Dear Little Sister-
You already know this, but my good book friend Jo died in August. She was instrumental in convincing me to keep a BOB, or Book of Books. In January, I purchased a leather-bound journal and started my own BOB, faithfully recording the date, title and author of each book I read as soon as I finish it. In less than a year, my BOB has become one of my most treasured possessions.
When Jo died, I volunteered to type up her BOB so that each of her children and grandchildren could have a copy. I thought it would be a nice tribute to Jo. (It would certainly be more meaningful than a sorry elegy.) Jo only kept a BOB for the last ten years of her life, but Jo read a LOT. Because I typed up her BOB, I can tell you she read 812 books in those last ten years. . . that's a lot of books . . . and a lot of typing!
Although I'm not as prolific a reader as Jo, I'm hoping my BOB will record my reading over the next 50 years. I don't know whether my BOB will ever contain 812 books, or whether anyone will be interested in what I've read after I'm gone. But just in case, I thought I could provide you with a typed copy at the end of each year to save you some time. Hope this helps.
84, Charing Cross Road
A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash **
A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer Dubois ****
And When She Was Good by Laura Lippman ***
Asylum by Patrick McGrath **
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson ***
Being Dead by Jim Crace ***1/2
Defending Jacob by William Landay **
Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada *****
Fire in the Blood by Irene Nemirovsky ****
Girlchild by Tupelo
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn****
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ****
How it All Began by Penelope Lively ***
I am Forbidden by Anouk Markovits ****
In One Person by John Irving **1/2
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri ****
Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks ***1/2
One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper ***
Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing by Lydia
Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (B) ****
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones ***1/2
Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan (B)*1/2
Swimming Home by Deborah Levy ***
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Phillip Sendker *****
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak ****1/2
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otuska ***
The Dogs of Babel
The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew **
The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson ***
The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walker
The Ghost at the Table by Suzanne Berne ***1/2
The Giant's House by Elizabeth McCracken ***
The Girls by Lori Lansens ****
The Kindness of Strangers by Katrina Kittle ***
The Kommandant's Girl by Pam Jenoff *
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh ***
The Light Between the Oceans by M.L. Stedman ***1/2
The Lighthouse by Alison Moore ***
The Lost Saints of Tennessee
The Madonnas of Leningrad
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides ****
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg ***1/2
The Nightwatch by Sarah Waters ***
The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin ***1/2
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy **
The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac **
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey **1/2
The Submission by Amy Waldman **
The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D by Nicole Bernier **
The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones **
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ****
The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown **
The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson ***
This is How You Lose Her by Junot Diaz ***1/2
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum ****
Waiting for Sunrise
What is Left the Daughter by Howard Norman ***
P.S. The (B) next to some of the books indicates that it was part of a reading group or discussion. It doesn't mean I didn't like the book, it just means I didn't choose it.
P.P.S. Yes, I realize that one shouldn't use the pronouns "a" or "the" when alphabetizing a list. Unfortunately, Microsoft Excel is not as savvy as I am and I don't know how to teach Excel.
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