Compared to the 110 books I read in 2006, the list for this year is pretty small. (The reason for all the extra reading last year? Commuting for six months to a job that took at least an hour and a half on public transportation each way.) Previous reading lists can be found here: 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003.
The books that I liked best have a double-asterisk after the author’s name (**).
Nonfiction:
1) Lucky Man (AUDIOBOOK), by Michael J. Fox **
2) One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School (AUDIOBOOK), by Scott Turow **
3) Ivy Briefs: True Tales of a Neurotic Law Student, by Martha Kimes
4) Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter, by Adeline Yen Mah
5) Girlbomb: A Halfway Homeless Memoir, by Janice Erlbaum
6) Let Me Go (AUDIOBOOK), by Helga Schneider
7) The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid (AUDIOBOOK), by Bill Bryson **
8 ) My Invented Country (AUDIOBOOK), by Isabel Allende
9) The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones, by Anthony Bourdain **
10) The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen, by Michael Ruhlman
11) Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival (AUDIOBOOK), by Anderson Cooper •• (I also wrote a book review here.)
12) Outside the Box, by Lynn Sherr ••
13) Fleeing Fundamentalism: A Minister’s Wife Examines Faith, by Carlene Cross
14) The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them (AUDIOBOOK), by Erin Gruwell and students
15) Are Men Necessary?: When Sexes Collide (AUDIOBOOK), by Maureen Dowd
16) Choosing Simplicity: Real People Finding Peace and Fulfillment in a Complex World, by Linda Breen Pierce
17) Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules (AUDIOBOOK), by Various Authors
18 ) Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players, by Stefan Fatsis ••
19) Ultimate Fitness: The Quest for Truth about Health and Exercise, by Gina Kolata
20) Jackpot Nation: Rambling and Gambling Across Our Landscape of Luck, by Richard Hoffer
21) Hate Mail from Cheerleaders, by Rick Reilly
22) The Big Turnoff: Confessions of a TV-Addicted Mom Trying to Raise a TV-Free Kid, by Ellen Currey-Wilson
23) Bad Girls: 26 Writers Misbehave, by Ellen Sussman **
Fiction:
24) Digging to America (AUDIOBOOK), by Anne Tyler ••
25) The Memory Keeper’s Daughter (AUDIOBOOK), by Kim Edwards ••
26) The Thirteenth Tale (AUDIOBOOK), by Diane Setterfield ••
27) Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg
Travel:
28 ) A Thousand Days in Venice, by Marlena De Blasi
29) A Thousand Days in Tuscany: A Bittersweet Adventure, by Marlena De Blasi
30) France: A Love Story, by Camille Cusumano (Editor)
31) French By Heart: An American Family’s Adventures in La Belle France, by Rebecca Ramsey
17 Comments
Yay for “Word Freak”! Thanks so much for this list — I love repopulating my To Read list for the year. Yes, I am a geek.
I also “read” Thunderbolt Kid as an audiobook. I really enjoyed the author’s tone.
Didn’t you forget a book in this list?
http://www.zandria.us/archives/main/2007/09/07/random-friday-ver-19/
Item #3
I read Bee Season a couple of years ago and enjoyed it up to a certain point. I still liked it, but the “Huh?” factor started to intrude too much for it to be a real favorite. Perfectimundo indeed.
I’ve been wanting to read The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. I made a bunch of reading-related goals on my 101 things list, so maybe I should add this to it. I always wish I had more time to read, so maybe this will help me do that!
Thanks, I’ll have to check some of those out. I read some amazing books this year, including “On Chesil Beach,” “The Sea” and “High Fidelity,” which, although old, should be read by every woman trying to figure out men. You still won’t understand them, but you’ll laugh your head off trying.
OMG Zan, how do you do that? I just can’t read as much as I want.
If you had to pick one book from your list to recommend, what would it be?
I thought that you said you had read “Eat, Pray, Love”. I don’t see it on your list…
Yippee!!! As you know I love when you publish your list! I am simutaneously reading it and checking my library catalog. Thanks Zandria.
I’m impressed with the variety on this list! Did any stick out as favorites? Are you on that website Goodreads?
Wow, pretty impressive! I hope this does not mean I have to type in all books I read this year as well?
Lucky Man was really impressive indeed.
The rest is mostly new, so I’ll definitely copy some reccomendations!
DefenseEngineer:
I didn’t list that book because I never finished reading it! I tried, but I just couldn’t stay interested (and a lot of the stuff she was saying was really annoying me, so that wasn’t really conducive to me finishing the book, either).
Dana and Janet:
I’ll go back through the list and pick out my faves. People ask me that every year and I always forget to do it in advance! At least it’ll be a little more manageable this year since the list is shorter.
I also read Are Men Necessary? because I’m a big fan of Maureen Dowd. I also started my annual campaign to get people to read more novels in January. You can read about NaJuReMoNo here.
I def. have to check some of these out. I’ve read some on your list, but not all that many! I never thought to keep an annual list. Great idea!
Ooo, I’m am going to have to read some of those memoirs. Thanks for the list!
My, you are an avid reader! I’ll have to check out some of these books.
I just found your blog today and I love it! I’m excited to read many of the nonfictions on your list, which is primarily what I read. My fave nonfictions I read this past year are There Is No Me Without You, Kicked, Bitten and Scratched, Look Me in the Eye, Infidel, Cook-Off, Love is a Mix Tape, and the A.J. Jacobs books. I’m also in the middle of Crashing Through and The Human, the Orchid and the Octopus, which are both shaping up to be pretty good. I’ll probably get less reading done this year though once I move back up to Alexandria in a few days and cut my 3 hour daily commute time on the VRE down to a sweet 10 minute car ride {unbridled happiness ensues}