I love to read. Even throughout all of the terribly difficult times in the hospital with Sam and all of the stress of the last few weeks of his life and the horrible hole that he left in our lives…reading brings me solace and comfort. I can lose myself in a book. Sometimes, though, the knowledge that I'm going to peek my head back out and find things unchanged…sometimes that makes it hard to get lost…
I don't keep track of when exactly I finish all the books, but I know that I went through some lengthy "dry spells" this year...periods when I didn't read anything beyond my Facebook feed or an Entertainment Weekly magazine…here's my list for 2013. I can't even imagine tomorrow, but I know that the sun will rise and set and I know that I will eventually pick up another book to read.
And so it goes…
- The Panther by Nelson DeMille
- Havana Real by Yoani Sanchez
- Game Changer by Margaret Petersen Haddix
- The Fault in our Stars by John Green
- Cuba: A History by Sergio Guerra-Vilaboy
- Two Whole Cakes by Lesley Kinzel
- Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card
- Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
- The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
- One More River by Mary Glickman
- Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon
- I Love Mondays and Other Confessions From Devoted Working Moms by Michelle Cove
- Friendkeeping by Julie Klam
- Curse of the Thirteenth Fey by Jane Yolen
- Second Person Singular by Sayed Kashua
- Beautiful Creatures by Garcia and Stohl
- Memoir of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
- Relational Judaism by Ron Wolfson
- Wisdom for People of All Faiths by Evan Moffic
- Saying No & Letting Go by Edwin Goldberg
- A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy
- The Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp
- The Round House by Louise Ehrdrich
- Son by Lois Lowry
- Enigma by Robert Harris
- The Last Runaway by Tracy Chevalier
- Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
- The Selection by Kiera Cass
- The Elite by Kiera Cass
- Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
- Liars' Gospel by Naomi Alderman
- Fly Away by Kristin Hannah
- Earth Afire by Orson Scott Card
- One by LeighAnn Kopans
- The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
- Jerusalem Assassin by Abraham Azrieli
- The Passage by Justin Cronin
- Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss
- Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks
- The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anotn DiSciafnai
- The English Girl by Daniel Silva
- Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews
- Indelible by Dawn Metcalf
- Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld
- Two by LeighAnn Kopans
- The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
- Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
- Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
- How To Be a Friend to A Friend Who is Sick by Letty Cottin Pogrebin
- From Telling to Teaching by Joye Morris
- The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida
- I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
- Allegiant by Veronica Roth
- Lions of Lucerne by Brad Thor
- Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Melton
Previous book lists are over in the sidebar <--- of my blog.
Usually I keep my list on my blog but this year I did a terrible job of updating it and started using GoodReads to keep track of what I've read. So feel free to follow me over there.
I'm hoping to read some of the "best of 2013" in the first month of 2014. What did you read in 2013 that you liked best?
Usually I keep my list on my blog but this year I did a terrible job of updating it and started using GoodReads to keep track of what I've read. So feel free to follow me over there.
I'm hoping to read some of the "best of 2013" in the first month of 2014. What did you read in 2013 that you liked best?
2 comments:
Rabbi Sommer, you are a true inspiration. Your strength and wisdom leave me in awe. I hope that you are doing as well as you possibly can be and that you find some comfort in your wonderful family and may Sam's memory be a blessing.
Phyllis --
Thank you for posting. I have to admit I look forward to your list each year. Cheesy, but true. :) So I hoped you would post ... understood if you wouldn't ... and like knowing that reading provided some respite in 2013 and a glimpse of something to anticipate in 2014.
For what it's worth (and maybe you've read all three), my favorites this year were (in no particular order):
The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach
And (highly unusual for me) 2 non-fiction:
My Jesus Year: A Rabbi's Son Wanders the Bible Belt in Search of His Own Faith, by Benyamin Cohen
Like Dreamers: The Story of the Israeli Paratroopers Who Reunited Jerusalem and Divided a Nation, by Yossi Klein Halevi - LOVED it, and I think it reads more like historical fiction than anything
Wishing you the best 2014 possible,
Stephanie A.
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