1.
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
He wrote Running With Scissors, too. This memoir was equally twisted but very real as the author struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction at age 24. I cried near the end…you’ll see why if you read it!

2.
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
Creepy book about the Ebola virus. The first half of the book is full of blood and gore. The second half slows way down and gives a minute-by-minute detailed account of how the army and CDC reacted and dealt with the problem. Pretty interesting. Not the best writing in the world. I had to skim half of it.

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A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
I read this for my Children’s Lit class. I wasn’t initially interested in it but once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down! The story is beautifully told and the imagery is captivating. Excellent read!

4.
The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
What an amazing book! This was one I had picked up, flipped through and returend to the shevles several times at the bookstore. But when I finally broke down and bought it, I fell in love with it. Couldn’t put it down. Read fast and furiously, hanging on every word, transition, romantic moment. I cried at the end. Bawled my eyes out. But it was beautiful. I’ll definitely read this one again in the future. One of the best books I’ve ever read!

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The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
GREAT book! Typical Oprah’s book club kinda book.

6.
The Little Friend by Donna Tartt.
Long, boring book. Skimmed the last 100 pages! Don’t read!

7.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Children’s lit book. Pretty good. Deals with death.

8.
Our Lady of the Forest by David Guterson
Pretty good story. Heavy on the Catholosism. One-dimensional characters but it’s bearable. Rushed and disappointing ending.

9.
Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins.
One of my favorite books of all time. Gotta break it out and read it every couple of years to see if I’ve missed anything before!

10.
Lucky: A Memoir by Alice Sebold
Riveting book. Excellent read. Couldn’t put it down and read it in one week!!!!

11.
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Very good book. Repetative at times. Should read Don Quiote before reading it again in order to better-understand parallelisms.

12.
The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg
Easy and good read. Family drama. Abusive mother sort of. Kind of weak and one dimensional characters. Quick and anti-climatic ending.

13.
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
Beautifully written.

14.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Read this one in TWO DAYS! Wooot! Good story.

15.
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
YUCK! Had to stop reading it only 100 pages into it. Too predictable and trying too hard to be like the Yaya Sisterhood.

16.
The Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve
AWESOME!!!! Kept my interest. Couldn’t put it down. Blew me away about halfway through with a shocking surprise!

17.
Name All The Animals: A Memoir by Alison Smith
Okay book. Too slow and full of greif that doesn’t really let up until the end of the book. The stories of the girl at her school were entertaining. Hated the ending. It left too much unfinished business.

18.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
AWESOME! laughted my ass off! True story, too. And I got to go to Savannah and tour all the haunts in which the story is set! Now to see the movie…

19.
Sellevision by Augusten Burroughs
Not a memoir. Funny to say the least. Easy read, crazy plots. This would make a good comedy movie.

20.
What We Keep by Elizabeth Berg
Woopsie! About 50 pages into it I realized I had already read it..about 2 years ago? Decided not to read it again.

21.
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
Eh. Grief story. Had to skim the last 50 pages or so to get to the anti-climactic ending. Yawn.

22.
Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner
Sooo cute! Great story for new moms and soon-to-be-moms to read! I loved it and recommended it to a good friend of mine who is a new mom. I hope she likes it!

23.
Fortune’s Rocks by Anita Shreve
Couldn’t get into it. Stopped reading at page 65. Just not my kind of story.

24.
I Am Charlotte Simmons by Tom Wolfe
Couldn’t get into this one either. Stopped reading at chapter 3.

25.
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner
Great book! Not as good as Earthquakes but still very good. They’re making a movie out of this one.

26.
Good Grief by Lolly Winston
Sad story but very realistic account of the grief process. Very good book.

27.
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan

28. Until I Find You by John Irving
HUGE let down. 2 out of 5 stars. Don’t bother.

29. Ya Yas in Bloom by Rebecca Wells
This was an amusing book. It takes you back to some flashes of history in the YaYa Kingdom. No real plot, though. Not terribly interesting. Just amusing. The other two YaYa tales are better (Little Altars Everywhere and The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood).

Score: 3 out of 5 stars

30. Wild Ducks Flying Backward by Tom Robbins
The intro to this book cracked me up and warmed my heart. DAYUM I love Tom Robbins! This is a collection on his short stories, travel reviews, tributes, and poetry over the last 30 years or so. Some are great, some not so much. I’m only 1/4 of the way through but seriously, this is not the kind of book that you can just sit down and read straight through. I’m returning it to the library soon enough and then purchasing my own copy to pick up and thumb through when I get a Robbins Craving.

Score so far, 4 out of 5 stars

31. The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillippa Gregory
GREAT STORY!!! Couldn’t put it down. 5 out of 5 stars

32. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

33. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

34. Light on Snow by Anita Shreve

35. Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood