Books Read Starting January 1, 2007
1.) The Pale Blue Eye Louis Bayard
2.) Mirror, Mirror Gregory Maguire
3.) Lost Gregory Maguire
4.) The Lost Continent Bill Bryson
5.) The Bell Jar Sylvia Plath
6.) Breakfast at Tiffany’s Truman Capote
7.) Son of a Witch Gregory Maguire
8.) In Cold Blood Truman Capote
9.) Witches of Eastwick John Updike
10.) Mr. Timothy Louis Bayard
11.) The Lost Gardens Anthony Eglin
12.) The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell Lillian Jackson Braun
13.) Without You Anthony Rapp
14.) Naked In The Promised Land Lillian Falderman
15.) Truman Capote George Plimpton
16.) The Mixquahuala Letters Ana Castillo
17.) What Angels Fear C.S. Harris
18.) When Gods Die C.S. Harris
19.) The Collar Jonathan Englert
20.) Hannibal Rising Thomas Harris
21.) Sisters John J. Fialka
22.) Foder’s Guide to the DaVinci Code Editors et al
23.) Notes From A Small Island Bill Bryson
24.) The Beekeeper’s Apprentice Laurie R. King
25.) Our Fathers David France
26.) A Monstrous Regiment of Women Laurie R. King
27.) The Town That Forgot How To Breathe Kenneth J. Harvey
28.) A Letter of Mary Laurie R. King
29.) The Moor Laurie R. King
30.) The Blue Rose Anthony Eglin
31.) O Jerusalem Laurie R. King
32.) The Next Thing On My List Jill Smolinski
33.) Justice Hall Laurie R. King
34.) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K.Rowling
35.) The Game Laurie R. King
36.) Locked Rooms Laurie R. King
37.) Lake of Sorrows Erin Hart
38.) Forever Pete Hamill
39.) The Bishop and the Missing L Train Andrew Greeley
40.) The Dark Half Stephen King
41.) The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers Lillian Jackson Braun
42.) The Bishop In The West Wing Andrew Greeley
43.) The Angel, the Shepherd, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog Dave Barry
44.) Falling Angels Tracy Chevalier
45.) Burning Bright Tracy Chevalier
46.) Darkly Dreaming Dexter Jeff Lindsey
47.) Dearly Devoted Dexter Jeff Lindsey
48.) The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon Stephen King
49.) Thy Brother’s Wife Andrew Greeley
50.) The Bishop and the Beggar Girl of Sainte Germaine Andrew Greeley
51.) The Bishop Goes to The University Andrew Greeley
52.) Irish Gold Andrew Greeley
53.) Irish Lace Andrew Greeley
54.) Irish Whiskey Andrew Greeley
55.) Dexter In The Dark Jeff Lindsey
56.) Needful Things Stephen King
57.) Priests In Love Barbara Anderson
58.) The Monsters Dorothy and Thomas Hooper
59.) The Poems of Dr. Zhivago Boris Pasternak
60.) Ghostwalk Rebecca Stott
Looking back at the list I see a few trends in my reading. First I had a strong fascination with religious texts, which I can attribute to a couple of things. First I was taking several religion classes within Anthropology (my major field of study) and secondly I was very curious about religious life in particular, and for a while was considering being a nun. I continue to be strong in my faith, and do read a lot about all different kinds of religions, not just Roman Catholicism. Closely linked to this, I read a lot of Andrew Greeley. If you're not familiar with him he's a Catholic priest who writes both fiction and nonfiction, he's up there now, he'll be 83 next month, but is a fascinating and prolific writer. I first read his book The Catholic Imagination when I was a freshman in high school, and it has continued to shape how I see religion ever since. He is outspoken and controversial, staunchly apposes the war in Iraq and has spoken out against popes and the abuse scandal, and his fiction is liberally spiced with sex. If ever a non-Catholic were to read literature by a priest, he's it.
I also went through a fling with Truman Capote for a few weeks, both fiction and nonfiction. He's a bit of an an enigma, and after I saw the film Capote I itched for more, it wasn't a long trend, but I confess I continue to be fascinated by the little man. I related my trip to Holcomb, the site of the In Cold Blood murders of the Clutter family in my blog Subjects and Objects .
A number of author first popped up on my radar this year that I have formed a devoted following of, and will continue to show up on lists in the future. Laurie R. King, author of the Mary Russell mysteries is the most prevalent (she's Sherlock Holmes' wife, much younger, that he meets after his retirement to Sussex to be a beekeeper) I picked this up on a whim from a display at the library with a focus on Sherlock Holmes. Louis Bayard, Anthony Eglin and C.S. Harris are three other noteworthy authors I started reading in 2007 and have followed ever since. I'm sure I'll talk about all three as time goes on. Where Shadows Dance, C.S. Harris' sixth Sebastian St. Cyr mystery is due out March 1 right around he same time that The School of Night, Bayard's latest novel comes on the scene. As for Eglin, nothing new from him since 2009's The Trail of the Wild Rose, his English Garden mysteries are not my usual forte, but I look forward to them because they bring me back to the days of Miss Marple with their quintessential Britishness.
As frequently as trends start, others end. I read Gregory Maguire's books voraciously in January of that year, however I never really got all that into them. I picked up A Lion Among Men, the third book in his Wicked saga, on sale in 2008 and it still sits unread on my shelf. I feel sometimes his books are just too much for me to follow, and invest the time. They're good books, but just beyond me, both in terms of effort and comprehension. Jeff Lindsey, author of the Dexter books also caught me interest, unfortunately (shameful confession coming) I began watching the television show and the books were so far removed that I sometimes get lost in the plot. I got the last book from the library, but sadly it was returned unread. These mysteries were entertaining however, I hope I become sufficiently motivated to go back and get into them again.
Lastly, Lillian Jackson Braun, who I first read in the fifth grade, when I bought The Cat Who Went Into The Closet at a book fair (this was elementary school mind you) and have been a devoted fan ever since. This was probably a case of a book that was far too mature for me at the time, I remember reading the word brothel and having to look it up in the dictionary because I had no idea what it meant. The Cat Who had 60 Whiskers was the 29th book in the series, and none have been published since. LJB was secretive for years about her true age, however in 2005 she revealed the year of her birth to be 1913, which puts her at a hearty 98. The Cat Who Smelled Smoke, her 30th novel has been cancelled for publication by Putnam. There are rumors she's not up to writing it herself, and rumblings about a ghost writer. As a longtime Qwill fan, I would love to see another installment, however I'll understand if the old girl wants to turn in her typewriter.
