Back in January 2016 I set myself the goal of reading (listening to) 20 books in the year 2016! Somehow, I had so much fun reading that after getting to 20 I moved the goal to 35. Well 2016 is just about over and I’m proud to say that I just finished book 40! Below is a recap of the books and my thoughts about them. I also was having a page count battle with a friend of mine, so that is why the page counts are listed!
If I had to list out a top 10 list of the 40 that I read this year it would look like this.
1. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
3. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
4. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
5. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
6. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
7. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
8. Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica
9. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
10. Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling
1. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen (608 pages) **** 4/5 stars
A good read, but a long read and too wordy.
2. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins (336 pages) 5/5 stars
I read this before the movie, so am excited to see the movie. This was a great suspense book with a few twists!
3. The Good Earth by Pearl Buck (368 pages) 2/5 stars
What a long and boring book, did not enjoy this one at all!
4. Yes Please by Amy Poehler (352 pages) 5/5 stars
I loved this book! And especially loved how it was read by Amy herself. It felt like she was sitting in the room talking to me, then Seth Meyers read for his chapter, and they had a little dialogue between them that I’m sure wasn’t in the “real book” just on the audio!
5. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (784 pages) 3/5 stars
This book started out great but I felt that it kept going on and on. If only the editor had trimmed this book down I think I really would have enjoyed it.
6. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (432 pages) 5/5 stars
I cheated and read this one after seeing the movie. I was suprised that the movie followed the book pretty much exactly. The movie was great and so was the book! A great suspenseful read with crazy twists at the end.
7. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari (288 pages) 4/5 stars
I love Aziz Ansari in Parks & Recreation as well as his stand up routines, so that is what I was hoping for with this book. Unfortunately this was more of a Non-Fiction book than a comedy book. It had way too many facts about his research about dating than I cared to hear about. Though I am giving it 4 stars because he did bring some humor into it and I enjoyed hearing him call me lazy more than once because I was audio reading the book!
8. Deeper than the Dead by Tami Hoag (560 pages) 4/5 stars
This was a great read with some crazy suspenseful twists.
9. Defending Jacob by William Landay (448 pages) 4/5 stars
I did enjoy the suspense in this book, but the subject matter was difficult to swallow. I would recommend it to some, but you would need to know that Jacob is a difficult character to read about.
10. All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (544 pages) 3/5 stars
I’ve heard this is the best book in the world. Unfortunately the audio version is really hard to follow, thus I will be reading this book again next year in hopes I find the true magic in this one. But I did enjoy the telling of the story throughout this book and look forward to reading it again to truly understand what was going on.
11. A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman (368 pages) 5/5 stars
Loved loved loved this book! Just a good read about an older man who lives his life the way he wants to live it! Would absolutely read this book again and I can’t wait to see the movie!
12. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (448 pages) 5/5 stars
Loved this book...told of the war when the Nazis were in control. Really had forgotten or didn't know that the French were in as much despair as the rest of the countries. A story about saving friends and others even though one would be killed and tortured to do so. The ending was great and brought me to tears. Would highly recommend this one.
13. A Book by An Author (416 pages) 4/5 stars
This was actually a really good book. But I had no idea it was a chick lit book until I started reading it, though I should have known from the title. I actually enjoyed this book and the crazy twist at the end. The best part...I found this book on my wife’s nightstand AFTER listening to the whole thing. I would recommend it, but will not admit to reading it!
14. The Giver (240 pages) 3/5 stars
A quick read, an OK book.
15. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (288 pages) 3/5 stars
I enjoyed this book. The way the author was able to visually put me back in this time and setting was unbelievable! I connected with some parts at the end of the book and really enjoyed the book. I highly recommend listening to the audio book as you get the delight to listening to Reese Witherspoon!
16. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (368 pages) 3/5 stars
A dark and somewhat clunky book, enjoyed some parts of it but I can see why this didn't make for a great movie...was disappointed with the ending. After such a great build up its like the author just gave up. Wouldn't recommend this to many people, the subject matter is just too difficult and didn't need to be.
17. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan (288 pages) 4/5 stars
This is a funny read. Hearing about Jim’s life is hysterical! Would recommend it for a great laugh!
18. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi (256 pages) 5/5 stars
This book is a great read about life and actually choosing to live life, though it is sad at the end, Kalanithi has some amazing quotes in the book about living life. And not cliche type quotes. More about living life and that death happens but to keep hope alive and be brave. Here is one thing he said that left a mark on me. "Death comes for all of us. For us, for our patients; it is our fate as living, breathing, metabolizing organisms. Most lives are lived with passivity toward death - it's something that happens to you and those around you...death always wins. Even if you are perfect, the world isn't. The secret is to know that the deck is stacked, that you will lose...You can't ever reach perfection, but you can believe in an asymptote toward which you are ceaselessly striving.")
19. The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens (303 pages) 5/5 stars
This surprised me that it was so good! I really enjoyed this book and the twists and turns that went on throughout it. I can’t wait to read more by this author.
20. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (208 pages) 3/5 stars
Did not know that this was going to be a fantasy book when I read it. It was good though strange, but still a good read with some intense mystery.
21. Wild by Cheryl Strayed (336 pages) 4/5 stars
I read this after watching the movie. The book and the movie were both great. Just a meandering book and movie for that matter, but a fun, light and easy read.
22. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter (592 pages) 5/5 stars
An amazingly thrilling book that is gruesome and amazing all at the same time. It kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the read. I would highly recommend this read, though the subject matter is a difficult one to read at times.
23. 11/22/63 by Stephen King (849 pages) 5/5 stars
I read this book after watching the mini-series because I had heard that the mini-series added characters to take the place of what the main character was thinking in his head. This was absolutely the case, so much so that it made the mini-series difficult to watch because of the added character. I loved the whole synopsis of this book (getting to go back in time to stop the Kennedy assassination from happening). The going back in time with the knowledge of this time was/is fascinating to me! Though it is a long read I highly enjoyed it!
24. Gumption by Nick Offerman (416 pages) 4/5 stars
Like Aziz Ansari’s book, this one was a bit too factual for me as well. Though Offerman has a great way of delivering the facts and make it fun to listen to at the same time. This was a great read and I learned a ton about different leaders of our past at the same time!
25. Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan (592 pages) 4/5 stars
This was a fun book I read for a reading club with kids from my school. A mysteriously fun book about a traveling harmonica. I would absolutely read this book again and thoroughly enjoyed the musical stories throughout the book. It was an added bonus to get to listen to this book because all of the harmonica music pieces were played during the reading of the book.
26. Finders Keepers by Stephen King (544 pages) 4/5 stars
A great typical Stephen King thriller, would recommend!
27. Don’t You Cry by Mary Kubica (368 pages) 5/5 stars
I actually meant to read The Good Girl instead of this one, but ended up reading this one first and thought it was much better than The Good Girl. I loved the main girl (on the cover) and the twists and turns this book took. I look forward to reading more from this author.
28. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (336 pages) 5/5 stars
This book quite surprised me as it is told from the perspective of the dog. It is a great read and had me crying by the end.
29. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica (384 pages) 4/5 stars
This is a good book with great twists and turns, but just not as great as Don’t You Cry. I look forward to seeing this movie soon.
30. Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling (240 pages) 5/5 stars
I love listening to Mindy Kaling read her books. She has such a natural style of writing which makes me think we are sitting having a cup of coffee. It was great to hear about choices she has made in her life. This book was really funny and a great read!
31. The Leftovers by Tom Perrota (384 pages) 4/5 stars
I read this book after watching both seasons of The Leftovers, hoping to glean some extra hints into the what/why that came at the end of season 2. But this story is only about the first season and is pretty much an exact telling of the story. So though a great read, if you’ve already seen the show I would skip this one.
32. Same Kind of Different as Me (256 pages) 3/5 stars
I had heard this was a great book and it was good. But I didn’t really enjoy all the characters, perhaps that was due in part to the person who read the book to me. But I thought this book could have went deeper and been so much more. Though I was hoping for more, it was still a good read of learning about those different from us.
33. Inferno by Dan Brown (576 pages) 4/5 stars
I read this after seeing the movie trailer for the book. I absolutely loved Brown’s other books - Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. But this book was not near as good as those two. Plus I am not sure how much I care about satan and all things associated with that topic. So though it was a good book, I felt it wasn’t near as good as the other two.
34. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (656 pages) 5/5 stars
All that being said about Dan Brown, I had heard this book was really good...so being on a Dan Brown kick i thought I’d give this one a go. And boy was I in for a great ride! I absolutely loved it! It was great to learn about all the masonic folk-lore and the history of Washington D.C. A great and thrilling read, would highly recommend!
35. Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me? by Mindy Kaling (240 pages) 5/5
Another great Mindy Kaling read. This one told more about how she got started in the world of television and about her role in acting/writing on The Office. A great fun and easy listen with special appearances by B.J. Novak.
36. Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella (272 pages) 2/5
I started reading this book after hearing that the author had passed away. This book is the basis for one of my all time favorite movies, Field of Dreams. I enjoyed hearing the differences between the movie and the book. But in the end it was a really clunky telling of the story of Shoeless Joe that I am so glad they just took bits and pieces of to make the movie.
37. Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris (288 pages) 3/5
I really enjoy David Sedaris, but this book never clicked for me. I enjoyed many of the stories, but I didn’t feel they were as funny as many of his other books have been.
38. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (392 pages) 4/5 stars
This was a fun read! I enjoyed the story and it reminded me much of the Harry Potter series, I’m excited to see the movie soon.
39. Where’d You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple (330 pages) 3/5 stars
I was told this book was like the female version of A Man Called Ove. I would say that though it has some of the same characteristics, it did not live up to my expectations. It was a fun easy read, but nothing much more than that.
40. Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (416 pages) 4/5 stars
Another fun read by this author, looking forward to the third book in this series and the eventual movie that this book will be made into.
Total Page Count = 16,370
Thanks for following, here’s to another great year of reading!
