exlibrismcp Reads (a little) in 2018

As stated in my message in the introductory page, this has been a slow reading year for me due to having done some heavy self-imposed reading challenges over the past five years. Yet, I am excited to join this group and discuss what others are reading.

JANUARY
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson
I only get partial credit for this one, because I abandoned it a third of the way through. Not for lack of interest or enjoyment, but just because life got in the way. I WILL be returning to it soon, however, because the first third was really interesting and I did enjoy it.

My interest in this one came about because I had a chance to see the author in person during the Lenoir Rhyne University Visiting Writer's series last October. He gave a wonderful talk that evening that spurred me to buy this book.

FEBRUARY
Moriarty: A Novel by Anthony Horowitz

MARCH
Body of Lies by David Ignatius
No Time for Sargeants by Mac Hyman
Bloodmoney by David Ignatius

APRIL
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

MAY
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
The Giver by Lois Lowry

JUNE
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo
One Second After by William R. Forstchen

JULY
Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

AUGUST
Call it Courage by Armstrong Sperry
Shared with me by my 9 year old nephew.
Last Kids on Earth: Zombie Parade by Max Brallier
Also shared with me by my 9 year old nephew.

Welcome Melissa. I’ve first started keeping track of my reading in high school and the first book on the list is Brave New World. Not sure where in NC you’re are, but if it’s Charlotte, Raleigh, Chappel Hill, Durham, Asheville, Boone or Brevard, I’ve been there recently. (Family vacation)

Welcome! I'm a newish member myself—and also fairly anti-numbers when it comes to reading. It's not about how many books you read but what you read and what you get out of it, in my opinion.

Hello! I recently read the first book in the Last Kids on Earth series to my 8 year old son. He loved it! Me - not as much as other read-alouds we've done.

>3 dchaikin: I'm closest to the Charlotte area. Love the rural life, but is nice to have a big city fairly close by. Brave New World was interesting, but not the best I ever read. The theme is still relevant, though I guess always will be. People are always searching on how to create the "ultimate" society.

>4 lisapeet: I usually don't get caught up on numbers either. I just knew that this year's list doesn't exactly represent my typical reading year. Was afraid since they leaned heavily on children's books people might think I don't have much to contribute LOL. Just my insecurities showing. Should give my fellow readers a little more credit. Would insert smiley face here if I knew how.

>5 japaul22: I'm actually enjoying it more than I thought I would. I like how the illustrations are part of the narrative and not just an adjunct to the text. Mainly read it since he seems so excited to talk about reading with me and I want to encourage his reading habits.

Welcome welcome! It's never too late to jump in the reading pool. ;-D

I am curious; you say that this year does not represent a typical reading year for you...what does a typical year look like? Do you have any particularly favorite genres?

>7 shadrach_anki: Good question. Reflecting back I guess I don't really have a typical year of reading. I go through phases and different interests. My one biggest genre over the years is Historical Fiction, but I like to read a varied range of types of books. Here are some of the authors I have gravitated to the most over the years.

John Jakes
Tom Clancy
Pat Conroy
Larry McMurty
James Michener
Patricia Cornwell
Geraldine Brooks
Ian McEwan
Edward Rutherford
Ken Follett
Jeff Shaara
Barbara Kingsolver
Audrey Niffenegger
Khaleed Hosseini
Louise Erdrich
Tim O'Brien
Michael Cunningham
Diana Gabaldon - Outlander Series
George R.R. Martin - Song of Fire and Ice Series

One area I would like to expand more broadly is Non-Fiction books. I love to watch Book TV on C-Span and have a growing list of titles I want to get around to. There again the Historical ones pique my interest the most, but also like Psychology based and Political based books as well.

>8 exlibrismcp: Good list of favorite authors! A number I recognize, but also quite a few I am currently unfamiliar with.

I also want to read more non-fiction, and I have great aspirations to do so...but I find that I am much better at acquiring non-fiction books than actually reading them in anything resembling a timely fashion. I am unfamiliar with Book TV, but that might be for the best, all things considered; I already seem to manage to get book recommendations almost as easily as breathing!

Welcome, Melissa. I like your list of authors. I have read some of them: Hosseini, Michener, Jakes, Brooks, McEwan, Follett, Edrich, Niffenegger but other than having read Edrich's latest and some of McEwan's works, I haven't read those other authors for at least 10 years (and Jakes was in the 70s!) So, many books to choose from!

What kind of nonfiction are you interested in. As a former bookseller, and judging from your list of fictions authors, you might like some of Nathaniel Philbrick's very readable histories or Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror about the calamitous 14th century.

Welcome to our group. We have varied interests and styles of tracking the books we read, which is what I enjoy about it.

I also like historical fiction, and I see many authors on your list that I enjoy. I’ve been reading more mysteries lately than anything else, but I do like a variety of styles.

For non-fiction, I lean toward historical subjects. Ben Macintyre has written several books that read more like novels than non-fiction. I’d recommend Agent Zigzag. The Johnstown Flood by David McCullough is another book that reads like a great adventure story.