All About Books discussion

A Personal Challenge to read all the books bought or gifted that have sat quietly waiting for me to read them.

In 2017 I will clear the Physical shelf - They Will Be Read.

the remaining list

#1 Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell - My Review

#2 A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson - My review

#3 Competing Against Luck by Clayton M. Christensen - my Review>

#4 was a short - The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life by Ann Patchett

I enjoyed it so much I purchased her Essays book and added to my TBR - This is the Story of a Happy Marriage

#5 Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was an amazing read. I am glad I waited to read it now rather than in school. I appreciate it more than I possibly could have then. 5* read.

#6 was a short story: The Grownup by Gillian Flynn great little story - quick read.

#7 My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a 4* read for me. I cannot wait to read an actual Biography or Memoir. She is a very interesting person.

#8 Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America by Patrick Phillips was a fantastic book that really opened my mind. It is a hard read in that the subject matter is difficult. There are images you wish not to be seen. It is however, truth telling and an important read about the fact that some places in the U.S. were slow to get the Memo on Civil Rights. I was torn between a 3 and 4*. I wanted to give it more because I believe it should be read.

#9 Only the Ball Was White: A History of Legendary Black Players and All-Black Professional Teams by Robert W. Peterson - If you want first person stories of the history of the Negro Leagues and the reality of the social on goings and injustices prior to the breaking of the Color Line by Jackie Robinson and a little after. This is a great book. Not especially well written, but the information is great. 3*

#10 Nothing Ever Dies: Vietnam and the Memory of War by Viet Thanh Nguyen - Another informative read on Vietnam from the perspective of an immigrant and not of the Americans. There are parts I loved and parts that lost me.
I did post a review of this. Click Here

#11 Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems by Billy Collins - I love Billy Collins. He makes me laugh. He makes me think. This is like a mix tape of some of his greatest hits.

#12 The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel 3* A simple review I wonder if he is the last true Hermit. After all, nobody knew of his whereabouts for 26 years.

#13 Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson 5*

A book that is an easy read and makes you think. Highly recommend. My review Here

#14 Any Day a Beautiful Change: A Story of Faith and Family by Katherine Willis Pershey

I have not written a review. It is a solid 3* read for me. Not sure how I was pulled to this Memoir. I don't believe I am the intended audience - My wife is glad I read it. Basically a sharing of experiences in Marriage issues, pregnancy, parenting and faith all rolled together. Some very personal information shared within.

I believe I started with 35 books on my remaining list and vowed to read them all before I made another purchase. - Best laid plans - I could not help myself. I have completed 14 titles to date and have three others in various stated of reading. Les Misérables is one and should hold me for a while over the 1400+ Pages. Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk is about half done and one other...

Now I look at my list and I have 39 titles remaining - so how does that happen? My goal to not purchase has failed. I have added 18 titles in the past 5 months.

So it goes...

#15 Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney My review

#16 Wonder by R.J. Palacio

A five Star Read!
My Review

#17 Notes from Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Three Stars
My Review

Forty Autumns: A Family's Story of Courage and Survival on Both Sides of the Berlin Wall by Nina Willner

Five Star Read!
My Review

I have been a bit busy and failed to update the last, what?... seven titles.

19. City of Dreams: The 400-Year Epic History of Immigrant New York by Tyler Anbinder

My review

20. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Sorry not for me. I did not write it up since well, I didn't like it. The writing is fine and wonderful obviously. It just seems to be a gossip. He was this, she was that...

21. Becoming Earth by Eva Saulitis

My review 4.5* Solid

22. Telling Yourself the Truth by William Backus

Forgot why I read this. people really like it. Good information. I have forgotten about already.

23. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann Solid 4*

My review

24. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

4* solid

25. Chemistry by Weike Wang 4* for me. My Thoughts Here

26. American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land by Monica Hesse 5* for me My Thoughts Here