Here are this year’s favorite books in quirky categories, along with sample quotes.
Hello, Again (the second time together)
Books became her friends and there was one for every mood. ATGiB
I love mankind, he said, but I find to my amazement that the more I love mankind as a whole, the less I love man in particular. TBK
Think Tanks (books that made me pause and ponder)
We’re happiest when we’re absorbed in a difficult task, a task that has clear goals and that challenges us not only to exercise our talents but to stretch them. tGC
Work is necessarily toilsome and serves someone else’s interest. That’s why you get paid. SCaS
Franklin could never see chaos without thinking of order. BF
Waiting is the primary recreation of Russia. You could try getting used to it. tFT
Where Have You Been All My Life? (a book I wish was available years ago)
We spent that midsummer reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the backyard, and I will always remember my surprise when the children laughed in the right places. MM
Sweet Comfort (sure, they’re about food, but the prose is delicious)
And, please—enough with the supposed health concerns. I mean, it’s not as though the obesity epidemic was caused by overconsumption of duck legs. NK
It is my most religious belief that a recipe is just a story that ends with a good meal. tPCC
But cooking is a way of paying attention, of really being in this world. When you look closely at a mango and inhale its scent, everything else stops. Life feels rich and easy. G-FG&tC
Cover Story (the cover drew me in)
In Scotland, one does not ‘mend’ anything or ‘fix’ it in any way. One ‘sorts’ it. CtN
Core Strengthening (soul-building books)
Over and Over we hear the dissonance of pain resolve into the consonance of joy. MOC
The opposite of a slave is not a free man. It’s a worshiper. TRoG
Upper Story (two memoirs and a history a cut above )
Rome is a broken mirror, the falling strap of a dress, a puzzle of astonishing complexity. It is an iceberg floating below our terrace, all its ballast hidden beneath the surface. FSiR
At Yale, many of my friends had never spent time with a veteran. In other words, I was an anomaly. HE
Fear settled over the men like silt in a tide. DW
For the Children (for me, too…my husband & I are reading HP series for the first time)
If you want to know what a man’s like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals. HPG0F
Books can ignite fires in your mind, because they carry ideas for kindling, and art for matches. LB&BB
Whatever it means to be friends, taking a black eye for someone has to be in it. WW
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What a good list. I want to read Hillbilly Elegy and Mere Motherhood, both very soon.
Heads up: I don’t think I’ve read a book with so many f-bombs as Hillbilly Elegy. His grandmother was pretty rough.
I’m re-reading Four Seasons in Rome, right now 🙂 Also, I revisit one of the HP books each year. 2016 was The Half-Blood Prince.
I enjoyed Call the Nurse on audio book. I was considering listening to Hillbilly Elegy, but maybe I’ll stick to the written form, in light of the F-bombs.
Wonderful quotes, BTW. My “to be read” list just grew a little!
Oh, I can only imagine reading FSiR while in Rome!! I love reading end-of-the-year book lists and comparing my experiences with others. Happy New Year, my dear friend Susan!
Fabulous list. I loved all the quotes, but especially the ones from the cookbooks. Now that our boys are grown I’ve definitely discovered that cooking is a way of slowing down to the “speed of life.” Blessings in the new year to you and yours!
Shauna Niequist’s comments propelled me to cookbooks, and I’ve loved reading through several this year. In the midst of grief surrounding my sister’s death, I had enough focus to read a few recipes.
I love finding a good book list to add to what I’ve got already. The quotes from each book are great! I really do enjoy kid lit and the “Wednesday Wars” was a favorite read of mine in that category this year.
Thanks for your comment! Gary Schmidt is new to me in 2016. Several of his books took me captive. I’ll be reading more, I’m sure!
Interesting way to give us a glimpse, with just a quote per book. Very effective – I have put A Father’s Tale on my list of books I want to read.