50) The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman



I still feel like my brain is comprehending ....



BUT I'VE READ 50 BOOKS WELL BEFORE MY END TIME. check!

49) A Game of Thrones - George RR Martin



UMMM...outstanding. Always amazes me how a completely different world and life can be created in the mind of an individual and shared in such a fashion with the masses.

48) Lipstick Jihad - Azadeh Moaveni



There are some books that I come across that I mentally put into a category that every American should read. This is actually one of them. Read, and read with an open mind. I think they would much better understand the struggle in Iran, the struggle of hypen Americans and refugees, and so so much more. Great memoir. (less)

48) Lipstick Jihad - Azadeh Moaveni



There are some books that I come across that I mentally put into a category that every American should read. This is actually one of them. Read, and read with an open mind. I think they would much better understand the struggle in Iran, the struggle of hy (...more)

47) The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls

Memoir. Good but not as outstanding in my opinion that everyone led me to believe it would be!

46) The Book Thief - Markus Zusak. I rated 5/5 stars. Outstanding, heavy heart kind of book.

45) Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

Terribly sad but does show the true impact of actions...cause and effect...how we can hurt unintentionally and especially by ignoring their need for help.

44) Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness

Second in the Discovery of Witches Trilogy...

Only 6 more books to read!

43) A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness

LONG book, but really good. It started slow for me but now I'm glad it's part of a trilogy so I can continue the story.



ALMOST TO 50!!

42) Fraction of Stone - Kelley Lynn

Very happy to have read this and it be included in my 101 List - this is a book written by one of my friends. :) You are outstanding, Kelley!

41) The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffanbaugh

Book for next book club; shall be a treat!

40) The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

Heart.

39) The True Story of Hansel & Gretel - Louise Murphy



For book club - EXCELLENT book. As all Holocaust books - tragic.

38) Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Now I must wait months for the 3rd book in this series to come out!!

37.) Divergent by Veronica Roth

36. Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse

Good book - and an interesting way to tell a buddhist message. I did pull quite a few quotes from it - but the rest is up for discussion at the next book club meeting!

35) Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart

Interesting, very interesting.

34) Flight Behavior - Barbara Kingsolver Took me longer than I thought. Good read but I definitely wouldn't rank it among the best of Kingsolver.

33) The Search - Nora Roberts (Don't judge...I know you're judging. Okay read; terrible ending.)

32) Norwegian Wood - Haruki Murakami

while not uplifting, most novels I read are not. Truly a wonderfully sad book.

31. The Friday Night Knitting Club - Kate Jacobs.

This was just okay. Got better as I went but probably would have been a better book for when I was older; at the same point in my life as the characters in it.

30) I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith

Actually a very good "chick book" ... I ended up reading the bulk of it between two days!

29.) Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

28.) Cry, The Beloved Country - Alan Paton

Powerful read on South Africa and humanity as a whole.

27. Spy Glass -Maria Snyder. The final of the trilogy and just as good. Author is very talented for the YA Fantasy world - which is my guilty pleasure.

26. Storm Glass - Maria Snyder

Love these books - easy reads but such a cool world that is created!

25. Halfway Point!! Fifty Shades Darker - EL James.

Have to finish what I start. Better than the first, in my opinion...the actual writing isn't great, the story just okay, the love dovey-ness frustrating - but I'm still somehow reading it.

24. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Very good - I'm excited to discuss at the first book club meeting this upcoming thursday. :)

23. Storm Glass - Maria V. Snyder.

I had read a trilogy prior to starting this one a few years ago. Not profound reads but the story definitely captures my imagination and attention. Finsihed in record time!!

22. Nanny Returns - Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus (sequel to the Nanny Diaries)



It was one of those good reads - not because it's mesmorizing or thought provoking but it's just a good story - a good continuation to a story.

21. Fifty Shades of Grey - E.L. James

Quick read...but that's the general trend (I hear) with this book. Yeah...I might read the other two in the trilogy...just might.

20. The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver. My favorite author does it again. A bit slow to start but such an amazing novel and I learned so much too! She finds a magically way to incorporate tidbits of knowledge worded more eloquently than I have ever been able to do myself. AMAZING read!

19. Between Barack and a Hard Place - Tim Wise

I had taken another non-fiction book on - this one a social justice treat that discusses racism and white denial in the age of racism. "Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continous struggle."

18. Ironically enough, my 18th book is titled "Explosive Eighteen" by Janet Evanovich. Part of the Stephanie Plum series...funny, entertaining, but also incredibly predictable (it's number 18).

17. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
Oddly enough, an inspirational read for me even though it also left me in a mild state of sadness. The good news - I read it in under 24 hours over the Easter holiday...so the sadness didn't grasp me for too long. "That which you manifest is before you." (less)

17. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
Oddly enough, an inspirational read for me even though it also left me in a mild state of sadness. The good news - I read it in under 24 hours over the Easter holiday...so the sadness didn't grasp me for too long. "That which you manifest is b (...more)

16. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs. Awesomely quirky book and there are photos throughout!

15. The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson Finally got to finish this series! SO good! Read the majority of this book in one lazy weekend: saturday & sunday. sometimes you just need a lazy reading day. :)

14. Lies My Teacher Told Me - Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong (3.23.12) Outstandingly Informative and necessary.

13. The Girl Who Played With Fire - Stieg Larsson (2/20/12) - AWESOME. Need to find the third in the trilogy somehow/someway!

12. Sula - Toni Morrison (2/5/12)

11. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer. Gives me heavy boots but a very thoughtful novel.

10. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (1/19/12) Holding off for a bit, but excited to read the second in this trilogy. After the first 60 pages, this book picked up to fall into the category of "cannot put down."

9. Back to the Bedroom - Janet Evanovich (12/24/11). I thought I'd like it because it was Janet Evanovich...I didn't like it at all.

8. Animal Dreams - Barbara Kingsolver (12/18/11) Wonderfully insightful, spirited, thought provoking novel. Barbara Kingsolver still remains my favorite author.

7. Baby Proof - Emily Giffin (11/13/11) (Read in less than 24 hours. I have a problem.)

6. The Devil in the White City - Erik Larson (11/12/11)

4. Something Blue - Emily Giffin (9/27/11)
5. The House on Mango Street - Sandra Cisneros (Currently Reading)

1. Smoking Seventeen – Janet Evanovich (8/26/11)
2. Running With Scissors – Augusten Burroughs (9/18/11)
3. The Girl with the Pearl Earring - Tracy Chevalier (9/22/11)
4. Something Blue (Currently Reading)