Alphaorder's 2013 Reading

Well I didn't write an introduction, so I am going to move my books read up here.

December
58. Sister, Mother, Husband, Dog - essays

November
57. The Emperor of Paris - novel

October
56. Survival Lessons - nonfiction
55. Aimless Love - poetry
54. Mr. Lynch's Holiday - novel
53. Oil and Honey - nonfiction
52. Purple Hibiscus - novel
51. How to read a novelist - nonfiction
50. Dog Songs - poetry
49. Fangirl - YA novel
48. Levels of Life - memior

September
48. Coral Glynn - novel
47. Bobcat- short stories
46. Knocking on Heaven's Door - memoir
45. Let Him Go - novel

August
44. Illusion of Separateness - novel
43. The President's Hat - novel
42. Tell The Wolves I'm Home - novel
41. Beautiful Ruins - novel & ROOT!
40. view with a grain of sand - poetry
39. Manage Your Day-to-Day - nonfiction
38. Orphan Train - novel
37. The Art Forger - novel

July
36. Blue Plate Special - memoir
35. Memories of a Marriage - novel
34. Songs of Willow Frost - novel
33. Instructions for a Heatwave - novel

June
32. Sure Signs - poetry
31. Being Esther - novel
30. Fidelity - stories
29. The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells - novel

May
28. Life after Life - Jill McCorkle - novel
27. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls - essays (audio)
26. The Year of the Book - YA novel
25. Eleanor & Park - novel

April
25. The House at Belle Fontaine - short stories
24. The Last Best Cure - nonfiction
23. When Women Were Birds - memoir in essays

March
22. I Can't Complain - essays
21. A Kiss Before You Go - illustrated memoir
20. Obituary Writer - novel
19. Until I Say Good-bye - memoir
18. News from Heaven - short stories
17. Country of Marriage - poetry
16. Me Before You - novel

February
15. Looking for the Gulf Motel - poetry
14. After Visiting Friends - nonfiction
13. Slamming Open the Door - poetry
12. Enough is Enough - nonfiction
11. My Beloved World - memoir
10. The Mothers - novel
9. News from Spain - short stories

January
8. Voices by Lucille Clifton - poetry
7. 420 Characters - short stories
6. Dear Life - short stories
5. The Lost Art of Reading - nonfiction
4. The View from Penthouse B - novel
3. Urban Farms - nonfiction
2. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont - novel
1. Good Morning, Beautiful Business by Judy Wicks - memoir

My favorite reads of 2012, in no particular order. I had lots of other great reads, but you need to cut it off somewhere...

Fiction
Where'd You Go, Bernadette- smart and funny. Just a joy to read.

Glaciers - A little gem. that is all i will say. If you are a book person, you should read this.

The Fault in our Stars - poignant YA novel about teens facing cancer and friendship. Loved it.

Interventions - Would read this before Russo's Elsewhere, since the essay in this collection covers much fo the same ground. An ode to the printed book. Beautiful both inside and out.

Nonfiction
Winter Journal- A writer's look at getting older. Nicely done

The End of Your Life Book Club - This book was an unexpected treat. Love all of the book talk, but also learning about how Will's mother both lived life and faced death. Again, if you are a book person, a must read.

The Next American Revolution - An inspirational collection of essays by a legend. We don't need to give up hope during these difficult times - we just need to act.

Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake - Just really enjoyed this collection about modern life by a master essayist.

The Power of Habit - The science of habit and how we can use it for good in our lives.

Poetry
A Thousand Mornings - What can be said about this collection of poetry. Just beautiful. I keep it on my bedside table.

Books about books
My Ideal Bookshelf and Unpacking My Library - For those of you who like looking into the libraries of others, you need to own these books. Love them both.

Read This! - This book was a walk down memory lane, as many of my favorite bookstores and booksellers are here. You will be sure to add many books to your wish list. After reading Read This! I started my own list of books from my bookselling career and beyond: http://pinterest.com/nancyquinnmke/some-of-my-favorite-books/

I am sure that Dear Life would have made the list, but I haven't finished it yet. Great way to start 2013.

January
1. Good Morning, Beautiful Business by Judy Wicks - nonfiction
2. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont - fiction
3. Urban Farms - nonfiction
4. The View from Penthouse B - fiction
5. The Lost Art of Reading - nonfiction
6. Dear Life - short stories
7. 420 Characters - short stories
8. Voices by Lucille Clifton - Poetry

One benefit of no longer being a bookseller is that I no longer have "required" reading. Therefore, I don't plan out my reading, but here are some gems I own that i hope to get to in early 2013.

behind the beautiful forevers
building stories - currently reading
dear life - currently reading

Hi Nancy! I've starred your thread.

I've not read Alice Munro yet, but a co-worker loaned me Something I've Been Meaning to Tell You, so I hope to make it my next short story collection. Although please note that it takes me MONTHS to get through one short story collection, as I read them here and there.

Currently reading:
Good Morning, Beautiful Business by Judy Wicks
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
Building Stories by Chris Ware
The Mothers: A Novel by Jennifer Gilmore
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Dear Life: Stories by Alice Munro

Happy New Year, Nancy! I like your current reads. What do you think of wonder? I really enjoyed that one.

I started it a long time ago, and enjoyed it, but something else came up and I put it aside. Thinking I really might just need to start over on this one...

I really loved Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont--have you read any other books by Elizabeth Taylor?

Thanks for stopping by, arubabookwoman.

I have not - I wishlisted this book based on a friend's LT recommendation. Have you?

1. Good Morning, Beautiful Morning

An inspiring read to start 2013.

More thoughts to come.

2. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont

I enjoyed this novel quite a bit. It was my first Elizabeth Taylor, and I found myself thinking about the hotel and its occupants between readings. Thanks to Nickelini for recommending it (I added it to my wishlist after she read it last year) and to DorsVenabili for giving it to me as a part of my Christmas swap gift.

Anyone care to recommend the Elizabeth Taylor novel I should add to my wishlist next?

Thinking about digging into Behind the Beautiful Forevers, which I had hoped to read during break, but I think I will finish up Dear Life first. Can't wait to get to the last 4 stories, which seem to be the most talked about because of their autobiographical nature.

Much to recognize on your thread: I'm perhaps halfway through Building Stories (interesting, but I put it aside for a little break); I wishlisted Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont thanks too to Nickelini; and thanks to your thread last year I'm halfway through a big Mary Oliver collection. Looking forward to your reading.

I saw the movie of Mrs. Palfrey. Have you? I rather enjoyed it and have been meaning to get to the book version for some time.

I haven't. I heard it is good, but not sure I want to see it as I have pictures in my mind already of the hotel and its occupants.

Hi Nancy! I'm glad you enjoyed Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont. I read A View of the Harbour last year and thought it was great (I feel like I've already told you that though). I'm also very interested in Angel, which seems to be highly rated as well.

3. Urban Farms

Cleaning out a side table stack of books, I found another book that I had started reading but hadn't finished.

This book is a great selection of urban farms from around the country. Each profile includes a description of the farm, how it got started, and its effects on the community. Beautiful photos also accompany each profile. Little pieces about topics related to urban farming, such as composting and beekeeping, are interspersed in the book. Includes Milwaukee's Growing Power.

Recommended for anyone interested in the issue.

18 - Sounds interesting. Adding this to the wishlist as well.

Book marked your 2013 thread!

4. The View from Penthouse B

I was sent a arc of my friend Ellie's new novel and read it in two sittings.

Had all the vintage Elinor Lipman that I love: smart, funny and fun. Great dialogue. Plus it took place in NY and centered around sisters.

A good January read. Will also make a great April read, which is when it comes out. All Lipman fans should pick it up. And anyone looking for a good comedic novel should too.

5. The Lost Art of Reading

I love reading about the love of reading and physical books. I am also in love with technology and social media, so I thought this would be a book for me.

Although there were a few striking points, for the most part, this book was dated and the topic better suited for a magazine article.

Ah well, one more off my shelves!

6. Dear Life

I have been reading and loving Alice Munro's collections for decades. Everyone else should too. Beautiful and thought-provoking.

Hi Nancy- Keeping warm? I did not care for The Lost Art of Reading either. I am looking forward to Dear Life. I'm sure I will pick up a copy. I also have several other of her books waiting in the stacks, that I should get to first.

Nice to see the temps are changing! I thought about you a lot yesterday. My dog is in need of serious play at the park.

Good thing The Lost Art of Reading was so short!

Now what to move onto - back to Conversations with Myself?, or The Beautiful Forevers that has been waiting for me, or The Righteous mind, that has been topic of lots conversations between my co-workder and me and my dad and me. Be curious if you have interest in reading the last one, Mark.

7. 420 Characters

I learned about this collection on the Short Stories - January Read-Along thread and I am glad I did. The author, an illustrator by trade, first wrote these over 160 "stories' as Facebook posts. They are very succinct, but still capture a real sense of place, character, and drama. Loved it!

Hi Nancy! Just stopping by to say hi and let you know that I finished How It All Began by Penelope Lively. I loved the book and recommend it! I did review, if you are interested.
I've got Dear Life in my TBR pile - but then I read that it should not be your first Alice Munro read. Let me know what you think!

8. Voices by Lucille Clifton

Not an official challenge, but I have decided to try to read one collection of poetry a month (in addition to one collection of short stories). Not sure how I found this one, but it was lovely and insightful. It ends with some poems on the Ten Oxherding Pictures, which is a series composed as a training guide for Chinese Buddhist monks. Clifton didn't actually see the pictures before she wrote the poems - they were written based on the titles themselves. A nice meditation.

Ah, my co-worker reminded me that Lucille Clifton was recommended by Mary Oliver when we heard her speak last year.

9. News from Spain

Short story collection #3 for 2013 - loved it!

Hard to describe, but I think this NYT Book Review review does a good job http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/books/review/the-news-from-spain-by-joan-wicke....

Recommend!

Hi Nancy- Just checking in. News From Spain sounds good. Hope you are having a good weekend.

You too Mark! We're laying low, reading and eating good food. We'll watch the game tomorrow, but won't give it a lot of attention.

I know you are heading back to work soon - looks like the weather is turning for the bette

Hi - I'm new to the group and slowly checking in. Voices Went on my wish list.

Merrikay

Thanks for stopping by, Merrikay!

Just stopping by to say hi, Nancy! Hope you are enjoying the weekend!

Relaxing is how I would describe this weekend. Hope you are having a good one too!

Hi Nancy! I hope you're doing well. I admire your goal of reading one book of poetry per month. I was just talking about how I need to find a way to incorporate more poetry collections into my reading.

10 The Mothers

A heart wrenching novel about a couple trying to adopt. Written from the point of view of the woman, it is filled with raw emotion and the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride as the couple navigates the domestic open adoption system.

I worked with the author, Jennifer Gilmore, for years when I was at the bookstore - she was a publicist. That I know her and also know that this is a book based on personal experience makes it even more heartbreaking. You can read some of the Jen's pieces about her experience in the NYT or Vogue.

The main character also explores other relationships - that between husband and wife, sisters and that with her own mother. Well-written and at times humorous, I recommend this insightful novel.

Interesting to read your take on The Mothers.

Well, my daughter is adopted too, but from China. I am sure this had some impact on my reading, but my experience was greatly different.

Hi Nancy! One of my good friends is adopted, and since Illinois opened their adoption files in November, she's been trying to find out about her birth mom and family. Do you think this would be a title to rec to her for a viewpoint of what her mom may have been going through? I know my friend is working on a memoir to help document her search, but I think she feels a little scattered and one-sided about the topic sometimes. I don't mean to sound callous or unkind, as I think you would feel one-sided about things (especially after what she has discovered - yikes) in her position, but just wondered what you thought about adult adoptees reading the book.

Hope you're enjoying the snow from inside your cozy house!

WOW - I have great news to share. I just saw on Facebook that Jennifer Gilmore, author of The Mothers, just brought home the sweetest little infant boy. Just thrilled for her, her husband, and the little guy, Julian.

11. My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor

I am so glad I read this book. I highly recommend it for the story, writing and inspiration. I have heard her legal briefs can be dry, but this memoir is anything but!

Although the book starts out with her diabetes diagnosis, she doesn't talk about it much later. Still I was reading the book as a fellow type 1 diabetic, I admire how she has managed this chronic illness throughout her journey.

I'm curious about Sotomayor's book. Glad to see your comments.

12. Enough is Enough

I wish everyone would take a look at this book.

I was bowled over. The book clearly lays out that we cannot keep going with growth, growth, growth and we don't need to. In fact, the authors claim we should focus on happiness/quality of life rather than wealth.

The authors show how it can be done, but in order for the change to take place, more people need to learn about it.

13. Slamming Open the Door

A friend loaned me this collection of poetry after she heard I was hoping to read a collection a month during 2013.

I am so glad she did. It is beautiful and heartbreaking. The author's daughter was murdered. This collection reads as a narrative to what follows. I highly recommend this slim, thought provoking book, even if you don't often read poetry.

And here she is talking with Terry Gross of Fresh Air, if you want to learn more: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111218053

>46 alphaorder: sounds good but wrenching. I'll listen to the Fresh Air piece before I decide.

14. After Visiting Friends

Michael Hainey's father- Bob Hainey, a Chicago newspaperman - dies when Michael is six. The story is that he had a heart attack walking to his car after work one evening. But something about that story doesn't sit right with Michael. Years later Michael, a reporter himself, embarks upon a quest to find out the truth.

This was a quick read as I easily got caught up in well-written journey. Lots of great Chicago newsroom history here too. Note: don't read professional reviews of this book if you don't want spoilers. A recommended read, but won't show up on my "best of' list. Would love to discuss the author's decisions with someone off-thread after they read it...

Funny how true stories can still be spoiled. I'm now curious what he found out.

Me too!

Yes, I'm intrigued.

>48 alphaorder: I keep encountering this book! I’m hugely interested for the Chicago aspects. I suspect what the “secret” is, and even though that’s not why I’m interested in the book, I’m not hopeful that aspect will carry its weight -- did you feel it did?

16. Me Before You

Not sure what to say yet about this novel, except that it was a great weekend read.

Hi Nancy! I hope you're doing well.

After Visiting Friends does sound good and it has a very high star average. I think you recommended it to me a while back. I'll definitely put it on my wishlist.

Kerri - I do think you would like it, esp the history of Chicago journalism. I did have some issues with it, but haven't really been able to discuss with anyone aside from my husband, so I am eager for others to read. Even with these issue, I think you would like it. Probably a good library check out, though, rather than purchase.

19. Until I Say Good-bye

What a woman! What a read! Susan Spencer-Wendel was diagnosed with ALS when she was 44. She had three young children and and a fulfilling career. After her diagnosis, she decides to live the remainder of life purposefully with joy, even as her body deteriorates.

This a books full of insight and laughter. Susan shows readers how to live life - terminal illness or not - and how to die with grace. A good read for those who don't have such an illness as well - a reminder to get off the hamster wheel when you choose to, not when you body tells you need to.

http://susanspencerwendel.com

24. The Last Best Cure

Highly recommend it for anyone who suffers from chronic illness or inflammation.

The author is a science journalist who suffers from a number of chronic illnesses. She decides to explore the mind-body connection over a year and see what effect it has on her health. While she explores various tools, she also talks to many scientists about how we can re-program our brains to improve the heath of our cells and thus our overall health. Doing so also leads to a more joyful life.

She talks about how childhood trauma (in her case her father died unexpectedly when she was 12) might lead to some of her health issues. But no matter the cause, her prescription could be useful for most, I believe, given the overwhelming lifestyles we live today.

The change you will see in Donna is simply inspiring. I am getting back to yoga and staring meditation and acupuncture soon...

25. The House at Belle Fontaine

I LOVED Lily Tuck's novel I Married You for Happiness, so I had high expectations. It was good, but not overwhelmed.

I think this PW review does it justice: http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-8021-2016-8

That's good to know about I Married You for Happiness. I recommend her biography of Elsa Morante, Woman of Rome. (Although, keep in mind, I really like Morante)

Hi Nancy! Stopping by to say hello. I hope you're doing well. The Printer's Row thing is coming up on June 9, if you're interested. I think I mentioned it earlier.

Thanks for stopping by and for reminding me about Printer's Row. Won't be able to make it this year, as I am headed out to Buffalo for a conference on Monday the 10th.

Found Books Read lists from 1992-2002 while cleaning this weekend. Thought it would be fun to share some highlights.

From 1992
- Studs Terkel's RACE
- Terry McMillan's WAITING TO EXHALE (anyone else remember her speaking at BEA?)
- Carol Shield's REPUBLIC OF LOVE (turned me into a lifelong Shields' reader)
- SABINE'S NOTEBOOK (remember what a big deal this was?)
- Two Jill McCorkles
- Charlie Baxter's SHADOW PLAY
- Donna Tartt's SECRET HISTORY (still have my arc; can't wait for her new book)
- LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE.

Wow how fun to find those lists!

I know! I am going to share one every once in a while.

Great vacation reading. Thought every book I read was terrific.
Beautiful Ruins
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
The President's Hat
Illusions of Separateness

I loved the audio version of Beautiful Ruins.

I thought it would be fun to take a peek at what I was reading 20 years ago.

My 1993 list is not complete. For some reason, I stopped in September and only added a few books by title in the end. I read 25 books through September and then added 5 more to the list.

Highlights:

I think this may be the first time I read Wallace Stegner's CROSSING TO SAFETY, which is easily one of my favorite novels. I have re-read it at least 3 times since then.

Also the year I read MONTANA 1948. I remember the sales rep telling us about this gem of a novel from some guy named Larry Watson. The rep was right, the book has become a classic, and Larry became a friend of the Schwartz Bookshops. I have read a number of his novels since then.

Also the year I read A GOOD SCENT FROM A STRANGE MOUNTAIN, Robert Olen Butler's excellent collection of short stories. Easily my favorite book of his.

Other memorable fiction from the year:
VINDICATION - Frances Sherwood
ELLEN FOSTER - Kaye Gibbons
BEFORE SHE MET ME - Julian Barnes
COME TO ME - Amy Bloom
ROBBER BRIDE - Margaret Atwood
BEFORE AND AFTER - Rosellen Brown

Wow, what a great year of fiction reading. I also read Maya Angelou's WOULDN'T TAKE NOTHING FOR MY JOURNEY NOW and Gloria Steinem's REVOLUTION FROM WITHIN.

What were you reading in 20 years ago?

Morning Nancy- I am glad you enjoyed Beautiful Ruins. I know opinion is mixed on it but I loved it. I have a couple more Walter titles waiting in the wings.
I can't remember what I was reading 20 years ago. I'll have to check my journal. '93, right?

Thanks for stopping by, Mark. Yep - 1993. I would love to hear what you were reading!

Wow, your list is very impressive! I'm sure my list (if I had such a thing) would be shamefully full of girly teen-lit as I was in 8th or 9th grade then.

Ha! Thanks Laura. It is fun to look back. I still have After Visiting Friends for you. Do you still want it?

Yes indeed! Let's do coffee and catch up!