brenpike reads (Page 2)

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January, 2011
1. Symposium Plato
2. The Yellow Wallpaper Charlotte Perkins Gilman
3. The Lotus Eaters Tatana Soli
4. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter Tom Franklin
5. All the Pretty Horses (The Border Trilogy, Book 1) Cormac McCarthy
6. In a Strange Room Damon Galgut
7. Left Neglected Lisa Genova
8. The Invisible Bridge Julie Orringer
9. Property Valerie Martin
10. The Map of True Places Brunonia Barry
11. Zeitoun Dave Eggers
12. Survival in Auschwitz Primo Levi
13. Lord of Misrule Jaimy Gordon
14. The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration Isabel Wilkerson
15. The Lost Museum: The Nazi Conspiracy to Steal the World's Greatest Works of Art Hector Feliciano

February, 2011
16. Match Day: One Day and One Dramatic Year in the Lives of Three New Doctors Brian Eule
17. Unless Carol Shields
18. The Crossing (The Border Trilogy, Book 2) Cormac McCarthy
19. Sailing Alone Around the World Joshua Slocum
20. The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise Julia Stuart
21. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession Allison Hoover Bartlett
22. The Children's Blizzard David Laskin
23. Every Last One Anna Quindlen
24. Waiting Ha Jin
25. In the Sewers of Lvov: A Heroic Story of Survival from the Holocaust Robert Marshall
26. The Finkler Question Howard Jacobson
27. Cutting for Stone Abraham Verghese

March, 2011
28. All Aunt Hagar's Children: Stories Edward P. Jones
29. A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage Sally Ryder Brady
30. The Circus Fire: a True Story Stewart O'Nan
31. Cities of the Plain (The Border Trilogy, Book 3) Cormac McCarthy
32. The Dangerous World of Butterflies: The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists Peter Laufer
33. Moth Smoke Mohsin Hamid
34. The Portrait of a Lady Henry James
35. Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen
36. Proust's Overcoat: The True Story of One Man's Passion for All Things Proust Lorenza Foschini
37. Ragtime E. L. Doctorow
38. The Return of the Soldier Rebecca West
39. Slaughterhouse-Five Kurt Vonnegut
40. The Reluctant Fundamentalist Mohsin Hamid
41. West With the Night Beryl Markham
42. The World of Gloria Vanderbilt Wendy Goodman
42. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values Robert M. Pirsig

April, 2011

43. And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris Alan Riding
44. Ballistics: Poems Billy Collins
45. The Essential Neruda:Selected Poems Pablo Neruda
46. Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami
47. Lit: A Memoir Mary Karr
48. The Pages of Day and Night Adonis
49. The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier Thad Carhart
50. The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane
51. The Seige Helen Dunmore
52. Thousand Cranes Yasunari Kawabata
53. The Tiger's Wife Tea Obreht
54. Under the Net Iris Murdoch
55. When the Emperor Was Divine Julie Otsuka
56. White Egrets Derek Walcott

May, 2011

57. Baking Cakes in Kigali Gaile Parkin
58. My Reading Life Pat Conroy
59. The Rarest of the Rare: Vanishing Animals, Timeless Worlds Diane Ackerman
60. Blindness Jose Saramago
61. Visitation Jenny Erpenbeck
62. The Lost Cyclist: The Epic Tale of an American Adventurer and His Mysterious Disappearance David Herlihy

June, 2011

63. 84 Charing Cross Road Helene Hanff
64. Annabel Kathleen Winter
65. Breakfast at Tiffany's Truman Capote
66. Hospital Sketches Louisa May Alcott
67. How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous Georgia Bragg
68. Love, Loss, and What I Wore Ilene Beckerman
69. On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family Lisa See
70. Private Life Jane Smiley
71. A Room With a View E.M. Forster
72. Small Island Andrea Levy
73. So Much for That Lionel Shriver
74. The Tennis Partner Abraham Verghese
75. Things Fall Apart Chinua Achebe
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76. To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918 Adam Hochschild
77. Une Vie Guy de Maupassant
78. We Need to Talk About Kevin Lionel Shriver
79. Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story, from Deep in Africa to the Heart of Paris Michael Allin

July, 2011

80. The Quiet American Graham Greene
81. The Memory of Love Aminatta Forna
82. Summer Edith Wharton
83. The Giver Lois Lowry
84. Odessa: Genius and Death in a City of Dreams Charles King
85. Rascal Sterling North
86. Gathering Blue Lois Lowry
87. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt Beth Hoffman
88. The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
89. Messenger Lois Lowry
90. The Madonnas of Echo Park Brando Skyhorse
91. I'd Know You Anywhere Laura Lippman
92. Paris Was Ours Penelope Rowlands
93. Alone in the Kitchen With An Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone ed. Jenny Ferrari-Adler
94. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin Erik Larson
95. Blueberries for Sal Robert McCloskey
96. The Road Home Rose Tremain
97. Dry Augusten Burroughs
98. Through a Window: My Thirty Years with the Chimpanzees of Gombe Jane Goodall
99. Grace Williams Says It Loud Emma Henderson
100. The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home George Howe Colt

August, 2011

101. Disgrace J.M. Coetzee
102. Old Filth Jane Gardam
103. Ride the Wind Lucia St. Clair Robson
104. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History S.C. Gwynne
105. Breakfast of Champions Kurt Vonnegut
106. Doc Mary Doria Russell
107. Freedom Walkers: The Story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott Russell Freedman
108. Big Spring Autumn Bonnie Stepenoff
109. The Personal History of Rachel DuPree Ann Weisgarber
110. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother Amy Chua
111. The Sisters Brothers Patrick DeWitt
112. The Night Bookmobile Audrey Niffenegger
113. Please Ignore Vera Dietz A.S.King
114. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Jonathan Safran Foer
115. The English Patient Michael Ondaatje
116. Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey Lillian Schlissel
117. Angle of Repose Wallace Stegner
118. The Man in the Wooden Hat Jane Gardam
119. Pigeon English Stephen Kelman

September,2011

120. Partitions Amit Majmudar
121. Jamrach's Menagerie Carol Birch
122. Educating Esme': Diary of a Teacher's First Year Esme' Raji Codell
123. Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. Jeremy Mercer
124. Half Blood Blues Esi Edugyan
125. Far to Go Alison Pick
126. Playing for Pizza John Grisham
127. How to Eat a Small Country Amy Finley
128. Kindertransport Olga Levy Drucker
129. 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn
130. The Pigeon Patrick Suskind
131. Snowdrops A.D. Miller
132. Ethan Frome Edith Wharton
133. Living, Loving, Lying Awake at Night Sindiwe Magona
134. On Canaan's Side Sebastian Barry
135. Saturday Ian McEwan
136. Whose Names Are Unknown Sanora Babb
137. Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books Aaron Lansky
138. The Good Muslim Tahmima Anam

October, 2011

139. Harpsong Rilla Askew
140. The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History John Barry
141. The Sense of An Ending Julian Barnes
142. Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout Lauren Redniss
143. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Anita Loos
144. An Owl on Every Post Sanora Babb
145. Nightwoods Charles Frazier
146. Under this Unbroken Sky Shandi Mitchell
147. The Cat's Table Michael Ondaatje
148. The Monster of Florence Douglas Preston & Mario Spezi
149. Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
150. The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945 Wladyslaw Szpilman
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151. The Story of Charlotte's Web: E.B.White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic Michael Sims

November, 2011

152. The Lost Traveler Sanora Babb
153. Nanjing Requim Ha Jin
154. The Language of Flowers Vanessa Diffenbaugh
155. The Plague of Doves Louise Erdrich
156. Baba Yaga Laid An Egg Dubravka Ugresic
157. The Imperfectionists Tom Rachman
158. The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Sherman Alexi
159. Purple Hibiscus Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
160. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian Sherman Alexi
161. Perfume Patrick Suskind
162. Parnassus on Wheels Christopher Morley
163. Finding Iris Chang: Friendship, Ambition, and the Loss of an Extraordinary Mind Paula Kamen

December, 2011

164. The Tender Land Kathleen Finneran
165. Still Life Louise Penny
166. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness Alexandra Fuller
167. A Child's Christmas in Wales Dylan Thomas
168. A Fatal Grace Louise Penny
169. The Outlaw Album: Stories Daniel Woodrell
170. The Night Before Christmas Clement Clarke Moore
171. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane Katherine Howe
172. My Family and Other Animals Gerald Durrell
173. The Haunted Bookshop Christopher Morley
174. Phaedrus Plato

Now that's an impressive lineup of books, Brenda! I just started my new thread tonight, too. Great minds and all that good stuff...

WOW! 163 books thus far. That is, as Donna notes, quite impressive.

I really enjoy the works of Sherman Alexi and particularly liked The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Nice list! Gracious, how do you find the time?!

Echoing everyone else - a very impressive list. Both in terms of quantity AND content. Have you been keeping a "best of 2011" list or anything like that?

Welcome everyone to my new page . . . and thanks for all the positive comments on the list.

BJ - Glad you are enjoying McCarthy's Border Trilogy. I appreciated his well-drawn characters and interesting story lines. I wished, as I read these books, that I understood more Spanish. Do you understand Spanish, and did I miss out on crucial dialogue?

Donna - I agree with the great minds concept, however, my new thread has entirely to do with the fact Bailey was here to help me out with the technical stuff! : )

Whisper1 (is it Linda?) - I read two books by Sherman Alexi last month and enjoyed both. I especially liked The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It really made me laugh. Loved the inclusion of the illustrations. I think I ended up rating it a 5 star read.

Cindy - I am fortunate enough to be a retired empty-nester, so my time is pretty much mine to do as I please. : )
The holidays will eat into my reading time this month, though, as I have several projects to complete in my sewing room. Sandy suggested that audio books were a great option while working on these kinds of projects. Do you listen to books while you sew? I have always just listened to my music, but may try out an audio book.

Sandy - I have noticed that many 75ers list their favorites. I am inclined to wait till the end of the year and then list my 5 star and 4 1/2 star books. I need to get over to your thread and check out your favorites for the year.

Hi, Brenda!
Yes, I do read/speak a little Spanish and was able to follow what was in the book. I don't really think you missed that much. It kind of reminded me how some British books would lapse into French (which I don't know). I could not read an entire book in Spanish. But I hope to start practicing my Spanish again so that I can communicate better in it. I have to get used to my new work schedule first. :)

#7 Not only do I NOT have a favorites list, I don't even have a list of books read all in one place like you have. (And after reading yours, I would probably be too embarrassed to do it anyway.) It's just that you have so many great-looking books that I wondered if you had a shorter list of those that were better than the rest.

Next year. That has become my new mantra. Next year, I will pay more attention to my reading and keep a "best of" list.

#8: My suggestion, Sandy, for what it is worth: Do not try and keep the entire year, but just concentrate on one month at a time. I find doing it that way a lot less daunting.

ETA: Hey, Brenda!

#164. The Tender Land by Kathleen Finneran

One of the bonuses of reading with groups is exposure to literature you would not have otherwise read. This Missouri Readers choice is an excellent example of that fact. Finneran, a St. Louis native, has written a poignant and touching account of her family and their shared experiences, primarily the death of her brothers' suicide at age 15.

4 1/2 stars

#165. Still Life by Louise Penny

The first of the Three Pines Mysteries, the story centers on a small community in Quebec where a beloved older woman is killed. Inspector Gamache and his team sweep in and with the help of villagers solve the crime, of course. Somewhat predictable but very readable. I understand from other LTrs that the subsequent titles in this series are better, so I'll continue to read the series.

3 1/2 stars

#166. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness by Alexandra Fuller

A great memoir by the author of Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight. While Don't . . . is the story of her own childhood in Africa, Cocktail. . .is the story of her parents (primarily her mother). From England and Scotland originally, both eventually landed in Africa, met, married and raised their family there. Funny, poignant, ultimately entertaining.
Recommended.

4 1/2 stars

#167. A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas

A charming memory of Christmas written (and read by) Dylan Thomas.

4 stars

#168. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny

Three Pines Series #2
Inspector Gamache and his team are called to investigate another murder in the picturesque village. Simultaneously, he is attempting to solve the murder of a homeless woman killed just days before in Montreal. Surprise, the two deaths are related! . . . Not! Again a fairly predictable outcome, but I enjoy the quirky characters of Three Pines enough to continue reading.

3 1/2 stars

#169. The Outlaw Album by Daniel Woodrell

Woodrell's latest offering, a collection of short stories. Same gritty writing about the seedy side of life in the Ozarks as his earlier books. He has an uncanny way of creating images with words. I prefer his novels because we spend more time with his unique characters, but still great . . . It is Woodrell, after all.

4 stars

Hi Brenda, I'm on a long waiting list at the library for The Outlaw Album. The Wall Street Journal picked it as one of their favorites for 2011.

I hope you and your family have a simply wonderful Christmas. Will you be traveling to Ohio?

You switched threads while I was gone, and I've found you just in time to wish you a very Merry Christmas, Brenda!

Thanks Roni. Love your book tree.
You are so creative and I enjoy seeing the results of your efforts . . .
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Donna. We are staying in Lawrence for the duration. . . Bailey and Lance arrive on the 28th and will stay through New Year's weekend. I'm assuming your family has arrived and you are thoroughly ensconced in "grandma heaven"! Enjoy!

p.s. Don't forget to eat your Wheaties . . .

#170. The Night Before Christmas credited to Clement Clarke Moore, Illustrated by Lee Krutop

A must read at Christmas - this children's pop-up version is a fun edition of a favorite holiday classic.

5 stars

#171. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

A book group choice, I'd looked forward to this novel about several generations of women and their connection to the Salem witch trials of1692. I found the writing to be uneven, the story just too incredible and, not all that interesting.

3 stars

Hi, Brenda. I've had the Physick Book on my wishlist for awhile but just haven't been compelled to read it yet. Good review.

Looking forward to following your reviews in 2012!

Thanks Cindy. Hope your holidays are happy!

#172. My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell

An amusing memoir about Durrell's eccentric family and his collection of pets while they lived in Corfu, Greece.

4 stars

#173. The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley

Amusing follow-up to his Parnassus on Wheels, Morley again entertains his readers with fun characters and a setting any reader could love.

3 1/2 stars

#174. Phaedrus by Plato

Companion dialogue to Symposium which was my first read of the year, Plato again discourses on the nature of love.

3 1/2 stars

New thread yet? I haven't seen it.

My new link is here. . .