2016: My Year in Reading

Oh, 2016. You were a record-breaking year for me. I have been tracking the books I've read since 2011, and my old record was 109 books in one year. This year, I completed 111. 

I also competed in a reading challenge with my good friend Ingrid over at Getting Lost in the Stacks. Ingrid set up a very challenging 2016 list of book topics. Click here to see the topic list. Obviously, Ingrid set it up to light my hair on fire. I'm happy to report that at this moment, I've completed 111 books this year. Crazy, I know, but I have. However, I have NOT completed the challenge-I still have three topics left to complete...and they are NOT going to be finished in the next two days. I'm okay with that. I started December with 19 books left to read, so I put a decent dent into my goal. :)

Here's my list of books read for the challenge: 

READING CHALLENGE 2016
LIGHT: 13
Non-fiction about science	The Story of the Human Body
That someone told you “changed their life”	Becoming Marta
Published in 2016	Girl Waits with Gun
A food memoir	Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
A play	Pygmalion
Over 100 years old	The Awakening
Over 500 pages	All the Light We Cannot See
With a main character with a mental illness	The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Written by a comedian	Modern Romance
Originally published the year you were born	The BFG
Non-fiction about a religion not your own	Islam, A Short History
Less than 100 pages	The Old Man and the Sea
With a one word title	George
AVID: 13
A BIOGRAPHY OR AUTOBIOGRAPHY	Why Not Me?
A MYSTERY	Career of Evil
BASED ON A NON "WESTERNIZED" FAIRY TALE	Beauty
WRITTEN BY AN AFRICAN	Purple Hibiscus
A GRAPHIC NOVEL	Nimona
ABOUT A ROAD TRIP	paper towns
SET IN A COUNTRY NOT YOUR OWN	A Kiss at Midnight
SET IN YOUR HOME STATE	A Rogue in Texas
WITH A WOMAN’S NAME IN THE TITLE	Esperanza Rising
WITH A CHARACTER WHO HAS YOUR NAME	Dancing with the Devil and Other Stories from Beyond
ABOUT AN ANIMAL	Four Fish
SET IN AUSTRALIA	Three Wishes
A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER	Waiting
COMMITTED: 26
About music or a musician	Life, by Keith Richards
A dystopian novel	The Maze Runner
A current New York Times Bestseller	The Martian
A satire	Catch 22
A collection of poems	A night without armor
With an ugly cover	The Dude Abides: The Gospel According to the Coen Brothers
Translated to English	1Q84
Targeted at the opposite gender	Everything Bad Is Good For You
By or about a Greek philosopher	Meditations
Takes place in a desert	The Heretic Queen
An epistolary novel	Last Days of Summer
That makes you sad	The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
That changed your opinion on a topic	How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
With bad reviews	Slaughterhouse-Five
With a number in the title	Size 12 Is Not Fat
Set in a place you’ve always wanted to visit	The Other Daughter
One you started but never finished	Darwin's Devices
A Pulitzer Prize winner	Olive Kitteridge
With non-human character	Aftermath
Self-published	Eulalia's Story
Set during a holiday	Labor Day
Film or tv tie in	Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
You pretend you’ve read it (but haven’t)	Catcher in the Rye
From the library	The Thirteenth Earl
Time travel	The Time Machine
Political memoir	I Am Malala
OBSESSED: 49
WRITTEN BY A RUSSIAN	Doctor Zhivago
ABOUT A MARTYR	Bonhoeffer
RECOMMENDED BY A PARENT	The Bible
TAKES PLACE DURING WINTER	The Call of the Wild
BIOGRAPHY OF A WORLD LEADER	Long Walk to Freedom
SELF-IMPROVEMENT	The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
THAT REMINDS YOU OF HOME	Brownsville
ABOUT A COWBOY	The Emmitt Zone
AN AUDIOBOOK	The Resurrection Casket
A BANNED BOOK	Mein Kampf
WRITTEN BY AN ACTOR	Love Life
BY OR ABOUT SHAKESPEARE	The Lodger Shakespeare
WITH A PROTAGONIST WHO HAS YOUR OCCUPATION	Emily and Einstein
ABOUT A CULTURE YOU’RE UNFAMILIAR WITH	A Passage to India
WRITTEN FROM THE LOSING SIDE’S PERSPECTIVE	All's Quiet on the Western Front
WITH A BEAUTIFUL COVER	The Nest
SOMETHING “EVERYONE” HAS READ BUT YOU	A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
TOLD FROM A CHILD’S PERSPECTIVE	Pigeon English
WITH MULTIPLE TIMELINES	The Mapmaker's Children
WRITTEN BY A CRIMINAL	Catch Me If You Can
WRITTEN BY A ‘LOCAL’ AUTHOR	Old Creole Days
MODERN RETELLING OF A CLASSIC	GREAT
NARRATED BY THE ‘BAD GUY’	The Picture of Dorian Gray
AN ALTERNATE HISTORY	The Man in the High Castle
EROTIC NOVEL	My American Duchess
SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE COMIC	Vampirella
A NOVEL WITH RECIPES IN IT	Cream Puff Murder
ABOUT A TOPIC YOU’RE AFRAID OF	Twelve years a slave
BY OR ABOUT A WORLD EXPLORER	Schooner to the Southern Oceans
ABOUT A CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC	Sandrine's Letter to Tomorrow
BASED ON A GAME	The Force Unleashed II
CONTAINING BULLYING	City of Mirrors
WRITTEN BY A FICTIONAL CHARACTER	Flowers from the Storm
ABOUT A PLAGUE	The Years of Rice and Salt
A TRILOGY THAT HASN’T BECOME A MOVIE OR TV SHOW	Potent Pleasures, Midnight Pleasures, Enchanting Pleasures
WRITTEN BY SOMEONE UNDER 20 YEARS OLD	How to Talk to Girls
NON-FICTION ABOUT ALCOHOL	Wine & War
WRITTEN BY SOMEONE OVER 65	Still Foolin' 'Em: Where I've Been, Where I'm Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys
SET PREDOMINANTLY UNDERGROUND OR UNDERWATER	The War Below
TAKES PLACE IN ASIA	The Good Earth
A MICROHISTORY	Hillbilly Elegy
SET IN A STEAMPUNK UNIVERSE	Manners and Mutiny
A BOOK WITHOUT CHAPTERS	We Need to Talk About Kevin
THAT YOU ORIGINALLY READ IN MIDDLE SCHOOL	The Raven
AbOUT AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE	Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee
A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS	Gumbo Tales
WITH MAGIC	Demon Mistress
ABOUT A CURRENT HUMANITARIAN CONCERN	The Book of Unknown Americans
WRITTEN BY A FIRST TIME AUTHOR	The Bookstore

The yellow highlighted books are the ones I haven't read. I'm currently working on The Years of Rice and Salt. I'm only one chapter in, though, so I doubt I'll get it done before year's end.

Also, a disclaimer: Several of the books were audiobooks. I spend about an hour in traffic every day, so I listened to books instead of the radio. A great side effect of listening to audiobooks is that it helps you stop messing with your phone while driving. :)

Yes, some of the books were very easy. (I'm looking at you, How to Talk to Girls and The BFG.) There were some I despised (Demon Mistress and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which I'm only picking on because I want the next book in the Song of Fire and Ice series). There were sad ones (We Need to Talk About Kevin), funny ones (Modern Romance), and books full of hope (Esperanza Rising). Of course, there were many that I absolutely loved: Hillbilly Elegy, Wine and War, The Martian, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and The Story of the Human Body). 

Overall, I'm very glad I participated in this challenge. I read things I never would have considered, and I opened my eyes a bit to new genres. I discovered I'm actually rather fond of autobiographies, particularly when they're read by the authors. I also like history much more than I thought I did. Read any of the non-fiction on my list. They're well worth the time.

So, thank you, 2016. It was a great year for reading. I look forward to next year's challenge: whittle down my current reading list to less than 20 books. It's currently at about 60, so it should be doable. Buuuut...I think Ingrid has another challenge up her sleeve, and though I swore to myself I wouldn't do another complicated challenge, I probably will. Just because I love books.

Batgirl at Super Hero High

Title: Batgirl at Super Hero High
Author: Lisa Yee
Genre: DC Comics, Super Hero, Audiobook

We listened to this book during a two-day, twelve hour road trip, and we LOVED it. The narrator did a great job keeping us (all female, ages 34, 9, 8, and 6) engaged. At certain points in the story, we paused it and discussed what was going on and what we thought would happen. 

My eldest is not good with "regular" reading, but listening to this Batgirl book really gripped her attention, and she not only retained more than normal, she also truly understood everything that was going on (unlike in "regular" books). This was definitely an eye-opening opportunity to me...I'll make sure she has access to audiobooks as well as text copies of books. Maybe that will help encourage her reading.

Back to the book: The plot moved quickly, and the audiobook was about 4.5 hours long. We mixed up the trip with "regular" reading, a movie, creative time (drawing, coloring, Play-Doh), and listening. My nine-year-old was the one who wanted to listen to the story the most. She nailed the plot and made good hypotheses about the outcome of the story. I was entertained even though I'd brought my own audiobook for listening during the trip. I saved my book for the "other" times during the driving. 

Overall, we look forward to following the Super Hero ladies through the rest of their adventures. Enjoy this title as an audiobook on your next roadtrip.

***Disclaimer: I obtained this audiobook from Blogging for Books in order to publish a review.***

The Travelers

Title: The Travelers
Author: Chris Pavone
Genre: Fiction, Spy, Thriller

The Travelers was as quick, involved read. The fast pace kept my interest, and I enjoyed "traveling" with Will as he worked to untangle all the messes he got himself into. Sometimes, the plot was a little too incredible, but this is a spy story-it's not supposed to be 100% believable. I imagined Jeremy Renner as Will, and that made the movie in my head even more interesting. :) Definitely worth a read. 

Waiting

Title: Waiting
Author: Ha Jin
Genre: Fiction, China

I really don't know why I do it to myself. Chinese novels (and many of their movies) are lovely and breath-taking, but they always leave me feeling mildly morose. On the bright side, I bounce back by realizing just how blessed I am to leave in America, where being positive is practically a national sport. I also remember to be grateful for my many, many freedoms here. This novel, set in 70s and 80s China, provided a stark reminder of just how wonderful freedom is.

Waiting is about a man, Lin Kong, who spends his life -you guessed it- waiting for things to happen. He is passive and allows everything to more or less bowl him over. Once he realizes how good the things he let go of were, it's far too late to recover them. He is a pitiable man, one who doesn't know his own self well enough to help himself in any way.

I was far more interested in the woman of the story: Shuyu, Lin's wife, and Manna, Lin's girlfriend. They are so polarly opposite and yet so very, very strong. They work, and they wait, and they live in a way Lin cannot.

I read this book for my reading challenge's topic "A National Book Award Winner". It was Jin did a lovely job crafting this novel, fleshing his characters well and giving us intriguing landscapes and settings to consider. I recommend this, but it's not a light read. It'll take some time and thought to truly absorb.

The Book of Unknown Americans

Title: The Book of Unknown Americans
Author: Cristina Henríquez
Genre: Fiction, Immigration

Oh. My. Goodness. Can I tell you how much I loved this book? My parents came here from Mexico before I was born. Our story is much different from those of the characters in this book because technically, my dad was an American born in Mexico. However, they settled in a border city because being too far from Mexico just left them both unsettled. Go to a border town-they truly are different worlds. But I digress. This book gave me just a little peek at what my mom (who was a "full-fledged" Mexican until 2001, when she became a naturalized citizen) must have gone through when she arrived here in the States. Even in border towns, where there is more sympathy and acceptance for recent arrivals, people can still be awful to one another.

In this particular book, Henríquez weaves together a tale of many families or people who have come to the U.S. from Latin American countries for a variety of reasons. It's set in a run-down apartment building in Delaware, of all places. Their voices are real, and they're full of life, hope, and pain. I am NOT a cry-baby (though if you ask my older brother, he'd probably bring up all kinds of stories to the contrary), but this book had me crying from laughter and crying from sadness.

Henríquez is a brilliant author, bringing her characters to life with such tenderness and true-to-life experiences. Their voices shine beautifully through their words, and really, I just wanted to give so many of them the hugs they desperately needed.

My recommendation: If books move you, have a box of tissues nearby. Otherwise, you'll have to use your shirt or your bedspread (which was not greatly appreciated by anyone who jumped into mama's bed that night). Definitely a book to add to your reading list for the year.

Four Fish

Title: Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food
Author: Paul Greenberg
Genre: Non-fiction, awareness

Ah, stories of why we do things and how we can improve. I read this for my book challenge's "Story about an animal" category. Four Fish tells all about how humans came to focus on cod, salmon, bass, and tuna...and how we're depleting our sources by pretending the ocean will never run out of fish.

First, I was fascinated by a concept Greenberg introduced. Humanity, particularly the western peoples, has boiled all the potential meat food sources to four animals from each of the major groups. For fish, see previous paragraph. Land animals: cows, goats, pigs, and sheep. Fowl: chicken, duck, turkey, and...Shucks, I can't remember, and I already returned the book to my library. But still, isn't that crazy? I'd never noticed that about my diet. Moving along.

While my undergrad degree is in oceanography, I'm not particularly keen on fishing. I like to look at fish in aquariums and eat them, but other than that, they don't interest me. I'm more into how the currents affect the way they swim and where they go and all that other dorky stuff. So this book was a bit of a stretch for me, but this year's reading challenge is all about stretching those wings.

Naturally, I was fascinated. Greenberg does an excellent job of engaging his audience and drawing us in. I felt the plight of the poor, overfished tuna and of the salmon who can no longer make their runs because of dams a little too deeply. What I liked best is that Greenberg did NOT spend his book complaining. He explained, he described, and he offered solutions. Thanks to him, I'm going to be trying out a whole bunch of new, sustainable fish (if I can find them). Vote with your dollars and your plates, folks!

This book is for you if you:
a.) need a reference on the plight of overfishing,
b.) care for the environment, particularly that of the ocean and its critters, or
c.) want to learn more about why you eat what you do.

What do you think about this fish tale?

The Mapmaker's Children

Title: The Mapmaker's Children

Author: Sarah McCoy

Genre: Fiction, Historical (Civil War)

I really enjoyed this book, which surprised me. Typically, I'm not a huge fan of Civil War novels: they're bloody, they're heartbreaking, and they fill me with immense national shame. "Slavery is WRONG," I want to yell at everyone. I'm so glad we're done with slavery. Now on to equal rights! We're still working on that, but the fact that we're working is positive, and I pray we can see a day where our children will look at all people and say, "They're people, and we're all different, and it's cool because their moms cook awesome food and their accents are fun to listen to." Or something like that. But before I start on my "everyone is awesome so get over the differences" rant, let's talk about The Mapmaker's Children. 

Typically, I'm not a fan of John Brown. I admire his pluck and courage, but I do not support the violent actions he took at Harper's Ferry. Talk about the wrong way to start a rebellion. If you're going to do something that drastic, be sure it's going to succeed! Anyhow, our Civil War era protagonist is Sarah Brown, John's daughter. I like her a lot. She is everything you'd want a forward-looking young lady to be: not hung up on love, devoted to a cause, brave, and willing to speak out on her beliefs. She is an active participant in the Underground Railroad, working hard to get concealed maps to conductors and slaves during the turbulent 1850s and 1860s era. Read the book; I'm not going to spoil her story here. 

Since this book shifts between 1859-1864 and 2014, our modern-era protagonist is Eden. I did not care for her at first. She definitely had to grow on me. The supporting ensemble of characters were much more interesting and less whiny. Of course, we have a lot to learn about Eden, so there's plenty of opportunity to figure out why she's whining. Eden's stake in this novel starts with her moving into an historic home and discovering a bizarre doll head in her cellar. It turns out her home was part of the Underground Railroad, and the more Eden learns about her house, the more she learns about herself.

This book was a quick read for me. I hope you'll enjoy it. Post a comment and let me know what you thought!

***DISCLAIMER***
A publishing company sent me this book for an honest review. All opinions are, quite naturally, my own.

King Spa

Place: King Spa
Location: Chicago, IL

My husband and I got a Groupon for this AWESOME place when we saw it advertised on Facebook. We'd never realized that it was less than a mile from our home, and we regret it so much! We're getting ready to move (again) in just a few weeks, so we can't take advantage of it too many more times. It's a shame because there are year-long subscriptions, and we would have jumped on that in a heartbeat.

Oh, well. Suffice to say, we LOVED this place. There are eight steam rooms, and the whole point of the place is to relax. We sat and enjoyed letting the hours slip by while breathing the warm, moist air. It worked wonders on my sore throat. I went home almost completely healed. Hooray!

The tubs (separated by gender) were very relaxing. It was a little awkward stripping down to my birthday suit with so many strangers, but I got over it pretty quickly. There were three temperatures of tubs: HOT, warm, and ICY. I jumped from one to the other in intervals and followed it up by sitting in the steam room. Then I showered and did it all over again.

Hydration-wise: There were several water fountains and water coolers. You will not dehydrate unless you don't pay attention to your body.

Food-wise, there was a Korean restaurant inside. We had delicious meals that were light but filling.

King Spa is also located in Dallas. If you're anywhere near one, GO THERE! You'll probably find a Groupon or Living Social coupon somewhere, and it's well worth the experience. Enjoy!

Islam: A Short History

Title: Islam: A Short History
Author: Karen Armstrong
Genre: Non-Fiction, Religion

Karen Armstrong is an excellent author if you want to learn a complicated subject. She breaks things down into simple parts and explains them thoroughly without making the reader feel dumb. She handles the history of Islam in a handful of chapters, going through each major period with minor sub-titular breaks.

Islam has long been a subject I wanted to know more about, but all the books I tried were just a little too involved or a little too dry. Now that I've got this one in my brain, I'll probably be able to handle the more complicated ones. Thanks, Karen Armstrong!

Pygmalion

Title: Pygmalion
Author: George Bernard Shaw
Genre: Play

Oh, George Bernard Shaw. I just love reading his plays. They're snappy and witty and fun.

This, of course, is the play on which My Fair Lady is based. It is really fun. Reading Shaw's intended accents for Eliza sort of turned my mind in loops-it's such a strong, harsh language!

And the ending is much different. Shaw wrote it much differently than the movie had it. There will be no spoilers here, so read it and discover Eliza in her true sharp glory.

All the Light We Cannot See

Title: All the Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Genre: Fiction, World War II

I finally figured out why everyone's been talking about this book. Wow, is it fantastic! I loved every minute of it. There are two points of view we read this from: a German soldier's and a blind French girl's. Doerr handles the transitions flawlessly, moving you from one mindset to another, always cleverly weaving the story like Charlotte did her webs.

I especially loved Doerr's attention to details. It was so easy for me to picture the buildings, the cities, and the people themselves. The scent of the bakery and the sea of the coast of St. Malo drifted into my mind as though I was there. This was definitely a highly sensory book, and I loved it.

Enjoy this one!