Last year was the first full year that I kept track of my books on Goodreads. Previously, I used Shelfari, but they closed the site down and sent all of us to Goodreads. It was a frustrating transition. I finally got most of my books moved over, but it was impossible to get all the dates correct. I’ve gotten used to Goodreads, but never really liked it as much as Shelfari until the end of the year when they posted my end of the year stats. My goal for 2016 was to read 36 books (3 books/month). I read 10 m0re than that; probably a record since I started keeping track of what I read in 1986. The number of pages was rather impressive, too—14,330. Reading the Bible cover to cover last year did add a significant number of pages to the total. 

So, what can I recommend? I left the Bible out of the running, since it’s a rather daunting undertaking. Very glad I did it; learned a lot, and am surprised at how much I remember when references to it come up, but not something most people are interested in pursuing.

The first book I read in 2016 was one of my favorites: 10% Happier by Dan Harris. My OLW last year was Mindful, and Dan’s book about his exploration of mindfulness and mediation after having experienced a panic attack while reading the news on Good Morning, America was a great read. It’s funny, insightful, and has one of the better lists of meditation practices that I read last year. 

When Breath Becomes Air was a devastating, but significant, read. One of the most important books I’ve ever read was Being Mortal by Atul Gawande. Kalanithi’s diagnosis of terminal cancer just as he was completing his residency in neurosurgery shares the same philosophy about end of life issues as Gawande, also a neurosurgeon. Despite it’s tragic end, it’s an uplifting book, and beautifully written.

Our book group chose Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking to discuss last year. One of our members felt the research was just too encompassing (it’s nearly 400 pages long), but I found it fascinating. I learned a lot about myself, and about both of my children.

I read a library copy of Convictions last year, and will reread it again this year since I now have my own copy. It made me think hard about what I believe and why. I’m not done thinking about this book or my convictions. It was probably the most thought-provoking book I read last year.

The couple that hosts our book group is responsible for putting out three titles from which the group chooses the next book. This is one Tracy and I proposed that did not get chosen, but I thought it was better than the one we read for book group—The Muralist by Shapiro. It’s well researched, but clearly a novelized account of Georgia O’Keefe’s life. Very readable, and fascinating.

This was another book that wasn’t chosen by our book group. It’s only the second book by Alice Hoffman that I’ve read. (She’s prolific.) It’s another fascinating novel based on a true story. It’s about the mother of Camille Pissaro, one of the first of the Impressionists. His mother grew up on St. Thomas, an idyllic island, but one that thwarted her desires and ambitions. It provides an evocative look at the small Jewish refugee community on the island as well as the passionate and scandalous love affair of Pissaro’s parents.

I’ll read anything written by Ann Patchett. Her novel, Bel Canto, remains one of my all-time favorite novels. I thoroughly enjoyed Commonwealth, although I found it a bit harder to read due to a narrative that jumps back and forth in time over 50 years, chronically two families, bonded by the affair and eventual marriage of two of the parents. I started reading it on my Kindle, but ended up getting a library copy so it was easier to flip back and forth. Once I had a hard copy in my hands, it was a much easier read, and as always, well-written.

This was one of the last books I read in 2016, but I loved it, and wrote about it here. The even divide between non-fiction and fiction is pretty typical of a year of reading for me. I probably read a bit more non-fiction overall, but when I thought about the best books of the year, it turned out to be an even-split.

What were your favorite reads last year? I’m always looking for recommendations even though my “to read” list has more books on it than I have time to read. I keep moving them around, adding new ones, picking up another title at the library, and finding new interests.

There are a lot of BEST OF lists on the internet, and I thought I’d post one of my own before January got away from me. I read 36 books in 2015. I’d be able to finish more if I gave up a hobby or two, or spent less time reading blogs, but this seems like the right amount for now—an average of three books a month. When we’re traveling I usually get more reading done, so that helps average out the months when I’m home and overcommitted. What interests me the most about this list is that it’s heavily fiction. Only three of the nineteen non-fiction books ended up on my top ten this year. I think that’s unusual. So here they are, though not ranked in this list from #1 to #10. That was simply too hard.

This was one of our book group books this year, and although I wasn’t particularly excited about reading it, I absolutely loved it. Even though I knew the outcome before I ever started reading the book, I was on the edge of my chair, rooting for the team in almost every race. I was fascinated by the popularity of crew in the 1930’s. A good friend of mine’s son races competitively (he recently placed in the Pan-American games) and there are not crowds of thousands lining up to watch those races today. I also enjoyed the descriptions of how the boats were built, though one member of our group found that too repetitive. 

I was a bit reluctant to read this book, but I’m so glad I did. I would love to be part of a discussion group about it; the issues and themes are so complex and so important. The first two sentences are: “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” A young Chinese American girl has died, and slowly we begin to see from each family member’s recollections a picture of her life at home and at school. The subtle communication that parents give their children, sibling rivalry, parent favoritism, quiet but effective bullying at school—there’s lots to think about in this novel.

I’m not quite sure how I came upon this book, but I’ve recommended it to many of my friends. It begins in a small town in Turkey where a man’s grandfather has died. When he travels from Istanbul to the family home, he discovers that his grandfather has left the family estate to unknown stranger in California. His travels to find the heir uncover a long and tragic history as well as a powerful love story.

It had been a long time since I read an espionage novel, and this is an unusual, but engrossing one. It takes place over a dinner in California between a former CIA agent and a current CIA agent who was formerly a colleague. I had to reread the ending twice to be sure I had gotten it right!

I’m afraid I usually think of Kristen Hannah as an author of “beach books,” but this one got so much press that I decided to read it. I could barely put it down. It’s the story of two sisters in France during World War II separated by geography, ideology, and circumstance. It’s a tale of survival and love at the home front and on the lines from two women’s perspectives. I probably need to reconsider reading some of her other novels.

This book is also set during World War II in Germany and France. It was another of our book group choices, and everyone in our group loved it. It’s a complicated story of a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths cross during the war. It’s beautifully written, suspenseful, and ultimately a story of redemption and goodness.

I’d read a lot of good reviews of this book, and was reacquainted with it when we visited the Northshire Book Store in Vermont this fall and saw one of their review cards. Shortly afterward, I found it on the shelf in our library and picked it up. Colm Tóibín writes masterful character studies. You won’t find a lot of action, but you’ll come to love the characters as they navigate their lives. Nora is newly widowed, the mother of two young sons, and trying to find her place in a world suddenly unfamiliar to her.

Shortly after I finished Nora Webster, I was in a lovely independent book store in Winnetka, and purchased a copy of  Brooklyn. It begins in the same Irish village as Nora Webster, and takes place before Nora Webster. I liked this book just as much as Nora Webster, if not more, and was delighted to discover it was about to released as a movie. Tracy and I saw it a few weeks ago, and although the book is better (almost always true), it’s a wonderful movie as well, and now has received several Oscar nominations. This one is ultimately a love story, and that is the focus of the movie. Read the book first!

I wrote a long blog post about this book earlier. It transformed my daily planning, and I’m still using all I learned. You can find that post here.

I loved Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, and was very disappointed in her sequel, Happiness at Home so I wasn’t too sure about reading her latest. I’m glad I did. I learned a bit about myself (always a good thing), and found the research about how we create habits, break habits, and maintain habits both fascinating and helpful.

I’ve spent the better part of two days (with help from Tracy and the Goodreads staff) trying to export all my books from Shelfari to Goodreads. Shelfari will cease to exist come March, so I have no choice. It’s been quite a process. At one point, over 900 books showed up on my Goodreads account, most of which I’d never heard or, let alone read. Over 100 books migrated with no date read. I keep a written journal as well, so I can at least identify the year, and I’m almost done updating that. I’ll be glad when it’s done! I still have to figure out how to get the Goodreads’ widget on my blog. I really like the Shelfari one, so I’m bummed about that.

I’d love to know some of the books you enjoyed in 2015.