On Our Way To Crazy

Borrowing Kari’s format, here’s a list of what I read in 2006:

1. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants – Ann Brashares (f)
2. Tender is the Night – F. Scott Fitzgerald (f)
3. Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers and Emo – Andy Greenwald (nf)
4. Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (reread) (f)
5. Blink – Malcolm Gladwell (nf)
6. Emma – Jane Austen (reread) (f)
7. Wayside School is Falling Down – Louis Sachar (reread) (f)
8. Wicked – Gregory Maguire (f)
9. Sideways Stories From Wayside School – Louis Sachar (reread) (f)
10. Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger – Louis Sachar (reread) (f)
11. Amped – Jon Rech (nf)
12. The Jane Austen Book Club – Karen Joy Fowler (f)
13. The Sweetheart Season – Karen Joy Fowler (f)
14. Ella Minnow Pea – Mark Dunn (reread) (f)
15. Prep – Curtis Sittenfeld (f)
16. Traveling Mercies – Anne Lamott (nf)
17. Why Girls Are Weird – Pamela Ribon (f)
18. Through Painted Deserts – Don Miller (nf)
19. Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities – Alexandra Robbins (nf)
20. Songbook – Nick Hornby (nf)
21. Cold Sassy Tree – Olivia Ann Burns (f)
22. The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke – Suze Orman (nf)
23. Evensong – Gail Godwin (f)
24. Babyville – Jane Green (f)
25. Bergdorf Blondes – Plum Sykes (f)
26. The Other Side of the Story – Marian Keyes (f)
27. The Wonder Spot – Melissa Bank (f)
28. Bitter is the New Black – Jen Lancaster (f)
29. Plan B – Anne Lamott (nf)
30. Debutante Divorcees – Plum Sykes (f)
31. Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte (f)
32. Father Melancholy’s Daughter – Gail Godwin (f)
33. Never Let Me Go – Kazuo Ishiguao (f)
34. Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim – David Sedaris (nf)
35. Reading Lolita In Tehran – Azar Nafisi (nf)
36. Favorite Father Brown Stories – G.K. Chesterton (f)
37. The Devil Wears Prada – Lauren Weisberger (reread) (book club) (f)
38. Body Piercing Saved My Life: Inside the Phenomenon of Christian Rock – Andrew Beaujon (nf)
39. Bachelor Brothers Bed and Breakfast – Bill Richardson (f)
40. The Finishing School – Gail Godwin (f)
41. Julie and Julia – Julie Powell (book club) (f)
42. Why Moms Are Weird – Pamela Ribon (f)
43. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling (reread) (f)
44. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – J.K. Rowling (reread) (f)
45. Colors Insulting to Nature – Cintra Wilson (f)
46. Daisy Miller – Henry James (f)
47. Marley and Me – John Grogan (book club) (nf)
48. Persuasion – Jane Austen (f)
49. We Are Still Married – Garrison Keillor (f)
50. The Explainer – Slate Magazine (nf)

So there it is. My fiction/nonfiction ratio was 36/14, which is not surprising to me at all.

Favorites:
The Wayside School books (#7, 9, 10) – I loved them growing up and my mom got me the set for Christmas last year… they are still wonderful and so, so funny.
Songbook (#20) – not only introduced me to some new music but made me think about why I love the music that I do.
The Gail Godwin books (#23, 32, 40) – Evensong and Father Melancholy’s Daugther tell the story of the same set of characters, and they are both really beautiful books. There’s not a lot of action, but they dive deep into the histories and motivations of the characters, and it’s fascinating. The Finishing School is really different, but it has a touch of mystery to it and really held my attention. I’m excited about reading more Gail Godwin this year.
Why Moms Are Weird (#42) – I love Pamie’s site, and her first book was a fun one. But this one really struck a chord with me – I could really relate to the main character and her struggles.
Colors Insulting to Nature (#45) – really, really interesting. It took me a while to get into this one, but she really makes you care about the main character, even while you hate what she’s doing. Slightly strange subject matter, but a good read.
We Are Still Married (#49) – my only exposure to Garrison Keillor prior to this book was the Prairie Home Companion movie, which I loved despite never having heard the show. This collection of short stories was quietly funny and definitely made me want to read more of his stuff.

Disappointments:
Wicked (#8) – I wanted to like this so much. I haven’t seen the musical, but I know the songs and have several friends who rave about it. I enjoyed it for a while, but it lost me somewhere in the middle.
Prep (#15) – This one had me hooked the whole way through, until the very end. She writes high school so well. But it kind of flickered out at the end, and I didn’t get the resolution/character development I thought the book deserved.
The month of July (#25-28) – I went through a serious chick lit phase in the summer, to mostly disasterous results. The only one I’m not embarrassed to have on the list is #27, The Wonder Spot. I would recommend that one and her other book, Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing. But it doesn’t make up for the horror that was Bitter Is The New Black. Blech.

So there it is! This year I’ll keep a list, but no number goal. I see thick books in my future.