I finished 91 books in 2012
36 were Non-Fiction
20 were Audiobooks
With Overlap:
Southern Literature:
Love in the Ruins by Walker Percy
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing
Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred Taylor
The Velvet Horn by Andrew Lytle
The Collected Stories of William Faulkner
Fidelity by Wendell Berry
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
Oxford Christians:
Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber
The Place of the Lion by Charles Williams
The Weight of Glory by C. S. Lewis
The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers
Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis
Classics (Loosely Defined):
The Iliad by Homer
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Solzhenitsyn
The Stranger by Camus
The End of the Affair by Graham Greene
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Henry VI, Parts I, II, and III
Top Non-Fiction: (These are possibly my favorite books of the year. I have started enjoying NF almost more the F. Perhaps I am making poor choices in F.)
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
Angels in the Architecture by Doug Wilson and Doug Jones
The Roots of American Order by Russell Kirk
The Greek way by Edith Hamilton (A)
Towards a Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes (A)
The Road to Serfdom by Hayek (A)
The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter
The Pleasures of Reading in an age of Distraction by Alan Jacobs
Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber
The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell
Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis
The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers
Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Fergusen (A)
Books on Writing:
Elmore Leonard's 10 Rules of Writing (short)
On Writing by Stephen King (very interesting)
Wordsmithy by Doug Wilson (cheap trick)
Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott (different)
Write Away by Elizabeth George (very good)
The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers (superb)
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard (vague)
Top Audiobooks:
The End of the Affair by Graham Green, read by Colin Firth (Oh, my)
A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett, read by Stephen Briggs ( I would listen to anything he read)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, read by Simon Slater (Good book, good reading)
Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, read by Simon Vance ( I slightly preferred Vance.This book is even better than first.)
The Thomas Sowell Reader by Thomas Sowell, read by Robertson Dean (Not my favorite reader)
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes, read by Malcolm Hillgartner (Not sure I could have gotten through this if it hadn't been for audio but glad I did.)
The Echo of Greece by Edith Hamilton, read by Nadia May (Love her voice.)
A Soldier of the Great War by Mark Halprin, read by David Colacci
Honorable Mentions:
11/22/63 by Stephen King, read by Craig Wasson (I liked the book with a few exceptions; I did not love the narrator.)
The Brothers K by David James Duncan, read by Robertson Dean (Narration was not so great but loved the story and time period which was also the time period of 11/22/63 moving into my own childhood and teen years.)
Top Fiction:
Charles Todd's 2 releases The Confession and An Unmarked Death. (Consistently well-written)
Godric by Fredrick Buechner
Love in the Ruins and The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
A Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
The Importance of Being Ernest by Oscar Wilde (Never grows stale)
Both Hilary Mantel books: Wolf Hall and Bring up the Bodies
Good Omens by Neill Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (Weird, not for everyone)
No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie (I continue to enjoy her new releases)
Death in a Strange Country by Donna Leon (I will read more of this series)
A Hatful of Sky by Terry Pratchett (I will probably listen to Discworld from the beginning but I love weird British humor.)
2 by Elizabeth Ironside A Very Private Enterprise and An Unmarked Death
The Venetian Affair by Helen MacInnes (Who was married to Gilbert Highet.)
The House of Arden by E. Nesbit (Favorite Read-Aloud)
BEST Book of the Year:
Towards a Philosophy of Education by Charlotte Mason
This book fashioned the entire second half of my year, my Circe talk, my school planning and my ability to remember the past. It is my book of the decade or perhaps my book of the quarter century.
Great list of books! I'll be mining it for my choices this year. Thanks for sharing and happy new year!
ReplyDeleteI am DETERMINED to keep a book list this coming year. (My kindle history doesn't count.) Can you remind me how you do this again?
ReplyDeleteOhhhh "Godric". I adore. And okay fine, I will read the full Towards a Philosophy if I do anything else in 2013. You have convinced but it won't be among 90 other books to boot.
ReplyDeleteI always love reading your book lists.
ReplyDeleteI finally bought Towards a Philosophy of Education and can't wait to read it this year!
Great lists. I stalled in Wolf Hall because the library asked for it back. I intend to start up again now that it is in the new year. I didn't know that Helen MacInnis was married to Highet. Interesting. I have been meaning to read the Discworld books for years. Which is #1? I agree about Wilde. I never tire of reading and re-reading his works but Ernest is definitely one of my favorites. I liked Ironside's mysteries and always look forward to Charles Todd's books. I read the Maisie Dobbs and the Mary Russell series this year. I'm looking for a new series to start. :)
ReplyDeleteI received Bonhoeffer for Christmas and have a stack of audiobooks to hear. Now if I can just organize myself well enough to get them onto my phone so I can listen on my commute, I may actually get to them.
Thanks for the list. I always enjoy reading about what you are reading.
JOy
More book questions....I did make a list in Evernote. I think I got most of last year on there. It's a start!
ReplyDeleteDo you use GoodReads for reviews? I rely on amazon, audible, and friends' recommendations. How much commitment does GoodReads require?
I record the books I read in my yearly calendar. I write the name and author of the book on the date I finished it. I also keep a running list in the back of my calender with more notes such as F or NF, Audio, MT etc. I have not used GoodReads as well as I would have imagined. Maybe someday.
DeleteThank you, Cindy. Your lists are always very helpful!
ReplyDeleteRenee, I usually get my recommendations the same way you do. I also get recommendations from my library website which has reviews, book matches, and databases with books and authors. GoodReads requires the amount of time and attention you want to give. I usually add my stuff in batches when I have time. Between GoodReads and my library return record, I can usually piece together a reading list but I'm sure there were gaps. I am going to try to do better this year. :)
ReplyDeleteI like GoodReads and always intend to use it more than I actually do use it but I do read through the emails it sends me with friends' reviews. I also have two accounts accidentally which always confuses me.
ReplyDeleteI also rely on Amazon and Audible and word-of-mouth. I am always especially wary with my Audible credits but Audible is very good at swaying me into things I would not normally read but I try to be extra careful.
THIS IS YOUR CONSCIENCE SPEAKING…leave your Audible credits for your husband!!!
ReplyDelete