I’ll admit it–I didn’t read a lot this year. Between battling a toddler: being a librarian; working on TNWSY, AUTOFOCUS, and Possible Book 3; and sometimes saying hello to my husband (hi, S), I had very little time. I usually make it a goal to read 50 books in a year. I didn’t even hit 40 this year. Sob! Though, I 100% made up for it in picture books. Reading THE ABC’S OF COOKIES four times a night counts, right?
Anyway, on with the show. This time I’ve organized by category. Enjoy!
Adult Fiction
- BABY BE MINE by Paige Toon
- FUNNY GIRL by Nick Hornby
- JOHNNY BE GOOD by Paige Toon
- STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel
- THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin
- THE SUN IN HER EYES by Paige Toon
I was in a huge Paige Toon mood this year, clearly. Two of those (Baby, Johnny) were re-reads, because sometimes you just need a little Johnny Jefferson. Hornby’s latest was terrific (I’ll read everything by Hornby), Station Eleven remarkable, and Fikry truly a delight.
Adult Non-Fiction
- THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP by Marie Kondo
- WE SHOULD HANG OUT SOMETIME: EMBARRASSINGLY A TRUE STORY by Josh Sundquist
I read the first because I needed to organize (and it worked!), and the second for a reading list (It was funny).
Young Adult Fiction
- DUMPLIN’ by Julie Murphy
- EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING by Nicola Yoon
- FILL-IN BOYFRIEND by Kasie West
- I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE by Paige Toon
- KISSING IN AMERICA By Margo Rabb
- NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES by Adi Alsaid
- NONE OF THE ABOVE by I.W. Gregorio
- THE START OF ME AND YOU by Emery Lord
- SUMMER OF YESTERDAY by Gaby Triana
- THIS MONSTROUS THING by Mackenzi Lee
- UNDER A PAINTED SKY by Stacey Lee
- WE ALL LOOKED UP by Tommy Wallach
- THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS by Anna-Marie McLemore
- A TIME TO DANCE by Padma Venkatraman
- UNDERNEATH EVERYTHING by Marcy Beller Paul
- WRITTEN IN THE STARS by Aisha Saeed
- THE WRONG SIDE OF RIGHT by Jenn Marie Thorne
So….9 of these are by my fellow debuts. Perhaps I’m a little biased in my reading? All wonderful. WONDERFUL!
Middle Grade
- JUST A DROP OF WATER by Kerry O’Malley Cerra
Kerry and her book are terrific.
Graphic Novels
- ARE YOU MY MOTHER? by Alison Bechdel
- AWKWARD by Svetlana Chmakova
- BATGIRL, VOL. 1: THE BATGIRL OF BURNSIDE by Cameron Steward, Babs Tarr, Brenden Fletcher
- GOTHAM ACADEMY, VOL. 1: WELCOME TO GOTHAM ACADEMY by Becky Cloonan, Brenden Fletcher, Karl Kerschl
- JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS: SHOWTIME by Showtime by Kelly Thompson and Sophie Campbell
- MS. MARVEL, VOL. 3: CRUSHED by G. Willow Wilson, Mark Waid, Takeshi Miyazawa
- MS. MARVEL, VOL. 4: LAST DAYS by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona
- SUNNY SIDE UP by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
I really love Ms. Marvel. Just adore her. So there’s that. I got into the FUN HOME musical, so I tried Bechdel’s other graphic novel (hard to get into–especially as a mom–but definitely interesting). Awkward and Sunny were also for a reading list, and were tremendous. Batgirl and Gotham I got at ALA and definitely enjoyed.
Plays
- THE GLASS MENAGERIE by Tennessee Williams
Perhaps this was for research purposes. PERHAPS.
So, there’s that. 35 books. I also finished edits on AUTOFOCUS, and started writing a 3rd book. I’m proud of all that I read, and am looking forward to all the new books this year. And now, on to 2016!