2015 Reading Challenge: Books 21 to 39

I love reading and I love challenges, and for 2015 engaged in a reading challenge to help diversify my book selections (click here for the original challenge). The first 20 books I read this year very neatly conformed to this challenge (click here for the list). The next 19 books I read I had to often start making up categories to get it to work. ;) 

21. Modern Romance, by Aziz Ansari (a book by a celebrity) - Aziz Ansari plays a hilarious characters on Parks & Recreation, so I was expecting a hilarious book. Which it is - BUT - it is more of a sociological study on dating among twenty-somethings in the modern world. It was (surprisingly) well-written, engaging, and yes, hilarious. :)

22. Small Victories, by Anne Lamott (a book of spiritual memoirs) - Oh, how I love Anne Lamott. I adore her writing in all forms, from previous books to magazine pieces to her Facebook page. Unfortunately, since I have read so much of her previous work, I could tell that at least a third of this book consisted of pieces that had previously been published. I enjoyed re-reading old favorites, but would probably have been disappointed had I purchased the book. 

23. Calm my Anxious Heart, by Linda Dillow (a book recommended by a friend) - A sweet friend recommended this book after my "worrying" blog this summer. It is a biblical book on finding contentment and letting go of anxiety, with the key focus on trusting God with all matters. I really enjoyed the perspective and writing style. 

24. The Rumor, by Erin Hilderbrand (a beach read) - This book is a "beach read in every sense of the phrase: It's light. fluffy, and takes place on a beach town. It shows what a weak impression it made on me that I can barely remember it now. I think someone had an affair? Or was dying? Maybe both. ;) 

25. For the Love, by Jen Hatmaker (a book autographed by the author) - I love Jen Hatmaker, but reading the book was like reading a collection of blog posts.The book is loosely structured around the idea of grace, having grace for ourselves and for others, and goes in the order of self, family, neighbors, church. However, it was almost SO loosely structured that it felt like reading a blog - some serious essays on the future of the church and pastor burnout, followed by hilarious essays on fashion - but there did not always seem to be rhyme or reason to the order, and it could have benefited from having more coherent transitions between.

26. "How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success, by Julie Lythcott-Haims (a parenting book) - This book rocked my world so much that I wrote a blog entry on it at the time when I finished reading it (click here to see). 

27. David and Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell (an insanely expensive paperback book) - I love Malcolm Gladwell and the way he can blend together research studies and really interesting anecdotes to make a point. This one is on why more "powerful" or "advantageous" areas may not be as advantageous as they sound - like small class sizes, selective colleges, growing up with both parents, etc. I like his writing style and it us very easy to read, although it reminds me of reading a really long magazine piece. Recommended if you like his other works.

28. A Window Opens, by Elisabeth Egan (a work-life balance book) - this book is a really fast, light read. It reminded me of an updated, Americanized version of "I Don't Know How She Does It." Mom of 3 kids goes back to work full time while juggling a dying father and normal problems of suburbia. It is very light and fit the bill of what I was looking for when I read it - in part because I could relate to a lot of the work/life balance tension.

29. He's Gone, by Deb Caletti (a book recommended by "what should I read next" website) -  Eh. This seemed to be a spin on "Gone Girl," only it is the husband who is missing and the wife cannot remember what happened the last night she saw him. It sounds like they had the perfect marriage, but as the book progresses you learn more about its seedy underbelly. I am "eh" because the pacing and writing both seemed to drag on. Or maybe I needed a break from missing-person books.

30. Who Do You Love, by Jennifer Weiner (a book I didn't finish) - Okay, I am totally cheating and counting this book in my total even though I suck and didn't finish it, because I gave it a good-faith effort and made it over halfway, so if you round up, it's like I finished it. I am not sure why I didn't like this book. I have liked other items that Jennifer Weiner wrote, and was in the mood for a fun chick lit novel. I think I didn't like the main (female) character - she seemed self-absorbed and shallow and I just didn't care about her. Or maybe I was just grumpy when I tried to read it. :)

31. Go Set a Watchman, by Harper Lee (a sequel to a beloved classic) - I really liked this book! Which was surprising, because I was prepared to hate it. "To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of my favorite books and I was so disappointed to hear when it first came out that the Atticus Finch of this book (set in 1954) is working for segregation, once attended a Klan meeting, etc. I think I really liked the book for two reasons: (1) This was written pre-Mockingbird (my understanding is that Harper Lee submitted this book and was told by editors to go back and re-work the book focusing on Scout's childhood), and I loved seeing where snippets from Mockingbird came from, what had been changed, what was developed, etc. (2) I really did appreciate reading about a more human and flawed Atticus as seen by an adult Scout. 

32. Humans of New York Stories, by Brandon Stanton (a coffee table book) - I follow the blog Humans of New York on Facebook and it is beautiful - both the photogrraphs and the accompanying stories. This is a collection of some of the most meaningful entries on the blog and is equally beautiful.  

33. Gratitude, by Oliver Sacks (a book written in the year of author's death) - I hesitate to call this a book, since I think it is perhaps 50 pages tops, but this collection of four essays written as Oliver Sacks faces imminent death from his terminal illness is quite touching. Very fast read and a nice complement to "Being Mortal." 

34. My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante  (a book about friendship) - Wonderful coming-of-age story set in Naples, Italy in the 1950s/early 1960s post-war period, and focuses on the at times lovely and at times rocky friendship between the protagonist and her "brilliant friend." It reminded me of an Italian "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" with the setting of urban poverty set among a changing society. The book was translated from Italian and you really get an overwhelming sense of a what a different time and place this was - especially with the omnipresent violence on all levels. Recommended if you like historical fiction, if you enjoy coming-of-age stories, or if you like books about female friendship. 

35. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, by Bryan Stevenson (a social justice book) - A non-fiction book about a lawyer who works on death-row cases that reads like a legal thriller. It is written in a very objective and generous manner, but at its core exposes all kinds of problems and inhumanities with our justice system. So compelling that about all I've done the past 2 days is read this. Highly recommended!!

36. What She Left Behind, by Ellen Marie Wiseman (a book with mental illness) - The novel is definitely a page-turner. It reminded me of "Orphan Train" with the juxtaposition of two stories, one a foster child in the 1990s and the other a woman in the 1920s who is involuntarily committed to an asylum. Both stories, especially the one from the 1920s, were SO SAD, but despite that and the fact that the writing is kind of choppy at times, I couldn't put it down.

37. Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen, by Mary Norris (a book on grammar) - The author is a long-time copy editor at The New Yorker magazine. The book is marketed as being about grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc. - which it is - but seems more focused on telling stories about The New Yorker. It also seemed to wander and meander in many parts. I liked the book, but not as much as I was hoping.

38. The Nightingale, by Kristin Hannah  (a book about war) - This book was one of the best books I read all year. It focuses on the lives of two sisters in France during World War II and how they each react to the war in different ways. The writing is strong, the characters are all well-developed (and human), and the plot lines kept me on the edge of my seat. Highly recommended. 

39. Euphoria, by Lily King (a book based on a true story) - A dark but very well-written novel about three anthropologists in the 1930s (modeled after Margaret Mead and her real-life husbands). This is not a "happy" book but is engaging and very well written.

What are some of the best (or worst) books you have read this year?