Reading Room

I love books! I love how you can get lost in a story, even feel like you are a part of the action. I love how books make you think about things in a new way---they bring things to light. I love the way they look on bookshelves!

I thought it would be fun to give you all a comprehensive list of books I've read over the years. I'm sure some are missing because I only started recording the books I've read a few years ago. I've tried to update the list as I recall books I've read. I will try to give a quick review of the books that had the largest impact on me. Most of the books listed are links so you can check out a synopsis on Google Books if you'd like. My favorites are listed in bold. So many of them are great, but I made those that I'd read again (if I didn't have a thing against reading the same book twice) bold.

I used to keep a spreadsheet of books I want to read...it became overwhelming. There was over 1,000 books listed. How does a person read that much in a lifetime? One of my 2014 goals is to read one book every couple months. We'll see how it goes!

"The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."  -Dr. Suess, "I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!" 

I am currently reading: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Books I've Read:


The Language of Flowers                                                            Vanessa Diffenbaugh

A Million Little Pieces‎ James Frey America, You Sexy Bitch: A Love Letter to Freedom‎ Meghan McCain, Michael Ian Black At First Sight‎ Nicholas Sparks Bad Habits: Confessions of a Recovering Catholic‎ Jenny McCarthy Black like me‎ John Howard Griffin Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life‎ Teri Hatcher Couldn't Keep It to Myself: Testimonies from Our Imprisoned Sisters‎ Wally Lamb Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl: A Nancy Chan Novel‎ Tracy Quan Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood: A Novel‎ Rebecca Wells Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and ...‎ Elizabeth Gilbert Finders Keepers: The Story of a Man Who Found $1 Million‎ Mark Bowden Firefly Lane‎ Kristin Hannah From Here to Maternity: A Novel of Total Exhaustion‎ Kris Webb, Kathy Wilson Girls' Night In‎ Lauren Henderson Good in Bed‎ Jennifer Weiner Honeymoon with My Brother: A Memoir‎ Franz Wisner I Know This Much Is True‎ Wally Lamb In Her Shoes: A Novel‎ Jennifer Weiner Into the Wild‎ Jon Krakauer It's not about the bike: my journey back to life‎ Lance Armstrong Leadership‎ Rudolph W. Giuliani Little Earthquakes: A Novel‎ Jennifer Weiner Magical Thinking: True Stories‎ Augusten Burroughs Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog‎ John Grogan Message in a bottle‎ Nicholas Sparks Next: The Future Just Happened‎ Michael Lewis Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America‎ Barbara Ehrenreich PS, I Love You‎ Cecelia Ahern Rachel's Tears: The Spiritual Journey of Columbine Martyr Rachel Scott‎ Darrell Scott She's come undone‎ Wally Lamb Skinny Bitch: A No-nonsense, Tough-love Guide for Savvy Girls Who Want to ...‎ Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin Skipping Christmas‎ John Grisham Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood‎ Koren Zailckas Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel‎ Lisa See sTORI Telling‎ Tori Spelling Stories from a Teacher‎ J. Flores Summer Sisters‎ Judy Blume Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas‎ James Patterson Ten Things I Wish I'd Known - Before I Went Out Into the Real World‎ Maria Shriver The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game‎ Michael M. Lewis The Bridges of Madison County‎ Robert James Waller The Five People You Meet in Heaven‎ Mitch Albom The Help‎ Kathryn Stockett The Hour I First Believed‎ Wally Lamb The innocent man: murder and injustice in a small town‎ John Grisham The Kind Diet Alicia Silverstone The Kite Runner‎ Khaled Hosseini The Memory Keeper's Daughter‎ Kim Edwards The Middle Place‎ Kelly Corrigan The Nanny Diaries: A Novel‎ Emma Mclaughlin, Nicola Kraus The Necklace: Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives‎ Cheryl Jarvis The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals‎ Michael Pollan The Pilot's Wife: A Novel‎ Anita Shreve The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference‎ Malcolm Gladwell The Wonder Spot‎ Melissa Bank The Year She Fell‎ Alicia Rasley Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson‎ Mitch Albom Water for Elephants: A Novel‎ Sara Gruen Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail‎ Cheryl Strayed Unbroken- Laura Hillenbrand The Fault in Our Stars- John Green The Giver- Lois Lowry Sycamore Row- John Grisham The Nazi Officer's Wife- Edith H. Beer The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks- Rebecca Skloot Defending Jacob- William Landay Life As I Blow It- Sarah Colonna Gone Girl- Gillian Flynn Outliers- Malcolm Gladwell The Associate- John Grisham Medium Raw- Anthony Bourdain The Book Thief- Markus Zusak Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim- Dave Sedaris Orphan Train Yes, Please! The Glass Castle In Order To Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom 10% Happier                                                                       Dan Harris Hillbilly Elegy                                                                     J.D. Vance

The Book is Always Better

I really wish I read more books. I sort of go in spurts, like I do with working out and everything else. There is nothing like a good book, one that you just can't put down because you have to know what happens next. I seem to read much more in the summer, it's the best way to spend a day at the beach. :-)

I saw The Blind Side yesterday. I've been raving about the book ever since I read it in July, before I knew it was going to be made into a movie. I believe it is a book that everyone should read, it has so many great lessons and makes us appreciate everything we have in life. It also gives us someone to root for, someone to follow and watch succeed in something as big as the NFL! Ladies that hate sports, it's not all about football, although I learned a ton about the game. It's a book that makes you feel good and makes you want to give someone less fortunate a chance.

With that, I'll say the movie was good not great. I liked the actors/actresses chosen for all of the characters. But, as with most movies I see that are based on books, so much was left out. I thought there were lots of details in the book that should have been included, they made the story that much better.

If you haven't read the book, even if you've seen the movie, do yourself a favor and pick it up...you won't want to put it down!