Tanya's Book List - 2016!

* = top picks

Some quick facts:
Total books = 54
Audiobooks = 26 (48%)
Non-fiction = 19 (35%) (much higher than previous years!)

In order read...

1. A Room with a View - E.M. Forster - Includes some surprisingly modern views on love and marriage, and also some annoying retrograde views. Read it for the descriptions of settings and ridiculously proper conversations, rather than the love story or plot.

2. A Wrinkle in Time (A Wrinkle in Time Quintet, #1) - Madeleine L'Engle – I felt too old for this YA sci-fi story. The moral message was sweet but not at all subtle or nuanced. I never read the book as a kid and so didn’t have fond memories to go along with it.

3. A People So Bold: Theology and Ministry for Unitarian Universalists - John Gibb Millspaugh - A wonderful grounding in the history and present of the UU faith, including how UUers engage in social change and how they balance that with personal growth and healing.

4. The Secret Chord - Geraldine Brooks - Intruigingly imagines the life and times of the Old Testament's King David in Second Iron Age Israel. It had more discussion of war and violence against women than I normally prefer but had a satisfying second half and some truly beautiful descriptions and passages.

5. Persuasion - Jane Austen – One of my favorite Austen books. The love story is so sweet and satisfying!

6. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet - David Mitchell – This historical fiction, set in 1799 Japan at a Dutch East India Company town, has stayed with me over the year. The characters were interesting to get to know and follow through their cultural exchanges. A very transporting novel.

7. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane - Katherine Howe - I loved the subject (of witches) and how the narrative shifted between 1991 and 1692. It kept me perfectly engaged while sick for two days! However, the main character was slightly slow putting together the clues, so that I figured out quick a few of them well before she did.

8. Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life - Emily Nagoski – Read for my sexuality book club. A great manifesto for women and female sexuality. There was a lot of good language and description about desire, arousal, barriers to arousal, and orgasm. Understanding the context surrounding a sexual encounter can help create the best experience for all. Recommended for both women and men!

9. Gallows View (Inspector Banks, #1) - Peter Robinson – Set in small town England. Good mysteries and lots of cozy pub meals. My favorite mystery series of the year.

10. A Dedicated Man  (Inspector Banks, #2) - Peter Robinson – Another good mystery in the series!

*11. The Secret History of Wonder Woman - Jill Lepore - This is a fantastic book! Jill Lepore covers the fascinating, radical story of feminism in the early 1900s and also a really good overview of the early birth control movement, including a bit of biography of the founder of Planned Parenthood. And Wonder Woman is way more progressive than I ever imagined!

12. Doing Good... Says Who? Stories from Volunteers, Nonprofits, Donors, and Those They Want to Help - Connie Newton & Fran Early - This is a fantastic book - one that I'd love for all my SIA board members to read! It does such a good job of describing potential unintended consequences of development work and also gives constructive advice about what to do, not just what not to do. Working with people not for them, meeting people with respect and humility, and listening to locals who know the context, culture, politics, and expectations, can all lead to programs that actually help, while also keeping the dignity and humanity of everyone intact.

*13. Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates - It is a privilege to get to read this letter from father to son and understand a little more about the experience of black men in America.

14. Elephants Can Remember (Hercule Poirot, #37) - Agatha Christie – Found this book at a small bookshop in New Hampshire. I like Agatha Christie. That is all.

15. A Necessary End (Inspector Banks, #3) - Peter Robinson – Another Inspector Banks. Still enjoying the series. (Listening to them all on audiobook.)

*16. The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty - Nina Munk - Fascinating book! It shows so well the complexity of international aid and how there's never a simple solution. It's interesting to get the back story of the local workers, as well as learn more about what makes Sachs so compelling and yet so divisive. I still have hope, and yet I know it's not as simple as throwing money at a problem. This book is really readable and would be great for a book club.

17. Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike, #3) - Robert Galbraith – This is the third in the thriller/detective series by JK Rowling. A classic, enjoyable example of private eye genre.

18. A Life Less Monogamous: A Novel about Swinging - Cooper S Beckett – The title describes the book. Not that good of a story but interesting to read a romance that was out of the ordinary.

19.The Hanging Valley (Inspector Banks, #4) - Peter Robinson - Another Inspector Banks. Still enjoying the series.

*20. Caleb's Crossing - Geraldine Brooks - Captivating characters and fascinating history about puritans, Indians, and early colonial education. Set in 1665, on Martha's Vineyard and at Harvard.

21. Moving On from Church Folly Lane: The Pastoral to Program Shift - Robert T. Latham - A very useful and insightful book for growing congregations.

22. The Sex Myth: The Gap Between Our Fantasies and Reality - Rachel Hills - Fascinating premise for a book - that narratives around sex tell us both to not have too much sex AND if we have little or no sex, or "boring" sex, that we are not liberated - but uninspired in the writing and presentation of the topic. It read like an essay for a university class, referencing Foucault and the author's friend in the same paragraph. It's clearly a complicated topic and this book left me with no clear understanding or real grasp on it.

23. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption: A Story from Different Seasons - Stephen King – Well told short story about a crime and jail. I’ve never seen the movie.

24. Getting Started with Policy Governance: Bringing Purpose, Integrity and Efficiency to Your Board's Work - Caroline Oliver – Read this to learn about the governance model that the Canadian Unitarian Council board uses. Unless you are on a board using this model there is no reason to read…

25. Stories From the Polycule: Real Life in Polyamorous Families - Elisabeth Sheff – An interesting collection of short personal essays.

26. The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898 - Lisa Tetrault – An engaging look at the early years of the suffrage movement. It so interesting to see the active formation of the movement's origin story and to know more about the fuller movement for women's rights in the Reconstruction Era. Disheartening how Anthony and so many others worked all their lives for suffrage and never really got to see the fruits of their labor. Fascinating how suffrage has come to be a stand-in or all women's rights work in this era, forgetting the work for economic, sexual, and relationship freedom, as well as movements for temperance and political rights, such as the ability to sign contracts.

27. Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell - Perfectly lovely mid-19th century novel with characters who are silly, fiercely loyal, consumed with fashion, ernest, gossips, and keepers of secrets.

*28. Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice (The Austen Project, #4) - Curtis Sittenfeld - Fun and wonderful modern retelling of "Pride and Prejudice." I loved seeing how she updated everything to fit current sensibilities. So good!

29. Past Reason Hated (Inspector Banks, #5) - Peter Robinson – Still enjoying these easy mystery reads.

*30. Selfish, Shallow, and Self-Absorbed: Sixteen Writers on The Decision Not To Have Kids - Meghan Daum - This was such a fascinating collection of essays. I was intrigued by every single one, even ones that didn't reflect my own reasons for not having children. I keep bringing up this book in conversation as there were so many things to ponder and discuss. Is not wanting children natural? Why do parents and non-parents judge each other so much? Can I leave a legacy without children? What about existentialism? How does my own childhood influence (or not) my interest in children? What happens when partners disagree about children? What do I want to build my life around? I *highly* recommend this book to parents and people without children. When you read it, give me a call and let's chat!

31. The Lake House - Kate Morton – A lady cop/private eye mystery set in contemporary times and during WWII in England. Some really interesting stuff about PTSD. The story lagged in some parts and repeated itself in others. It redeemed itself in the end though!

32. Talk Dirty to Me - Sallie Tisdale – Originally published in 1995, this is a great primer on second wave feminism, as well as desire and the cultural norms that frame sexuality in the western world.

33. Trans/Love: Radical Sex, Love & Relationships Beyond the Gender Binary - Morty Diamond - Incredibly thought-provoking. I appreciated the honesty of the authors and the many contrasting views and experiencing. Each has their own unique experience of being trans and what that means for their sexuality, community, labeling, and relationships.

34. My Brilliant Friend (The Neapolitan Novels #1) - Elena Ferrante - I'm not sure if it was the audiobook format or my mood but this book didn't grab me the same way it seems to have done for others. I look forward to some discussion to hear what people love so much. I think only at the very end did I care about the characters and begin to feel their humanity. The setting (1950s Naples) and the neighborhood were intriguing.

35. The First Rule of Ten (A Tenzing Norbu Mystery, #1) - Gay Hendricks - This book seems to have been written for me! A great mystery, set in Southern California, and the detective is in touch with intuition, meditation, visualization, and good food! (And he has a cat!) the discussions of karma and compassion added depth to the story.

36. The House of Mirth - Edith Wharton - I was over this book about half way through. I did manage to slog through to the end; about as well as Lily manages.

37. At the Edge of the Orchard - Tracy Chevalier - I was so immersed in and enchanted by this story in the few days it took to read it. I finished it on my subway ride, tears cropping up in my eyes at the beauty and sadness of life. It'd be a wonderful book to read in winter, by the fire. Set in Ohio and California in the mid-1800s.

38. A God in Ruins - Kate Atkinson - Very much enjoyed this book, especially the stories of Teddy's experiences as a WWII pilot. The characters feel so real and all struggle and triumph in their turn.

*39. The Way to Love - Anthony de Mello - I used this as a meditation book, reading one chapter each day over a month. It was a fantastic way to ground me in living the life I want to live - with love, freedom, attentiveness, awareness, and joy. Buddhist teachings, written by a Jesuit priest.

40. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead - Brene Brown - A beautiful exploration of vulnerability and how it can bring us closer together, help us to communicate better, and understand one another. I'm not big on TED Talks (this subject and author is a popular TED speaker) but this book was really worth reading. 

41. Wednesday's Child (Inspector Banks, #6) - Peter Robinson – Still enjoying…

42. The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple, #2) - Agatha Christie - I found the short stories to be less compelling that the full length Miss Marple stories. Still fun though!

*43. Underground Airlines - Ben H. Winters - Such a great book. I'd heard it described as an alternative history novel. But it's also a thriller and a undercover agent story, with so many exciting (believable) plot turns. Great storytelling and scene-setting.

44. Mink River - Brian  Doyle - A lyrical, dreamy story book about a small town on the Oregon coast. The stories of the lives of the people there are beautifully woven together. I stopped to read, re-read, and read out loud some of the passages describing the river, the ocean, the fish, the deep and real emotions and struggles of our cast of characters.

45. White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America - Nancy Isenberg – A great sweeping history of poor whites in America. There’s a lot about eugenics, women as breeders of the proper kind of citizens, relations between poor whites and slaves, and descriptions of terms such as crackers and clay eaters. Well written and engaging.

46. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - Maya Angelou – I’d never read this before. I listened to the audiobook, read by Angelou. Didn’t particularly enjoy the story but the language was absolutely brilliant in a few sections.

*47. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America - Erik Larson - A fun book, especially since I'm in Chicago this month! It's amazing how many traditions/inventions were formed at this Worlds Fair. That said, the serial killer stuff sometimes brought me down pretty hard.

48. Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot, #8) - Agatha Christie – Engaging Poirot mystery. I didn’t remember what happened even though I’ve seen the BBC TV version.

49. Thoughts in Solitude - Thomas Merton – Beautiful meditations on silence, introversion, and examining life.

50. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis - J.D. Vance - Such an important and fascinating read, especially right around this election. It's been eye-opening for me to see inside another culture and set of life experiences within the US, so outside of my experiences. I feel it's given me new insight into adults who experienced childhood trauma. Repetitive at points.

51. A Royal Pain (Her Royal Spyness Mysteries, #2) - Rhys Bowen - Started this the day after the election as an alternative to Facebook. It was a perfect escape and an endearing story. The end both came out of nowhere and was totally predictable.

52. Blood at the Root: A Racial Cleansing in America - Patrick Phillips - Highly recommended. Written in a compelling manner and such an important story of racial violence and the legacy that violence leaves on many generations that follow. It's also a story of an emboldened mob and class distinctions and institutionalized racism and hatred.

53. Modern Lovers - Emma Straub – An easy read. A nice representation of friendship, midlife crises, first relationships, communes, and summer in NYC.

*54. Nutshell - Ian McEwan - Brilliant language; entertaining, cleverly crafted characters. A quick, enjoyable read! And laugh out loud funny.