2017 Reading List

It's New Year's Eve again, time to share everything I've read this past year.

Starting in 2015, in addition to logging all the books and plays that I read, I also challenged myself to PopSugar's Reading Challenge. I liked the challenge, so I did it again in 2016, and again this year with the 2017 version.

This year, I also set a goal to read one Shakespeare play each month. These are all included on this list under the "plays" heading. I didn't quite make it, but I'm still pretty pleased!

As always, only books that were finished made the list; anything partially read or unfinished is not listed here.

Here's what I read in 2017:

Fiction

• The Tropic of Serpents by -a book involving a mythical creature

Plays

• Richard III by William Shakespeare -- a book by or about a person who has a disability
• The Addams Family Musical book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa -- a book with multiple authors
• Henry VI Part 2 by William Shakespeare -- a book with a title that's a character's name
• Honeymoon in Vegas book by Andrew Bergman, music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown -- a book involving travel
• Henry VI Part 1 by William Shakespeare
• Ordinary Days music and lyrics by Adam Gwon
• Henry V by William Shakespeare
• Red by John Logan -- a book with a red spine
• Henry IV Part 2 by William Shakespeare
• The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane -- a book set in a hotel
• Henry IV Part 1 by William Shakespeare
• It's Only a Play by Terrence McNally
• Richard II by William Shakespeare -- a book written by someone you admire
• The Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare -- a book that's been on your TBR list for way too long
• You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown music and lyrics by Clark Gesner -- a book with a nonhuman perspective
• The Nance by Douglas Carter Beane -- a book with an eccentric character

Unused Categories:

-a book recommended by a librarian

-a book of letters

-an audiobook

-a book by a person of color

-a book with one of the four seasons in the title

-a book that is a story within a story

-an espionage thriller

-a book with a cat on the cover

-a book by an author who uses a pseudonym

-a bestseller from a genre you don't normally read

-a book with a subtitle

-a book that's published in 2017

-a book you've read before that never fails to make you smile

-a book about food

-a book with career advice

-a steampunk novel

-a book set in the wilderness

-a book you loved as a child

-a book by an author from a country you've never visited

-a novel set during wartime

-a book with an unreliable narrator

-a book with pictures

-a book where the main character is a different ethnicity that you

-a book about an interesting woman

-a book set in two different time periods

-a book with a month or day of the week in the title

-a book that's becoming a movie in 2017

-a book set around a holiday other than Christmas

-the first book in a series you haven't read before

-a book you bought on a trip

-a book recommended by an author you love

-a bestseller from 2016

-a book with a family-member term in the title

-a book that takes place over a character's life span

-a book about an immigrant or refugee

-a book from a genre/subgenre that you've never heard of

-a book that's more than 800 pages

-a book you got from a used book sale

-a book that's been mentioned in another book

-a book about a difficult topic

-a book based on mythology

2016 Reading List

It's New Year's Eve again, time to share everything I've read this past year.

In 2015, in addition to logging all the books and plays that I read, I also challenged myself to PopSugar's Reading Challenge. I liked the challenge to branch out my reading genres, so I did it again with their 2016 version.

As always, only books that were finished made the list; anything partially read or unfinished is not listed here.

Here's what I read in 2016:

Fiction

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen by Lois McMaster Bujold -- a romance set in the future
A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan -- the first book you see in a bookstore
Wool by Hugh Howey -- a dystopian novel
Neuromancer by William Gibson -- a book with a blue cover
Proxima by Stephan Baxter -- a science-fiction novel

Plays

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw -- a book set in Europe
The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow by Rolin Jones
Tiny Tim's Christmas Carol by Ken Ludwig
Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean by Ed Graczyk
James and the Giant Peach words and music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, based on the book by Roald Dahl -- a book that's under 150 pages
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne -- a book that is published in 2016
Full Code by David Valdes Greenwood
Rapunzel by Karen Boettcher-Tate -- a book based on a fairy tale
Sunset Boulevard by Don Black and Christopher Hampton (music by Andrew Lloyd Webber)
Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein -- a book you can finish in a day

Unused Categories:
--a National Book Award winner
--a YA bestseller
--a book you haven't read since high school
--a book set in your home state
--a book translated to English
--a New York Times bestseller
--a book that's becoming a movie this year
--a book recommended by someone you just met
--a self-improvement book
--a book written by a celebrity
--a political memoir
--a book at least 100 years older than you
--a book that's more than 600 pages
--a book from Oprah's Book Club
--a book recommended by a family member
--a graphic novel
--a book with a protagonist who has your occupation
--a book that takes place during summer
--a book and its prequel
--a murder mystery
--a book written by a comedian
--a book of poetry
--a classic from the 20th century
--a book from the library
--an autobiography
--a book about a road trip
--a book about a culture you're unfamiliar with
--a satire
--a book that takes place on an island
--a book that's guaranteed to bring you joy

2015 Reading List

The past two New Year's Eves I have shared lists of all the books and plays I read that year. Here is my list from 2015. As always, only books or plays that were read all the way through have made the list (nothing skimmed or unfinished).

For 2015 I also challenged myself to complete this reading challenge. I've been wanting to branch out in my genres more, in addition to just reading more books. So, while I've still organized my reads by Non-Fiction, Fiction and Plays, next to each book you'll see the category that it fulfills from the challenge.

Non-Fiction

Bringing up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman -- a nonfiction book

Fiction

The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc-Sec, Volume 1 by Jaques Tardi -- a graphic novel
The Latke Who Couldn't Stop Screaming: A Christmas Story by Lemony Snicket -- a book set during Christmas (well, Chanukah and Christmas really)
The Martian by Andy Weir -- a book that became a movie
All Other Nights by Dara Horn -- a book your mom loves (this one might be stretching it a little, but she did send this one to me after she read it!)
Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver -- a book published this year
The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings -- a book with magic
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty --a book with antonyms in the title
Rav Hisda's Daughter Book 1 Apprentice by Maggie Anton -- a book set in a different country
Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce -- a book of short stories
Petals on the Wind by V. C. Andrews -- a book with a love triangle
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern -- a book by a female author
The Ruby Knight by David Eddings -- a book from an author you love that you haven't read yet
Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews -- a book by an author you've never read before

Plays 

Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire -- a play
Red Riding Hood by Mike Kenny -- a book with a color in the title
Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley -- a book you can finish in a day
The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan -- a book more than 100 years old


Unused Categories:
-a book with more than 500 pages
-a classic romance
-a book with a number in the title
-a book written by someone under 30
-a book with nonhuman characters
-a funny book
-a mystery or thriller
-a book with a one word title
-a popular author's first book
-a book a friend recommended
-a Pulitzer Prize-winning book
-a book based on a true story
-a book at the bottom of your to-read list
-a book that scares you
-a book based entirely on its cover
-a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't
-a memoir
-a book set somewhere you've always wanted to visit
-a book that came out the year you were born
-a book with bad reviews
-a trilogy
-a book from your childhood
-a book set in the future
-a book set in high school
-a book that made you cry
-a book you own but have never read
-a book that takes place in your hometown
-a book that was originally written in a different language
-a book written by an author with your same initials
-a banned book
-a book based on or turned into a TV show
-a book you started but never finished


I'm hoping to do even more reading in 2016! I have so many books waiting to be read, and there are lots of categories from this year's challenge that I didn't even touch. Here's to a great new year of reading!

2014 Reading List

Last New Year's Eve I shared the books and plays I had read in 2013. Here is the list from 2014. Once again, only books or plays that were read all the way through have made the list (nothing skimmed or unfinished).

 

Non-Fiction

Great Tales from English History by Robert Lacey
Quarter Acre Farm: How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn and Fed my Family for a Year by Spring Warren

Fiction

The Diamond Throne by David Eddings
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Map of Time by Felix Palma
After Rome by Morgan Llywelyn
Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovitch
Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovitch
Drawing Conclusions by Donna Leon
Shadow on the Crown by Patricia Bracewell

Plays 

Camelot by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe

2013 Reading List

I've been keeping track of the books and plays I've read this past year. Only those that I read all the way through made this list, so anything skimmed or unfinished isn't here.
Now that it's almost 2014, here's what I read in 2013:

Non-fiction
America's Garden by Michelle Obama
Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson
Cooking Green: Reducing your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen by Kate Heyhoe
Organic Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck
The Urban Homestead by Kelly Coyne and Erik Knutzen

Fiction
Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich
The Serpent's Tale by Arianna Franklin

Plays
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Grapes of Wrath by Frank Galati, adapted from the novel by John Steinbeck
The School for Wives by Moliere (trans. Richard Wilbur)

Galileo by Bertolt Brecht
Sonia Flew by Melinda Lopez
The Unmentionables by Bruce Norris
Oresteia by Aeschylus
The Karl Marx Play by Rochelle Owens
Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss

Hoping to have an even longer list in 2014! I miss getting to read fiction just for fun, so hopefully that is something I'll be able to do once again after I finish grad school. But even all the plays I've read for work and school make up a list that isn't too shabby!

Happy new year, everyone!