sounds so good! I'm putting that one right onto my list :) Love you mama!
Oh Pat, you did so well to read that much with all you were going through. I'm so happy that health-wise things are looking better now. I hope 2015 finds you in good health and feeling happier. I had a horrible autumn, and my reading dropped because of that. I couldn't read for two months. So I ended up having a good year, not the best year I was hoping for. Still haven't gotten to 100 books! Still, you read some very good books that you enjoyed, and that's what really counts :-) hugs from Ottawa.
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