Books I’ve Read

FyreFly’s Awesome Book Blog Search

2012…  22    Goal is 55 books in 2012…

My Rating System

currently reading: Right Ho Jeeves by PG Wodehouse
currently listening to:  ___?____

on hold:

on tap:  ___?____, June: Mieville’s The City and the City

[Title / author challenge (pages/year) stars number]

MAY 2012

Paperback Thriller / Lynn Meyer (150,1975) *** 22, WiaN5

Before I Go To Sleep / SJ Watson (358,2011) ** 21

The Uninvited Guests / Sadie Jones (259,2012) **** 20

Cranford / Elizabeth Gaskell (201,1864?) **** 19 TheBookies, 1001Bks2Read

11/22/63 / Stephen King (849,2011) ***** 18

APR 2012
1Q84 / Haruki Murakami (925,2011)** 17
Into the Wild / Jon Krakauer (224/1996) audio *** 16
The Elephant Keeper / Christopher Nicholson ** (298/2009) 15
Saturday / Ian McEwan Wian5 (291/2005) **** 14
The Invention of Clouds / Richard Hamblyn NF (403/2001) *** 13

MAR 2012
Muscular Retraining for Pain-Free Living / Craig Williamson NF (198/07) ***** 12
Angels and Insects / AS Byatt WaiN5 (337/92) **** 11
Cloud Atlas / David Mitchell WiaN5/1001Bks (509/04) **** 10

FEB 2012
Fire Season / Philip Connors NF (248/11) ***** -9
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea / Charles Seife  NF (248/00) *** -8
BossyPants / Tina Fey audio (227/11) *** -7
Model Home / Eric Puchner WiaN5 (360/10) ***    -6
Book TWO 1Q84 / Haruki Murakami – 5

JAN2012 (4.333/5, 4.333/5)
Book ONE of 1Q84 / Haruki Murakami – 5
The Night Circus / Erin Morgenstern (387/11) **** irlBC – 4
Sugar in My Bowl / Erica Jong (256/11)**** SS 224 -3
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day / Winifred Watson WiaN5, 1001bks (234/36)****  -2
The Very Cool Life Code / Drew Rozell (162/10) **** NF 162 -1

Dec 2011     (the 2011 WrapUp)
The Screwtape Letters / C.S.Lewis 160 pgs **** 53
The Book of Awful /  Romi Moondi 138 pgs *** 52
Cat in a Diamond Dazzle / Carole Nelson Douglas ** 51
Q’s Legacy  / Helene Hanff **** 50
Before Ever After / Samantha Sotto *** 49
Neuromancer/ Wm Gibson *** 48

Nov 2011
The Stone Diaries / Carol Shields ***** 47
A Visit from the Goon Squad / Jennifer Egan **** 46
The Paris Wife / Paula McLain ** 45
The Killer Angels / Michael Shaara ***** 1974 355 pgs pulitzer 44

OCT 2011
Mary Reilly / Valerie Martin **** 43
Bad Girls Don’t Die / Katie Alender *** 42
People of the Book / Geraldine Brooks ****+ 41
Just Kids / Patti Smith *** 40
Yesterday Morning / Diana Athill *** 39
An Abundance of Katherines / John Green *** 38

SEP 2011
Go Ask Alice / Anonymous *** 37
The Tapestry of Love / Rosy Thornton ***** 36
The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins **** 374 pages 35
One Day / David Nicholls **** 34
The Call / Yannick Murphy **** 33
Left Neglected / Lisa Genova **** 32
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks / Rebecca Skloot ***** 31
The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine / Alina Bronsky **** 30

AUG 2011
Everything Beautiful Began After / Simon Van Booy **** 29
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand / Helen Simonson **** 28
Eyes Like Stars / Lisa Mantchev ** DNF 27

JUL 2011
Broken Colors / Michele Zackheim ** 26
The Days of Abandonment / Elena Ferrante ****25

JUN 2011
Still Missing / Chevy Stevens *** 24
The Wind-up Bird Chronicle / Haruki Murakami **** 23

May 2011
The History of Love / Nicole Krauss ***** 22
Staying at Daisy’s / Jill Mansell **** 21
The Wilder Life / Wendy McClure ** 20
The Birth of Love / Joanna Kavenna 19
The Doctor’s Plague / Sherwin B Nuland **** 18

April 11
Part 1 John Adams / McCullough audio **** 17 (sort of review)
Flow /Elissa Stein and Susan Kim **** 16
Tess of the D’Urbervilles / Thomas Hardy **** 15

Mar 11 (3/5, 
Ulysses / James Joyce *** DNF/14 (a post on this as DNF)
True Grit / Charles Portis *** 13
The Secret Garden  / Frances Hodgson Burnett ***** 12
The Proper Care and Maintenance of Friendship / Lisa Verge Higgins *** 11

Feb 11 (3/3, 10/10)
D.V. / Diana Vreeland *** 10
The Imperfectionists / Tom Rachman **** 9 Bookies
Sugar Queen / Sarah Addison Allen ***** 8

Jan 2011  (7/7)
The Accidental Billionaires / Ben Mezrich **** 7
Cheating at Canasta / Wm Trevor 20in11*** 6
Shadow Tag / Louise Erdrich IRL Bookies *** 5
The Things They Carried / Tim O’Brien ***** Personal Deliberate 4
Beneath the Thirteen Moons / Kathryne Kennedy  ** WiaN4  3
Someone at a Distance / Dorothy Whipple Persephone  **** 413 pgs 2
The Sea / John Banville *****  WiaN3 195 pages 1

Year 2010 Summary Post –>here<–

Dec 2010 (4/4, 64/70)
Among Schoolchildren /Tracy Kidder 70 *** PersonalDeliberate  340 pgs
Where the Red Fern Grows / Wilson Rawls 69 ** WiaN3
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down / Anne Fadiman 68 the Bookies ****
A Dog’s Purpose / Bruce Cameron 67  ***

Nov 2010 (4/5, 60/66)
A Secret Gift / Ted Gup 66 **** TLC
The Woman in White / Wilkie Collins **** RIP 65
Menopause Matters / Julia Schlam Edelman MD **** 64
Honolulu / Alan Brennert  *** 63  The Bookies
The Yellow Wallpaper /  Charlotte Perkins Gilman **** 62 Women Unbound Challenge

Oct 2010 (3/5, 56/61)
DNF – The Witch of Hebron / James Howard Kunstler  61
They’re Not Dumb, They’re Different / Sheila Tobias *** 60
Feminism is for Everyone / belle hooks ** 59  Women Unbound Challenge
DNF – Frankenstein / Mary Shelley ** audio 58
Lady’s Maid by Margaret Forster **** 57

Sep 2010 (6/6, 53/56)
Room / Emma Donoghue *** 56 Book Club
Neverwhere (audio) / Neil Gaiman **** 55 RIP
Woman in the Dark / Dashiell Hammett ** 54 RIP
The Maltese Falcon / Dashiell Hammett **** 53 RIP
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close /Jonathan Safran Foer ***** 52
The Likeness / Tana French **** 51

Aug 2010 (6/6, 47/50)
The Bell Jar/ Sylvia Plath ***** 50
Finny / Justin Kramon **** 49
Overboard! / Michael J Tougias **** 48
Zeitoun / Dave Eggers **** 47 IRL Bookclub
Mixed Magics / Diana Wynne Jones *** 46 DWJweek
Fingersmith/ Sarah Waters **** 45 COBC

July 2010 (7/8, 41/44)
Suite Scarlett / Maureen Johnson *** 44
Dykes to Watch Out For / Alison Bechdel **** (20in10, GLBT) 43
A Thousand Splendid Suns / Khaled Hosseini ***** (Women Unbound, Global) 42
The Samurai’s Garden / Gail Tsukiyama *** (Global) 41
DNF-North Dallas Forty/Peter Gent * 40
Making Rounds with Oscar / David Dosa **** 39
American Gods / Neil Gaiman (readalong) **** 38
Good Dog. Stay. / Anna Quindlen **** 37

June 10 (7/7, 34/36)
Night / Elie Wiesel 36
The Book Thief / Mark Zusack ***** 35 (Flashback, IRL Bookclub)
Franny & Zooey / JD Salinger **** 34 (John Cusack Challenge & COBC)
Blankets/ Craig Thompson *** 33 GN-20in10
Sister Outsider / Audre Lorde **** 32 Woman Unbound Challenge
An Education / Lynn Barber *** 31 Book to Movie, Woman Unbound?
Watership Down / Richard Adams **** 30 Personal, 20in10

MAY 10 (7/8, 27/29)
Ethan Frome / Edith Wharton *** 29
Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret / Judy Blume **** 28
DNF - Dead End Gene Pool / Wendy Burden 27
Half Broke Horses / Jeanette Walls 26
Without a Trace / Colleen Coble ** 25
Little Bee / Chris Cleave *** IRL bookclub 24
Will Grayson, Will Grayson / John Green & David Levithan **** (TwentyInTen) 23
Woman / Natalie Angier ***** (Woman Unbound) 22

APR 10 (3/3, 20/21)
PS I Love You / Cecilia Ahern, 375 pgs *** 21
A Single Man / Christopher Isherwood, 186 pgs **** 20
The Threadbare Heart by Jennie Nash, **** 19

MAR 10 (6/6, 17/18)
Oryx and Crake / Margaret Atwood ***** 383 pages – 18
Waiting for Columbus / Thomas Trofimuk ***** 324 pgs 20in10 – 17
ChowHounds / Ernie Ward DVM ** – 16
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor **** 178 pages – 15
Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 by Hunter S Thompson, *** (Cusack Challenge) 14
The Girl Who Stopped Swimming / Joshilyn Jackson (IRL BookClub) 288 pgs – 13 ***

FEB 10 (7/7, 11/12)
Love Begins in Winter / Simon Van Booy ***** 227 pgs – 12
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie / Alan Bradley *** (WhatsInANm3) 370 pgs – 11
Typhoid Mary / Anthony Bourdain *** (Women Unbound) 144 pgs -10
Paper Towns / John Green **** (Dewey Challenge 2009) 9
Benny & Shrimp / Katarina Mazetti **** (IRL Bookclub) 8
To the Lighthouse / Virginia Woolf ***** (woolf in winter/women unbound) 7
The Princess Bride / Wm Goldman *** (what’s in a name3) 6

JAN 10 (4/5, 4/5)
Wordy Shipmates / Sarah Vowell **** 5
DNF – Same Kind of Different as Me / Ron Hall and Denver Moore ** 4
Mrs. Dalloway / Virginia Woolf (Woolf in Winter) ***** 3
A Wrinkle in Time / Madeleine L’Engle (Read-along) **** 2
Herland / Charlotte Perkins Gilman (#unbound) *** 124 – 1

FINAL TOTALS 2009 — 87 books — 24186 pages — REVIEW POST HERE
DEC 09 (11/11, 84/87)
Her Fearful Symmetry / Audrey Niffenegger ***
31 Hours / Masha Hamilton ***
Slinky Malinkey Catflaps / Lynley Dodd (kids book for 7 yo niece) ****
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo / Steig Larsson ****
Sarah’s Key / Tatiana de Rosnay (IRL Bookclub) ***
The Hobbit / JRRT (Flashback Challenge AND… the Hob/LOTR Challenge) ****
As You Wish / Jackson Pearce **
Green Grass, Running Water / Thomas King ****
The Virgin Blue / Tracy Chevalier ** (Dewey Challenge)
Proust was a Neuroscientist / Jonah Lehrer ***** (Science/Dewey)
Tea for Ruby / Sarah Ferguson **

NOV09 (7/7, 73/76)
The Mandarin / Eca de Queriroz (gift) ****
Midnight Cowboy / James Leo Herlihy (LitFlicks) ****
We Were the Mulvaneys / Joyce Carol Oates **** (gift)
Shooting The Boh / Tracy Johnston (Women Unbound) ***
Restless Sleep / Stacy Horn *** (CR menage)
The Borden Tragedy: A Memoir of the Infamous Double Murder at Fall River, Mass., 1892 / Rick Geary *** (CR menage)
The Whale Rider / Witi Ihimaera (Women Unbound) ***

OCT09 (10/10, 66/69)
The Halloween Tree / Bradbury (RIPIV) 145 ***
The Victoria’s Secret Catalog Never Stops Coming / Jennie Nash **** 153
Catie Copley / ***
Through Black Spruce / Joseph Boyden **** 359
The Giver / Lois Lowry ***** 208
The Vintner’s Luck / Elizabeth Knox **** 284 (Oct NZ Book Challenge)
The Wednesday Sisters / Meg Waite Clayton (IRL bookclub)****
Mister Pip / Lloyd Jones (NZ Book Month) *****
Juckets / Joyce Keller Walsh (for Literary Road Trip Challenge) ***
Lolita / Vladimir Nabokov (readalong w/ softdrink) ***

SEP09 (6/6, 56/59)
The Help / Kathryn Stockett ***** (for IRL bookclub)
False Witness / Anita Rodgers *** (first ever ebook)
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies / Jane Austen & Seth Grahame-Smith *** (RIPIV)
Something Wicked This Way Comes / Ray Bradbury *** (RIPIV)
Firefly Lane / Kristin Hannah ***
The Father of All Things / Tom Bissell *** (World Citizen)

AUG09 (7/7, 50/53)
My Sweet Charlie / David Westheimer *** (IRL Bookclub)
My Father’s Paradise / Ariel Sabar **** (World Citizen)
Lost and Found / Jacqueline Sheehan ***
Population 485 / Michael Perry ****
The Jane Austen Book Club / Karen Joy Fowler **
On Mystic Lake / Kristin Hannah ***
The Geography of Bliss / Eric Weiner **** (World Citizen)

JUL09 (9/9, 43/46)
Talk Before Sleep / Elizabeth Berg **
A Prayer for Owen Meany / John Irving ***** (readalong with Softdrink)
Last Night in Montreal / Emily St. John Mandel ****
The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn / John C Marshall III *** (IRL Bookclub)
The Last Beach Bungalow / Jennie Nash ***
Chocolat / Joanne Harris ****
The Book Thief / Markus Zusak ***** CFWP = Care’s Five Whole Pie Rating
Olive Kitteridge / Elizabeth Strout *****
The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society / Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows *****

JUN09 (7/7, 34/37)
Nothing but Ghosts / Beth Kephart ****
Alphabet Juice / Roy Blount Jr. *****
The Only True Genius in the Family / Jennie Nash **** (invitation from author)
The Coast of Summer / Anthony Bailey **** (gift from cuz Linda)
The Women’s Guide to Powerboating / Sandy Lindsey ***
The Housekeeper and the Professor / Yoko Ogawa **** (IRL Bookclbu)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian / Sherman Alexie ****

MAY09 (4/4, 27/30)
Thunderstruck / Erik Larson ***
The Awakening / Kate Chopin ***
Popular Music from Vittula / Mikael Niemi ****
The Man Who Mistook His Wife… / Oliver Sacks *** (Science)

APR09 (8/10, 23/26)
The Art of Racing in the Rain / Garth Stein *****
In the Woods / Tana French ****
A Lesson Before Dying / Earnest J Gaines ***
84, Charing Cross Road / Helene Hanff ****
The Wednesday Letters / Jason F. Wright **
DNF – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close / Jonathon Safran Foer (wrong season)
Still Alice / Lisa Genova ****
Their Eyes Were Watching God / Zora Neale Hurston *****
DNF – Pillars of the Earth / Ken Follett (got half way and was too annoyed at 2 dim characters to care to finish)
Math Curse / Jon Scieszka ****

MAR09 (6/6, 15/16)
The Pilot’s Wife / Anita Shreve ***
The Blind Assassin / Margaret Atwood **** Review Part 1 and Part 2
Note to Self / Samara O’Shea ****
One True Theory of Love / Laura Fitzgerald ****
Enthusiasm / Polly Shulman ****
Life and Times of Michael K / J.M.Coetzee ****

FEB09 (4/4, 9/10)
An Unfinished Marriage / Joan Erickson ** or ***, I can’t decide.
Mauve / Simon Garfield ***
The Remains of the Day / Kazuo Ishiguro ***
Gods Behaving Badly / Marie Phillips ***

JAN09 (5/6, 5/6)
Looking for Alaska / John Green *****
Anne of Green Gables / LM Montgomery ****
Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi ****
The Orchid Thief / Susan Orlean ***
Twilight / Stephanie Meyer **
DNF – The Audacity of Hope / Barack Obama (it was good, tho!)

HHHHH

HHHHH

HHHHH

2008 Books I’ve read… 5 star ratings 75!

Dec (8 )
Julie & Julia / Julie Powell
Something Out There / Nadine Gordimer
Coraline / Neil Gaiman ****
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle / David Wroblewski ***
There’s A Slight Chance… by Laurie Notaro ***
Nobodies by John Bowe ****
How To Tell When You’re Tired by Reg Theriault **
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency – Alexander McCall Smith **

Nov (7)

The Road / Cormac McCarthy ****
Christine Falls / Benjamin Black **
The Exes / Pagan Kennedy ****
The Mathematics of Love / Emma Dawson *
Interpreter of Maladies / Jhumpa Lahiri *****
Marley & Me / John Grogan
Join Me / Danny Wallace ***
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury – df

Oct (6)
Mystic River – Dennis Lehane
The Lace Reader / Brunonia Barry **
Cimarron / Edna Ferber ****
The Soloist / Mark Salzman ****
The Bridges of Madison County / Waller
We Have Always Lived In The Castle / Shirley Jackson *****
The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr and Reginald Denham (A Play in 3 Acts) ****

Sept (7)
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie / Muriel Spark *** 1/2
Garden Spells / Sarah Addison Allen ****
The Crime Writer / Gregg Hurwitz ****
The Prophet / Khalil Gibran ***
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter / Carson McCullers ****
Montana 1948 / Larry Watson ****
Home Town / Tracy Kidder ***

Aug(7)
The Tale of Devereaux / Kate DiCamillo ****
My Sisters Keeper / Jodi Picoult ****
A Curious State of Affairs / Jan Marshall ***
The Little Prince / Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – 5 stars
Geek Love / Katherine Dunn – 5 stars
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao / Junot Diaz – 4 1/2 stars
Queen of the Road / Doreen Orion – 5 stars

july(5)
Life of Pi - Yann Martel ***
The Way LIfe Should Be / Christina Baker Kline ****
Who Moved My Cheese – Spencer Johnson – no review, rating a generous **
Stardust – Neil Gaiman ****
The Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood *****

june (5)

When We Were Orphans – Kazuo Ishiguro
Goodbye, Mr. Chips – James Hilton ***
A Separate Peace – John Knowles *****
Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguro **** 1/2
The Book of Air and Shadows – Michael Gruber ****

may(3)
The Color Purple – Alice Walker ***** my review
Matrimony - Joshua Henkin 3 1/2 stars my review
Never on These Shores – Stephen R. Pastore *
Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius - Dave Eggers – didn’t finish (no good reason)

april (4)
Occasion For Loving – Nadine Gordimer – didn’t finish, couldn’t seem to get into it… I wanted to!
House of Meetings – Martin Amis **** my review
On Chesil Beach – Ian McEwan **** 1/2
The Memory Keepers Daughter – Kim Edwards ** my review
The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett ***

march(10)
I’jaam – Sinan Antoon *****
St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves – Karen Russell ****
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Jean-Dominic Bauby ****
I Sent A Letter To My Love – Bernice Rubens ****
Garden State – Rick Moody unfinished *
Still Life with Elephants – Judy Reene Singer **
Battle of Cowpens – Kenneth Roberts ***
Everyman – Philip Roth *** 1/2
Atonement – Ian McEwan ****
Burning Bright - Tracy Chevalier ***

february(4)
Wind, Sand, Stars – Antoine de Saint-Exupery **** 1/2
Saints & Strangers short stories – Angela Carter **** 1/2
Villa Incognito – Tom Robbins – didn’t finish, bored with it
My War: Killing Time in Iraq – Colby Buzzell *** 1/2 my review

january(5)
Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen ***
The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion ****
P.G.Wodehouse – Portrait of a Master by David A. Jasen ***
The Alphabet from A to Y With Bonus Letter Z! – Steve Martin *** 1/2
The Velveteen Rabbit - Margery Williams ****

http://deweymonster.com/?page_id=127 Dewey’s Guide for Writing Reviews…

2007 What I Read in 2007 (qty 30 but I may have missed some)
(no particular order, bold = I liked it a LOT, B2M = book to movie)

No Country for Old Men – Cormac McCarthy ****
Mayflower – Nathaniel Philbrick ***
The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman B2M *** 1/2
We Need to Talk About Kevin – Lionel Shriver ****
The Other Boleyn Girl - Philippa Gregory B2M *** 1/2
The Nanny Diaries – Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus ***
the sweetest dream - Doris Lessing *** 1/2
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield *** 1/2
Five Dysfunctions of a Team – Patrick Lencioni ** 1/2
Unbearable Lightness of Being – Milan Kundera B2M ****
Garlic & Sapphires – Ruth Reichl *****
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
The Alchemist - Paul Coelho – I don’t think I have reviews before this – I started blogging about this time….
The Emporer’s Children – Claire Messud
The Grass Harp – Truman Capote B2M
My Wife Thinks I’m an Idiot - Mike Greenberg
Excellent Women – Barbara Pim
Eat Pray Love – Liz Gilbert
Hetty – Charles Slack
The Celestine Prophecy – James Redfield
Skylight Confessions – Alice Hoffman
House on the Strand – Daphne DuMaurier
Past Perfect – Susan Isaacs
Little Earthquakes - Jennifer Weiner
In Her Shoes – Jennifer Weiner B2M
Charlemagne bio – Derek Wilson
Henry Ward Beecher bio – Debby Applegate
House on Mango Street – Sandra Cisneros
On Writing – Stephen King
Lisey’s Story – Stephen King
Guide to Taste,Quality,Style – Tim Gunn