I used to work part-time at a library, and one of my
favorite parts of the job was spending time with the books. As I shelved items, I would lovingly caress
the spines of all the books containing stories and characters, words to provoke
thought or action. Many times I would
end up checking out as many books as I shelved, and I found that my time at the
library helped me read outside my comfort zone.
I would grab any book that called to me from the shelves knowing it
would be easy to return if it didn’t end up drawing me in.
Now that I no longer work at the library, I can easily fall
into a book rut. I grab my type,
generally realistic fiction or memoirs or books by the likes of David Platt,
Sarah Bessey, Jen Hatmaker which are non-fiction Christian journey type of
books, and that’s about that. I don’t
expand; it’s not an intentional decision.
Without my beloved shelves to roam, I fall into form.
Fortunately, I fell into the equivalent of a library full of
stacks holding a variety of books from every genre: the Top 50 Bookpages Lists for 2014. I grab Bookpages magazines at the library
every month, and at the end of last year, I hit a gold mine. I’m now reading my way through the 50 books
on this list, and I hope to finish them by the end of December. One problem that may thwart my goal is that I
also read other books that grab my attention through the internet or word of
mouth, so I’m reading these 50 plus whatever I grab.
You can find this list online as well. I am going to track what I’m reading and
possibly book review my favorites on occasion.
Here’s what I’ve read so far. The
* denotes a book that was not on the list.
January
Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead
The Rosie Project* by Graeme Simsion
My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff
Unbroken* by Laura Hillenbrand
All the Lights We Cannot See* by Anthony Doerr
February
The Invention of Wings by Susan Monk Kidd
Remember Me Like This by Bret Anthony Johnston
Boy, Snow, Bird by Helen Oyeyemi
The Girl on the Train* by Paula Hawkins
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
March
The Rosie Effect* by Graeme Simsion
We Were Liars* by E. Lockhart
What is Visible by Kimberly Elkins
Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
April
Us by David Nicholls
The Forgetting Place* by John Burley
In Paradise by Peter Matthiessen
The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis
Better Than Before* by Gretchin Rubin
The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
This is what I'm attempting for May:
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
Blood Will Out by Walter Kirn
Before I Go* by Colleen Oakley
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty
Continuing to read different types of literature seems like a good long term thing to try. Station Eleven, a sci-fi post apocalypse story, has been my favorite so far, and I would have NEVER grabbed that one on my own. I'll let you know how I feel about the book about a woman who works in a morgue. Also COMPLETELY not my usual type.
I'd love to get any book recommendations any readers would like to pass along. I'm faithful to my list, but I can't help it if my eye wonders on occasion.
Continuing to read different types of literature seems like a good long term thing to try. Station Eleven, a sci-fi post apocalypse story, has been my favorite so far, and I would have NEVER grabbed that one on my own. I'll let you know how I feel about the book about a woman who works in a morgue. Also COMPLETELY not my usual type.
I'd love to get any book recommendations any readers would like to pass along. I'm faithful to my list, but I can't help it if my eye wonders on occasion.
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