I'm not sure if anyone really cares how many books I read in 2018. Nor do I think anyone cares which books I read for that matter. Still, I don't plan to shy away from blogging about my proudest moments. Just like fitness junkies post their weight loss results, I feel the need to broadcast my reading habits. Besides, being an avid reader, just like a devoted gym rat, requires discipline, commitment and plenty of brain stimulation. Exercising your brain is no easy feat, but it is certainly worth it.
What have you been reading this year?
For lovers of: Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen, John Steinbeck, Kurt Vonnegut
For lovers of: famous last words (Hulu mini-series adaptation on the way.)
3. A Man Named Ove - Fredrik Backman
For lovers of: A Christmas Carol, Up, Gran Torino, or basically grumpy old "Scrooge" types that undergo plenty of character development
4. A Raisin in the Sun - Lorraine Hansberry
For lovers of: American classic plays
5 - 10. Scott Pilgrim Vol 1-6 - Bryan Lee O'Malley
For lovers of: graphic novels, video games, and *good* music
11. Misery - Stephen King
For lovers of: truly terrifying (and somewhat meta) novels
12. Daisy Miller - Henry James
For lovers of: A Room With a View
13. Fresh Complaint: Stories - Jeffrey Eugenides
For lovers of: character-driven short stories
14. The Lottery and Other Stories - Shirley Jackson
For lovers of: cryptic and morbid short stories
15. On Celestial Music: And Other Adventures in Listening - Rick Moody
For lovers of: Pete Townsend, Wilco, Miles Davis....and the occasional (sincere) guilty pleasure mix
16. Silver Screen Fiend: Learning About Life from an Addiction to Film - Patton Oswalt
For lovers of: film (:::obviously::::)
17. The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
For lovers of: books about self-discovery
18. Touch - Courtney Maum
For lovers of: near-future "issue" books like "The Circle" that really aren't that clever
19. The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You - Elaine N Aron
For those who: can relate to the HSP label
20. 33 1/3 Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste - Carl Wilson
For lovers who: love Celine Dion, and those who don't
21. A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf
For lovers of: vintage 'strong' female voices
22. Wonder - R.J. Palacio
For lovers of: human decency and kindness
23. Crazy Rich Asians - Kevin Kwan
For lovers of: books about cultural/family tension, high fashion and flashing lights, lights
24. Indignation - Phillip Roth
For lovers of: existential coming-of-age novels
25. A Separation - Katie Kitamura
For lovers of: the anti-beach read
26. Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
For lovers of: psychological and ballsy debut novels
27. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
For lovers of: comfort food for the literary soul
28. Bachelor Nation - Amy Kaufman
For lovers of: Bachelor nation
29. Walking to Listen: 4,000 Miles Across America, One Story At a Time - Andrew Forsthoefel
For lovers of: travel memoirs (on foot)
30. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay - Michael Chabon
For lovers of: coming-of-age epics, super hero comics
31. Amusing Ourselves to Death - Neil Postman
For lovers of: relevant/timely reads, 1984, Brave New World
32. South and West: From a Notebook - Joan Didion
For lovers of: (observational) travel memoirs
33. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
For lovers of: magical realism, tedious classics
34. Turtles All the Way Down - John Green
For those who: don't read a lot of YA, but when they do, they will read anything John Green publishes
35. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou
For lovers of: coming-of-age memoirs
36. The Sandman Vol. 1 - Neil Gaiman
For lovers of: horror/fantasy genre comics, mythology
37. The Happiness Project - Gretchen Rubin
For lovers of: New Years resolutions, self-care
38. Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty
For lovers of: campy satiric mysteries, female friendships
39. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
For lovers of: intellectual anti-heroes, cultish satiric classics, cockatoos
40. Notes From a Small Island - Bill Bryson
For lovers of: observational memoirs from our neighbors across the pond
41. How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less - Sarah Glidden
For lovers of: graphic novel memoirs
42. Austenland - Shannon Hale
For lovers of: kitschy Jane Austen-inspired beach reads
43. The Hate You Give - Angie Thomas
For lovers of: YA novels that are just as suitable for adults
44. Dawn - Elie Wiesel
For lovers of: Wiesel's "Night"
45. The Princess Bride - William Goldman
For lovers of: "True Love and High Adventure" (implied in the sub-title)
46. Hyperbole and a Half - Allie Brosh
For lovers of: dogs, cake and all of the other things!
47. Far From the Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
For lovers of: love triangles...actually make that 'love squares'
48. Talking as Fast as I Can - Lauren Graham
For lovers of: Gilmore Girls, Parenthood
49. A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
For lovers of: the 'new' classics
50. Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return - Marjane Satrapi
For lovers of: the first "Persepolis" graphic novel debut
51. Dubliners - James Joyce
For lovers of: Irish pride
52. The Joy of Reading Children's Literature as an Adult - Bruce Handy
For lovers of: intriguing discoveries of your favorite children's lit authors
53. Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
For lovers of: Lord of the Flies, Battle Royale
54. Call of the Wild - John London
For lovers of: children's books about dogs, where the dogs don't die at the very end
55. Lolita - Vladamir Nabokov
For those who: like to probe banned books
56. Turn of the Screw - Henry James
For lovers of: psychological ghosts stories
57. Inherit the Wind - Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
For lovers of: the creation vs. evolution debate, Proverbs 11:29
