100 Books

When I started creating my Life List a few years ago, one of my goals was to read 100 books in one year. I made it to 94 in 2014, so I’m trying again in 2015. but 2015 was a winner!

(More detailed metadata for both 2014 and 2015 are in this spreadsheet. My 2014 midway check-in is here, and my year-end recap is here.)

I’m no longer tracking books on this page. Curious about what I’m reading? Follow me on Goodreads.

2015

1. Ghostwritten, David Mitchell
2. Falling Off the Map: Some Lonely Places of The World, Pico Iyer
3. Truth and Beauty, Ann Patchett
4. Autobiography of a Face, Lucy Grealy
5. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
6. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams
7. number9dream, David Mitchell
8. Life, the Universe, and Everything, Douglas Adams
9. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Douglas Adams
10. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Mindy Kaling
11. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett
12. This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Ann Patchett
13. Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory, Mickey Rapkin
14. Theater Geek: The Real Life Drama of a Summer at Stagedoor Manor, the Famous Performing Arts Camp, Mickey Rapkin
15. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
16. The Magician’s Assistant, Ann Patchett
17. The Red Garden, Alice Hoffman
18. Was, Geoff Ryman
19. Commitment Hour, James Alan Gardner
20. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
21. Code Name Verity, Elizabeth Wein
22. Dept. of Speculation, Jenny Offill
23. It’s What I Do: A Photographer’s Life of Love and War, Lynsey Addario
24. Dumbing of Age: This Campus is a Friggin’ Escher Print, David Willis
25. Dumbing of Age: I Beg You, Don’t Cast Your Body into the Cragged Shame Pits of the Lustwolves, David Willis
26. Dumbing of Age: Your Stupid Overconfidence is Nostalgic, David Willis
27. Dumbing of Age: Book Four, David Willis
28. Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality, Eliezer Yudkowsky (I started reading this because of this and finished it because I fell victim to the sunk cost fallacy)
29. Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham
30. Then Again, Diane Keaton
31. The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
32. Practical Magic, Alice Hoffman
33. Where’d You Go, Bernadette, Maria Semple
34. The Vacationers, Emma Straub
35. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs
36. Knit Step by Step, Vikki Haffenden and Frederica Patmore
37. Taking the Leap, Pema Chödrön
38. The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation, Thich Nhat Hanh
39. Bad Feminist, Roxane Gay
40. Kindred, Octavia E. Butler
41. How to Build a Girl, Caitlin Moran
42. The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Patrick Rothfuss
43. The Lathe of Heaven, Ursula K. Le Guin
44. #GIRLBOSS, Sophia Amoruso
45. All Over Creation, Ruth Ozeki
46. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, Susan Cain
47. Ahab’s Wife, or The Star Gazer, by Sena Jeter Naslund
48. The Flame Alphabet, by Ben Marcus
49. The House Girl, Tara Conklin
50. Windhaven, George R.R. Martin and Lisa Tuttle
51. The Ship of Brides, Jojo Moyes
52. The Interestings, Meg Wolitzer
53. A Study in Silks, Emma Jane Holloway
54. The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, Meg Wolitzer
55. Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera
56. A Leaf on the Wind of All Hallows, Diana Gabaldon
57. Lord John and the Private Matter, Diana Gabaldon
58. The Master Magician, Charlie N. Holmberg
59. Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade, Diana Gabaldon
60. The Tiger’s Wife, Téa Obreht
61. The Scottish Prisoner, Diana Gabaldon
62. Lord John and the Hand of the Devils, Diana Gabaldon
63. Wedding Night, Sophie Kinsella
64. The One & Only, Emily Giffin
65. The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, Sebastian Junger
66. The Dinner, Herman Koch
67. The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling
68. The Bookseller, Cynthia Swanson
69. The Dovekeepers, Alice Hoffman
70. The Light in the Ruins, Chris Bohjalian
71. When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka
72. The Buddha in the Attic, Julie Otsuka
73. Appalachian Trials: A Psychological and Emotional Guide to Successfully Thru-Hiking The Appalachian Trail, Zach Davis
74. The Martian, Andy Weir
75. The Golden Compass, Philip Pullman
76. The Subtle Knife, Philip Pullman
77. Eragon, Christopher Paolini
78. Eldest, Christopher Paolini
79. Frog Music, Emma Donoghue
80. The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker
81. Thirteenth Child, Patricia C. Wrede
82. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
83. The Swan Thieves, Elizabeth Kostova
84. Come As You Are, Emily Nagoski
85. The Forty Rules of Love, Elif Shafak
86. Finding Everett Ruess: The Life and Unsolved Disappearance of a Legendary Wilderness Explorer, David Roberts
87. Eiger Dreams, Jon Krakauer
88. Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure, Patricia Herr Ellis
89. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster, Jon Krakauer
90. To the Edge: A Man, Death Valley, and the Mystery of Endurance, Kirk Johnson
91. No Summit out of Sight: The True Story of the Youngest Person to Climb the Seven Summits, Jordan Romero
92. The Glassblower, Petra Durst-Benning
93. Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail, Ben Montgomery
94. Kitchens of the Great Midwest, J. Ryan Stradal
95. The Lady Astronaut of Mars, Mary Kowal Robinette
96. The Necromancer, Jonathan L. Howard
97. Church of Marvels, Leslie Parry
98. The Position, Meg Wolitzer
99. The Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen
100. The Queen of the Tearling, Erika Johansen
101. The Invasion of the Tearling, Erika Johansen
102. Etiquette & Espionage, Gail Carriger
103. Curtsies & Conspiracies, Gail Carriger
104. Waistcoats & Weaponry, Gail Carriger
105. Manners & Mutiny, Gail Carriger
106. Soulless, Gail Carriger
107. Changeless, Gail Carriger
108. Blameless, Gail Carriger
109. Heartless, Gail Carriger
110. Timeless, Gail Carriger
111. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver

2014

1. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
2. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
3. The Last Days of Dogtown, Anita Diamant
4. A Practical Wedding, Meg Keene
5. Léon and Louise, Alex Capus
6. Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, Ana Sortun (good cookbooks should be read cover to cover, like novels)
7. Papillon, Henri Charrière
8. Kings County Distillery Guide to Urban Moonshining, David Haskell and Colin Spoelman
9. The Possessed: Adventures With Russian Books and the People Who Read Them, Elif Batuman
10. The Stench of Honolulu: A Tropical Adventure, Jack Handey
11. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
12. Divergent, Veronica Roth
13. Don’ts for Weddings (1904), Anonymous (“Don’t send gifts other than flowers, bon-bons, and pretty trifles till you have confessed your love. You may give her a dog or kitten, or the undressed skin of an animal you have shot, but you must not offer articles of jewellery, furs, or items of toilette.”)
14. The Flavor Bible, Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg
15. Insurgent, Veronica Roth
16. Allegiant, Veronica Roth
17. Marry Me, Dan Rhodes
18. A Road More or Less Traveled: Madcap Adventures Along the Appalachian Trail, Otis and Roberts
19. Radioactive: Marie and Pierre Curie, A Tale of Love and Fallout, Lauren Redniss (this book is absolutely beautiful—worth reading for both the content and the art)
20. Knocked Up: The Shooting Script, Judd Apatow (I was bored. It was on a nearby bookshelf.)
21. Dorothy Must Die, Danielle Paige
22. Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail, Jennifer Pharr Davis
23. Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
24. Joseph Anton: A Memoir, Salman Rushdie
25. The Beginning and the End, Naguib Mahfouz (dismal and depressing; F- would not read again)
26. The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History, Jonathan Franzen
27. The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton
28. Expat Etiquette: How to Look Good in Bad Places, Michael Bear and Liz Good
29. A Study in Scarlet, Arthur Conan Doyle
30. The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle
31. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
32. I, Robot, Isaac Asimov
33. Delicious!, Ruth Reichl
34. Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage, Molly Wizenberg
35. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
36. The Meaning of Wife: A Provocative Look at Women and Marriage in the Twenty-First Century, Anne Kingston
37. Written in My Own Heart’s Blood, Diana Gabaldon
38. What We Say Matters: Practicing Nonviolent Communication, Judith Hanson Lasater and Ike Lasater
39. The Heart of Valor, Tanya Huff
40. The Reef, Nora Roberts
41. The King’s Hounds, Martin Jensen
42. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, Jung Chang
43. Blood, Bones, and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, Gabrielle Hamilton
44. A Highly Unlikely Scenario, or a Neetsa Pizza Employee’s Guide to Saving the World, Rachel Cantor
45. The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book: Uncommon Recipes from the Celebrated Brooklyn Pie Shop, Emily Elsen and Melissa Elsen
46. The Map of Love, Ahdaf Soueif
47. Motherland Fatherland Homelandsexuals, Patricia Lockwood
48. The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt
49. Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
50. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Cheryl Strayed
51. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
52. So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love, Cal Newport
53. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling
54. A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness
55. Shadow of Night, Deborah Harkness
56. The Book of Life, Deborah Harkness
57. The Hangman’s Daughter, Oliver Pötzsch
58. Nightmares!, Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
59. The Paper Magician, Charlie N. Holmberg
60. The Line, J.D. Horn
61. The Source, J.D. Horn
62. The Bone Season, Samantha Shannon
63. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared, Jonas Jonasson
64. Witches of East End, Melissa de la Cruz
65. The Magicians, Lev Grossman
66. The Magician King, Lev Grossman
67. The Magician’s Land, Lev Grossman
68. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, J.K. Rowling
69. Adam, Ariel Schrag
70. Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow, Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
71. Enchantress, James Maxwell
72. The Hidden Relic, James Maxwell
73. The Path of the Storm, James Maxwell
74. The Lore of the Evermen, James Maxwell
75. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain
76. The Moonlight Palace, Liz Rosenberg
77. The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help, Amanda Palmer
78. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
79. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling
80. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling
81. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling
82. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling
83. The Glass Magician, Charlie N. Holmberg
84. The Sisterhood, Helen Bryan
85. Girl on a Wire, Gwenda Bond
86. Knit Socks!: 17 Classic Patterns for Cozy Feet, Betsy McCarthy
87. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography, Neil Patrick Harris
88. Heir to the Glimmering World, Cynthia Ozick
89. Yes Please, Amy Poehler
90. Embroidery Stitches, Barbara Snook
91. Complete Guide to Needlework, Virginia Colton
92. One Day I Will Write About This Place: A Memoir, Binyavanga Wainaina
93. Tracks: A Woman’s Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback, Robyn Davidson
94. Learning to Embroider, Barbara Snook