Short, sometimes one sentence, reviews of books I read in 2016. The reviews go in reverse chronological order of when I read them. So, books I'm still reading are first and books from last January are at the end.
I read forty-three books in 2016 (probably more as I
re-read a lot of books that I have and check out a few physical copies of books that aren’t available
for check out online for Kindle). Twenty-eight by women (I thought there would be more.
Ever since I did that year of reading books written only by female authors, I’ve
lean towards books written by women. I think I read 70+ books in 2015, so the decline is something to ponder.
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All I
Did Was Shoot My Man: A Leonid McGill Mystery (Leonid McGill series Book 4)
Walter Mosley
Almost finished with this one. I just want to sit in a warm
corner with hot cocoa and finish it whenever I’m doing something else.
·
...
The
Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Malcolm Gladwell
Everything from STD outbreaks, to decline in crime, to
fashion trends and how they happen. Something as small as reducing medical
personnel by a few people can have a disproportionate effect. Not finished, but
so far, so fascinating. Makes sense since I liked Blink by the same author.
·
...
Orange
Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison
Piper Kerman
I love the series on Netflix and it
was fun connecting the people in the book with the characters on the show. It
was a lot more poignant than I thought. Well-written.
·
...
When
the Thrill Is Gone: A Leonid McGill Mystery (Leonid McGill series Book 3)
Walter Mosley
See review of book 1 below.
·
...
Year
of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
Shonda Rhimes
Obviously it’s going to be
well-written and engaging. It’s Shonda Rhimes for goodness sakes. But still a nice
glimpse into the life (internal, social, and family) of someone who seemingly
has it all and how she shook it up. Something basic as saying yes to things one
would normally say no can make a huge difference. Funny enough, whenever I’ve
been in a rut, I use the George Constanza method of doing the opposite of what
I usually do. “Hi. I’m George. I’m unemployed and I live with my parents.” It
works every time.
·
...
Career
of Evil (Cormoran Strike Book 3)
Robert Galbraith
The best one in the series. The
ending fell a little flat for me, but the ride there was rich and intense. The
extra involvement of his assistant, Robin, and the light shed on her background
and personal life added an extra layer that fit great. Highly recommend.
·
...
The
Long Fall: The First Leonid McGill Mystery (Leonid McGill series Book 1)
Walter Mosley
This is tied with the Cormoran
Strike series for my favorite detective novels. I might even like this one
more. This one is set in NYC in the modern day (as opposed to Easy’s post WWII
L.A.). I used to live in New York, so I know a lot of his locations, which
makes it more fun. The mysteries can get complicated (for me – I’m not much for
plot. I like characters.), but the characters are colorful and wonderfully fun,
even the serial killers/assassins. There are always surprises and the books are
all so well written. I am currently on book 4 and cannot bring myself to read
anything else when the next book in the series becomes available through
e-library I use. I highly recommend this entire series.
·
...
My
Beloved World
Sonia Sotomayor
Amazingly detailed memoir from
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (that’s how I always refer to her). From growing
up in the Bronx in a Puerto Rican family with an alcoholic father to trying to
navigate the academics and privileged ways of Princeton then Yale Law School to
being a prosecutor in Manhattan then joining a boutique law firm and then the
beginning of her judge career. What an incredible life and person!
·
...
Known
to Evil: A Leonid McGill Mystery (Leonid McGill series Book 2)
Walter Mosley
See review of book 1 above.
·
...
Shrill:
Notes from a Loud Woman
Lindy West
Good memoir from journalist and
feminist writer about being fat and accepting it, falling in love and being in
relationships, and dealing with heinous, sexist, garbage trolls. I like her on
twitter and I liked this book.
·
...
The
Rookie Mom's Handbook: 250 Activities to Do with (and Without!) Your Baby
Heather Gibbs Flett
Definitely need a hard copy of this one.
·
...
Fearless
Jones
Walter Mosley
This is an up-to-date detective-ish series set in L.A. I
couldn’t get into it. Two out of three ain’t bad, though (Easy Rawlins and
Leonid McGill series I love).
·
...
Bad
Boy Brawly Brown: An Easy Rawlins Mystery
Walter Mosley
I think this was a re-read.
·
...
Six
Easy Pieces: Easy Rawlins Stories
Walter Mosley
Great short mysteries.
·
...
Rose
Gold: An Easy Rawlins Mystery
Walter Mosley
Another great Easy Rawlins book. I love reading about L.A.
during this time period. The mystery is always good. The characters are
interesting. And Easy’s life developments are great, too. I love living with
these characters for the short time I’m reading the book. Same with the Leonid
McGill series.
·
...
The
Forest of Hands and Teeth
Carrie Ryan
Decent entry into the
post-apocalyptic, dystopian, zombie world. YA with a girl protagonist.
·
...
The
Secrets of Lake Road: A Novel
Karen Katchur
Mystery beach read about a girl unlocking the secrets of her
mother’s past while on vacation at their lakehouse.
·
...
'Til
the Well Runs Dry: A Novel
Lauren
Francis-Sharma
A very long and detailed novel about the life of a girl
growing up in Trinidad. I couldn’t finish it. It didn’t seem to have a point,
but neither did Some Luck (see review below). I just couldn’t get into this
one.
·
...
Under
a Painted Sky
Stacey Lee
Kind of Western YA. The protagonist
is a girl who wants to become a musician. She loses her father and has to go on
the run with a runaway slave. I would recommend for 12 and up.
·
...
Close
Range: Wyoming Stories
Annie Proulx
I like to re-read Brokeback Mountain
to see if I can glean any more tidbits about one of my favorite romances of all
time. Some of the other stories are brutal.
·
...
Winter's
Bone: A Novel
Daniel
Woodrell
Re-read. Always good. About a teen
girl living in Appalachia drug territory trying to save her family home.
·
...
A
Sense of the Infinite
Hilary T. Smith
Great YA realistic read about a girl
in her senior trying to find herself and not lose her best friend. I recommend
it for very mature girls 13 years of age and up, especially those who seem to
sacrifice what they want to follow the crowd/friends.
·
...
The
Carnival at Bray
Jessie Ann Foley
Coming of age story about a girl who
moves from the U.S. to Ireland with her family and her relationship with her
mom, grandmother, and uncle who introduces to her great music. Set in the early
90s.
·
...
Little
Peach
Peggy Kern
Very short novella, almost a
brochure, of how one girl ended up as a child prostitute in New York. The
author works with such teens and it has a very real feel to it. A difficult one
to stomach, but recommended reading.
·
...
Go
Tell It on the Mountain (Vintage International)
James Baldwin
I couldn’t finish this. I like the excerpts I read from
Baldwin’s writings, but have a hard time with the full books, fiction or non. I’m
going to have to work on this in 2017.
·
...
Your
Beauty Mark: The Ultimate Guide to Eccentric Glamour
Von Teese
Not too many helpful tips, but
beautiful pictures and fun read. Would love a physical copy to dog ear. The amount
of work to achieve such glamour would require an encyclopedia of instructions.
·
...
Bone
Gap
Laura Ruby
About two brothers and their lives
in a small town. The younger is dreamy and the older hard and type A. There’s
romance, mystery, and a bit of horror (in my pansy opinion). It reads like a
fantasy novel, but it isn’t. Decent book.
·
...
The
Nest
Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
A book about four siblings in New York fighting over a trust
fund that may or many not exist. Good entry in the realistic genre.
·
...
Daily
Rituals: How Artists Work
Currey
Fascinating. Interesting read. Short
blurbs of how artists worked, either from their own words or descriptions by
those close to them. There is no one way to create great art. Wouldn’t mind a
physical copy to dog ear.
·
...
Fourth
Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson Book 4)
Darynda Jones
See book 1 review below.
·
...
Second
Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson Book 2)
Darynda Jones
See book 1 review below.
·
...
Third
Grave Dead Ahead (Charley Davidson Book 3)
Darynda Jones
See book 1 review below.
·
...
The
Hangman (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel)
Louise Penny
See book 1 review below.
·
...
Still
Life: A Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (A Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Book
1)
Louise Penny
A detective series set in a small town in Quebec. The first
book was good. Charming with a good story.
·
...
The
Monkey's Raincoat (An Elvis Cole Novel Book 1)
Robert Crais
Pretty good. Read it on a recommendation from someone who
also likes detective novels. This is will be a fallback series for me when
there are no new Cormoran Strike, Leonid McGill, Easy Rawlins, or Harry Bosch
novels.
·
...
First
Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson Book 1)
Darynda
Jones
A series in the vain of True Blood
except instead of a waitress, it’s a female detective that has supernatural
abilities and entanglements. Interesting characters.
·
...
Bitterblue
(Graceling Realm Book 3)
Kristin
Cashore
Fantasy YA. I couldn’t finish this. The
first book was decent, but the series got progressively bad.
·
...
The
Girl With All the Gifts
M. R. Carey
Great dystopian novel. If you like
post-apocalyptic/dystopian stories, this is one for you.
·
...
The
Burning Room (A Harry Bosch Novel Book 19)
Michael Connelly
Even after 19 books, still a good
series and I’ve loved following the personal life of Detective Bosch. Great
L.A. detective series in the vein of Raymond Chandler and Detective Marlowe.
·
...
The
Silkworm (Cormoran Strike Book 2)
Robert Galbraith
Another in a great detective series.
·
...
Sh*t
My Kids Ruined: An A-Z Celebration of Kid-Destruction
Haas Brophy
This was maybe not the best book to
read when two months pregnant.
·
...
Aristotle
and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Benjamin Alire Saenz
Realistic YA coming of age about two
boys in high school in the Southwest. Good book. Recommend for teens.
·
...
Some
Luck: A novel (The Last Hundred Years Trilogy: A Family Saga)
Jane Smiley
Epic feel, but accessible writing.
Great story if you enjoy history. All around great American novel.
I also read American Gods twice over the summer for the 19th
and 20th times probably and various other “real” (physical) books
that I can’t remember.
On the list for 2017:
The New Jim Crow
Between the World and Me
Rethink:
The Surprising History of New Ideas
Guns, Germs, Steel
I’m always looking for detective
novels and post-apocalyptic/dystopian novel recommendations as well as non-fiction in the vein of The Warmth of Other Suns or Blink. Let me know if you
have any.
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