20 years. TWENTY YEARS OF READING.
Okay, so technically this isn’t true. I’ve been reading since I was 5. So (here’s my age)…I’ve been reading for 39 years. But for the past 20 years, I’ve been diligently tracking what I read. I’ve read 876 books in the last 20 years.
Before I get into that, I would just like to give a shout out to my parents. My parents taught me to read. I knew how to read before I started Kindergarten and I owe that to my parents. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up (we never lacked for ANYTHING though), but my parents worked hard to make sure we had everything we needed. We always had chewable Flintstones vitamins (do they make those anymore? For adults? If they do, I WANT THEM.) We had family vacations every year. We had surprise gifts a few times a year (individually wrapped that Mom and Dad would haul into the living room in a garbage bag). SO FUN. And we always had those educational workbooks that they bought that we worked on during the summer (so you don’t forget what you learn? So you are prepared for the next grade? Honestly, I have no idea, but they worked, whatever their purpose was). I remember in Kindergarten when my teacher, Mrs. Kitt, whipped out the ‘read aloud’ books (Buffy and Mack! Sun Up) for the students to practice on (probably to determine what reading level you were at?) and I was able to read the entire book aloud with no help. I was so proud of myself.
We were also read to nightly. My dad would read my sister and I the daily text each night. He would always read us the verse and then ask my sister and I who wrote it and we would both say ‘Matthew-Mark-Luke-John-Paul’ super-fast trying to guess the Biblical writer. Because the chances of it being one of them was high ha ha. And when we moved into our white house (2 blocks from the library!), I remember my mom reading a Golden Book every night/day to me and my brother (we would always pick the longest one ha ha).
And so it began.
I wish I would have started tracking my books as a pre-teen/teenager, but oh well. I started tracking diligently in 2001. Which is very interesting, because looking back at my reading habits, you can clearly see the years when things were bad, when things were busy, and when things were normal.
I tracked first in an old journal, then I transferred it to another notebook. Then I transferred it to an Excel spreadsheet. Then back to a notebook. Then back to a spreadsheet. And so on and so on. Then finally back to a notebook, only this time I choose a nicer notebook that wouldn’t fall apart:
https://nebulanote.com/product/casual-noteturquoise-dotted/350/?cate_no=108&display_group=1
(this is a Korean company, but I bought it from a local stationery shop)
And so far, so good. It’s just the right size to fit on my bookshelves and with PLENTY of room to expand (at least another 20 years, if not more ha ha).
I track the Month/Year read, Title, Author, Fiction/Non-Fiction, Publication Year, Page numbers, and my rating (stars, 1-5). Now, I’ve not been great about tracking publication year or page numbers, but I plan to be better in 2022. Everything else is really easy to track so that’s no big deal. I don’t write reviews or anything, just the star-rating. If I have anything substantial to stay, I write it on Goodreads.
My lowest reading years (from the past 20 years) as far as quantity were 2006-2008, which makes perfect sense if you knew what was going on with me personally then ha ha. And my highest years (quantity wise) have been the last five:
2017: 78
2018: 159 (!)
2019: 86
2020: 120
2021: 82
These numbers are interesting. My reading numbers were pretty low (except for 2004?) until about 2011. They picked up a bit, but were still low-ish, until we bought our current house in July of 2017. Did they increase then because I had a library in our new house? A dedicated reading space? More space in general? Less stress because things were settled and we bought our ‘forever’ home? Probably all of the above. Anyways, I’m not complaining.
So now I give you my 5-star reads from the past 20 years. But first…..a few disclaimers. I’m only including adult/YA/middle grade books that are typically more than 100 pages. ALSO….I had a few 5-star reads from way back when that I don’t even remember what the book was about so I probably won’t include those. This list will only include the books I remember and I remember loving. Just in case you decide to pick one up. I was a completely different person in 2001 than I am now, and honestly some of these older ones may be rated completely different today if I read them again.
FICTION - Author, Title, Year Read
Kingsolver, B. - The Poisonwood Bible (2001)
Berg, E. – The Pull of the Moon (2002)
Berg, E. – Joy School (2002)
Austen, J. – Pride & Prejudice (2002)
Berg, E. – True to Form (2002)
Berg, E. – Talk Before Sleep (2002)
Brent, M. – Moonrakers Bride (2003)
MacDonald, A.M. – Fall on Your Knees (2003) – I can’t recommend this one, but I am STILL thinking about it 18 years later. I have a copy on my shelf and plan to re-read it again. It’s very heavy and dark.
Grisham, J. – A Painted House (2003)
Winston, L. – Good Grief (2004)
Steinbeck, J. – East of Eden (2004)
Chevalier, T. – Girl With a Pearl Earring (2004)
Smith, B. – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (2005)
**INTERESTING THAT I DIDN’T HAVE ANY 5-STAR READS FROM 2006 – 2009…OR IS IT HA HA???**
Korelitz, J. – Admission (2010)
Collins, S. – The Hunger Games (2011)
Mitchell, M. – Gone With the Wind (2013) (re-read…I read this a lot as a teen)
Zafon, C. – The Shadow of the Wind (2016)
Turner, N. – These is My Words (2017)
Zevin, G. – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (2017)
Doerr, A. – All the Light You Cannot See (2017)
Wood, M. – The One in a Million Boy (2017)O’Farrell, M. – This Must Be the Place (2018)
Tinti, H. – The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley (2018)
Hannah, K. – The Great Alone (2018)
Montgomery, L.M. – Anne of Green Gables (2018) (re-read) – MIDDLE GRADE
Golding, W. – Lord of the Flies (2018) (re-read) – MIDDLE GRADE
Applegate, K. – The Wishtree (2018) – MIDDLE GRADE
Brubaker-Bradley, K. – The War That Saved My Life (2018) – MIDDLE GRADE
Miller, S. – A Lite Too Bright (2018) – YOUNG ADULT
Backman, F. – Us Against You (2018)
Steinbeck, J. – The Grapes of Wrath (2018)
Enger, L. – Virgil Wander (2018)
Zusak, M. – Bridge of Clay (2018) – YOUNG ADULT
Meyer, M. – Cress (2018) – YOUNG ADULT
Stegner, W. – Crossing to Safety (2018)
Miller, S. – Caroline (2019)
Owens, D. – Where the Crawdads Sing (2019)
Keane, M. – Ask Again Yes (2019)
Waxman, A. – Bookish Life of Nina Hill (2019)
Nielsen, J. – A Night Divided (2019) – MIDDLE GRADE
Patchett, A. – The Dutch House (2019)
Stradal, J. – The Lager Queen of Minnesota (2019)
Hepworth, S. – The Mother-in-Law (2019)
Jewell, L. – The Family Upstairs (2019)
Shusterman, N. – Scythe (2019) – YOUNG ADULT
O’Farrell, M. – Hamnet (2020)
Baker-Klein, C. – The Exiles (2020)
Backman, F. – Anxious People (2020)
Young, A. – Fable (2020) – YOUNG ADULT
Cousens, S. – This Time Next Year (2021)
Young, A. – Namesake (2021) – YOUNG ADULT
Weir, A. – Project Hail Mary (2021)
Heiny, K. – Early Morning Riser (2021)
Maclachlan, P. – Skylark (2021) – MIDDLE GRADE
Davidson, A. – Damnation Spring (2021)
Adams, N. – The Reading List (2021)
Author, Title, Year Read – NON-FICTION
Kondo, M. – The Life Changing Magic of Tidying-Up (2015)
Kondo, M. – Spark Joy (2015)
Kalanthi, P. – When Breath Becomes Air (2017)
Durrell, G. – My Family and Other Animals (2018)
Mecham, J. – You Need a Budget (2018)
O’Farrell, M. – I Am I Am I Am (2018)
Park, Y. – In Order to Live (2018)
Bogle, A. – I’d Rather Be Reading (2018)
Mount, J. – Bibliophile (2018)
King, S. – On Writing (2018)
Cripe, E. – Big Dreams Daily Joys (2019)
Higginbotham, A. - Midnight in Chernobyl (2019)
Greger, M. – How Not to Die (2020)
Haig, M. – The Comfort Book (2021)
Patchett, A. – These Precious Days (2021)
I’m sure I inadvertently omitted some and added others, but nobody’s perfect. Over the past 20 years, here are my standouts from the lists above:
Kingsolver, B. - The Poisonwood Bible (2001) – I was reading this the week of September 11th when the towers fell. I remember reading it in the break room one day and the next day we were all crowded around the TV in that same break room watching the news reports.
Berg, E. – The Pull of the Moon (2002) – A gut punch. I remember reading this during some rough times in my 1st marriage (only 3 years in to it) and just crying my eyes out.
Austen, J. – Pride & Prejudice (2002) – A classic-classic.
Brent, M. – Moonrakers Bride (2003) – Historical fiction with many twists and turns.
Steinbeck, J. – East of Eden (2004) – An investment in time, but worth it. Amazing.
Smith, B. – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (2005) – When people ask me what my favorite book is, this is what I tell them. It’s 99% true.
Mitchell, M. – Gone With the Wind (2013) (re-read…I’ve read it multiple times)
O’Farrell, M. – This Must Be the Place (2018) (this cannot be read on a Kindle or audiobook. It must be a physical copy).
Hannah, K. – The Great Alone (2018) Read if you want to cry. It’s so good.
Stegner, W. – Crossing to Safety (2018) Another one that I want to re-read. I think about it all the time.
Miller, S. – Caroline (2019) – Simplicity at its finest.
Keane, M. – Ask Again Yes (2019) – The author of this book liked my Goodreads review of it and I was shocked and thrilled. The kids in this book grew up the same time frame that I did. It was so nostalgic.
Nielsen, J. – A Night Divided (2019) – MIDDLE GRADE – Still one of the most suspenseful books I’ve ever read.
O’Farrell, M. – Hamnet (2020) – I think about this book on a weekly basis and can’t wrap my head around how brilliant it is.
Backman, F. – Anxious People (2020) – Frederik Backman has a special place in my heart. I love his books, and I love how he is so open about his own mental health struggles. I think that’s why I love this book so much.
Kondo, M. – The Life Changing Magic of Tidying-Up (2015) – Have too much stuff? Read this.
Durrell, G. – My Family and Other Animals (2018) – This book made me laugh out loud like no other book has.
Mecham, J. – You Need a Budget (2018) - This book and this budgeting system is the reason my husband and I are completely debt free (except for our house). We have been living by this system/budgeting software for YEARS. I recommend it constantly to everyone.
Park, Y. – In Order to Live (2018) – One of the most haunting memoirs I’ve read.
I set a goal to read 100 books this year, and I’m pretty confident that I will meet (if not exceed) it. I have lots of middle-grade books on my TBR shelf and I fly through those ha ha.
Yay for another year of reading!
