The 2007-2011 reading lists

2007

*** Bolded books were audio editions***

1. The Boleyn Inheritance by Phillipa Gregory

2. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson

3. Missing by Kate Alvatagen

4. Belle De Jour by Anonymous

5. The Good Wife by Stewart O’nan

6. The Breakdown Lane by Jaqueline Mitchard

7. Shantaram by Gregory David Adams

8. Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde

9. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

10. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding

11. The Secret Hour by LuAnn Rice

12. Through a Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen

13. Saturday by Ian McEwan

14. Becoming Chloe by Catherine Ryan Hyde

15. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

16. Lullabies for little criminals by Heather O’Neill

17. Nineteen minutes by Jodi Picoult

18. On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

19. Smitten by Janet Evanovich

20. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

21. Alibi by Joseph Kanon

22. Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross

23. Daddy’s girl by Lisa Scottoline

24. The Emporer’s Children by Claire Messud (1/2 read, I got bored and it was overdue)

25. The Devil’s Feather by Minette Walters

26. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie

27. Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah

28. A thousand Splendid Duns by Khaled Hosseini

29. Kidnapped by Leszli Kalli

30. The Last White Knight by Tami Hoag (blech, couldn’t do it)

31. Suite Francaise by Irine Nemerovsky (barely started before I got bored)

32. Home to Gap Creek by Adriana Trigiani

33. Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen

34. Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi (half read…boring)

35. Anything Boys Can do by Angie Abdou

36. The Devil and Miss Prym by Paolo Coelho

37. Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen

38. Peony in Love by Lisa See

39. Wolves in Chic Clothing by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman

40. Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards

41. The Pesthouse by Jim Crace (barely started before it was due…had potential though)

42. Flying Changes by Sara Gruen

43. Beyond the Blonde by Kathleen Flynn-Hui

44. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

45. The Tailor’s Daughter by Janice Graham

46. The Post-Birthday World by Lionel Shriver (half read, boring and predictable, unlikable characters)

47. Helpless by Barbara Gowdy

48. Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot

49. Momzillas by Jill Kargman

50. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

51. Abundance by Sena Jeter Naslund

52. The Gravedigger’s Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates (Good, but was overdue before I finished it)

53. Adultery by Richard B. Wright

54. The Right Address by Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman

55. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown

56. Snake Hips: Belly Dancing and How I Found True Love by Anne Thomas Soffee

57. Babyproof by Emily Giffin

58. The Tarneshed Eye by Judith Guest

59. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

60. Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier

61. Bed Rest by Sarah Bilston

62. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella

63. The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou

64. The Continuity Girl by Leah McLaren

65. Late Nights on Air by Elizabeth Hay

66. Drangonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

67. Digging to America by Anne Tyler

68. A Model Summer by Paulina Porizikova

69. Songs Without Words by Ann Packer

70. Room for Love by Andrea Meyers

71. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon

2008

*** Bolded books were audio editions***

* =highly recommended

1. Distant Shores by Kristin Hannah

2. Sweetness in the Belly by Camilla Gibb*

3. The Lost Highway by David Adams Richards

4. Lottery by Patricia Wood

5. Drums in Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

6. Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

7. Le Divorce by Diane Johnson

8. The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta

9. World Without End by Ken Follett*

10. Truth and Consequences by Alison Lurie

11. The rest of her life by Laura Moriarty

12. The Center of Everything by Laura Moriarty*

13. Amazing Grace by Danielle Steele (ugh, I had to drive 300km and I just grabbed it at the library as nothing else in looked any better)

14. One Thousand White Women, The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Furgus*

15. Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella

16. Light on Snow by Anita Shreve*

17. No Angel by Penny Vincenzi

18. Geek Love by Katharine Gunn

19. Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff*

20. Life on The Refrigerator Door by Alison Kuipers

21. Something Dangerous by Penny Vincenzi

22. The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon

23. The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd*

24. The New Yorkers by Cathleen Schine

25. The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri*

26. Gods Behaving Badly by Mary Phillips*

27. All he Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve (very boring)

28. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult*

29. The Thin Pink Line by Lauren Baratz Logsted

30. Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

31. Number 10 by Sue Townsend

32. The Lost Mother by Mary McGarry Morris

33. Gardens of Water by Alan Drew*

34. A Hole in the Universe by Mary McGarry Morris*

35. Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

36. The Queen and I by Sue Townsend

37. Queen Camilla by Sue Townsend

38. Bound by Sally Gunning*

39. Garden of Last days by Andre Dubus III

40. The Story of a Marriage By by Andrew Sean Greer

41. The Widow’s War By Sally Gunning

42. The Condition by Jennifer Haigh

43. An Inconvenient Truth by Al Gore

44. Into Temptation by Penny Vincenzi

45. Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

46. Jonathan Strange and Dr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

47. Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

48. This Charming Man by Marion Keyes*

49. Promise Not to Tell by Jennifer McMahon

50. The Beach House by Jane Green

51. The Song of Silver Frond by Catherine Lim

52. Twilight by Stephanie Meyer

53. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson*

53. Lost in the Forest by Sue Miller*

54. Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam

55. Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina Mays

56. New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

57. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

58. Land of One Hundred Wonders by Lesley Kagen*

59. Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen*

60. Slam by Nick Hornby

61. Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

62. The Woods by Harlan Coben

63. The Rock Orchard by Paula Wall*

64. The Host by Stephanie Meyer

65. Anyway You Want Me by Lucy Diamond

66. Goldengrove by Francine Prose

67. What was Lost by Catherine O’Flynn

68. The boy in The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne*

69. A Mile in my Flip-Flops by Melody Carlson

70. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

71. The Secret Between Us by Barbara Delinsky

72. Testimony by Anita Shreve

2009

*starred books are highly recommended

1) Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos

2) Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy

3) Belong to me by Marisa De Los Santos

4) The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

5) Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult

6) Addition by Toni Jordan

7) The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey

8 ) Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez

9) The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

10) Shanghai Girls by Lisa See*

11) Forgiving Troy by Thom Bierdz*

12) The School for Husbands by Wendy Holden

13) Any Man: A Fictionalized Account of Something That Really Happened by Louise Corum*

14) Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

15) Catch Me When I Fall by Nicci French

16) Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella

17) Still Life by Joy Fielding

18) Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison

19) Delicate Edible Birds by Lauren Groff

20) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

21) While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky (audio)

22) The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

23) The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich

24) The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2010

Audio Versions are Italicized, stars indicate my highest recommendations

1) Still life with Elephant by Judy Reene Singer

2) Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison

3) Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve

4) The Saturday Wife by Naomi Ragen

5) The Innocent by Harlan Cobin

6) Trouble by Kate Christensen

7) Suddenly By Barbara Delinsky

8) Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian*

9) The Road by Cormac McCarthy (so boring I could not finish it)

10) The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

11) The Way home by George Pelecanos *

12) Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby*

13) The Last Kiss by Luanne Rice

14) Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

15) A dirty Job by Christopher Moore*

16) The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova*

17) Little Bee by Chris Cleave*

18) Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison (too boring to finish)

19) The Wife’s Tale by Lori Lansens*

20) Long Way Gone, Memoirs of a boy soldier by Ishmael Beah*

21) Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

22) Not My Daughter by Barbara Delinski

23) The Murderers Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers*

24) Geometry of Sisters by Luanne Rice

25) Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill*

26) The Third Angel by Alice Hoffman*

27) The Matzo Ball Heiress by Laurie Gwen Shapiro

28) Every Last One by Anna Quindlen (good, but very sad)

29) The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyers

30) The Last Child by John Hart

31) Come, Thou Tortoise by Jessica Grant

32) Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson*

33) Masterpiece by Elisa Broach

34) The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell (bored me to tears…only got to the third Chapter)

35) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (I did not finish it…it was good but not good enough for keep plugging away. Also it was in a format I could only read on my phone, so I did not read it as much as I’d like, since I like to read on my lap-top when I am at home)

36) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

37) I’d Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman*

38) Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

39) Room by Emma Donoghue*

40) White Mary by Kira Salak*

41) The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas

42) Angels of Destruction by Keith Donohue

43) Dead(ish) by Naomi Kramer

44) The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand

45) The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker*

46) Mini Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

47) The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf*

48) Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda*

49) The Lonely Polgamist by Brady Udall*

50) One Day by David Nicholls*

51) Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

52) The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman

53) The Sari Shop Widow by Shobhan Bantwal

2011

1. The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch (I did not finish this. It was good, but not good enough to keep me reading with so many other temptations).

2. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot*

3. Long Lost by Harlan Coben

4. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova*

5. All Saints By Liam Callanan

6. Ape House by Sara Gruen* (I loved this so much I read it in one night…never even had time to change my side-bar, and am now back to #5)

7. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

8. The Unexpected Son by Shobhan Bantwal

9. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares*

10. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

11. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier

12. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

13. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow

14. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

15. Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt

16. Sing You Home by Jodi Picooult

17. Made in the USA by Billie Letts

18. Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

19. Songs for the Missing by Stewart O’Nan

20. Songs Without Words by Ann Packer (boring…barely read)

21. The Tigers Wife by Tea Obreht (ditto)

22. Annabel by Kathleen Winter*

23. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (couldn’t get into it)

24. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender*

25. Incendiary by Chris Cleave

26.  Thin, Rich, Pretty by Beth Harbison

27. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

28. The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted by Elizabeth Berg

29. Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian

30. Still Alice by Lisa Genova

31. Hope in a Jar by Beth Harbison

32. These things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf*

33. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern*

34. Clara and Mr. Tiffany by Susan Vreeland*

35. The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak (half read…couldn’t get into it)

36. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs*

37. The Abortionist’s Daughter by Elisabeth Hyde

38. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me ? (and other concerns) by Mindy Kaling***

39. Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

40. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes


5 thoughts on “The 2007-2011 reading lists

  1. Have you read any books by Amy Tan? She’s one of my favorite writers and focuses on relationships between mothers and daughters. Very inspirational.

  2. Heena I have read most of Amy Tan’s books and really enjoyed them. I havbe not yet read her most recent one, Saving Fish From Drowning. but hope to this year. It is available on audio I know, so I’ll likely listen to it!

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