Peace Corps Reading List

In September, I finished my third year in Peace Corps. Over the course of my service, I did a lot of things, one of which was to reacquaint myself with reading for fun. In my three years, I finished 156 new books, 11 short stories, and 47 re-reads. For the past three months, I have been traveling around Europe with a childhood friend to 13 countries. During the bus, train and plane rides,  I read 13 new books. Totting up the totals, I've finally made it past 200 books. 

Little summaries of the first 100 books are here, and the next 41 are here.

As before, I'll put them in order of favorite to least favorite by genre. I've gotten much better about not re-reading, but that doesn't mean I don't want to re-read fantasy books all the time.

In the list, the ones I particularly liked have a *. 

Peace Corps New Books:

1. Paper Towns by John Green
2. Every Day by David Levithan
3. Invisibility by David Levithan and Andrea Cremer
4. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
5. *Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
6. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
7. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
8. *Looking for Alaska by John Green
9. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black 
10. Doll Bones by Holly Black
11. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
12. Poison Eaters and Other Stories by Holly Black 
13. Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
14. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
15. I, Robot  by Isaac Asimov
16. 13 Little Blue Envelopes  by Maureen Johnson
17. 1776 by David McCullough
18. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
19. Unsoul’d by Barry Lyga
20. *The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
21. *The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
22. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
23. Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding
24. The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding
25. Mad About The Boy by Helen Fielding
26. Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer
27. Bruiser by Neal Shusterman
28. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
29. The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer
30. The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer
31. The Islands of the Blessed by Nancy Farmer
32. Game by Barry Lyga
33. I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga
34. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
35. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
36. Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris
37. Lost Cat: A True Story of Love, Desperation and GPS Technology by Caroline Paul
38. Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
39. Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops by Jen Campbell
40. Quiet by Susan Cain
41. Bossypants by Tina Fey
42. The Spectacular Now by Tim Tharp
43. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
44. UnWholly by Neal Shusterman 
45. Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
46. UnSouled by Neal Shusterman
47. Seriously...I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
48. The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkein
49. The Shadow Club by Neal Shusterman
50. The Shadow Club Rising by Neal Shusterman
51. The Waking Dark by Robin Wasserman
52. *The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkein
53. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
54. City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
55. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
56. If I Stay by Gayle Foreman
57. Just One Day by Gayle Foreman
58. *Let It Snow by Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle
59. Landline by Rainbow Rowell
60. Phule’s Company by Robert Asprin
61. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
62. *Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
63. Blood of My Blood by Barry Lyga
64. *The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
65. The Iron Trial by Cassandra Clare & Holly Black
66. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
67. Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
68. Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
69. A Beautiful Mind by Silvia Nasar
70. Shadows by Robin McKinley
71. Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
72. *Lysistrata by Aristophanes
73. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
74. Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
75. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
76. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
77. The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis
78. The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis
79. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
80. The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
81. The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
82. *Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
83. Caliban’s War by James S.A. Corey
84. The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
85. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
86. Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
87. We Were Here by Matt de la Peña
88. Dark Wind by Tony Hillerman
89. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
90. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
91. Guards! Guards! By Terry Pratchett
92. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
93. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
94. Solo en la Oscuridad by Ramón Diaz Eterovic
95. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
96. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
97. Hologram for a King by Dave Eggers
98. *Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb
99. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
100. Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett
101. White Out by Michael Clune
102. Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
103. *Lirael by Garth Nix
104. Abhorsen by Garth Nix
105. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
106. The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett
107. Scorpion Shards by Neal Shusterman
108. Thief of Souls by Neal Shusterman

--Peace Corps Response

1. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
2. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
3. *Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
4. Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
5. Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
6. Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb
7. *Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
8. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
9. Golden Fool by Robin Hobb
10. UnDivided by Neal Shusterman
11. Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb
12. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
13. Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb
14. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
15. *Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb
16. *Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
17. Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
18. Cities in Flight by James Blish
19. *The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
20. Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña
21. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson
22. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
23. *Titan by Ron Chernow
24. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
25. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin
26. Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
27. The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin
28. The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel
29. *The Martian by Andy Weir
30. Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
31. *Sula by Toni Morrison
32. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
33. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne and J.K. Rowling
34. Beloved by Toni Morrison

--Europe Travel

1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
2. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
3. Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
4. Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
5. Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
6. I Will Save You by Matt de la Pena
7. *A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Housseini
8. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
9. The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
10. The Greenwitch by Susan Cooper
11. The Grey King by Susan Cooper
12. The Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
13. Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal by Chris Colfer
14. The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

Short Stories:

David Levithan: Six Earlier Days

Cassandra Clare: What Really Happened in Peru, The Runaway Queen, The Midnight Heir, The Rise of the Hotel Dumort, Vampires, Scones and Edmund Herondale

Neal Shusterman: Unstrung

Tahereh Mafi: Destroy Me, Fracture Me

Veronica Roth: Four Divergent Stories

Kate Wolf: Dreams of Two Cities
J.K. Rowling: Very Good Lives

Re-reads:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
8. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
9. *The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
10. House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
11. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkein
12. *Divergent by Veronica Roth
13. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
14. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
15. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
16. Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman
17. The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
18. The Subtle Knife by Phillip Pullman
19. The Amber Spyglass by Phillip Pullman
20. *Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
21. *Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
22. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
23. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
24. City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
25. Risk by Dick Francis
26. Nerve by Dick Francis
27. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
28. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
29. In the Hands of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce
30. Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce
31. Wolf Speaker by Tamora Pierce
32. First Test by Tamora Pierce
33. Page by Tamora Pierce
34. Squire by Tamora Pierce
35. Banker by Dick Francis
36. Decider by Dick Francis
37. The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis
38. Tris’ Book by Tamora Pierce
39. Divergent by Veronica Roth
40. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
41. Allegiant by Veronica Roth
42. Sabriel by Garth Nix

--Peace Corps Response Re-reads

1. Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb
2. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
4. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Currently Reading:

Hamilton by Ron Chernow

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

YA Fiction:

I Will Save You by Matt de la Pena

     Kidd runs away from a group home to work at a summer campsite. He's trying to escape his past and Devon, this daring, mean, mysterious kid with a death wish, and find some stability and purpose. He meets Olivia, and tries his best to find happiness for her and protect her too. It's written as a series of journal entries that slowly reveal bits of Kidd's past and piece together his present in a thoughtful, emotional, vulnerable and unexpected way. I love his books.

Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Peña

      I've liked all of Matt de la Peña's books, and this is no exception. It's fast, it has sports, it has Spanish, it deals with growing up and family issues and feeling like you don't know your place in the world or how to find it, and it feels truthful. Ball Don't Lie is still my favorite, but this is still a good YA novel.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

     A coming of age novel for Ari, angry with a brother in prison, and Dante, snarky and quirky. Watching their friendship develop and their perceptions of the world shift through the book was a good way to spend a day. I listened to the audiobook, but would rather have read it because the audiobook pace didn't match my reading speed for such an easy book. 

Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

     Jacob's grandfather is mysteriously murdered and he ends up going to the orphanage where he grew up in WWII to find out more about the wild stories he used to tell. He finds the orphanage, the orphans, and the secret world inside the loop that is in grave peril. 

Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal by Chris Colfer

     A light, quick read about a snarky high schooler determined to get out of his podunk hometown into Northwestern. To better his chances, he starts a high school literary magazine and blackmails students into submitting for it.

YA Dystopian/Supernatural Fiction:

UnDivided by Neal Shusterman

     The last book in the Unwind series.

Middle Grade Fantasy:

*Lirael by Garth Nix

     The second book in the Abhorsen trilogy. Lirael, a daughter of the Clayr, basically creates a dog from charter magic (awesome) and goes through the entire giant library under the glacier defeating monsters and improving her magic (super awesome) and she is a librarian (best thing EVER). There's also a whole story arc with Sameth, who's pretty whiney and weak but eventually supposed to become an Abhorsen, and they eventually meet up and work together. My favorite book in the series.

Abhorsen by Garth Nix

     The final book in the Abhorsen series. Lirael, Sam, the disreputable dog and Mogget have to stop Orannis the Destroyer from breaking his bonds. Definitely a dark one, but so interesting and good. Nix creates a complex world of magic populated with interesting characters and great climax.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

     The first in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, about Cimorene, a princess who refuses to be proper and runs away to become a dragon's princess. These are delightful and funny, with awesome female characters, dragons, witches, talking statues, and adventure. Highly recommended series.

Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

     The second in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, in which Cimorene meets Mendanbar, the king of the forest, and they go off to fight wizards and save Kazul the dragon. Excellent.

Calling on Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

     The third in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, in which Morwen the witch spends the book adventuring to find out how the rabbit named Killer got enchanted to be 6-feet tall, amongst other ailments, and to find the missing sword of the forest with Cimorene, Telemain, some great cats, and Kazul the dragon.

Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

     The fourth in the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which follows Daystar as he's trying to figure out why he's on quest with a sword trekking through the forest, and meets a firewitch, baby dragon, and a talkative lizard. Everything comes to a head when he finds the castle in the middle of the forest with clear signs of an old battle and wizard mischief.

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

     The Darling children go to Neverland with Peter Pan to meet faeries, mermaids, Indians and pirates.

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin

     The first in the Earthsea Cycle, which follows Ged (Sparrowhawk) as a boy discovering his power and loosing a terrible darkness on the world, which he eventually must face. It's about a middle school reading level, and although not my favorite in the genre, quite a compelling story that I would have devoured at age 12.

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula Le Guin

     The second in the Earthsea Cycle, which follows Tenar (Arha), the high priestess for the nameless powers and the only one who knows the secret labyrinths beneath the temple. She finds and imprisons Ged as he's trying to steal the Ring of Erreth-Akbe, and soon learns that he brings mysterious magic she has never seen and wants to understand.

The Farthest Shore by Ursula Le Guin

     The third in the Earthsea Cycle, which follows Ged and Prince Arren as they journey to the ends of the world to restore magic that is fast-disappearing from the world, and wreaking havoc as it does.

Scorpion Shards by Neal Shusterman

     Six kids have crazy powers because they are shards of a star, but the powers are an affliction that is destroying each of them. They have to come together to figure out how to save themselves. I much prefer his other books - this was a little young, and not as compelling as most of his others. 

Thief of Souls by Neal Shusterman

     The second book in the Star Shards Chronicles. 

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

     This is a wizard school book. The main character Joel wants to be a Rithmatist but doesn't have the powers, even though he's memorized all the markings, attacks and defenses. Rithmatists can give life to chalk drawings, which is the only defense against wild chalklings that are threatening the American Isles. Students start disappearing, so Joel and Melody (good at drawing, terrible at Rithmatics) help the professor assigned to the case and end up working together to defeat chalklings and find the culprit.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

     You know. Guy comes to the inn and leaves Jim a map. Jim goes on a pirate adventure to find the mysterious island where he supposedly buried the treasure he stole.

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

     The three Drew children find a map, and with some assistance from their great-uncle Merry, they use it to discover Arthur's grail and keep it from the grasp of the Dark. If I read this in third grade, I might have found it more compelling. As it was, I don't much like this series.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper

     The second book in the Dark Is Rising series. Will Stanton is "the sign-seeker," who is supposed to bring together the six signs to create a force to stop the rising Dark. I have a huge problem with these books because there's no real danger, everything just magically appears in Will's path, and his "powers" are completely unreliable. They work when it's convenient, and don't work when it's convenient, which is incredibly annoying. Don't set up rules to your unverse, then ignore them.

The Greenwitch by Susan Cooper

     The third book in the Dark is Rising series. Basically Jill is nice to the Greenwitch so she gives her the little tube with the code for the grail.

The Grey King by Susan Cooper

     The fourth book in the Dark is Rising series. Bran is an ok character, though the shapeshifting foxes that no one can see unless they look like dogs seem like a too-convenient plot device. Again, no real danger and also a weirdly weak bad guy who just backs off at the first opportunity, so no reason to get invested.

The Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper

     The last book in the Dark is Rising series. Total anticlimax, and why does Bran get to forget but Will doesn't? I also don't like the turning the wife into a bad guy when she literally did nothing at all that was bad or unhelpful up to that point. Also, the time travel trope is dumb. If the tree is ready once every 700 years, just go back 700 years or forward 700 years and pluck the holly before the Light does. Also, the whole ending is basically just "Oh, you're on your own now. People have darkness in their hearts." No duh. The Dark and the Light have NO EFFECT on the real world and the whole point of this whole series is completely negated.

Fantasy:

*Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

     This is Rainbow Rowell's take on the "chosen one" narrative. If you've read Fangirl, this is the fan fiction that the main character was writing based on the wildly popular Simon Snow series, which is essentially Harry Potter for that world. It follows Simon, the chosen one, and Baz, his roommate who may or may not be a vampire. This was everything I wanted from Rainbow Rowell and more. It's Baz and Simon, epic friendship, epic romance, and a fantastic modern world. The ending was exactly what I wanted from the "chosen one" epic hero narrative because it was unexpected and satisfying all at once. I love the dialogue and character development in all of her novels, and I enjoyed that she switched perspectives throughout the story to give us a more complete view of the world. Who wouldn't love a novel born out of a fanfic written by a storybook character of an invented story inspired by Harry Potter? It's genius and wonderfully in tune with young people in our internet age.

The Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett

     This is the introduction to the awesome world of Discworld with the tourist, Twoflower, his Luggage, and his guide, Rincewind. It's not my favorite in the series, but the one-liners and puns are always excellent, and it gives a good overview of the magics and geography in the world. My favorite is still Going Postal.

Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

     Book one of the Farseer Trilogy, which follows Fitz as a boy growing up as a royal bastard training to become an assassin and desperately trying to keep his connection with animals (wit magic) secret. For all of the Fitz books, you really need to read them in order. You don't need to read the other series that don't directly follow Fitz, but the Fitz storyline in the Farseer Trilogy, Tawny Man Trilogy, and Fitz and the Fool Trilogy all follow each other and don't make much sense individually. 

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

     Book two of the Farseer Trilogy. Fitz is older, more whiney, there's a lot of unnecessary pages of wallowing, but I enjoy the world, the characters, the intrigue, and Nighteyes especially. It's worth it to get through to the next ones.

Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb

     Book three of the Farseer Trilogy. Murder, intrigue, magic, revenge, and tragedy. 

Golden Fool by Robin Hobb

     Book two of the Tawny Man Trilogy. Book one is Fool's Assassin. 

Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb

     Book three of the Tawny Man Trilogy.

Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb

     Book one of the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy, which follows Fitz in late middle age. He's grown up and finally found some peace and happiness, which I'm so glad Hobb allowed him to do. Of course that doesn't last long, and his daughter is dragged in and the Fool finally resurfaces. This is definitely my favorite trilogy.

*Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb

     Book two of the Fitz and the Fool Trilogy. Excellent.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

     The plot itself was okay - there's a circus that pops up without warning, and the story follows a few of the characters in it - but I loved the imagery of the different tents, the clocks, and the interplay between the two main characters. I liked that it was something beautiful they were trying to figure out how to save rather than turning it into a battleground or a sinister arena where each of the characters becomes twisted or dies. It was a different kind of story, and the story itself comments on it - 

"Stories have changed, my dear boy,” the man in the grey suit says, his voice almost imperceptibly sad. “There are no more battles between good and evil, no monsters to slay, no maidens in need of rescue. Most maidens are perfectly capable of rescuing themselves in my experience, at least the ones worth something, in any case. There are no longer simple tales with quests and beasts and happy endings. The quests lack clarity of goal or path. The beasts take different forms and are difficult to recognize for what they are. And there are never really endings, happy or otherwise. Things keep overlapping and blur, your story is part of your sister’s story is part of many other stories, and there in no telling where any of them may lead. Good and evil are a great deal more complex than a princess and a dragon, or a wolf and a scarlet-clad little girl. And is not the dragon the hero of his own story? Is not the wolf simply acting as a wolf should act? Though perhaps it is a singular wolf who goes to such lengths as to dress as a grandmother to toy with its prey." 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne and J.K. Rowling

     The script for the play about the kids of the main characters in Harry Potter, mainly focusing on Harry and Draco's sons trying to make something of themselves and escape the shadow of their parents.

Fiction:

*The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

     Amazing. Just fantastic. It is definitely better with a strong grasp of Spanish and a decent understanding of Latin American (or at least Dominican) history. It melds Dominican history, superstition, past, present, and the delicate and uncomfortable balance of cultures, diaspora, and makes so many totally apt references to science fiction and fantasy at every turn. The narration is completely engaging, whether it's from Yunior's POV or Lola's or the third person narration to the audience of Beli's past or Abelard's Fall. Every chapter paints a more complete picture of the family, the history, the culture, and poor romantic Oscar's disastrous luck. I love that it throws in Spanish all over the place, and since I went to the DR last year I can picture in my mind at least a modern version of a lot of the places in the book.

*Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

     Fantastic book about identity, culture and diaspora. Apart from having fantastic imagery and word choice, also is a really good look at American culture, race, and immigration from the perspective of a Nigerian woman living and blogging in the US for fifteen years who makes the decision to return to Nigeria.

*Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

     An amazing story of Marion and his twin growing up in a mission hospital in Addis Abba and his life as he becomes a surgeon. The story is beautifully populated, and the characters are so rich. They have dimension and evolve even when they aren't in the view of the story. The fact that Tsige, after losing her baby went on to have her life in Ethiopia, then flee and rise again in America and encounter Marion again as this beautiful strong woman, a "Queen of Sheba," is enthralling and fantastic. The world moves on without Marion's intervention, and sometimes the points align and you get a glimpse of what happened to the other characters. Marion's story too is engaging as he grows up in the midst of social and political upheaval, moves to the United States, and begins to establish himself, make peace with his past, and reconcile with his brother and father. Highly recommend.

*A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaleed Housseini

This was an incredibly difficult read, not for the writing, which was beautiful, but for the subject matter. It follows the lives of Mariam and Laila as they face innumerable hardships in Afghanistan from the 1970s to early 2000s. It follows them through childhood, forced marriages, war, abuse, raising children, death, starvation, illegitimacy, and myriad other hardships and realities of life in a conflict zone. I loved them both, and wished so badly for a better life, justice, opportunities and a safe future for them.

*Sula by Toni Morrison

     So good. It follows Nel and Sula through their childhood and adulthood, their differing paths and the consequences of their actions. It's dark, deeply emotional and casually horrifying.

*The High Mountains of Portugal by Yann Martel

     A poignant and slightly off-kilter reflection on loss and faith told through three loosely interconnected storylines. If you like Life of Pi, this one should be on your shelf too.

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
     The idea of The Bluest Eye, of deep-rooted racial self-loathing, is horrifically tragic and evocatively constructed through the novel's characters. I felt so terrible for all the children, raised without love in households barely scraping by, etched with casual violence. That Pecola bore then broke under the crushing violent loathing was gutting to watch unfold. Her mother, crippled and pouring sweet words only for the porcelain child she nannied, angry and full of spite. Her father, full of misplaced loathing of women - the oppressed taking out his anger on those with even less power. An absent father, rejected by his own absent father, drunk, ugly inside and angry at his ugliness, a rapist. The whores, who treat Pecola with rough kindness, but live their own lives of loathing men and being loathed and used in equal measure. The storybooks and media and society that rams that ideal of the little white children in their little house with their perfect family and their blue blue eyes as the epitome of beauty and perfection is destructive. If you see no one like yourself, how do you aspire towards a better life? If the ideal is determined by the color of your skin and everyone buys into that ideal, then the world is closed to you. It's full of locked doors and turned backs and rejection. An excellent and gut-wrenching read.

Beloved by Toni Morrison
     I found this to be a little complicated because it feels like the characters are constantly muddled or obtuse. Still worthwhile to read as a commentary on the physical and mental brutality of slavery, but my least favorite of the Morrison books I've read.

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The book follows a blind girl and a boy in the Hitler Youth through WWII and after the war's end. The concept was interesting, but I wish he would have gone in chronological order rather than putting in random chapters much further into the future. A decent and relatively easy read, and I enjoyed their love of Jules Verne, radio, and the lovely little miniature cities the father made for his daughter.

Science Fiction:

*The Martian by Andy Weir

     This is the one they made the movie about, and the book was equally good. Mark Watney is stranded on Mars and has to figure out how to survive until NASA can rescue him. The science was super cool, the disco was funny, and Mark has a great voice throughout the book.

Cities in Flight by James Blish

     This is actually a four book omnibus, which I didn't know at the time. It feels like a precursor to a lot of modern science fiction, with the premise that technology has advanced enough to lift entire cities into space with their own propulsion, gravity, oxygen, etc. at about the same time that anti-agathics are successfully manufactured. The first book chronicles these developments, while the three subsequent books follow Amalfi, the mayor of the flying city of New York, over the course of hundreds of years as they complete jobs, rescue planets, destroy civilizations, advance science and determine the fate of the end of the universe and the creation of the next one. Some of the science conversations got a little dense and the book's total neglect of female characters and failure to acknowledge women as equal actors was annoying, but an interesting read if you're into early sci-fi.

The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
     A collection of short science fiction stories, often pretty dark and often ending in most of the characters dying. I didn't enjoy it. 

Non-Fiction:

*Titan by Ron Chernow
     This was a truly remarkable biography that beautifully wound together Rockefeller's business, religion, philanthropy, and family in the most detailed historical context. It was altogether engaging and fascinating. I listened to it as an audiobook, and it consumed my every waking minute and I don't begrudge a single second of it. Fantastic read.

Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
     A really good biography of Washington. I prefer Titan, but mostly because I like the time period better and the end of Washington is a bit of a slog. If you like the time period, this one, Hamilton, and 1776 are all interesting.

Strength in What Remains by Tracy Kidder
     I think I read this in a day, and do not remember it at all. It's about Deo, who arrives to the US from Burundi escaping from civil war and genocide. It follows his struggles and accomplishments in America, and his eventual return to effect change and come to terms with the past. If it's the kind of story you're looking for, this or What Is the What are pretty decent.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
     A book about what tips ideas, movements or behaviors over the edge to go viral. It mostly talks about the "stickiness" of ideas, and about people who are connectors. It was fine, though I don't think he compellingly proves his point. I prefer Freakonomics. 

Memoir:
Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

     Mindy Kaling's second memoir - a collection of essays, some about life and some just for fun. She's funny and smart, so if you like her stuff you'll probably enjoy it. I don't much like memoirs, so it was decent - better than the first one.

Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

     Stories from the guy who runs the Twitter account. Quick, easy read. Light and fluffy. Anecdotes about his relationship with his dad growing up. I probably would have been fine just scrolling through the Twitter feed instead.

White Out by Michael Clune
      The book was fine - about a decade on heroin and all the crazy internal thoughts and external destruction that comes with it - but just not what I'm interested in. I tend not to read memoirs and don't like books about drugs and addicts, so this was pretty much a combination of things I don't read and don't enjoy.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler
     I really didn't enjoy this at all. Partly it's that I don't care much about Amy Poehler and haven't paid much attention to her career, and partly it's that it felt insecure and whiny a lot of the time.