Book List

I love reading. 

I am consumed by it. In a wonderful, coming-alive sort of way. All my worries slip away as the story weaves through me, lifting me to something higher. I am changed, yes, but in all the right ways, by the books I read. I think more critically, feel more deeply, desire more strongly because of being swept away to new places. Places I could never explore if not led by the hands of these authors with the most beautiful gift of words. I find myself in those pages. In those words, between those lines, and through those experiences of characters so different from myself.                         

This year, 2013, I have a goal to read at least a little, every day. I think finally, this is a goal I can achieve! I am going to keep a running list of the books I read this year, and what I am currently reading.

PREVIOUSLY READ IN 2013:

64) Champion by Marie Lu - completed Dec 3
63) The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (re-read)
62) The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (re-read)
61) Allegiant by Veronica Roth - completed Oct 22 (at 3 am)
60) Every Day by David Levithan
59) Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
58) Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
57) Taken by Erin Bowman
56) The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
55) Austenland by Shannon Hale
54) Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
    (no longer in order - oops)
53) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - completed Jun 25
52) The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd - completed Jun 24
51) Human.4 by Mike Lancaster - completed Jun 23
50) Paper Towns by John Green - completed Jun 19
49) The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chobsky - completed Jun 17
48) Rebel Heart by Moira Young - completed Jun 16
47) Beautiful Redemption by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - completed Jun 14
46) Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - completed Jun 12
45) Blood Red Road by Moira Young - completed Jun 7
44) The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith - completed Jun 3 (one sitting)
43) Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - completed Jun 2
42) Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl - completed Jun 1
41) The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch - completed May 30
40) Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi - completed May 28
39) Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi - completed May 26 (read in one sitting, finished at 5 am)
38) An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - completed May 26
37) Scarlet by Marissa Meyer - completed May 22
36) Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan - completed May 21
35) The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - completed May 16
34) The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin - completed May 14
33) Cinder by Marissa Meyer - completed May 10
32) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (re-read) - completed May 2
31) Son by Lois Lowry - completed Apr 25
30) Messenger by Lois Lowry (re-read) - completed Apr 19
29) Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry (re-read) - completed Apr 18
28) The Giver by Lois Lowry (re-read) - completed Apr 5
27) Shards and Ashes (9 dystopian short stories) edited by Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong - completed Apr 4

26) Looking for Alaska by John Green - completed Mar 29

25) Fragments by Dan Wells - completed Mar 27

24) Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare - completed Mar 22

23) Insurgent by Veronica Roth (re-read) - completed Mar 19

22) Divergent by Veronica Roth (re-read) - completed Mar 17

21) Requiem by Lauren Oliver - completed Mar 14

20) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (re-read) - completed Mar 13

19) Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (re-read) - completed Mar 11

18) Whispers and Lies by Joy Fielding - completed Mar 8

17) Legend by Marie Lu - completed Mar 8

16) Crown of Embers by Rae Carson - completed Mar 7

15) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - completed Mar 4

14) Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - completed Mar 1

13) The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson - completed Feb 23

12) Speak by Laurie Hale Anderson - completed Feb 20

11) Forest Born by Shannon Hale - completed Feb 16

10) I Am Number Four: The Lost Files: The Legacies by Pittacus Lore - completed Feb 15

9) Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver - completed Feb 12

8) Partials by Dan Wells - completed Feb 10

7) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert - completed Jan 23

6) The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - completed Jan 16

5) Inheritance by Christopher Paolini - completed Jan 12 (at 5 am...oops)

4) Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver - completed Jan 8

3) Delirium by Lauren Oliver - completed Jan 6

2) River Secrets by Shannon Hale - completed Jan 5

1) Enna Burning by Shannon Hale - completed Jan 4

Here is my bookshelf, as it currently stands. It will not stay this way for too long, because I am always adding more. And it does not have all my books. My sister is borrowing some. I have my religious and therapy books on a different bookshelf. But these are the ones I am most excited to look at every day. 

Normally, I have an incredibly hard time picking favorite books, but I will try to do narrow down my favorites, by genre.

Favorite Classic, Romance -  Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Favorite Classic, Non-romance  -  East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Favorite Non-fiction -  Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, An International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them Together - by Ron Hall & Denver Moore

Favorite Young Adult Fantasy  -  Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (obviously - please note the wand I have hanging from the wall - I bought it at Alnwick Castle where they filmed portions of the first two movies - I have it hanging by my books because there is no better form of magic than reading)

Favorite Young Reader Fantasy  -  Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Favorite Distopian Fiction  -  Divergent (and Insurgent, and presumably the final book in the trilogy that I am literally dying to read) by Veronica Roth

If I had to choose just one book/series, I can now honestly say my favorite is Divergent. It's taken 25 years for me to commit to a favorite book,  but Veronica did it. And she inspired my desire to write, so I'm kind of a huge fan. 

What are your favorite books? favorite genres?

What books do you recommend that I read? I am open to reading almost any genre, even if I haven't previously read it, as long as I know that someone enjoyed it. 

Let me know how I can expand my bookshelf!!

~Rach