Sunday, March 20, 2011

My Grown-Up Reading

I was told recently that I need to read more "good" grown-up literature. This was from a non-murder-mystery fancier. Well, I think I've read a few...but I love my kid's, ya's, and murder mysteries. I'm never going to enjoy nonfiction...including memoir....but I'm planning to try some that have FANTASTIC reviews.

Well, here's what I've read in the non-murder-mystery "grown-up" genre since I started this blog. I'll keep it alphabetical. I love order. (And after making this list, I'm a little surprised....I thought I'd read more, to tell you the truth.)

I found some cool paintings of women reading. Gotta love the Botero!
NOTE:  A separate list of the Amish fiction I've been reading is at the bottom.
A
Allende, Isabel - Maya's Notebook (4)
Antani, Jay - The Leaving of Things (4) I consider this ya, however...
Armstrong, Kelley - A Stitch in Time (4)
B
Barnes, Kim - In the Kingdom of Men (3.5)
Bartels, Erin - We Hope for Better Things (5)
Barry, Brunonia - The Lace Reader (4.5)
............................The Map of True Places (4)
Bedani, Sejal - Trail of Broken Wings (4)
Berg, Elizabeth - The Art of Mending (3.5)
..........Tapestry of Fortunes (4)
..........Open House (4)
Binchy, Maeve - Week in Winter (5)
Bivald, Katarina - Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend (3)
Blackwell, Elizabeth - In the Shadow of Lakecrest  (1)
Bohjalian, Chris - Trans-Sister Radio
Boyle, T. C. - When the Killing's Done (DNF)
Brooks, Geraldine - People of the Book (5)
..........Caleb's Crossing (3)
Brown, Amy Belding - Flight of the Sparrow (4)
Brown, Carolyn - A Chance Inheritance (3.5)
Brown, Eleanor - The Weird Sisters (4)
Brown, Shayla - Wicked Ties (2)
Burke, Jan - The Messenger (5)
Butland, Stephanie - The Lost for Words Bookshop (4.5)
C

Cameron, Barbara - A Road Unknown, (3.5)
Carmack, Cora - Losing It (2)
Center, Katherine - The Bodyguard (4) Non-Steamy RomCom
..........-Happiness for Beginners (4.5)
..........-The Lost Husband (3.9)
..........-Things You Save in a Fire (4)
Chamberlain, Diane - Big Lies in a Small Town (5)
Chambers, Becky - The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, (5)
Chast, Roz - Going Into Town: A Love Letter to New York (4)
Chen, Mike - A Beginning at the End (2.5)
Chevalier, Tracy - Girl with a Pearl Earring (3)
Christiansen, Betty - Knitting for Peace (I only include these books if I've read every word, and I did) 
Clark, Julie -  The Last Flight (4)
Clayborn, Kate - Love Lettering (4.5
Cleave, Chris - Little Bee (4)
Cline, Ernest - Ready Player One (3.5)
Colgan, Jenny - The Bookshop on the Corner (4)
Collins, Frankie - Honeymoon for One (4) (3.5)
Confino, Sara Goodman - Don't Forget to Write
Cook, Claire - Wildwater Walking Club (2.5)
Cornick, Nicola - The Phantom Tree (4)
Courtenay, Christina - The Runes of Destiny (4)
Crouch, Blake - Dark Matter (5)
...............Recursion (4.5)
Cummins, Jeanine - American Dirt  (5)
D
Dallas, Sandra - Prayers for Sale (4.5)
Davies, Drew - Dear Lily  (2)
DeLuca, Jen - Well Met (4)deRosnay, Tatiana - Sarah's Key (3)
Diffenbaugh, Vanessa - The Language of Flowers (5)
Donovan, Jessie - Sacrificed to the Dragon  (2.5)
Doyle, Hannah - The Year of Saying Yes, The (2)
E
Edwards, Kim - The Lake of Dreams (4)
Eggers, Dave - The Circle (2)
F

Farrington, Tim - The Monk Downstairs (3.5)
Flynn, Gillian - Gone Girl (3)
Fortier, Anne - The Lost Sisterhood (5)
Frankel, Laurie - This Is How It Always Is (4.5)
G
Glass, Julia - The Widower's Tale (5)
..........And the Dark, Sacred Night (3)
Goldsmith, Olivia - Bad Boy (3.5/4)
Goolrick, Robert - A Reliable Wife, (4)
Grant, Kimi Cunningham - These Silent Woods (4)
Graves, Tracy Garvis - On the Island (4)
.................Heart-Shaped Hack (4)
Green, Jane - The  Beach House (4)
Greenwood, Brynn - All the Ugly and Wonderful Things (5)
Grisham, John - Skipping Christmas
Gruber, Michael -
Book of Air and Shadows (3)

Guillory, Jasmine - The Wedding Date (2.5)
H
Hale, Shannon - Austenland (2)
Harkness, Deborah -
A Discovery of Witches (All Soul's Trilogy #1) (5)

.......... - Shadow of Night (All Soul's Trilogy #2) (2.5)
.......... - Time's Convert (All Soul's Trilogy #4) (4.5)
Harmon, Amy - Where the Lost Wander (5)
Harms, Kelly - Overdue Life of Amy Byler (3)
Hart, Emilia - Weyward  (5)
Hashimi, Nadia - The Pearl That Broke Its Shell (4.5)
..........................-The Fire and the Ore (4)
Hilderbrand, Elin - The Island (2)
............................ - Winter in Paradise (2.5)
Hoang, Helen - The Kiss Quotient (5)
.............. - The Bride Test (5)
Hoffman, Alice - 
Museum of Extraordinary Things, The (5)
.......... - Skylight Confessions (3.5)
.......... - The Third Angel (5)
.......... -
The Ice Queen (4)

.......... - Blue Diary (4)
Holmes, Linda - Evvie Drake Starts Over (3)
Honeyman, Gail - Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (5)
Horn, Dara - A Guide For the Perplexed (1)
Howard, Linda - Cry No More (3) [looks like a mystery, but it's a romance]
.......... - Open Season (4) again, is a mystery but more a romance.
Howe, Katherine - The House of Velvet and Glass (DNF)

.......... - Physick Book of Deliverance Dane (4)
I
J

Jackson, Joshilyn - Gods in Alabama (4.5)
.............Between, Georgia (5)
.............The Opposite of Everyone  (4.5)
.............A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty (5)
.............Girl Who Stopped Swimming, The (3.5)
............The Almost Sisters (5)
............Someone Else's Love Story (4)
James, E. L. -  Fifty Shades of Grey (3)
.............Fifty Shades Darker (2)
Jaswal, Balli Kaur - Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows (4.5)
Jenner, Natalie - The Jane Austen Society (4.5)
Jones, Luisa A. - The Gilded Cage (4.5) HistFict
K
Kearsley, Susanna - The Winter Sea (DNF)
Kiernan, Stephen - The Curiosity (3) SCIFI
Kingsolver, Barbara -  Flight Behavior (4.5)
..........Prodigal Summer (5)
..........The Poisonwood Bible (4)
..........The Bean Trees (5)
Kline, Christina Baker
..........Orphan Train (4.5)
..........The Exiles, (4.5)
Krueger, William Kent - Ordinary Grace (4.5)
L
Lee, Tosca - The Line Between (5)
Lightbourne, Alesa - The Kurdish Bike (3)
Loigman, Lynda Cohen - The Matchmaker's Gift (4.5)
Lovett, Charlie - The Bookman's Tale - Charlie Lovett (5)
M
Malerman, Josh - Bird Box  (4.5)
Mandel, Emily St. John - Station Eleven  (3)
Mapson, JoAnn - Solomon's Oak (4)
Marie, Annette - Three Mages and a Margarita (3.5)
Marr, Melissa - The Arrivals (3)
Marrs, John - The One (5)
Martin, Steve - Shopgirl (1)
Maverick, Liz - Eight Winter Nights (3) Audible only
Maynard, Frances - The Seven Rules of Elvira Carr (5)
Meissner, Susan - The Nature of Fragile Things (4.5)
Miller, Derek B. - The Girl in Green (5)
Miller, Sue - Lakeshore Limited (1)
Moore, Mandy & Leanne Prain - Yarn Bombing (loved it-read every word!) NONFICTION
Moran, Beth - 
Christmas Every Day (4) (Note: Not a Christmas story)
Morton, Kate - The Forgotten Garden (5)
Moyes, Jojo - The Giver of Stars (5)
Mullins, Meg - The Rug Merchant

Myerson, Amy - The Bookshop of Yesterdays  (4)

N
Nesbit, TaraShea - Beheld  (3)
Netzer, Lydia - Shine Shine Shine (4)
Novak, Brenda - One Perfect Summer (3)
Nyhan, Loretta - The Other Family (4)
O

O'Dell, Tawni - Sister Mine (4)
O'Farrell, Maggie - The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox (5)
Otsuka, Julie - The Buddha in the Attic (2)
P

Patchett, Ann - State of Wonder (5)
Patillo, Beth -
Jane Austen Ruined My Life (2)

Patrick, Phaedra - The Library of Lost and Found (3)
Perry, Devney - The Coppersmith Farmhouse (3)
Perotta, Tom -
The Abstinence Teacher (3.5)

Phillips, Susan Elizabeth - Heroes Are My Weakness (5)
Pickard, Nancy -
The Scent of Rain and Lightning (5
)
Picoult - Picture Perfect (2)
..........Lone Wolf (3)
..........The Book of Two Ways (5)
Price, Sarah - Fields of Corn (2.5) Amish Fiction
Prior, Hazel - Ellie and the Harpmaker (4.5) Autistic Adult
Proulx, Annie - The Shipping News (3.5)
QR
Quick, Matthew - The Good Luck of Right Now (3.5)
Ragen, Naomi - Sotah (4) Hasidic Judaism
Rather, Lina - Sisters of the Vast Black (3.5) SciFi
Roanhorse, Rebecca - Trail of Lightning  (3)
Robinson, Jeremy - The Others (3)
Romer, Anna - Lyrebird Hill  (4.5)
Roth, Sally - Attracting Birds to Your Backyard NONFICTION
Roth, Veronica - Ark (Novella) (3)
Rous, EmmaThe Au Pair, (4.5)
S
Salak, Kira - The White Mary
Schulman, Audrey - Theory of Bastards (4)
Semple, Maria - Where'd You Go Bernadette (5)
Shaffer, Mary Ann & Annie Barrows - Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (5)
Shapiro, B. A. - The Art Forger (4)
Shepherd, Peng - The Book of M (3)
Simsion, Graeme - The Rosie Project (5)
Sittenfeld, Curtis - Eligible  (4.5)
Sloan, Robin - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore (4)
Smith, Deborah - Sweet Hush (4)
Spielman, Lori Nelson - The Life List (4)
Stewart, Mary - Thornyhold (5)
Strout, Elizabeth - The Burgess Boys (3.5)
Swyler, Erika - The Book of Speculation (3.5)

T

Thomason, Dustin - 12.21: A Novel (4.5) Not a MURDER mystery, but a mystery just the same....
Torzs, Emma - Ink Blood Sister Scribe (4.5)
Trasi, Amita - The Color of Our Sky (4)
Tucker, K. A.- The Simple Wild (4.5)
Tucker, Lisa - Once Upon a Day (4)
Tyler, Anne - Digging to America (4)
U
V
Van Pelt, Shelby - Remarkably Bright Creatures (5)
Vanderah, Glendy - Where the Forest Meets the Stars (4.5) CRF
W
Wallace, Michael - Crow Hollow (4) HistFict
Walls, Jeannette - The Silver Star (Liked it/3 - though I would consider it YA)
Waxman, Abbi - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (5)
Webb, Wendy - The Tale of Halcyon Crane (It was okay/2)
Weiner, Jennifer - Good in Bed (If I remember correctly, I totally enjoyed this/4)
Weir, Meghan MacLean - The Book of Essie (4)
White, Karen - The Time Between (It was okay/2)
Wiggs, Susan - Family Tree (3 Easy reading romance...)
Wingate, Lisa - The Prayer Box (DNF, bleh...)
Winger, Diane - Ellie Dwyer's Great Escape (3)
X
Y
Z

Zevin, Gabrielle - The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry (5)
Zugg Victor - A Ripple in Time (#1 A Ripple in Time) (4.5)
.................... The Planters (#2 A Ripple in Time) (3.5)

RomComs - Most with Some Sort of STEAM, some VERY steamy
Abraham, Yamila - Alien's Bride, 2013 (2.5)
................................Indentured Bride 2016 (2)
Adams, Lissa Kay - The Bromance Book Club, 2019 (3.5)
Albright, Jami - Running From a Rock Star, 2017 (3)
Andre, Bella - Take Me, 2013 (1.5) Sizzle 4/4
Aston, Jana - The Boss Who Stole Christmas, 2019 (3)
Avery, Rae - Senator's Pet, 2018 (1) Crap!!
Banks, R. R. - My Fake Fiance, 2018 (1) Sizzle Factor probably 4/4
Bastone, Cara - Sweet Talk, 2021 (5)
....................... - Call Me Maybe, 2020 (4) No steam at all
Beck, Roseanne - Turn the Paige, 2018 YUCK! (1)
Blakely, Lauren - Kismet, 2022 (3)
.................- Lucky Suit, 2019 (3) Sizzle 1.5/4
................ - Mister O, 2016 (3.5)
................ - Part-Time Lover , 2018 (3.5)
................ - The Pretending Plot, 2020 rewrite (3)
Blaze, Violet - Stepbrother Inked, 2015 (2.5)
Bliss, Chelle - Maneuver, 2015 (1) Sizzle Factor high
.........................Throttle Me, 2014 (2/5) Sizzle Factor HIGH, plus he's a chauvinist with a stereotypical biker biker mentally...
.........................Flame, 2019 (2,5)
Bryce, Megan - Some Like It Charming, (sexy but not steamy)
Burton, Jaci - Paradise Awakening, 2003 (this was her first, and it was horrible!)
Bybee, Catherine - Binding Vows (#1 MacCoinnich Time Travels) 2009 (4)
............................ - Silent Vows (#2 MacCoinnich Time Travels) 2010 (3.5)
........................... - Redeeming Vows (#3 MacCoinnich Time Travels) 2010 (3.5)
........................... - Highland Shifter (#4 MacCoinnich Time Travels) 2012 (3.5)
Canterbary, Kate - In a Jam (4) (LOTS of plot and also very sizzly....)
Carmack, Cora - Losing It, 2012 (2)
Carmine, Cat - The Rule Breaker, 2018 (3.5) Sizzle Factor 4/4 I'm pretty sure...
Chu, Lily - The Stand-In, 2021 (3.5/4)
Clayborn, Kate - Georgie, All Along, 2023 (4.5) very steamy in just a few places
Davies, Sharleen - Steadfast, 2019 (2.5) biker/SEALS talk & action
Dixon, Ruby - The Alien's Mail-Order Bride, (2) near the end a lot
................ - Ice Planet Barbarian series (4) Sizzle Factor 4/4 for sure....whew!
................ - Fire in His Blood 2017 (3)
................ - Veronica's Dragon, 2018
Dohner, Laurann - Cathian (1) XXX rated
Foster, Lori - Driven to Distraction CRAP!
G., Whitney - Reasonable Doubt , 2014 sizzle 4/4
Goodwin, Grace - Assigned a Mate pretty high sizzle
Guillory, Jasmine - The Wedding Date, 2018 (2.5) SIzzle Factor 3/4 (That's trying to remember)
Hall, Codi - There's Something About Merry. 2021 (3)
Harlow, Melanie - Call Me Crazy, 2021
Harper, Molly - How to Date Your Dragon (2)
Hazelwood, Ali - The Love Hypothesis, 2021 (4.5)
............................Love Theoretically, 2023 (4)
Henry, Emily - Beach Read (4.5)
Hoang, Helen - The Kiss Quotient, 2018 (5) Sizzle Factor (4/4)
Hockman Angie Shipped , 2021 (4)
Hunter, Elizabeth - INK: A Love Story on 7th and Main. 2018 (3.5) Sizzle Factor 2/4
Kayn, Misty - Alien Fae Mate, 2016 (2) Novella
Keeland, Vi - Inappropriate , 2020 (3.5)
................ - The Christmas Pact 2019 (3) CLEAN 
Kothari, Falguni - The Set Up (2021) (4)
Lace, Lisa - Water World Warrior
Lauren, Christina - Beautiful Stranger, 2013 (2.75) Lots of smut...
...............Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, 2018 (2.5/4)
...............Love and Other Words
............... My Favorite Half-Night Stand, 2018 (2/4)
................Roomies, 2017 (4) Sizzle Factor:  Can't remember!
................The Unhoneymooners, 2019 (3) Plenty!
Lord, Emma - Tweet Cute (YA) (4.5) 2020
Madden-Mills, Ilsa - My Darling Bride (4) 2023
Moreland, Melanie - The Contract, 2016 (4)
Myers, Olivia -  Pleasure in the Stars, 2015 (1)
O'Leary, Beth - The Flatshare (5)
Quinn, Meghan - A Not So Meet Cute, 2021 (DNR/3)
Rayne, Piper - Lessons from a One-Night Stand 2019 (2/4)
Reid, Penny - Marriage of Inconvenience , 2018 (3.5)
................ - Live and Let Grow Novella (2.5)
Ryan, Carrie Ann - 1001 Dark Nights: Hidden Ink, 2016 (1)
Ryan, Kendall - The Fix-Up , 2016 (2)
Sands, Lynsay - Immortal Born, 2019 (2)
Scott, Kylie - Pause, 2021 (4)
Simone, Naima - Millionaire at Midnight, 2017 (3)
Sivec, Tara - Heidi's Guide to Four Letter Words, 2019 (3)
Sloan, Nikki - Three Simple Rules, 2015 Sizzle Factor 4/4
Snow, Nicole - Accidental Romeo, 2019 (3) Sizzle Factor 4/4
.......................-Fiance on Paper, 2017 (2) high sizzle factor
Stewart, Delancey - Scoring the Keeper's Sister, 2019 (2.5) low steam, but some
Strych, Nina - Fiance for Hire, 10 (2.5) Sizzle Factor 3/4
Taiden, Milly - Unexpectedly Mated (1.5)
Thorne, Sally - 99 Percent Mine 2019 (3) Sizzle 1.5/4
Valente, Lili - Hot as Puck 2017 (very)
Ware & Gleason - Beyond the Night, 2000 (1.5) not much, cover's so misleading!
Waxman, Abbi - The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (5)
Whelan, Julia - Thank You For Listening (mostly innuendo, one small scene)
Winstead, Ashley - The Boyfriend Candidate, 2023 (4)
Winters, Sarah - A Demon in My Bed, 2017 (1)
Wolff, Tracy & Avery Flynn - Back in the Burbs (3.5)
York, Zoe - No Time Like Forever, 2014 (3)
Young, Samantha - Much Ado About You  2021 (4) RomCom with a bit of steam

AMISH FICTION
Cameron - A Road Unknown, 2014 (3.5)
................ - Her Restless Heart, 2012 (3)
Davids - The Wish, 2019 (4)
Doss, Rose - Amish Renegade, 2018 (3)
Fisher, Suzanne Woods - The Letters, 2013 (4)
Lewis, Beverly - The Secret, 2009 (2.5)
Newport, Olivia - Accidentally Amish, 2012 (3)
Price - Fields of Corn, 2010 (2)

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