2016 Reading

Hi! It's the beginning of a new year--well, it's actually halfway through January now, but to me that still counts--so it's time to dust off my blog to publish a list of everything I read in 2016. Find my lists for previous years here: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012. Let's get to it.

First, Dave suggested I post a "lazy man's list" at the beginning for anyone who doesn't want to dive into the full list. These are my can't-miss, so-glad-I-read-them-and-would-definitely-read-them-again picks. Lots of the others are super, super good as well . . . but I can't make them all top picks.

Top Nine Recommendations

• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet, by Jamie Ford
• All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr
• The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah
• A Story Like the Wind, by Laurens van der Post
• Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys
• The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown
• Better than Before, by Gretchen Rubin
• Summerlost, by Ally Condie
• Second Chance Summer, by Morgan Matson

Fiction

• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet, by Jamie Ford (WWII but not the Holocaust. Run and read this book right now! No really, I loved it.)
• All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr (WWII; I can't tell you how much I loved this! So, so good.)
• Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier (Really a great read.)
• The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah (WWII; oh my goodness, this was excellent.)
• A Story Like the Wind, by Laurens van der Post (This book is so beautiful and amazing! I loved it. The characters in it are totally real to me and I think about this book all the time. I feel sort of protective about it, because I know it's not going to be everyone's thing and I don't want to know that you started it and couldn't get into it. But if you like beautifully written books and you're at all interested in Africa, oh my goodness, you should read it.)
• A Far-off Place, by Laurens van der Post (Sequel to previous book. Not quite as stunning as the first but still amazing! I loved it and I was so, so sad I had to leave this world when it was over!)
• Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger (A little slow getting into it but I liked it!)
• Salt to the Sea, by Ruta Sepetys (WWII; excellent book!)
• Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline (This was so good! Trigger warning that sad things happen to children in this book.)
• Sarah's Key, by Tatiana de Rosnay (WWII; I liked this one and I learned about an event I didn't know about, but it was also really hard to read because something really bad happens to a four year old and I had one at the time. Trigger warning.)
• Shepherd of the Hills, by Harold Bell Wright (Shout out to my mom's fave! I finally read it; looks like I'm back in her will. As my mom says, "It's a beautiful tale of forgiveness and redemption." Set in the Ozarks.)
• The Marriage of Opposites, by Alice Hoffman (Fascinating! Historical fiction about the early life of Camille Pissarro. 
• A Generation Rising, by Gerald Lund (Fire & Steel, vol. 1) (I really like where this series was headed; the first book was very well done.
• If I Should Die, by Jennie Hansen (Exactly the light, entertaining read I expected.)
• Lemon Tart, by Josi Kilpack (Exactly the light, entertaining read I expected.)
• Ford County, by John Grisham (Interesting and funny but I can't in good conscience recommend it with the heavy language and other content.)
• Sycamore Row, by John Grisham (I really, really liked this one. It was really fresh for a Grisham novel and has so many interesting social issues to think about.)
• Calico Joe, by John Grisham (Enjoyed this one a lot. And it's not about the law!)
• Rogue Lawyer, by John Grisham (Skip it.)
• By Its Cover, by Deon Leon (Skip it.)

Non-Fiction

• The Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown (This was riveting for me.)
• Better than Before, by Gretchen Rubin (She does it again! Oh, you have to read this book if you're at all interesting in forming habits or improving yourself. So great.)
• The Gratitude Diaries, by Janice Kaplan (I loved this! Fascinating research about gratitude and a really interesting look at how it impacted her life in different ways. Absolutely changed my perspective; would definitely recommend this book.)
• When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi (Fascinating, sad but uplifting, well written!)
• Knots in My Yo-Yo String, by Jerry Spinelli (Great autobiography! Very funny and entertaining.)
• Parenting: A House United, by Nicholeen Peck (Amazing content! It has been a complete game changer for my family and I want to fully implement her ideas. Major points off for the presentation of the book--it was self-published and is full of errors and not organized as well as it should be--but the content is gold.)
• The Girl with Seven Names, by Hyeonseo Lee (Written by a girl who defected from North Korea--I love reading this kind of thing and it was very well done.)
• The Other Side of Heaven, by John Groberg (Just felt like re-reading this one. It's good.)
• The Collapse of Parenting, by Leonard Sax (I loved this one!)
• Behind Every Good Man, by John Bytheway (Enjoyed this one.)
• The Blue Tattoo: The Life of Olive Oatman, by Margot Mifflin (This is about a girl whose family was killed by Indians in the early 1850s; she was taken captive and really became one of them for years and years. She was Mormon but it doesn't seem like her family was fully practicing. It's a fascinating story and I enjoyed the book--thought it got a little long maybe but interesting to learn about.)
• A House in the Sky, by Amanda Lindhout (About a girl who was abducted in Somalia and held for 15 months. Really interesting; I remember liking it.)
• Kisses from Katie, by Katie Davis (About an American girl who lives in Uganda and has adopted lots of children there. I enjoyed learning more about her story but after a while the book bugged me a little bit.)

YA/Children's Lit

• Summerlost, by Ally Condie (I absolutely adored this one.)
• Second Chance Summer, by Morgan Matson (And this one was so, so good.)
• Amy & Roger's Epic Detour, by Morgan Matson (Also really great. Feeling like a broken record here.)
• Pax, by Sara Pennypack (Excellent book!)
• Wonder, by R. J. Palacio (Really, really well done. Worth reading for sure.)
• The Gallery, by Laura Marx Fitzgerald (Also super worth reading.)
• Every Single Second, by Tricia Springstubb (Also a really good one.)
• Harry Potter & the Cursed Child, by J. K. Rowling (You know what you're planning to do here.)
• Kaline Klattermaster's Treehouse, by Haven Kimmel (Read this one for sure!! Very funny and sad at the same time--all pulls together really well.)
• The Willoughbys, by Lois Lowry (This book was such a great surprise! So ridiculous and great. I loved it. Madeline thought it was hilarious too.)
• Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu (Super interesting premise; give it a read.)
• Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics, by Chris Grabenstein (This one's a sequel; it was pretty well done. I'm not blown away by Lemoncello books but I enjoy them.)
• The Siren, by Kiera Cass (This one was intriguing and the writing was pretty good, although I'm still a little disturbed by the premise. Lots to think about here.)
• The Green Bicycle, by Haifaa al Monsour (About a feisty young girl in Saudi Arabia; the writing wasn't as great as I had hoped. Could do without.)
• Worst Class Trip Ever, by Dave Barry (Some pretty funny parts but could do without.)
• Julie, by Jean Craighead George (Sequel to Julie of the Wolves; beautiful book.)
• Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson (Newbery winner for a reason.)
• Stung, by Bethany Wiggins (Dystopic; the premise is interesting but I'd say the character development isn't so great or believable. As an editor I'd send it back to the author to try again because it has great potential.)
• Cured, by Bethany Wiggins (Sequel to Stung; same assessment.)
• A Blind Guide to Stinkville, by Beth Vrabel (Excellent read!)
• Pack of Dorks, by Beth Vrabel (The title turned me off but this was great!)
• Camp Dork, by Beth Vrabel (I liked her other two books better but worth a read.)
• The Cricket in Times Square, by George Selden (Somehow I hadn't ever read these books by Selden, but they were great! Madeline and I both really liked them.)
• Chester Cricket's New Home, by George Selden (Same)
• Tucker's Countryside, by George Selden (Same)
• Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell (Newbery winner for a reason.)
• Zia, by Scott O'Dell (Sequel to Island of the Blue Dolphins; if you liked the first you should read this one too.)