Getting Back on the Horse

Here are some things I want to resume (or attempt to) this year:

- Blogging, shoot for once a month. But I'm not going to put tons of pressure on myself for it to be wonderful, insightful essays, this short, rambling entry being a case in point. I just want it to be more than an annual book diary.

- Theatre (I miss you, musicals) (directors I am begging you)

- Any sort of travel, even just down to St George or Cedar City once snow stops being a risk

- get a Wordle in three guesses or less. This may never happen as I'm actually really bad at word scrambles. But I can dream!

General updates? Having a baby changes everything, obviously. People ask me how I'm doing and I answer with how she's doing. Working to get back to having some "me" stuff as well. Did literally the worst audition of my life in December and had to stop myself from breaking down in the audition room. "Whyyyyyyyyyy does this pianist hate me?" So it can only go up from there, or at least not down. (She said, tempting fate.) Haha, no, I was totally humiliated. But I didn't die and life goes on!

Diana is closer to being a year old than a newborn, which blows my mind. I love her so much, but I worry so much. I worry that she'll never learn to eat anything more solid than applesauce, that she won't crawl, that she won't sleep through the night. (However if I stay up late anticipating her wake up she sleeps soundly so for now I'll keep doing that, haha!) It's not that I'm worried **she** can't do these things, I worry that **I** can't teach her, or am failing her in some way.

She loves to go outside, even though it's so cold. Makes me wish we lived in San Diego, where she wouldn't have to be triple bundled to do her daily walk to the mailbox with daddy. Oh well, she's so cute triple bundled. (And I wouldn't want to live in San Diego anyway, but I can't wait to take her to the ocean.) She loves bathtime and the water. We were going to a baby swim class but I got nervous about the spike in Covid rates and stopped. It's so tough to be a new stay at home mom right now and not really able to go anywhere because I just want to make it through her first flu season with no sickness. Knock on wood, it's working so far. But it's tough too. I just want to go back to normal.

So hello, blog, from me and kitty sitting on the couch (she wishes it would go back to normal too, but she hasn't seen nothing yet) and sleeping baby upstairs. (Stay sleeping, little one.) Here's to 2022, and roughly twelve blog entries. 

Books I Read in 2021

Oh hey I'm alive! This blog has not seen much love this year as I spent the first half of the year busy being pregnant and the second half with a new baby. Still managed to get some reading in, though. I can't wait for Diana to get older so we can go to story time at the library, and takes stacks of books home like I did when I was a kid. At her first trip, she didn't seem that impressed...

Totals: 92 books,  47 nonfiction/45 fiction

Page count:  13,676 nonfiction/15,675 fiction 

My Top Ten Books of 2021

1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Stunning. A strange flu has arrived from overseas and it's very contagious... If you're not all pandemic-ed out by the last two years, this is a fantastic read. (If you are, I can't blame you.) It follows protagonists in three time periods: prepandemic, mid pandemic, and afterwards, I expected this to be depressing. It has those dark moments, but has hope as well. Overall I would describe it as full of humanity: the good, the bad, and the ugly. You never know how your life and art will affect others. And I can never resist a troupe of traveling actors. This is a book that I wanted to start over as soon as I finished.

2. The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

I don't even know where to start with this one. Also told in three different time periods, and sort of an end of the world novel as well. It's a fantasy novel (which won the Hugo award), and the world building is impeccable. Again, chock full of humanity. (This proves to be a theme with this year's favorites.) It's the first of a trilogy, and I can wait to read the others. I won't try to offer a plot description, but the dedication sums up the theme nicely: "For all those who have to fight for the respect that everyone else is given without question."

3. Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard

I've been working my way through presidential biographies, greatly enjoying most. (See Ron Chernow's Grant from last year's list.) This was a double biography of President James Garfield and his assassin (but maybe not killer) Charles Guiteau. I loved it. Garfield is one of those presidents I knew little about but I left the book really liking him and sad that he was killed before he could enact much legislation. Guiteau saw their fates as entwined, and this is the dark side of the "you never know how your life will affect others" coin. Also, as a tribute to the great Stephen Sondheim whom we lost this year, check out his musical depiction of Guiteau in a lesser known musical, Assassins.

4.  The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov

For a long time I assumed Asimov would be boring, full of space lingo, and hard to understand, because that was my view of midcentury science fiction. But wow was I wrong, and happy to be proven so. This book was so good that I held off on formalizing my top ten list because I was only partly through it but knew it was going to be on here. 3000 years in the future, New York City, and all other major cities (I was happy to see Philadelphia get a shoutout) are now entirely underground. No one goes out into the open air except robots, who mostly look like the clunky machines humans view them to be. But a murder brings together a human detective and a new, humanoid passing robot, who work together to solve the crime, and possibly the future of humanity as well. Clever, funny, five stars.

5. This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are by Melody Warnick

I'm the kind of person who on a road trip will imagine who'd I be if I'd grown up in Albuquerque or Chicago or where have you. Would I have a flower garden? Play baseball? Rock climb? My cross country move in 2019 made it clear that wherever you go, there you are. It also made clear that although I'd wanted out of Utah, I missed it when I was gone. And now I miss Philadelphia. Melody Warnick has moved many times, and set out to discover if you can decide to belong somewhere. Conclusion? It takes work, but yes.

6. Mr. Humble and Dr. Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul by Brandy Shillace

Unrelated to the main story, but this book has the distinction of being the first time I saw "Covid-19" in a printed book. I logically knew that I was going to be reading mentions of coronavirus for the rest of my life, but this hit me. We are living through a historical event. In the style of Sam Kean's science writing, this is a medical biography of Robert White, who pushed the limits of what medicine could (and maybe should) do. If you get queasy about medical stuff, this is not the book for you. Besides just the facts of Dr White's life there are questions of morality and ethics that don't have clear answers, but left me thinking.

7. Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman by Lindy West

Lindy West's book of essays made me literally laugh out loud. It's hard to be a woman on the internet, especially a fat woman, but Lindy has come out of it that much stronger and passing on her wisdom to the rest of us. I first heard of the author through her story on This American Life, and it's also recounted here, but with many other essays on being fat, feminist, and funny. I haven't watched the Hulu series based on it, but if they captured the vulnerability and character growth that is here, it's probably pretty good.

8. Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley

A classic. I was intimidated by the size and seriousness of this story that begins with Kunta Kinte in 1750s Africa and ends with the author in 1970s America, with all the generations in between, but it moved pretty fast and packs a big punch. Obvious content warning for all the violence, rape, and inhumanity that comes with slavery. It's heartbreaking to meet people just to be ripped away from them as the narration changes and moves on. This one lingers after it's done. Also, Alex Haley wanted it to be classified as nonfiction but the consensus today is fiction. 

9. How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by K Eason

And now for something completely different....

Rory Thorne was blessed by a fairies at her birth. There hadn't been a girl child born to royalty in a long time, and it was assumed she'd take her father's throne. But then a brother is born, a parent dies, and an engagement emerges, as well as treacherous advisers and the threat of galactic war. Rory will have to use her wits to rescue the prince, and she's running out of time. One reviewer called it "Princess Bride meets Princess Leia" and that's captures its fun subverting of fairytales. I liked almost every character in this book, which is high praise as I'm notorious for disliking main characters. Can't wait to read the sequel.

10. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by CA Fletcher

ANOTHER apocalypse novel?? It's like something happened in the world to turn our minds toward mortality. This one is simpler than the other two I've listed, but has a lot of heart. How far would you go to get a stolen dog back? The child narrator of this one would go pretty far. If this book had stuck the landing with the end it would have been higher on the list, but I still recommend it.

Honorable mentions

Nonfiction-- Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero by Kate Clifford Larson

Fiction-- The Big Door Prize by MO Walsh

And now, all the rest! As always, recommendations are bolded and rereads are marked with *** and books are listed alphabetically by author. 

Nonfiction

• The Ghosts of Eden Park: The Bootleg King, the Women Who Pursued Him, and the Murder That Shocked Jazz Age America -- Karen Abbott
• The Genius of Birds -- Jennifer Ackerman
• Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions -- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Good Chinese Wife: A Love Affair With China Gone Wrong -- Susan Blumberg-Kason
• Einstein's Greatest Mistake: A Biography -- David Bodanis
• All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir -- Nicole Chung
• A Map is Only One Story: Twenty Writers on Immigration, Family, and the Meaning of Home -- Edited by Nicole Chung and Mensah Derrary
• Duel with the Devil: The True Story of How Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr Teamed Up to Take on America's First Sensational Murder Mystery -- Paul Collins
• The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age -- Tom D Crouch and Peter L Jakab
• American Sherlokc: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI -- Kate Winkler Dawson
• Over the Hills and Far Away: The Life of Beatrix Potter -- Matthew Dennison
• Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots -- Deborah Feldman
• The Foundling: The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My Search for the Real Me -- Paul Joseph Fronczak
• The View From the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction -- Neil Gaiman
• Lady in Waiting: My Extraordinary Life in the Shadow of the Crown -- Anne Glenconner
• ***Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin -- Nicole Hardy
• The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir -- Michelle Harper
• Would You Rather?: A Memoir of Growing Up and Coming Out -- Katie Heaney
• It's All Relative: Adventures Up and Down the World's Family Tree -- AJ Jacobs
• Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt -- Steven Johnson
• Life of the Party: The Remarkable Story of How Brownie Wise Built, and Lost, a Tupperware Party Empire -- Bob Kealing
• Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero -- Kate Clifford Larson
• Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things -- Jenny Lawson
• Crossing the Borders of Time: A True Story of War, Exile, and Love Reclaimed -- Leslie Maitland
• Two Truths and a Lie: A Murder, a Private Investigator, and Her Search for Justice -- Ellen McGarrahan
• Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine, and the Murder of a President -- Candice Millard
• In the Heights: Finding Home-- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quiara Alegria Hudes, Jeremy McCarter
• Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown -- Anais Mitchell
• The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial -- Maggie Nelson
• A Promised Land -- Barack Obama
• Rutherford B Hayes -- Steven Otfinoski
• In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom -- Yeonmi Park
• Humble Pi: When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World -- Matt Parker
• Royal Renegades: The Children of Charles I and the English Civil Wars -- Linda Porter
• The Social Instinct: How Cooperation Shaped the World -- Nichola Raihani
• What's a Lemon Squeezer Doing in My Vagina?: A Memoir of Infertility -- Rohini S Rajagopal
• One Life -- Megan Rapinoe
• Congo: The Epic History of a People -- David van Reybrouck
• True Raiders: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant -- Brad Ricca
• *** Me Talk Pretty One Day -- David Sedaris
• Mr Humble & Dr Butcher: A Monkey's Head, the Pope's Neuroscientist, and the Quest to Transplant the Soul -- Brandy Shillace
• Hidden Figures -- Margot Lee Shetterly
• Here, Right Matters: An American Story -- Alexander Vindman
• This is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are -- Melody Warnick
• Persist -- Elizabeth Warren
• Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus -- Bill Wasik & Monica Murphy
• Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman -- Lindy West  

Fiction

• Midnight Riot -- Ben Aaronovitch
• The Goblin Emperor -- Katherine Addison
• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian -- Sherman Alexie 
• The Caves of Steel-- Isaac Asmiov
• Falling Free -- Lois McMaster Bujold
• Swimming at Night -- Lucy Clarke
• The Red Badge of Courage -- Stephen Crane
• Well Behaved Indian Women -- Saumya Dave
• Sister of My Heart -- Chitra Banerjee Divarkaruni 
• The Sweeney Sisters -- Lian Dolan
• Death at Wentwater Court -- Carola Dunn
• How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse -- K Eason
• A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World -- CA Fletcher
• Motherland -- Leah Franqui
• All the Lonely People -- Mike Gayle (This was SO CLOSE to being good but in the end it just made me want to reread A Man Called Ove)
• An Absolutely Remarkable Thing -- Hank Green
• The Midnight Library -- Matt Haig
• Roots: The Saga of an American Family -- Alex Haley
• Etta and Otto and Russell and James -- Emma Hooper
• Never Have I Ever -- Joshilyn Jackson (content warning: child abuse)
• The Fifth Season -- NK Jemisin   
• Searching for Sylvie Lee -- Jean Kwok
• The Broken Gun -- Louis L'Amour
• ***The Never War -- DJ MacHale
• The Great Believers -- Rebecca Makkai
• Station Eleven -- Emily St John Mandel
• Atonement -- Ian McEwan 
• The Song of Achilles -- Madeline Miller
• The Red House Mystery -- AA Milne
• Nine Perfect Strangers -- Lianne Moriarty
• 1984 -- George Orwell
• Crocodile on the Sandbank -- Elizabeth Peters
• A Woman is No Man -- Etaf Rum
• The Midnight Lie -- Marie Rutkoski
• Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe-- Benjamin Alire Saenz
• The Power of the Dog -- Thomas Savage
• What If It's Us -- Adam Silvera & Becky Albertalli
• The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes -- Elissa R Sloane
• Mr Rosenblum Dreams in English -- Natasha Solomons
• Something in the Water-- Catherine Steadman
• Roadside Picnic -- Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
• Veronica Mars & the Thousand Dollar Tan Line -- Rob Thomas & Jennifer Graham
• The Big Door Prize -- MO Walsh
• The Woman in Cabin 10 -- Ruth Ware
• All the King's Men -- Robert Penn Warren

Books to Quarantine With

 What an utterly strange year. I'm not the first nor the hundredth to say it, but this one didn't go like I anticipated. But what will go on as in other years: my annual reading recap and recommendations. 

Totals: 77 books-- 39 nonfiction/ 38 fiction

Page count:  27,648 pages-- 13,322 nonfiction / 14326 fiction

Top Ten Reads of 2020

1. The Mirage Factory: Illusion, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles by Gary Krist

I loved this book. Loved it. I have tried a couple "city histories" over the years but none have really grabbed me like this one. Told mainly through the stories of three powerhouses in different segments of LA: movies (DW Griffith), infrastructure (William Mulholland), and mysticism (Aimee Semple McPherson), Gary Krist paid equal attention to each character and how they contributed to the culture Los Angeles is famous for today. I didn't want to put it down. It also made me want to visit sunny LA again.

2. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Perhaps the perfect quarantine novel. In 1922 Count Alexander is sentenced to spend the rest of his life in one hotel in Moscow. For the next thirty years we meet the guests, staff, and politicians whirling in and out of his circle as he muses on everything from poetry to the perfect dinner menu. But don't be fooled, it's not just thinking. The Count keeps busy with work, love, and the children of the hotel that find their way into his heart. It wasn't what I thought it would be, it was better.

3. Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell 

I love his podcast so it's no surprise that I greatly enjoyed this new book about communication, both what we think we're good at and what we're actually quite bad at. The audiobook version was produced in a podcast adjacent style, with interviewees reading their own sections where possible, which was also a nice touch. International espionage, alcohol and consent, and mistaking truth for lies, amid much more.

4. Grant by Ron Chernow

My first Ron Chernow biography! I've avoided this author throughout the years through a mix of wariness of the time commitment and the hype, but I'm glad I finally dove in. I've been working my way through presidential biographies and #18, Ulysses S (did you know the S was a clerical error? His real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant?) really impressed me as one of the greats. A deeply honest man, a master soldier, and a loyal husband and citizen. Yes, Chernow is as good as all the reviews have said.

5.  A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A tiny slip of a book sandwiched on this list between two much larger tomes but it proves that it's not the size of the book that counts, but the size of the story's heart. I cried on the train reading this book. I don't want to say too much but if you're looking for a light hearted read this is not the one for you right now. (For a less loss-centric Patrick Ness book check out The Rest of Us Just Live Here.)

6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

It was January 2018 and I was in New York City for the first time, at a Tenement Museum on the Lower East Side. I had come with a group of Utah theatre lovers and my friend Corina and I were looking at books in the gift shop. "Have you read this?" she asked me, pointing to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I said no and she was aghast. "You HAVE to." I put it on my list that day but it didn't happen until this year. She was right, this book is a treasure. Francie grows up in Brooklyn in the early days of the 20th century with all the happiness, hardship, and daily life that entails. Really feels like a time capsule to another life.

7. Permanent Record by Edward Snowden

Everyone has an opinion on Edward Snowden but I really think this book is worth a read no matter what you think. I was struck by how much thought and turmoil went into Snowden's decisions. And while I rather expected it to be a dry read (and there are technical sections, don't get me wrong), Snowden's personality and humor made it go quicker than I anticipated.

8. The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History by Nathalia Holt

If you're a Disney lover this one is a must read. Nathalia Holt takes us behind the scenes of classic films like Cinderella and Bambi all the way up through Frozen as women worked their way through the ranks of the Disney boys' club. Although these animators were often not credited in the early days of animation (common practice at the time), without their hard work and artistic talent the films would not be what they are.

9. Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Lovely. A wonderful book that unfolds in layers with each character and plot line not quite what it seemed to be at first glance. I love Fredrik Backman and his compassionate look at humanity. Thankfully this one is not as melancholy as A Man Called Ove, although that is still his best work. This little puzzle box deals with an apartment viewing, a police investigation, and a bank robbery that never happened. Highly recommend.

10. Mozart's Starling by Lyanda Lynn Haupt

I was in the midst of a reading slump this fall. Quarantine had closed everything, I needed something new, and audiobooks are just not the same. When we moved back to the Utah and got to go inside a library again, I cried. Libraries have always been my happy place and I get so excited by the prospect of learning new things. Wandering the shelves I found this book and it totally cured me. Mozart had a starling as a pet, and so does the author. A quick read on Mozart and his music  and starlings in general. Did you know they can mimic human speech? And I learned what a murmuration is. 

Honorable Mentions

Fiction: We Are Okay by Nina LaCour

Nonfiction: All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything by Sasha Chapin

And now, all the rest! 

As always, I'm always looking for recommendations for what you enjoyed, and I'm also thrilled to give more personalized recommendations or discussion on anything on the list! 

Also as always, recommendations are bolded and rereads are marked with *** and books are listed alphabetically by author

Nonfiction

Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man-- Emmanuel Acho

Saturday Night Widows: The Adventures of Six Friends Remaking Their Lives-- Becky Aikman

Lessons From Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog-- Dave Barry

The Grand Escape: The Greatest Prison Breakout of the 20th Century - Neal Bascomb

The New One: Painfully True Stories from a Reluctant Dad-- Mike Birbiglia

Solutions and Other Problems-- Allie Brosh

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness-- Susannah Cahalan 

Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of 20th Century China-- Jung Chang

All the Wrong Moves: A Memoir About Chess, Love, and Ruining Everything-- Sasha Chapin

Grant-- Ron Chernow

***Mao's Last Dancer-- Li Cunxin

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea-- Barbara Demick

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About the People We Don't Know-- Malcolm Gladwell

A Romance on Three Legs: Glenn Gould's Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Piano - Katie Hafner

Mozart's Starling-- Lyanda Lynn Haupt

Reporter: A Memoir-- Seymour Hersh

The Queens of Animation: The Untold Story of the Women Who Transformed the World of Disney and Made Cinematic History-- Nathalia Holt

The Recovering-- Leslie Jamison

Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture-- Ken Jennings

The Mirage Factory: Illusions, Imagination, and the Invention of Los Angeles-- Gary Krist

Pirate Hunters: Treasure, Obsession, and the Search for a Legendary Pirate Ship-- Robert Kurson

After Lincoln: How the North Won the Civil War and Lost the Peace-- AJ Langguth

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin-- Erik Larson

The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations-- John McCain

The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly: A Physician's First Year-- Matt McCarthy

Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World-- William McRaven

The Avenger Takes His PLace: Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed a Nation-- Howard Means

The Greatest Love Story Ever Told-- Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally

Ungovernable: The Victorian Parent's Guide to Raising Flawless Children-- Therese Oneill 

Expecting Better-- Emily Oster

Truth & Beauty: A Friendship-- Ann Patchett

Chasing the Devil: My Twenty Year Quest to Capture the Green River Killer-- Dave Reichert

Is This Anything? -- Jerry Seinfeld

A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Ann Bradstreet to Annie Proulx-- Elaine Showalter

Permanent Record-- Edward Snowden

My Beloved World-- Sonia Sotomayor

The Answer Is: Reflections on My Life-- Alex Trebek

A. Lincoln: A Biography - Ronald C White Jr

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary -- Simon Winchester

Fiction

Northanger Abbey-- Jane Austen

Anxious People-- Fredrik Backman

Mercy Snow-- Tiffany Baker

World War Z-- Max Brooks

***Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism-- Georgia Byng

To Capture What We Cannot Keep-- Beatrice Colin

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes-- Suzanne Collins

The Passage-- Justin Cronin

The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse-- Louise Erdrich

Careful What You Wish For-- Hallie Ephron

***Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine-- Gail Honeyman

An American Marriage-- Tayari Jones

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat-- Sofie Kelly

The Institute-- Stephen King

We Are Okay-- Nina LaCour

A Star is Bored-- Byron Lane

Is This Tomorrow?-- Caroline Leavitt

***The Lost City of Faar-- DJ MacHale

Prayers the Devil Answers-- Sharyn McCrumb

The Silent Patient-- Alex Michaelides

Anne of Windy Poplars-- Lucy Maud Montgomery

A Monster Calls-- Patrick Ness

The Rest of Us Just Live Here-- Patrick Ness

To Sleep in a Sea of Stars-- Christopher Paolini

Hogfather-- Terry Pratchett

Lords and Ladies-- Terry Pratchett

Men at Arms-- Terry Pratchett

***The Titan's Curse-- Rick Riordan

***The Battle of the Labyrinth-- Rick Riordan

***The Last Olympian-- Rick Riordan

The Second Mrs Hockaday-- Susan Rivers

The Island of Sea Women-- Lisa See (I am recommending with a caution that this does contain very graphic violence and I was not prepared)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn-- Betty Smith

The Warden's Daughter-- Jerry Spinelli

A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

A Gentleman in Moscow-- Amor Towles

Sing, Unburied, Sing - Jesmyn Ward

Maisie Dobbs-- Jacqueline Winspear

"No man is a failure who has friends."

Today is my birthday. I am 28. I love birthdays! I love that humans come up with all sorts of reasons to celebrate and one of them is the day we were born. Just like my favorite holiday, New Year's, it gives me an opportunity to reflect on the last year and think about my goals for the upcoming twelve months.

This year for my birthday Justin put together a favorite memory of my list gathered from many of my friends and family and it made me cry. Full on crying on the couch because I love you all. Thank you. Thank you for sharing your lives with me and letting me be a part of it. Sometimes I wonder if I have made an impact on anyone and reading all those recollections means so much to me. I'm saving it forever to read on rainy days. Thank you.

So here are some of my favorite memories of you lovelies.

Carli: I am so lucky that you made such an effort to befriend me when I honestly had no real friends in Pennsylvania. You took me under your wing and adopted me into your squad and coming to rehearsals to talk with you was a highlight! You got so excited to wear the "mermaid" wigs and then the struggle with "do I wear shoes or not." And then eating at Plaza Azteca and the mariachi band kept playing trying to get us to leave ahhahah. And of course always down for a very serious discussion of fictional universes... I remember you explaining how Kylo could maybe not be dead and were so passionate about it. I love you!

Joshua W: I remember when you were younger you would do anything to get a laugh! Such a born comedian. And one time I called you on your birthday when you were probably five and I asked how you were doing and you said, "You know, Rebecca, I'm pretty busy these days." I loved taking you to the aquarium! I love you!

Lydia: I remember when you came to Utah for your eye surgery and I got to see you. I was sorry that you had to go to surgery but was so impressed with how brave you were. When we went on our Florida adventure a few years ago I loved being your buddy for part of it and taking you on the Spiderman 3D ride-- I think I was more scared than you were! I also loved taking you to the aquarium. I love you!

Elise: When I interviewed for moving into the Bunker Hill house I was so overwhelmed and coming from a bad breakup and not ready for more rejection, which I was sure was coming. But I got the room! And from day one you were so kind and welcoming and were like "you can't sleep on the floor let's bring your mattress upstairs" hahaha. Talking with you in the house was like chicken soup for my soul and I have so many fond memories in my journal-- in one of the early ones I wrote "Elise makes it easy to be myself" and I am so blessed to know you! Also I remember you took me clothes shopping before a date once and helped me figure out things that would look good and that is a skill I do NOT have so I'm really grateful. I love you and I value your friendship so much!

Nicole: I was so impressed with your generosity and kindness to let me and Nova stay with you before our flight, and how you and your family came to help me pack up the Utah apartment before the move. You are such a great sister in law and I know if I have questions where I need "a more adult adult" I can ask you. I remember coming to your house for a singalong, around Christmas, I think? and thinking "Wow this is such a cute little house and a cute happy family and I'm glad I know them."

Emily: I loved working with you at WGU and sometimes getting lunch and giving real talk about the questionable management decisions that were being made hahaha. I remember inviting you to the preview performance of Oliver and I was so nervous because I was sick and I really wanted you to like the show. And then after you were so excited and supportive and it made me feel like I could do it. I also love your crafts and someday I am definitely going to order a blanket from you because they are simply the best!

Dad: I remember during my opera at Northwest you left a note on my door that said "Good luck with the show, I love you!" and it meant a lot to me. I also remember in middle school my math teacher jokingly said "what does your dad know?" when I said you'd helped me with my homework and I said "He is a math professor at Northwest College!" because I have always been so proud of you and wanted people to know I was your daughter. I love you!

Colette: I just love talking to you! And I love hearing you DM Justin's game in the background on Wednesdays and how much fun the boys have playing with you. You are so imaginative and quick on your feet, and also I was freaking dying when you were playing the tiefling in Carli's game and teasing Jason. I'm so glad to have met you!

Shelbey: I had pretty much written off making real friends in that huge First Christmas cast but then we got assigned to the same dressing room and the rest is history! I remember when you told me you were pregnant with Marius and I was almost screaming I was so excited. You are a true friend and I always know that you'll give me real talk for whatever problem I'm having. And it was so fun to see you for Christmas a couple years ago. Also I loved when you messaged me about Harry Potter house compatibility between you and Nathanael because that stuff is important! I love you!

Emma M: I loved getting to know you during Drowsy Chaperone! And how we would run around backstage raving about Hamilton and Welcome to Nightvale and everyone called us twins. I could be so silly with you and it was such a joy to find someone with the same sense of humor. I remember OF COURSE coming up with Meet the Neighbors and Shimmer, the trophy wife of Gandalf. And playing Cards Against Humanity with you and Jeremy. You are awesome!

Jeremy: I remember going to see your sci fi murder mystery at the science museum, the one where you were a robot (or android? something like that) and being impressed with how you stayed in character the whole night. I also remember me and Emma casting you in the role of "scientist bee" in our movie because you kept correcting our science and no, I can't explain it any better than that. You are a gentleman and a scholar and I'm glad to know you.

Matthew: I still haven't got to see you since your mission! But from your letters and calls I've seen you really grow up and it's crazy to me that my little brother is a real adult now, out there living life! I remember once you gave me a Valentine in code and I still have it in a memory box. Can't wait till we can see each other again, I love you!

Julia: I love being your sister! You are so funny and kind and totally get me. I remember when we went to Florida just you, me, and Beth and were flying standby on the way home because we missed our original flight. The flight attendant put us behind the door of the loading hallway and was like, "I need to tell the people that the plane has been loaded." I was so happy we all made that flight. And from that same trip I remember our bus driver, Terry, "B for best!" I remember telling you that we were changing our wedding date so that you could be there and being so happy that you were one of my bridesmaids! I love you!

Dallin: I remember playing the Harry Potter board/card game with you guys over Christmas and you were Neville and totally the healing master! I remember watching Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Virginia and sitting by you and we both were so excited! I love you!

David: I have loved watching you grow up and when I get to visit you! I remember a long time ago, in 2012, when we were at Disneyland me and you were on Mr Toad's Wild Ride when it shut down in the middle and we had to walk out on foot. I have never had to do that on a Disney ride before! I love you!

Bethany: Honestly one of the funniest people I know. I remember camping FOREVER ago and you coming up with a story about a failing court jester who wasn't funny, but the story was. "Haha. Ho ho. You have great potential as a jester." I remember playing paper dolls and mixing up all the clothes and Ariel looked good in everything. I treasure your book of Lord of the Rings illustrations and I remember how obsessed we were with John Dee and Niccolo Machiavelli and that we hated the series ending. I love talking to you and hearing about college and I love you so much!

Mama: I have so many memories! I remember coming home to surprise you for Thanksgiving the first year that I moved to Utah and you were so happy and surprised. I remember taking senior pictures at the church by the library and being so proud of my blonde hair. I remember when we were driving to Utah on Christmas for Joshua to be born and everything was so scary and I put my hat weaving loom around my face and said I was Padme Amidala from Episode I and you smiled and I felt good. I remember when it seemed like my wedding dress wasn't going to fit and you sewed it up perfect while I was freaking out. I loved getting to see you in Philadelphia and showing you the Navy Yard. I love you so much!

Scott: I remember you just sending the craziest memes to me after you gave your two weeks notice and I was like "I don't get these at ALL." And then I took the screenshot of The Face and you set it as your desktop hahhaha. I remember having a rough day once and we went hiking and it was a really nice thing for you to do. Also, when you came to help me pack up the Utah apartment and let us use your car to take trips back and forth to the truck. That meant a lot to me that you came to help; I appreciate your friendship. And Kylo Ren is emo.

MaryAnne: You have always been such a firecracker, MaryAnne! I remember when I came home for Christmas one year you just kept hugging me and it made me feel so good to know that I had been missed. I remember seeing YOUR play in Virginia and how good you were in it. I also remember when we stayed at the house in Florida over Christmas I found you sleeping all sprawled out across the bed like you had been dropped from the sky. It didn't look comfy at all but you were totally sound asleep! I love you!

Aaron: I loved seeing you in Philadelphia, it was such a surprise! And I remember waiting for you to be born and thinking every day, this has got to be the day! I love you!

Emma W: It was so awesome to have three days with just you visiting us last year! I was so struck by how much you have grown up since I lived at home and what a mature person you are now. You told me you wanted to try a real Philly cheesesteak and so I decided I would try again, since the first one I tried I didn't like. But the ones we got were amazing and I'm so glad that was your request! I remember walking all over that huge art museum and thinking "how could there possibly be more??" And getting lost on the subway with you in New York trying to find the Empire State building. But we found it! I love you!

Tessa: I remember the first time you came over to my house and I really wanted you to like me and we filmed "commercials" on your video camera. And that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. I remember calling you at all hours of the night to talk about whatever guy I was crushing on at the time, and how I wrote that crazy letter to Nick and you and I went and watched the ants to distract me from him reading it, hahahahha. I remember sitting in your car before/during/after seminary and drinking purple panther juice. Doing Midsummer Nights's Dream and Awesome 80s Prom and dealing with Fred, hahah. You have taught me to dream big and not to get discouraged if things don't work out the way I want them to right away. I never feel judged by you. We have so many shared experiences-- seeing "Bartholomew" throwing javelins, haha, or stalking the Catholic church. I am so lucky to have your friendship and I can't wait to see you once I get back in the west!! I love you!!

Grandma Midge: I remember when I was eight or nine winning a prize of memorizing the Articles of Faith and getting to bake cookies with you and feeling so lucky and special! You were such a wonderful teacher and role model for me! And of course I have loved spending time with your family and feeling lucky to be included with those wonderful Cozzens. I love you!

Jess and Jaden: Oh my GOSH the My Little Pony fiasco was TOO MUCH TO HANDLE. I remember when Trevor, in response to a bananas in pajamas reference, said “Do your bananas go natural?” and I had to grab Jess’s wrist to stop from completely exploding. I remember Jess and I coming up with Jaden's future food cart / tattoo shop -- Jatertots Jatertats. And Jess, I remember driving to the U with you to get our IDs and having such a great time and Matt making cryptic passive aggressive comments hahhaa. I remember you guys coming over to feed Nova while we were in the process of moving and it was so much less stressful for me knowing that she was in such good hands. I love you guys!

Amber: I don't even know where to start! You are a true kindred spirit. I was worried when you moved to Oregon that we wouldn't talk anymore but thankfully that has not been the case! I remember when we were in the ward with Sister Smith, I think her name was, and we were making chicken for something and part of it had to be vegan and I forgot and then just said, "......we're almost done." I remember watching Downton Abbey with you and making fun of almost everyone, and sitting talking late at night watching the DVD icon bounce around. I remember taking pictures at your wedding reception and a butterfly landed on your bouquet and a fly landed on me. The photographer said "maybe you'll get a butterfly on your birthday" and I said "IT IS MY BIRTHDAY." When Justin and I came out to visit you guys after Sam was born is one of my favorite memories; it was so wonderful to see you again and with a baby no less! I love you so much!

Grandma and Grandpa Sharp: I always remember how generous it was for you to take me in when I first moved to Utah and had no plan or any idea what I was doing! I remember being really unsure of what was going to happen, and you made me feel like I could figure it out, and eventually I did. I remember waiting for you at the airport after your mission and being so happy to see you. I loved coming over for so many Sunday dinners and holidays and family reunions and have always felt like I could talk to you about anything. I remember when I was younger Grandma calling me on the phone and that made me feel really special to talk to her like an "adult." I remember borrowing Grandpa's Lord of the Rings books to read and then talking about them with him. I am so grateful for you being my grandparents and I love you!!

Katie G: Oh man so many. I remember scheming with you to start fake drama at the house by leaving out my library books on the counter and you were going to group text "WHOSE ARE THESE." You planned the perfect bachelorette party and then I thought I lost my phone and you accidentally called the host of the escape room who was like five feet from us. I remember us sneakily looking at apartments together and Nova running at your door full speed to open it. I love going over to your house and playing games and telling you whatever weird neurotic anxiety I'm having at that moment. And I remember when Elise was reading us Harry Potter trivia and we were just SCREAMING the answers before she'd even give us the options.  I love you!

Grandma Karan: I remember going to your house for a summer reunion the summer after I graduated high school and you giving me life advice. I have always looked up to you and all the things you've done in your life. I also remember going river rafting with you and getting sunburned but having a blast. I love you!!

A Tale of Two Scanners

And in came to pass in the year 2020, in the month of FEBRUARY, that the court Rebecca worked at moved to a new location. Verily, the managers came around in the weeks preceding the move and said, "Here are your labels. Put them on your things and they shall be moved to the new building." And Rebecca did so and put her labels upon her belongings; lo, every belonging she put her name on. And the move came to pass in the month of MARCH.

No sooner had the court moved to the new building than lo a mighty plague fell upon the land, and its name was COVID-19, and the clerks were sent to work from home. And Rebecca worked from home all the remaining days of MARCH and also APRIL and MAY passed away as a dream, all work from home. No one could tell the night time from the day except by differing pairs of pajamas. And the people wailed and gnashed their teeth and said, "Oh, remember places, and when we could go to them?" and waited, and the days of work from home were fifty five. 

And on the fifty sixth day it was declared, "Thou shalt return to work Monday, Wednesday, Friday with face-coverings and the rest of the week thou shalt stay at home." And when Rebecca returned with her face-covering to work in the new office that first Monday in JUNE, lo! Her scanner was not to be found at her desk. And Rebecca knew that she had labeled it, for she had labeled all of her belongings. She used the scanner often, yea, even every day, and she knew that it was labeled.

A scanner was at the desk, but it was not Rebecca's. And Rebecca saw that it was labeled "Crystal," and, being wise, went to the desk of Crystal to reason. "Is this not your scanner?" she asked. And Crystal looked, and saw that it was her scanner, and said, "Yea, and I have yours." And they looked and saw that the scanners had been switched, and thinking this had been done in error, went to take each their own.

Just as they were about to complete the bargain, however, a Manager was passing and hearkened and said, "Halt! The scanners have been switched and thou shalt not switch them back." Rebecca questioned, "why" and also questioned Crystal "why" but the Manager said, "Only know that they have been switched and the enjoyment of your scanning shall be manifold. Now return to your desks and let it be done as I have said."

But Rebecca doubted and thought, "Is that not my scanner? Has it not scanned for me these many months before the move? Why should it not scan for me again?" But being wary of the Manager's reproof she returned to her desk and set to work. 

When the hour came that she should scan, Rebecca pushed the button and behold! Nothing happened. And she saw that the new scanner was not set up for her computer, lo, the computer could not speak to it. And IT was called and IT said, "That is not our department". And an IT guy from the other department came and he said, "The computer and the scanner speak not to each other, nay, nor is it within my power to make them." But he also spoke, "And yet I shall install this program which shall speak to both of them and perhaps they will hearken to each other." 

And the IT man did as he had said. And Rebecca saw that the new way of scanning took forever and was not good. Where before it had taken only one click, now the clicks seemed too many as to be counted. The next day she saw that it was still the same. And the next was the same, and Rebecca despaired. The hours of her scanning were now seemingly as long as the day itself when before they had taken hardly a thought. 

So she said in her heart "let me go to Crystal again and reason with her," knowing that the scanner had spoken to Crystal's computer as if brother to brother. So coming again to Crystal Rebecca said, "Please let me have my scanner back" and Crystal was afraid, seeing how the scanner and caused Rebecca to have much trouble scanning, and said "will my old scanner still work?" and Rebecca promised that she would not depart from Crystal until she was assured that Crystal's scanner would work as it had in the days before. 

And so the accord was struck between them.

And on that very day Rebecca arrived with the old scanner of Crystal and she hooked it up and tested a document, yea, a sample document, and it scanned as quickly as it had before. And Crystal was satisfied and released Rebecca's scanner unto her and Rebecca rejoiced mightily. Yet her rejoicings were silent lest the Manager hear her and say "Hark, is that not the scanner which I have instructed you to keep?" And yet there was no reason that she should not have her old scanner, verily, the old scanner let her work be done in a twinkling, and Crystal the same.

And Rebecca's old scanner was transported back to her desk, and hooked up and set in a place of honor, where she could look upon it easily. And Rebecca did a sample scan and the scanner and the printer spoke to each other with one voice, as though they had never been separated. And Rebecca was glad and said, "Truly I will appreciate this scanner all the days of my life, now that it has been taken from me and is returned." 

And later in the week the Manager passing by asked if each employee was happy with the new office and each in their turn said "yea." Crystal in her turn said "yea" and Rebecca also said "yea, I am pleased." Rebecca and Crystal cast their eyes upon each other and smiled, and knew that it was true.

And it came to pass that never again did the Manager mention the scanner after that first day, nor think of it at all, as the matters that concerned her were many; and though the scanner was to Rebecca as bread, to the Manager it was one of the sands of the sea. And Rebecca scanned quickly every day and was pleased. 

******
A tiny victory, but these days I'll take what victories I can get!

2019 Books

Another year done! Another decade, even! I didn't read as many books as last year, but I visited a ton more states and moved two thousand miles, so I guess that's the trade off. Some really good finds this year. Also note that since I started keeping track in 2011 I've read 705 books. Not too shabby :) 

Totals:
65 books, 34 nonfiction/31 fiction
Page Count: 21,820,  10,498 NF / 11,322 fiction (GoT and Chuck Wendig really boosted fiction)

Top 10 Reads of 2019 

1. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman

The first book in a long time that I finished and immediately read again. WONDERFUL. I'm was genuinely angry to discover it was Ms Honeyman's first book, because no one has the right to be that talented right away and I needed much more to binge! It's about a lonely woman in a bleak time of her life; it's uplifting and sweet and completely human. One of the only books since A Man Called Ove that I actually cried while reading. Recommend to anyone who has ever felt like the world is full of rules and secrets everyone else knows but you somehow missed the class on. 

2. The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago - Douglas Perry

In my opinion there is nothing better than a good nonfiction read, and this one brings 1920s Chicago to life. All the women, both the murderesses and the reporter who couldn't believe men were being fooled by their beautiful facades, are depicted in a way that makes you feel like you know them. I was shocked at how much dialogue from Chicago came right out of court testimony. Highly recommend for any musical theatre or jazz age buffs.

3. The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb - Sam Kean

Sam Kean seems to make my list every year he puts a new book out! (And I thought that even before he responded to a fan email I sent him.) My favorite science writer, hands down. This year's book was right up my alley, detailing the struggles of World War II scientists in their race against Nazi Germany to create the atomic bomb. This was a side of the war I hadn't learned much about, Curies, Kennedys, and other famous names abound. The outcome may seem inevitable now, but when in the beginning it seemed like the Germans would seize the prize of atomic bombs first.

4. Ambition and Desire: The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte - Kate Williams

Last year a biography of Clementine Churchill was one that stuck with me. This year, it's the wife of Napoleon, Josephine Bonaparte. While she certainly knew how to scheme and politic with the best of them, Napoleon truly did view her as his lucky charm and love of his life. There are some twists and turns in her fortune, but in the end she was inevitably tied to the general from Corsican, and certainly a lot of his success with those in power in France can be attributed to Josephine.

5. The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah

Wow, this is quite a novel. Alaska, after the Vietnam War, a family of three in a state so wild and empty (at least in terms of humans) that most of us can't really fathom it. I also reading Into the Wild this year; Alaska is a dangerous and beautiful place, maybe the last real wilderness left to us. This book features young love, but also fear. Fear of missing out, fear of physical danger, both from man and nature, and fear that comes from being somewhere completely alone, where all you have is what you can do. I didn't love the ending but the rest of the book is so good that it makes the list anyway.

6. The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age - Deborah Blum

This is a great companion to The Girls of Murder City, but in the Big Apple. Until the last century, poison was an ideal murder weapon, almost impossible to detect, much less be criminally convicted for, even if the death was seen as suspicious. Until Charles Norris and Alexander Gettler were put on the case, that is. This book covers many common poisons, how they kill, real life examples, and how science was able to bring them into the light, and justice. Fascinating.

7. Becoming - Michelle Obama

Ms Obama has no interest in running for public office, but she'll be forever associated with politics. Growing up in Chicago, meeting and marrying future president Barack Obama, her experiences with presidential campaigns and living in the White House are all recounted in her down to earth style memoir. I especially appreciated her opening up about her struggles to conceive, as fertility issues are not discussed openly enough and are nothing to be ashamed about.

8. Strangers on a Train - Patricia Highsmith

I'm a sucker for a good thriller, and this one is a classic for a reason. If you met someone on a train who, after both of you indulged in a few drinks, promised to eliminate a person that was causing you problems, what would your response be? And what if that troublesome person turned up dead? And now the stranger on a train is saying, "You owe me"? Gave me shivers.

9. The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - Daniel James Brown

Who doesn't love a good underdog story? Washington State was an underdog not just at the Olympics, but to get there as well, as fancy East Coast schools had the highest rating crew (rowing) teams. This book follows several of the boys destined to go to the Olympics through the Depression and beyond. I loved it-- humans are survivors.

10. A Fighting Chance - Elizabeth Warren

I love Elizabeth Warren and intend to vote for her in the Democratic primary. This memoir covers her early life in Oklahoma, professorship at many universities including Harvard, work with financial reform and big banks, up through her successful campaign for Massachusetts Senate. I listened to this via audiobook because it's read by Senator Warren, and she's warm and funny and passionate, delightful. And very smart.

Honorable mention: 
Fiction: Witches Abroad - Terry Pratchett

Nonfiction: I'm Sorry... Love, Your Husband: Honest, Hilarious Stories From a Father of Three Who Made All the Mistakes (And Made Up For Them)-- Clint Edwards


And now the full list, alphabetical by author, rereads marked with ***, recommendations bolded. I hope you enjoy!


Nonfiction

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings -- Maya Angelou

Don't Wait Up: Confessions of a Stay at Work Mom -- Liz Astrof (this one seems light at first but be warned it gets deals with the author's abusive childhood, real heavy)

James Buchanan-- Jean H Baker

Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose -- Joe Biden

***Song of Spider-Man: The Inside Story of the Most Controversial Musical in Broadway History -- Glen Berger

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder & the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York-- Deborah Blum

***James Madison -- Richard Brookhiser

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans & Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics -- Daniel James Brown

American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century-- Maureen Callahan

Swimming to Antarctica -- Lynne Cox

Evicted: Poverty & Profit in the American City -- Matthew Desmond

Life Itself: A Memoir -- Roger Ebert

Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America -- Firoozeh Dumas
I'm Sorry... Love, Your Husband: Honest, Hilarious Stories From a Father of Three Who Made All the Mistakes (And Made Up For Them)-- Clint Edwards

My Girls: A Lifetime With Carrie and Debbie - Todd Fisher

Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, & Championed Pit Bulls One Flying Disc at a Time-- Jim Gorant

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed -- Lori Gottlieb

A Secret Gift: How One Man's Kindness and a Trove of Letters Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression -- Ted Gup

I'm Not a Terrorist, But I've Played One on TV: Memoirs of a Middle Eastern Funny Man -- Maz Jobrani

The Bastard Brigade: The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb -- Sam Kean

Into the Wild -- Jon Krakuer

Little Demon in the City of Light: A Story of Murder and Mesmerism in Belle Epoque Paris-- Steven Livingston

No Happy Endings: A Memoir -- Nora McInerny 

Becoming -- Michelle Obama

Know Your Power: A Message to America's Daughters-- Nancy Pelosi

The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, & the Beautiful Girls Who Inspired Chicago -- Douglas Perry

On My Own-- Diane Rehm

Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs on Our Canine Cross Country Adventure -- David Rosenfelt

This Land That I Love, Irving Berlin, Woody Guthrie, and the Story of Two American Anthems -- John Shaw

Better By Mistake: The Unexpected Benefits of Being Wrong -- Alina Tugend

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen-- Jose Antonio Vargas

A Fighting Chance -- Elizabeth Warren

Ambition and Desire: The Dangerous Life of Josephine Bonaparte-- Kate Williams

A Most Ingenious Paradox: The Art of Gilbert & Sullivan-- Gayden Wren




Fiction

***The Girl With All the Gifts -- MR Carey

City of Bones-- Cassandra Clare

Boneman's Daughters-- Ted Dekker

The Wonder -- Emma Donoghue

Schoolgirl Missing -- Sue Fortin

Good Omens -- Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

E is for Evidence -- Sue Grafton

Less-- Andrew Sean Greer

The Great Alone-- Kristin Hannah

Strangers on a Train-- Patricia Highsmith

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine -- Gail Honeyman (read twice)

The Haunting of Hill House -- Shirley Jackson

Three Men in a Boat-- Jerome K Jerome

The Everything Box -- Richard Kadrey

Genuine Fraud -- E Lockhart (I would recommend it except I HATED the ending)

A Dance With Dragons -- George RR Martin

***Anne of Avonlea -- Lucy Maud Montgomery

*** Anne of the Island -- Lucy Maud Montgomery

Truly, Madly, Guilty-- Liane Moriarty

Sula  -- Toni Morrison

Moving Pictures -- Terry Pratchett

Witches Abroad-- Terry Pratchett

Reaper Man-- Terry Pratchett

Small Gods-- Terry Pratchett

The House of Brass-- Ellergy Queen

***The Lightning Thief -- Rick Riordan

*** The Sea of Monsters-- Rick Riordan

Love & First Sight -- Josh Sundquist

***The Adventures of Tom Sawyer -- Mark Twain

The Fate of Mercy Alban -- Wendy Webb

Wanderers-- Chuck Wendig