Books Read 2009

Here’s a reverse-chronological list of all the books I’ve read in 2009. My rating system is out of five stars, but it’s not a comparison system, so all of the five stars aren’t of the same value, all of the four stars aren’t the same, etc. It’s more about my experience as I was reading the book-were there flaws? Did I absolutely love it and wish it wouldn’t end? Did I fear that it never would end? That being said, here’s my rough guideline; in practice, the line between 5s and 4s gets blurred a lot. (5=Extraordinary. I will immediately try to acquire other books by this author, 4=Very strong book, good writing style, really enjoyed, 3=A good read, possibly had one or two really strong areas, but the rest was average OR parts of the book were great and other parts were just miserable, 2=There were some major flaws in the book, but it had some good points as well, 1=I regret ever having even considered reading this book). All titles are linked to Powell’s (I’m not an associate or anything). If I’ve discussed it on the blog, that’s noted and linked in parentheses following the author.

-December-

Mistress of Spices by Chitra Divakaruni*** (thoughts)

Soldier’s Heart by Elizabeth Samet***** (thoughts)

Every Day is a Good Day ed. by Wilma Mankiller** (thoughts)

The Book of Chameleons by Jose Eduardo Agualusa***** (thoughts)

The Boilerplate Rhino by David Quanmen** (thoughts)

Hunger: an Unnatural History by Sharman Apt Russell***** (400) (thoughts)

Song for Night by Chris Abani***** (thoughts)

Sugar by Bernice McFadden***** (thoughts)

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James**** (thoughts)

Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong*** (thoughts)

Zero: the Biography of a Dangerous Idea by Charles Seife** (thoughts)

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie***** (thoughts)

Goodbye by Yoshihiro Tatsumi* (thoughts)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery*** (thoughts)

Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman** (thoughts)

Full Frontal Feminism by Jessica Valenti** (390) (thoughts)

The Fall of Rome by Martha Southgate**** (thoughts)

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill***** (thoughts)

The Farming of the Bones by Edwidge Danticat***** (thoughts)

The Vintner’s Luck by Elizabeth Knox*** (thoughts)

Changing My Mind by Zadie Smith**** (thoughts)

Emma Vol. One by Kaoru Mori*** (thoughts)

Ruins by Achy Obejas**** (thoughts)

The Tiger Ladies of Kashmir by Sudha Koul**** (thoughts)

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight trans. by Simon Armitage***** (thoughts)

The Shadow of the Sun by Ryszard Kapuscinski ** (380) (thoughts)

Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell*** (thoughts)

-November-

Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King***** (thoughts)

Through the Narrow Gate by Karen Armstrong**** (thoughts)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley**** (thoughts)

Born in the Big Rains by Fadumo Korn**** (thoughts)

The Arabian Nights trans. by Husain Haddawy***** (thoughts)

Once Upon a Quinceanera by Julia Alvarez**** (thoughts)

The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano***** (thoughts)

The Maias by Eca de Querios** (thoughts)

Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf***** (370) (thoughts)

Magician’s Gambit by David Eddings**** (thoughts)

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival**** (thoughts)

The Last Days of Old Beijing by Michael Meyer***** (thoughts)

Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi***** (thoughts)

Raise the Red Lantern by Su Tong** (thoughts)

Chocolate: a Bittersweet Saga of Light and Dark by Mort Rosenblum**** (thoughts)

Exit Wounds by Rutu Modan*** (thoughts)

Aura by Carlos Fuentes**** (thoughts)

Annie John by Jamaica Kincaid**** (thoughts)

Ruined by Paula Morris*** (360) (thoughts)

Ali and Nino by Kurban Said** (thoughts)

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill**** (thoughts)

Saudi Arabia Exposed by John Bradley* (thoughts)

Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent***** (thoughts)

Red, White, and Drunk All Over by Natalie McClean***** (thoughts)

Baby of the Family by Tina McElroy Ansa*** (thoughts)

Obasan by Joy Kagawa*** (thoughts)

The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa**** (thoughts)

A Secret for Julia by Patricia Sagastizabal**** (thoughts)

La Perdida by Jessica Abel** (350) (thoughts)

A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah**** (thoughts)

Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey**** (thoughts)

The Lady, the Chef, and the Courtesan by Marisol* (thoughts)

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger*** (thoughts)

The Skin Between Us by Kym Ragusa**** (thoughts)

Still Life by Louise Penny** (thoughts)

Hush by Jacqueline Woodson***** (thoughts)

The Girl with the Golden Shoes by Colin Channer**** (thoughts)

Woman: an Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier***** (thoughts)

Sandman Vol. Three: Dream Country by Neil Gaiman**** (340) (thoughts)

Sandman Vol. Two: Doll’s House by Neil Gaiman*** (thoughts)

Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel**** (thoughts)

Virago Book of Ghost Stories ed. by Richard Dalby**** (thoughts)

Unnatural Death by Dorothy Sayers**** (thoughts)

Hardboiled and Hard Luck by Banana Yoshimoto***** (thoughts)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell*** (thoughts)

Persepolis: the Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi*** (thoughts)

Little Star of Bela Lua by Luana Monteiro**** (thoughts)

The Restless Sleep by Stacy Horn*** (thoughts)

An African in Greenland by Tete-Michel Kpomassie** (330) (thoughts)

A Dark Dividing by Sarah Rayne**** (thoughts)

Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings**** (thoughts)

-October-

Paper Towns by John Green***** (thoughts)

Better by Atul Gawande***** (thoughts)

Ask a Mexican by Gustavo Arellano*** (thoughts)

The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins***** (thoughts)

Connected by Daniel Altman** (thoughts)

Adventure Divas by Holly Morris*** (thoughts)

Palace of Desire by Naguib Mahfouz**** (thoughts)

Style, Naturally by Summer Rayne Oakes**** (320) (thoughts)

The Texicans by Nina Vida** (thoughts)

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue by John McWhorter*** (thoughts)

Status Anxiety by Alain de Botton***** (on CD) (thoughts)

Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud***** (thoughts)

Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger**** (thoughts)

Fables Vol. Five: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham***** (thoughts)

Skim by Mariko and Jillian Tamaki***** (thoughts)

Gray Horses by Hope Larson***** (thoughts)

Fables Vol. 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham** (thoughts)

Fables Vol. 3: Storybook Love by Bill Willingham**** (310) (thoughts)

Book by Book by Michael Dirda** (thoughts)

Where are the Children? by Mary Higgins Clark** (thoughts)

The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule***** (thoughts)

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez**** (thoughts)

Miss Leavitt’s Stars by George Johnson**** (thoughts)

Reservation Blues by Sherman Alexie***** (thoughts)

Expat ed. by Christina Henry de Tessan***** (thoughts)

Disquiet by Julia Leigh*** (thoughts)

The Day the World Came to Town by Jim Defede**** (thoughts)

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood***** (300) (thoughts)

Flowers: How They Changed the World by William Burgher*

Death and the Maidens by Janet Todd*** (thoughts)

The Children’s Book by A.S. Byatt*****

Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind by Philip Done***** (thoughts)

A Lifetime of Secrets ed. by Frank Warren*** (thoughts)

An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson** (thoughts)

Serve the People by Jen Lin Liu***** (thoughts)

Angels & Insects by A.S. Byatt**** (thoughts)

I’m Not Dead by Niccolo Ammaniti***** (thoughts)

Spell of the Tiger by Sy Montgomery***** (290) (thoughts)

White Mughals by William Dalrymple** (thoughts)

Claudine at School by Colette***** (thoughts)

Here At the End of the World We Learn to Dance by Lloyd Jones**** (thoughts)

Poe’s Children ed. by Peter Straub** (thoughts)

At Large and At Small by Anne Fadiman**** (thoughts)

The Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury** (thoughts)

The Neil Gaiman Audio Collection***** (thoughts)

The Devil’s Picnic by Taras Grescoe*** (thoughts)

The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland* (thoughts)

Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings***** (280) (thoughts)

You Were Always Mom’s Favorite! by Deborah Tannen*** (thoughts)

Built of Books by Thomas Wright** (thoughts)

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill*** (on CD) (thoughts)

Fables Vol. Two: Animal Farm by Bill Willingham*** (thoughts)

Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset**** (thoughts)

Natasha’s Dance by Orlando Figes**** (thoughts)

“The Rez Sisters” by Tomson Highway** (thoughts)

A Year in Japan by Kate Williamson***** (thoughts)

-September-

Bless Me Ultima by Rudolpho Anaya***** (thoughts)

Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner*** (270) (thoughts)

Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby**** (thoughts)

Haunting Bombay by Shilpa Agarwal** (thoughts)

A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong***** (thoughts)

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence**** (thoughts)

Country of My Skull by Antjie Krog** (thoughts)

Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones**** (thoughts)

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr***** (on CD)

Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus**** (thoughts)

You’d be So Pretty If… by Dara Chadwick**** (thoughts)

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth***** (thoughts)

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte**** (260) (thoughts)

The House You Pass on the Way by Jacqueline Woodson**** (thoughts)

The London Scene by Virginia Woolf***** (thoughts)

Half of the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn***

A Time of Angels by Patricia Schonstein***** (thoughts)

Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris*** (on CD) (thoughts

The Heart of Christianity by Marcus Borg***** (thoughts)

Memory and Dream by Charles de Lint*** (thoughts)

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness***

I’m Looking Through You by Jennifer Finney Boylan***** (thoughts)

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (and David Shapard)*** (250) (for annotations; P&P itself is always a five star read!) (thoughts)

Across the Wire by Luis Alberto Urrea*** (thoughts)

A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro**** (thoughts)

Chagall: A Biography by Jackie Wullschlager **** (thoughts)

Unbelievable by Stacy Horn*** (thoughts)

Night of Many Dreams by Gail Tsukiyama* (thoughts)

Phantoms in the Brain by V.S. Ramachandran and Sandra Blakeslee*** (thoughts)

Fledgling by Octavia Butler***** (thoughts)

My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger** (thoughts)

Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott***** (thoughts)

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin***** (240) (thoughts)

Stupid About Men by Deborah Dunn**

Notes From the Hyena’s Belly by Nega Mezlekia***** (thoughts)

The Reef by Edith Wharton***** (thoughts)

Madeleine’s Ghost by Robert Girardi* (thoughts)

Paradise of the Blind by Duong Thu Huong**** (thoughts)

The Book of Secrets by M G Vassanji***** (thoughts)

Complications by Atul Gawande***** (thoughts)

-August-

Bayou, Vol. One by Jeremy Love***** (thoughts)

Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer*** (thoughts)

The Dreaming, Vol. One by Queenie Chan*** (230) (thoughts)

The Ghost Orchid by Carol Goodman**** (thoughts)

The New Moon’s Arms by Nalo Hopkinson***** (thoughts)

Alice in Sunderland by Bryan Talbot***** (thoughts)

Outcasts United by Warren St. John*** (thoughts)

The Dead Secret by Wilkie Collins***** (thoughts)

The Blue Sky by Galsan Tschinag***** (thoughts)

Blue Latitudes by Tony Horwitz*** (thoughts)

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz by Michela Wrong***** (thoughts)

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang**** (thoughts)

Yes, My Darling Daughter by Margaret LeRoy*** (220)(thoughts)

Incognegro by Mat Johnson and Warren Pleece**** (thoughts)

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdich*** (thoughts)

Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli*** (thoughts)

The Skin I’m In by Sharon Flake**** (thoughts)

BookMarks: Reading in Black and White by Karla F. C. Holloway***** (thoughts)

The Intuitionist by Colson Whitehead** (thoughts)

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn**** (thoughts)

Deep Economy by Bill McKibben***** (thoughts)

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde*** (thoughts)

The White Earth by Andrew McGahan**** (210)

Freddie & Me by Mike Dawson*** (thoughts)

Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier****

One Corpse Too Many by Ellis Peters***** (thoughts)

The Curse of the Good Girl by Rachel Simmons**** (thoughts)

High Fidelity by Nick Hornby***

Why Shoot a Butler? by Georgette Heyer****

Beloved by Toni Morrison*****

Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount Jr****

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James***** (on CD)

Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron**** (200)

-July-

Uncle Tungsten by Oliver Sacks***** (thoughts)

The Moor by Laurie King*****

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson**** (on CD)

French Milk by Lucy Knisley*** (thoughts)

Tree: a Life Story by David Suzuki and Wayne Grady***** (thoughts)

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell***** (thoughts)

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan****

Affinity by Sarah Waters****

Stardust by Neil Gaiman***** (on CD)

“Wit” by Margaret Edson***** (190) (thoughts)

Shroud for a Nightingale by PD James***** (on CD)

Normal by Amy Bloom***** (thoughts)

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn*** (thoughts)

Scott Pilgrim Vol. 1 by Bryan Lee O’Malley*** (thoughts)

Pemba’s Song by Marilyn Nelson*** (thoughts)

Ray in Reverse by Daniel Wallace**** (thoughts)

Betsy and the Great World by Maud Hart Lovelace*** (thoughts)

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder*** (thoughts)

Ghost Hunters by Deborah Blum***** (thoughts)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee***** (180) (thoughts)

-June-

Oaxaca Journal by Oliver Sacks***** (thoughts)

A Golden Age by Tahmima Anam***** (thoughts)

The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie***** (thoughts)

Route 66 A.D. by Tony Perrottet**** (thoughts)

A Guide to Elegance by Geneviere A Dariaux***** (thoughts)

A Reading Diary by Alberto Manguel** (thoughts)

A Letter of Mary by Laurie King***** (thoughts)

Lucy the Giant by Sherri Smith**** (thoughts)

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan** (thoughts)

Choosing You by Alexandra Soiseth**** (170) (thoughts)

The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam by Ann Marie Fleming**** (thoughts)

Antoine’s Alphabet by Jed Perl** (thoughts)

Snoop by Sam Gosling**

The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner**** (thoughts)

Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan***** (thoughts)

My Invented Country by Isabel Allende**** (thoughts)

Sleepwalking Land by Mia Couto*** (thoughts)

Kampung Boy by Lat*** (thoughts)

Wesley the Owl by Stacy O’Brien**** (thoughts)

Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician by Daniel Wallace***** (160) (thoughts)

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson***** (thoughts)

The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg**** (thoughts)

Liquid Jade by Beatrice Hohenegger*** (thoughts)

Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston*** (thoughts)

The Pirate’s Daughter by Margaret Cezair-Thompson***** (thoughts)

The World’s Cheapest Destinations by Tim Leffel****

Voodoo Season by Jewell Parker Rhodes**** (thoughts)

Brunelleschi’s Dome by Ross King** (thoughts)

Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko** (thoughts)

The Fox Woman by Kij Johnson**** (150) (thoughts)

Life Along the Silk Road by Susan Whitfield** (thoughts)

A Venetian Affair by Andrea Di Robilant*** (thoughts)

Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope***** (thoughts)

Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clement Oubrerie**** (thoughts)

Wanderlust and Lipstick by Beth Whitman**** (thoughts)

-May-

Swish by Joel Derfner***** (thoughts)

Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera***** (thoughts)

Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation by Olivia Judson***** (thoughts)

Gifted by Nikita Lalwani*** (thoughts)

Ain’t Myth Behaving by Kate Macalister** (140) (thoughts)

Spoken Here by Mark Abley* (thoughts)

A Grain of Poetry by Herbert Kohl*** (thoughts)

Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce***** (thoughts)

This Earth of Mankind by Pramoedya Ananta Toer***** (thoughts)

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier* (thoughts)

Tibet, Tibet by Patrick French**** (thoughts)

The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer**** (thoughts)

Dreams and Shadows by Robin Wright***** (thoughts)

Human Cargo by Caroline Moorehead*** (thoughts)

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk**** (130)(thoughts)

The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mlodinow***** (thoughts)

Food Matters by Mark Bittman***** (<thoughts)

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula LeGuin*** (thoughts)

Tales of a Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman***** (thoughts)

-April-

Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende***** (thoughts)

Elementals by A.S. Byatt***** (thoughts)

The Bad Girl by Mario Vargas Llosa** (thoughts)

Javatrekker by Dean Cycon*** (thoughts)

No One You Know by Michelle Richmond**** (thoughts)

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier***** (120) (thoughts)

The Child that Books Built by Francis Spufford**** (thoughts)

Relentless Pursuit by Donna Foote*** (thoughts)

Born into Brothels: Photographs by the Children of Calcutta by Zana Briski*** (thoughts)

Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger***** (thoughts)

A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliott**** (thoughts)

Sugarcane Academy by Michael Tisserand*** (thoughts)

The Likeness by Tana French***

I Am a Pencil by Sam Swope*****

Death and Judgement by Donna Leon****

20 Something Manifesto by Christine Hessler*** (110)

Witch Child by Celia Rees****

Shakespeare Wrote For Money by Nick Hornby*****

Letters to a Young Teacher by Jonathan Kozol*****

The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton****

Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay***

Shooting the Boh by Tracy Johnston***** (thoughts)

The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips****

Go Your Own Way ed. by Faith Collin, Ingrid Emerick, and Christina Henry de Tessan**

Vagabonding by Rolf Potts*****

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite***** (100)

Cunt: a Declaration of Independence by Inga Muscio****

The Book of Night Women by Marlon James*****

A Well-Timed Enchantment by Vivian Vande Velde** (thoughts)

The Tale of Murasaki by Liza Dalby**** (thoughts)

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees**** (thoughts)

-March-

The Noodle Maker by Ma Jian*** (thoughts)

Shakespeare: the World as Stage by Bill Bryson***** (thoughts)

A Mercy by Toni Morrison**** (thoughts)

Pathways to Bliss by Joseph Campbell**** (thoughts)

Your Madness Not Mine by Makuchi*** (90)

Dark Banquet by Bill Schutt****

Internet Dating Is Not Like Ordering a Pizza by Cherie Burbach****

Dreamers of the Day by Mary Doria Russell** (thoughts)

Well Behaved Women Seldom Make History by Lauren Thatcher Ulrich*****

American Girls About Town (anthology)** (thoughts)

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan*** (on CD) (thoughts)

Freak Show by James St. James****

Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters by Courtney Martin***

Girl Culture by Lauren Greenfield** (thoughts)

Women by Annie Leibovitz and Susan Sontag**** (80) (thoughts)

Alligators, Old Mink and New Money: One Woman’s Adventures in Vintage Clothing by Alison and Melissa Houtte**** (thoughts)

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas** (thoughts)

Secondhand Chic: Finding Fabulous Fashion at Consignment, Vintage, and Thrift Shops by Christa Weil*****(thoughts)

Queen of Scots: the True Life of Mary Stuart by Jonathan John Guy**** (thoughts)

The United States Constitution: a Graphic Adaptation by Jonathan Hennessey and Aaron McConnell*** (thoughts)

The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea*****

Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan***** (thoughts)

Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin***** (thoughts)

You’re Wearing That?: Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation by Deborah Tannen**** (thoughts)

Burmese Days by George Orwell**** (70) (thoughts)

Jackie Ormes: the First African American Woman Cartoonist by Nancy Goldstein** (thoughts)

Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham and Lan Medina***** (thoughts)

To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf***

Zenzele by J. Nozipo Maraire** (thoughts)

Loot by Sharon Waxman**** (thoughts)

The Stones of Green Knowe by L.M. Boston*****

An Enemy at Green Knowe by L.M. Boston*****

A Stranger at Green Knowe by L.M. Boston****

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron**** (on CD) (thoughts)

-February-

Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley**** (60)

The Language of Bees by Laurie R. King*****

The Magic Half by Annie Barrows***

The Diamond in the Window by Jane Langton***

Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin**** (thoughts)

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan**

The Seance by John Harwood*****

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston***** (thoughts)

From the Land of Green Ghosts by Pascal Khoo Thwe***** (thoughts)

Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder****

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie King**** (50) (thoughts)

A Lesson Before Dying by Earnest Gaines****

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon***** (thoughts)

Original Sin by P.D. James***** (thoughts)

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield*** (on CD)

Bad Samaritans: the Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang*****

No Name by Wilkie Collins*****

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel***** (thoughts)

The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany*****

The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama***** (thoughts)

Trap for Cinderella by Sebastian Japrisot***** (40) (thoughts)

Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo***

Shop Your Closet by Melanie Charlton Fascitelli** (thoughts)

Belfast Diary: War as a Way of Life by John Conroy****

China: Fragile Superpower by Susan Shirk***

“Feathers” by Jacqueline Woodson*****

Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters***** (thoughts)

The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright**** (thoughts)

The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton***** (thoughts)

Bloomability by Sharon Creech** (thoughts)

Nation by Terry Pratchett***** (30) (thoughts)

Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado**** (thoughts)

Commodore Hornblower by C.S. Forester***** (thoughts)

The Oxford Project by Stephen Bloom***** (thoughts)

-January-

Proust Was a Neuroscientist by Jonah Lehrer***** (thoughts)

The Discovery of Poetry by Francis Mayes****

Snow Country by Yaunari Kawabata*** (thoughts)

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card*** (thoughts)

My Mistress’s Sparrow is Dead, ed. Jeffrey Eugenides*** (thoughts)

The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough*****

The Beekeeper’s Apprentice by Laurie King***** (20) (thoughts

From a Whisper to a Scream by Charles de Lint**** (thoughts)

The Innkeeper’s Song by Peter Beagle**** (thoughts)

Blonde Like Me by Natalia Ilyin**** (thoughts)

The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel***** (thoughts)

City of Oranges by Adam LeBor***** (thoughts)

The Memorist by M.J. Rose** (thoughts)

Gilgamesh, trans. by Stephen Mitchell**** (thoughts)

“Silk” by Alessandro Baricco***** (thoughts)

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley***** (thoughts)

Napoleon’s Buttons by Penny Le Couteur and Jay Burreson** (10) (thoughts)

Cereus Blooms At Night by Shani Mootoo***** (thoughts)

The Bell by Iris Murdoch*** (thoughts)

Rereadings, ed. Anne Fadiman*** (thoughts)

My Life with the Saints by James Martin***** (thoughts)

The Man in the Picture by Susan Hill** (thoughts)

The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich***** (thoughts)

Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Akinari Ueda*** (thoughts)

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto***** (thoughts)

Howard’s End by E.M. Forester***** (thoughts)