Books I Read in 2013 and a Cute Little Guy

 I can't access the picture of my girls reading that I want, so you get this cute little guy instead. It was taken several pounds and one smile ago, but he's always delightful! (And I dare you not to kiss those cheeks!)

It's no secret that I love to read. For me, having a new baby spikes my reading count even higher than usual because I spend so much time feeding the baby. Sure, a lot of feedings are also a chance to read to the girls, attempt to direct kid traffic from my chair, or--even better--walk around and fix lunch/help someone go to the bathroom/answer the phone/pick up a sobbing child. But there are still plenty of times when I can admire my sweet baby's cheeks while I enjoy a good book. (Oh! Those cheeks!)

Last year I posted a list of the books I read in 2012, and it was fun to hear all of your book recommendations in response. I read many of them; others I still have on my list. So let's play again. I'll tell you what I read last year (this list is pretty much it aside from scriptures and a few books about childbirth), and then you can give me your own top picks. (Pretty please.)

Fiction

• The Wednesday Wars, by Gary Schmidt (YA lit; just go read this one right now! Such a wonderful book.)
• Okay for Now, by Gary Schmidt (Follow it up with this one.)
• Lizzie Bright & the Buckminster Boy, by Gary Schmidt (And then this one.)
• First Boy, by Gary Schmidt (Really, just read all of Gary Schmidt! He's a wonderful author.)
• Gossamer, by Lois Lowry (Enjoyed this one; interesting premise.)
• A Light Between Oceans, by M. L. Stedmen (Oh, this book was impossibly sad. I'm glad I read it, but some of the writing was over-the-top and the central issue was just so so difficult.)
• The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, by Anne Bronte (Really really liked this!)
• All the Wrong Questions, by Lemony Snicket (So quirky and fun to read. Lemony Snicket doesn't disappoint. This is the first of a four-part YA series; billed as a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events.)
• Room, by Emma Donoghue (Very very good. I read it all in one night because once it got moving, things happened very quickly and I had to know how it would all shake out.)
• The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie King (This was a fun book! I really enjoyed it.)
• Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss (Somehow I hadn't read this one before, but it was fun to read and I'm glad I finally picked it up. Gross how quick they were to kill the animals, though. This book was written in such a different world.)
• Danny, Champion of the World, by Roald Dahl (Somehow I had never read this one before either, but Madeline was into Roald Dahl last year so I read it and it was great, as you might expect.)
• The Devil's Arithmetic, by Jane Yolen (Second time I've read it; excellent YA lit about the Holocaust!)
• Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum (I liked this one. Hard issues, and probably too graphic for some people, but very moving and it definitely made me think.)
• Evening Class, by Maeve Binchy (Read this for book club; absolutely did not like. Don't bother.)
• The Street Lawyer, by John Grisham (Read this again for book club; it's Grisham, which is exactly what you expect.)
• The Paris Wife, by Paula McLain (This is a novel based on Ernest Hemingway's first wife; I actually really enjoyed this one and learned a ton but it's certainly not for everyone. It's hard to watch people make bad choices when they could have been so much happier choosing a different path. That said, it was interesting to get some insight into what made Hemingway tick, since that is obviously a huge part of what makes his books the way they are.)
• The Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club, by Wanda Brunstetter (This is a really light read; fun story but not written or developed well so I'd skip it.)

Nonfiction

• Happier at Home, by Gretchen Rubin (This was a great book! Rubin's books are so helpful and uplifting and fun to read.)
• Half-Broke Horses, by Jeannette Walls (My goodness. Walls nails it again with this book. Please read it.)
• Seabiscuit, by Laura Hillenbrand (So incredibly good! If you like horses at all, read this one. This author also wrote Unbroken, which is stunning in its own right.)
• Call the Midwife, by Jennifer Worth (Yes, the PBS series is actually based on this book. You'll only like it if you like reading birth stories, but that's certainly not all there is to it. It's funny and sad and I learned a ton about London's East End.)
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot (This book was awesome! Such interesting science to learn about combined with some gut-wrenching moral issues. I loved it!)
• Prague Winter: A Personal Story of Remembrance and War, 1937-1948, by Madeleine Albright (I loved this book! I can't say it enough. You have to really care about this era because it's big, but it's so so good. Albright is from the Czech Republic and didn't even know she was Jewish until later in life, and then she learned that many of her relatives had actually died in the Holocaust. This book tells about history from the Czech perspective, which was fascinating, and combines it with the history of Albright's own family. So so good.)
• Madam Secretary, by Madeleine Albright (I was so obsessed with Albright's other book that I wanted to learn more about her. This definitely schooled me in a lot of foreign policy issues and it was a good read. It definitely took me a long time to plow through this one, though; it's not for the faint of heart and the subject isn't nearly as fascinating for me.)
• Lady Almina & the Real Downton Abbey, by the Countess of Carnarvon (I really enjoyed reading about Lady Almina and the history of Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey was filmed. Such an interesting era to learn about.)
• Are We Special? The Truth and the Lie about God's Chosen People, by Jeffrey S. Reber and Steven P. Moody (I proofread this one so my focus was a bit different, but it was thought-provoking.)
• Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's, by John Robison (Really interesting look at how the mind of a person with Asperger's works; enjoyed this one.)
• The Bronte Sisters: The Brief Lives of Anne, Charlotte, and Emily Bronte, by Catherine Reef (Very accessible and well written; it led me to seek out a book by Anne Bronte.)
• The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era, by Jessica Fellowes (This one was written after the second series; I really enjoyed it. It's always surprising how much interesting history I learn from these books.)
• The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch (A good read, but didn't leave a lasting impression.)
• My Story, by Elizabeth Smart (I thought this was very well done and uplifting, which surprised me.)
• Killing Lincoln, by Bill O'Reilly (I love history. This was a fascinating book!)
• The Color of Water, by James McBride (I certainly remember what this was about, but somehow I can't remember whether I really liked it.)
• Angela's Ashes, by Frank McCourt (Don't recommend it.)

Fiction Series
I first read A Wrinkle in Time forever and ever ago, when I was ten or twelve, so it was an entirely fresh read this time around and I loved it. The others in the series were great too. Has anyone read other books by Madeleine L'Engle? My library doesn't carry anything else, but if it's good I'll order it in from another library.

• A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle
• A Wind in the Door, by Madeleine L'Engle
• A Swiftly Tilting Planet, by Madeleine L'Engle
• Many Waters, by Madeleine L'Engle

I've read the Great Brain books all many times before . . . they're so wonderful and funny I can't even explain. I was happy to discover some of them as cast-offs at the library book sale last summer so I could add them to my collection. If you haven't read them, go for it!

• The Great Brain, by John D. Fitzgerald
• The Return of the Great Brain, by John D. Fitzgerald

Ugh . . . I like The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books so much that I had high hopes for another series by Alexander McCall Smith. I read two of them just to see if they would get less ponderous and easier to care about. Nope.

• The Sunday Philosophy Club, by Alexander McCall Smith
• Friends, Lovers, Chocolate, by Alexander McCall Smith

But this series about Maisie Dobbs! It has been so much fun and I still have several more to go. Thanks for the great recommendation. If you like detective novels, give these a shot. I've been especially interested in everything I've learned about World War I and its psychological aftermath.

• Maisie Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear
• Birds of a Feather, by Jacqueline Winspear
• Pardonable Lies, by Jacqueline Winspear
• Messenger of Truth, by Jacqueline Winspear

And what would the year be without another YA dystopic series? Ha. I really enjoyed these and recommend them if you like this type of literature, although I wouldn't class them as my favorite ever. I'm just always impressed at how many different ways it's possible to screw up society--and most of them come down to taking away agency at some level. So interesting.

• Divergent, by Veronica Roth
• Insurgent, by Veronica Roth
• Allegiant, by Veronica Roth

I also ended up on a Little House binge, which was absolutely delightful as always (although apparently I left out Farmer Boy). It had been a while since I read these books, but we read the first two with Madeline over the summer and I got hooked again. We also found Madeline up late at night with Little House in the Big Woods on several different occasions. Although I did not love catching my four year old reading at midnight, I love that these books can speak to people of so many different ages. Also, reading them made me want to meet my family at Laura's place down in Missouri. One of these days!

• Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little House on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Long Winter, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• These Happy Golden Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Little Town on the Prairie, by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The First Four Years, by Laura Ingalls Wilder

I like him.