A year in books…
I just finished what will be the last book of the year, and it was a beautiful story worthy of being the last book of the year. So here it is, my reading list that I think is pretty much complete, there may be a couple random books that I forgot to add, but it is pretty close:
January 2006
- Self Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson (while this is not a book, it is a notable reading, so I’m adding it in). Finished 1/12.
- The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne. Finished 1/18.
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (unabridged audible book). Finished 1/22.
- Moby Dick by Herman Melville. Finished 2/1.
February 2006
- The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Finished 2/2.
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Finished 2/7.
- Like Water for Chocolate
by Laura Esquirel. Finished 2/10. This was a fun little read I picked
up for $1, it was nothing at all like the movie, other than the magic
behind cooking and powerful belief. It is told in the tall tale style
where everything is exaggerated and truth is not found in the details,
but in the under layers of the stories, where "anything could be true
or false, depending on whether one believed it" (127). - Last Days of Dogtown by Anita Diamant. Finished 2/13.
- Good Harbor by Anita Diamant. Finished 2/18.
- A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott. Finished 2/19.
March 2006
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain. Finished 3/8.
- Henderson the Rain King by Saul Bellows. Finished 3/16.
- The Ginger Man by J.P. Donleavy. Finished 3/24.
- Woman Warrior by Maxine Kingston. Finished 3/30.
April 2006
- One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey.
Finished 4/6. This book was very good and I think the movie lost a
little bit by not being "told" through the eyes of Chief like the book
is. I thought Nurse Ratched was creepier in the book. The imagery of
the Combine of society and the need to make everyone "adjusted" and
into perfect cogs and wheels and machine parts was pulled off very
well. - a bad man by Stanley Elkin.
Finished 4/14. I don’t have much to say on this, I think Elkin’s
writing is fantastic, his word choices, imagery, and conversation
writing skills are really well done. The question the book asks about
whether having an independent self vs. being adaptable in society is
"better" is interesting. But for whatever reason, the book just really
didn’t grab me or do a whole lot for me. - Sula by Toni Morrison. Finished 4/17. Beautifully written book (of course), will write more later.
May 2006
- Testimony of an Irish Slave Girl by Kate McCafferty. Finished 5/17.
- Spirits in the Wires
by Charles de Lint. Finished 5/21. Charles de Lint is one of my
favorite fantasy authors and this book was as good as I expected it to
be. It touches on the issue of what it means to be human, and how we
are defined, and how we define ourselves. He does such an incredible
job of blending old myth with urban settings. - The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Finished 5/30.
June 2006
- Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. Finished 6/25.
- Mother Earth Father Sky by Sue Harrison. Finished 6/26.
- The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
by Louise Erdrich. Finished 6/28. Beautifully done, well lived up to
The Birchbark House. "What is the whole of our existence but the sound
of an appalling love" (355)? and "Perhaps we are no more than spores on
the breath of God, perhaps our life is just one exhalation. One breath.
If God pauses just a moment to ruminate before talking in a new breath,
we see. In that calm cessation, we see. All I’ve ever wanted to do is
see" (344). - The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. Finished. Audible book.
July 2006
- Bones of the Master: A Journey to Secret Mongolia by
George Crane. Finished 7/3. This was a beautiful book about a beautiful
man, Tsung Tsai, and an American on a lark who ends up finding much
more than just a good time. Notable quote: "He is a
monk and that is enough. They beat him but he doesn’t care. If they
knock him down he stands again and blesses them. He has only compassion
for them, only love and sadness for the world" (134). - Hannah’s Daughters by
Marianne Fredriksson. Finished 7/7. This was a sad book, often painful,
but also a triumphant book about mothers and daughters and generations
and how so much of who we are is carved not only by our mothers, but by
our grandmothers experiences even though we may never hear those
stories. Connections, that is the key concept, and a way to finding
compassion for things about our family that we may not understand. - Four Forges by Jenna Rhodes. Finished 7/29. I took it back to the library today and can’t for the life of me remember what the name was [found it at the library!]!
This was a good read, something fun with enough serious issues to make
it thought provoking, I’ll have to find out what it was called or it
will drive me crazy.
August 2006
- The Rapture of Canaan by Sheri Reynolds. Finished
8/9. This was difficult reading for me, because while it went to far
extremes of religious fanaticism and isolation, many of the issues it
dealt with were familiar and dredged up anxious feelings from growing
up. Notable Quote: "Grudges are bad things,
Ninah," she said at last. "There’s only so much room in one heart. You
can fill it up with love or you can fill it with resentment. But every
bit of resentment you hold takes space away from the love. And the
resentment don’t do no good noway, but look what love can do" (292). - Ferney by James Long. Finished 8/18, thoughts.
This is my second "love crosses all barriers of time" book this summer,
and while The Time Travelor’s Wife is still a favorite read for this
summer, this book ties it I think–though it is about reincarnation
rather than time travel.
September 2006
- The Gold Falcon by Katharine Kerr. Finished 9/9. I
was really excited when this book came out. I had read the whole
Deverry series a long time ago as one of the first fantasy series I’d
read other than Tolkein. I have all of the books and my sister and I
were always speculating when/if she’d write another. - Dragonsong by
Anne McCaffrey. Finished 9/10. This is, apparently, the month of the
fun books to prepare me for all the deep reading of my Medievel Lit
class. I picked up this little novel for .50$ I’ve read all/or most of
the Pern books and this was a nice little read, I’ll pass it on to my
daughter, who should love it. - Dragonsinger by
Anne McCaffrey. Finished 9/13. I had to find out what became of Menolly
the harper, so another quickie read f or the fun of it. I better enjoy
it, I got my reading list last night, not too bad, but not too
light–summer reading is about at an end!
October 2006
- The Well of Tears by Cecilia Dart-Thornton.
Finished beginning of Oct. This was a second book of a series and I
really had to force myself to finish it, I probably won’t be reading
the third book. I like Cecilia Dart-Thornton, but this series isn’t
pulling off the promise of the first book. - Morrigan’s Cross by Nora Roberts. Finished 10/18.
- Dance of the Gods by
Nora Roberts. Finished 10/20. These two books were what I like to call
my fluff emergency books. Sometimes, usually during a school semester,
my brain is full of school things and scholastic reading and high
literature–and what I need is a popcorn break. These fit the bill,
they were fun, a blend of Celtic myth, vampires, witches, romance, and
a grand need to save the world. Perfect to take on our weekend getaway.
Although almost a little too fluff as I finished them before the
weekend was up and had to resort to reading my son’s X-Men comics. The
final of the three will be out on Halloween which is when (in the book
world) the end of the world is suppose to come. - The House of Gaian by
Anne Bishop. Finished 10/29. This was the last of a series and followed
through on the first ones and was a good read. This series reminded me
a great deal of Gael Baudino’s Strand series of witch vs. inquistors
with a handful of fae thrown in…actually, now that I think of it, it
reminds me a LOT of that series. I enjoy Anne Bishop’s writing,
although I don’t think they are as well done as Baudino’s which are
excellent and one of the first fantasy series I had read.
November 2006
- Valley of Silence by Nora Roberts. Finished 11/3.
The last of my fluff emergency book series. As noted in the Dance of
the Gods, this was a fun break that gave my brain a breather. - Spires of Spirit by
Gael Baudino. Finished 11/19. This was a book of short stories (the
book calls them novellas) that tied in with Baudino’s Strands of
Starlight series. The first three were really good and tied into the
original Strands world, and gave the full stories of things only
alluded to in the books. The last three were set in the future of the
end of the Strands series and while they were interesting, I didn’t
enjoy them as much. A definite must for anyone who enjoyed the Strands
series. - Strands of Sunlight by Gael Baudino.
Finished 11/29. Having enjoyed reading Spires of Spirit I pulled out
the original series to reread as "bathroom" reading. I enjoyed the
first of the series again, lots of themes in these, of tolerance, of
hope, of finding peace. - I also read 3 books this month from a
vampire series my sister gave me to read and can’t, at the moment,
recall the authors name–VERY fluff, but just what was needed in
between reading Chaucer, Marie de France, and Julian of Norwich!
2006 Non Fiction Books
For
some reason I didn’t keep track of my non-fiction books read, although
a few got put in here and there, so I’m going to list them here in no
particular order:
- Start Where You Are by Pema Chodron.
- Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron. This is an excellent book that I need to sit down and write some thoughts on, I got a lot out of this book.
- The Wisdom of No Escape and the Path of Loving-Kindness by Pema Chodron. Another book I need to write some thoughts on.
- When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron. I listened
to this book on m iPod and greatly enjoyed it, Chodron’s speaking voice
is fantastic, so laid back, so earthy and funny and real. I was really
called to her books because of that sense of reality–she lives in a
real world with real problems and just does the best she can. - Handbook for Mankind by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu. I love
the front cover text: "A forbidden reading for those who never asked
themselves: Why were we born? What are we living for? Where is the
value and meaning in life?" I think this is one of the best books on
the core principles of Buddhism. Venerable Buddhadasa writes: "Although
someone may say there is Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, etc., when he
has penetrated to the essential nature of his religion, he will regard
all religions as being the same." - Essential Teachings by the Dalai Lama. I didn’t
find most of this book particularly helpful, although I got a great
deal out of the first 11 pages. I did, however, enjoy reading it and I
do think he has such an incredibly intelligent and gentle voice.
December 2006
- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Finished 12/10. My thoughts.
I’m not really a fan of mystery books, but this was such a blend of
mystery and family dynamics and secrets and connections that it was a
thoroughly enjoyable read. - Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell. Finished 12/10. My thoughts.
On a challenge to give a more modern view of Christianity a chance to
balance out my skewed and mostly critical view of Christianity formed
by a much more fundamental upbringing, I picked this book as it came
highly recommended. It was definitely thought provoking and did shift
my thinking. - Revelations of Divine Love by Julian of Norwich.
Finished 12/12. I read this for my medieval literature class and wrote
a paper on it, she was pretty amazing. An anchoress in the 14th
century, she was closed into a room and never came out again so that
she could contemplate the mysteries of God and revelations she had when
she nearly died at the age of 31. One of her most beautiful quotes is
when God tells her: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all
manner of things shall be well." - The Crucible by Arthur Miller. Finished 12/21. My thoughts.
This was a very powerful piece, I can imagine the impact it must have
made on stage, especially given the time period it was written in
response to the mess going on at the time with Hollywood producers and
etc. being called to give up the names of "known" communists. What an
incredible parallel to the Salem witch trials. - Solstice Wood by Patricia A. McKillip. Finished
12/31. As is always the case with Patricia McKillip, this is a
gorgeously written book and a lovely way to end a year of reading.
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