What I’m reading

2018

“The Accidental Buddhist,” by Dinty W. Moore

2017

“Turtles All the Way Down,” by John Green

“Lafayette in the Somewhat United States,” by Sarah Vowell

“We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves,” by Karen Joy Fowler

“Astrophysics for People in a Hurry,” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

“The Diary of a Young Girl,” by Anne Frank

“The Dance of Anger,” by Harriet Lerner

“The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas

“The Last Anniversary,” by Liane Moriarty

“The Dinner,” by Herman Koch

“The Marvels,” by Brian Selznick

“Shrill,” by Lindy West (super fantastic)

“Option B,” by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant

“The Year of Living Biblically,” by A.J. Jacobs

“Approval Junkie,” by Faith Salie

“Wonder,” by R.J. Palacio (second time, this time, for book group!)

“Into the Water,” by Paula Hawkins

“The Underground Railroad,” by Colson Whitehead

“Strike Sparks,” by Sharon Olds (amazing)

“Horoscopes for the Dead,” by Billy Collins

“A Man Called Ove,” by Fredrik Backman

“Everything is Perfect When You’re a Liar,” by Kelly Oxford

“The Art of Memoir,” by Mary Karr

“American Gods,” by Neil Gaiman

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” by Margaret Atwood (way more chilling to read these days)

“Forever is the Worst Long Time,” by Camille Pagan

2016

“Americans’ Favorite Poems” edited by Robert Pinsky and Maggie Dietz

“Better Living Through Criticism,” by A. O. Scott

“Between the World and Me,” by Ta-Nehisi Coates

“The Solace of Stones,” by Julie Riddle

“Why Not Me?” by Mindy Kaling

“Love Warrior,” by Glennon Doyle Melton

“The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo,” by Amy Schumer

“Truly, Madly, Guilty,” by Liane Moriarty

“Lamb,” by Christopher Moore

“All the Light We Cannot See,” by Anthony Doerr

“Me Before You” by Jojo Moyes

“Recipe for a Beautiful Life: A Memoir in Stories,” by Rebecca Barry

“The Second Life of Nick Mason” by Steve Hamilton

“Bringing Up Bebe” by Pamela Druckerman

“The Age of Miracles” by Karen Thompson Walker

“Life and Other Near Death Experiences” by Camille Pagan

“The Secret Game” by Scott Ellsworth

“Hyperbole and a Half” by Allie Brosh

“The Midwife’s Revolt” by Jodi Daynard

“You” by Caroline Kepnes

“I Don’t Know Where You Know Me From” by Judy Greer

“Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear” by Elizabeth Gilbert

2015

“Burial Rites” by Hannah Kent

“Mennonite in a Little Black Dress” by Rhonda Janzen

“Room” by Emma Donaghue

“What Alice Forgot” by Liane Moriarty

“Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty

“The Husband’s Secret” by Liane Moriarty

“The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin

“Every Father’s Daughter: Twenty-four Women Writers Remember Their Fathers,” edited by Margaret McMullan

“I See You Made an Effort” by Annabelle Gurwitch

“Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card

“Paper Towns” by John Green

“The Secret History of Wonder Woman” by Jill Lepore

“Adultery” by Paulo Coelho

“The Department of Speculation” by Jenny Offill

“Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel

“The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins

“The Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

“Yes Please” by Amy Poehler

“Tiny Beautiful Things” by Cheryl Strayed

“Wild” by Cheryl Strayed

“Gone Girl” by Gillian Flynn

“Wonder,” by P.J. Palaco (one of my all-time favorites)

“Divergent,” “Insurgent,” and “Allegiant” by Veronica Roth

“Lean In,” by Sheryl Sandberg

2012 (incomplete list – I kind of lost the thread – but here’s what I remember reading)

“Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” by Amy Chua

“The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” by Brian Seznick

“Enlightened Sexism,” by Susan J. Douglas

“I Feel Bad About My Neck” by Nora Ephron (a second time for book group, after Ephron’s death)

“All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren (book group)

“The Law of Strings” by Steve Gillis (for work)

“Does This Church Make Me Look Fat?” by Rhoda Janzen (for work)

“Paradise Hops” by Liz Crowe (for work)

“The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green (LOVED this book, the first I’ve ever read on a Kindle)

“How to be Gay” by David Halperin (for work)

“My Heart is an Idiot” by Davy Rothbart (for work)

(With Lily at bedtime: “The Trumpet of the Swan,” “Stuart Little,” and “Charlotte’s Web,” by E.B. White; “The Phantom Tollbooth,” by Norton Juster; “Peter Pan,” by J. M. Barrie (not our best choice); “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” by J.K. Rowling; “The Tale of Desperaux,” by Kate DiCamillo.)

2011

“Life is So Good,” by George Dawson and Richard Glaubman (Ann Arbor/Ypsi Reads selection) – big “meh” on this one.

“Lastingness: The Art of Old Age,” by Nicholas Delbanco (author feature for A2.com)

“Gunn’s Golden Rules: Life’s Little Lessons for Making it Work” (fun dish about “Project Runway and fashion industry icons!)

“Poser: My Life in 23 Yoga Poses,” by Claire Dederer (LOVED this one)

“Born Standing Up,” by Steve Martin

“Bossypants,” by Tina Fey

“The Imperfectionists,” by Tom Rachman

“Big Girl Small,” by Rachel DeWoskin (author feature for A2.com)

“The Art of Forgetting,” by Camille Noe Pagan (author feature for A2.com)

“The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet,” by Jamie Ford (for book discussion at Camp Michigania – heavy-handed, sentimental blah blah, in my humble opinion)

“Cinderella Ate My Daughter,” by Peggy Orenstein

“Something Borrowed,” by Emily Giffin

“Ballistics: Poems,” by Billy Collins

“Starlight,” by Neil Gaiman

“The Help,” by Kathryn Stockett

“Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on my Pajamas and Found Happiness,” by Dominique Browning

“This is Where I Leave You,” by Jonathan Tropper

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” by Jonathan Safran Foer (didn’t get to finish, unfortunately)

“Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend,” by Susan Orlean (for work)

“Here Comes Trouble” by Michael Moore (for work)

2010

“The Lovely Bones” by Alice Sebold (first part was difficult to read, as a new parent, but liked this quite a bit in the end)

“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins (SO good – in some ways, YA is where it’s at)

“Dead Until Dark” by Charlaine Harris (I’m afraid the vampire craze is lost on me, though)

“Catching Fire” by Suzanne Collins

“The Gate at the Stairs,” by Lorrie Moore

“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee

“The Lonely Polygamist” by Brady Udall

“Revolutionaries” by Jack Rakove

“Flipped” by Wendelin Van Draanen

“The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot

“Mockingjay,” by Suzanne Collins

“Bright-Sided,” by Barbara Ehrenreich

“The Irresistible Henry House,” by Lisa Grunwald

“One Day,” by David Nicholls

“Mary Poppins,” by P.L. Travers

“I Feel Bad About My Neck” by Nora Ephron

“The Ten Year Nap” by Meg Wolitzer

2009

(Wow. Look at how much more I read in 2008, when I was pregnant and not yet a parent, or at home nursing constantly!)

“Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea” by Chelsea Handler

“The Graveyard Book” by Neil Gaiman

“Coraline” by Neil Gaiman

“Commencement” by J. Courtney Sullivan

“New Moon” by Stephanie Meyer (her writing drives me crazy, so no more)

“The Geography of Bliss” by Michael Weiner

“The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes” by Neil Gaiman

“Gods Behaving Badly” by Marie Phillips

“The Reader,” by Bernhard Schlink

“Parenting, Inc.” by Pamela Paul

“The Abstinence Teacher” by Tom Perotta

“Wishful Drinking” by Carrie Fisher

“Girlfriend’s Guide to Toddlers” by Vicki Iovine

“The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak

“Up in the Air” by Walter Kirn (a rare instance wherein a screenplay was an improvement on the book, in my opinion)

2008

“Zoo Story” by Edward Albee

“Duck Variations” by David Mamet

“Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy” by Vicki Iovine

“Birth” by Tina Cassidy

“Kiss my Tiara” by Sarah Jane Gilman

“Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi

“A Perfect Madness” by Judith Warner

“Digging to America” by Anne Tyler

“Breastfeeding Sucks” by Joanna Kines (what expectant mother could resist that title?)

“Someday This Pain Will be of Use to You” by Peter Cameron

“The Trouble with Poetry” by Billy Collins

“Austenland” by Shannon Hale (big thumbs down)

“The Girlfriend’s Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood” by Vicki Iovine

“The Second Nine Months” by Vicki Glembocki (an awesomely candid and funny book for new moms, written by a talented Penn State MFA alum!)

“In the Mouth” by Eileen Pollack

“Rock Star Mommy” by Judy Davids

“The Last Lecture” by Randy Pausch (so annoying – why did I read this?)

“What Would Barbara Do?” by Emma Brockes

“When You Are Engulfed in Flames” by David Sedaris

“The Glass Key” by Dash Hammett (didn’t finish)

“A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius” by Dave Eggers (LOVED THIS)

“Promised the Moon” by Stephanie Nolan (really interesting, but didn’t get to finish this one)

“Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer (why is this such a hit? Edward’s such a controlling ass)

“Under the Banner of Heaven” by Jon Krakauer