Reading Round up 2015

As another year rolls to a close I find myself making lists :  lists of accomplishments, goals I came close to reaching and what milestones I need to focus on in the coming year.   It is a time of celebration,  a time to honor achievements and successes in the many forms  that they present themselves. One of my benchmarks this year was allowing myself (without guilt) to read what I whatever I wished.  In the past, reading an adult book as a children’s librarian felt out  place and bordering on selfish.  In my current position,   I have liberated myself from this notion. The second benchmark was to read a minimum of 50 books during 2015

Thus, I give you my list of 2015 read materials.

1. How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World by Steven Johnson
2. Best Food Writing 2014 by Holly Hughes
3. North of Boston by Elisabeth Elo
4. Zombies Hate Stuff by Greg Stones
5. Growing Up Gronk: A Family’s Story of Raising Champions by Gordon Gronkowski
6. Stronger by Jeff Bauman, Bret Witter
7. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
8. The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
9. Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local – and Helped Save an American Town by Beth Macy
10. The Art Forger by Barbara A. Shapiro
11. Sarah’s Long Walk: The Free Blacks of Boston and How Their Struggle for Equality Changed America by Stephen Kendrick
12. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
13. Station Eleven  by Emily St. John Mandel
14. Marcus Off Duty: The Recipes I Cook at Home  by Marcus Samuelsson
15. I Feel Bad about My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman  by Nora Ephron
16. A Nantucket Christmas by Nancy Thayer
17.  The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans
18. Novel Interiors: Living in Enchanted Rooms Inspired by Literature by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti
19. Christmas at Tiffany’s by Karen Swan
20. Sarah Style by Sarah Richardson
21. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
22. An Island Christmas by Nancy Thayer
23. Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott
24. Tasty: The Art and Science of What We Eat by John McQuaid
25. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
26. Cutting of Stone by Abraham Vergehes
27. The Land Where Lemons Grow: The Story of Italy and Its Citrus Fruit by Helena Attlee
28. First Frost (Waverley Family, #2) by Sarah Addison Allen
29. Garden Spells (Waverley Family, #1) by Sarah Addison Allen
30. The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister
31. I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
32. The Last Promise by Richard Paul Evans
33. The Other Woman’s House (Spilling CID, #6) by Sophie Hannah
34. House of Debt: How They (and You) Caused the Great Recession, and How We Can Prevent It from Happening Again by Atif Mian
35. Beautiful Fools: The Last Affair of Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald by R. Clifton Spargo
36. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
37. Flea Market Fabulous: Designing Gorgeous Rooms with Vintage Treasures by Lara Spencer
38. The Room by Jonas Karlsson
39. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
40. Little Beach Street Bakery (Little Beach Street Bakery, #1) by Jenny Colgan
41. The Seed Underground: A Growing Revolution to Save Food by Janisse Ray
42. Orchard House: How a Neglected Garden Taught One Family to Grow by Tara Austen Weaver
43.  The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
44. Hull Creek: A Novel of the Maine Coast by Jim Nichols
45. Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert
46. The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an IKEA Wardrobe: A novel by Romain Puértolas
47. Crafting the Customer Experience for People Not Like You: How to Delight and Engage the Customers Your Competitors Don’t Understand by Kelly McDonald
48. Start a Revolution: Stop Acting Like a Library by Ben Bizzle
49. The Children’s Crusade by Ann Packer
50.  So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
51. H is for Hawk  by Helen Macdonald
52.  The Painted Girls by Cathy Marie Buchanan
53.  Winter Stroll by Elin Hildbrand (ARC)
54. The Marvels By Brian Selznick (ARC)
55. The Nest By Kenneth Oppel (ARC)
56. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon (ARC)
57. The Perfume Collector by Kathleen Tessaro
58. The Matchmaker by Elin Hilderbrand
59. The Winter Lodge (Lakeshore Chronicles #2) by Susan Wiggs
60. Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter
61. Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World’s Greatest Tea by Jeff Koehler
62. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
63. Oh Gussie!: Cooking and Visiting in Kimberly’s Southern Kitchen by Kimberly Schlapman
64. The Gilded Hour by Sara Donati (ARC)
65. The Bridal Chair by Gloria Goldreich
66. The Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland
67. Summer Secrets by Jane Green
68. The Gourmet Dad: Easy and Delicious Meals the Whole Family Will Love by Dean McDermott
69. Summer by the Sea by Susan Wiggs
70. Patience and Fortitude: Power, Real Estate, and the Fight to Save a Public Library by Scott Sherman
71. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
72. Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World by Brian J. Robertson*
73. When Books Went to War: The Stories that Helped Us Win World War II by Molly Guptill Manning
74. The Road to Character by David Brooks
75. Master Thieves: The Boston Gangsters Who Pulled Off the World’s Greatest Art Heist by Stephen Kurkjian
76. Most Likely to Succeed: How to Help Our Kids Move from Credentials to Competencies by Tony Wagner
77. Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan
78. My Organic Life: How a Pioneering Chef Helped Shape the Way We Eat Today by Nora Pouillon
79. The Way of Tea and Justice: Rescuing the World’s Favorite Beverage from Its Violent History by Becca Stevens
80. Dashing Through the Snow by Debbie Macomber
81. Sarah Style At Home by Sarah Richardson
82. The Three-Year Swim Club: The Untold Story of Maui’s Sugar Ditch Kids and Their Quest for Olympic Glory by Julie Checkoway
83. Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World’s Superpowers by Simon Winchester
84. Ship Breaker (Ship Breaker, #1) by Paolo Bacigalupi
85. Best Food Writing 2015 by Holly Hughes
86. Garlic, an edible biography : the history, politics, and mythology behind the world’s most pungent food : with over 100 recipes by Robin Cherry
87. The Carrot Purple and Other Curious Stories of the Food We Eat by Joel Denker
88. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
89. The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs by Elaine Sciolino
90. Writing America: Literary Landmarks from Walden Pond to Wounded Knee (A Reader’s Companion) by Shelley Fisher Fishkin
91. Saving Gotham: A Billionaire Mayor, Activist Doctors, and the Fight for Eight Million Lives by Tom Farley
92. The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro
93. The Great British Bake Off: How to Bake: The Perfect Victoria Sponge and Other Baking Secrets by Linda Collister
94. City on Fire by Garth Risk Hallberg
95. The Evolution of Everything: How New Ideas Emerge by Matt Ridley
96. The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City by David Lebovitz

Upon reflection,  I certainly read more than the 50 titles I projected.  Perhaps next year, I can strive for 100 ( with less binge watching of Downton Abbey to distract me.)  How do I do it?  Luckily, my husband is a wash and wear kinda guy ( little need for ironing),  much of current television is reality bilge and thus does not interest me. Finally, I always have a book with me as I travel throughout my day.  There is always a free moment to crack open  my current title or download to my mobile device.

Of course,  I take  reading suggestions from my fellow librarians, as that they know their stuff….if I do say so myself.  This is the power of a library card at work.