Books I Read This Year

Since I have read so many books while recuperating from the surgery, I got to wondering how many books I had read this year. I started recording every book I read on Shelfari so I can remember what I read and when. I started in April 2008 and so far have 86 books posted. I did not go back and add books I had read before that, so that is what I have actually read since then.

For 2009, I have read 55 books - more than I would have thought. There are some that I gave 5 stars to. I am really stingy with 5 stars, so these are the books that really impressed me. That list includes: Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton, Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand.

When I give 4 stars, it means it was a great book that I think everyone should read. I had a lot of those, including: Run by Ann Patchett, The Emigrants by Wilhelm Moberg, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, Testimony by Anita Shreve, Unto a Good Land by Wilhelm Moberg, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, December by Elizabeth Winthrop, How Americans View Mormons by Gary Lawrence, My Abandonment by Peter Rock, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, The Settler by Wilhelm Moberg, People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J K Rowling, The Last Letter Home by Wilhelm Moberg, The Letters of Abelard and Heloise, In the Woods by Tana French, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Samurai's Garden by Gail Tsukiyama, Conqueror's Pride by Timothy Zahn, The Likeness by Tana French, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Conqueror's Heritage by Timothy Zahn, The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis, The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani, Saints at the River by Ron Rash, The Blue Castle by L M Montgomery, Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, and I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak.

I have read a lot of good books (32) - and a few not worth the time. From the list, you can see that I jump from contemporary to classic, with a few science fiction and young adult books thrown in for good measure. I just love to read!

So part of what I am thankful for this year is that there are so many good books out there; that there are good authors who take the time to write good books; that I have so many friends who guide me to good books; that the internet has allowed us to be able to share good books with a huge audience; and that my life has been touched, sometimes very profoundly, by all this reading.

Thanks to all you bookworms out there!