Made it to 75 last year. For last year and this year, I am trying not to repeat any authors unless its a series which was harder than it seemed!

1. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
2. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
3. The Last Summer by Anne Brasheres
4. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
5. Away by Amy Bloom
6. Rules of the Wild A Novel of Africa by Francesca Marciano
7. Emma by Jane Austen
8. Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
9. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
10. Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
11. 1st to Die by James Patterson
12. 4th of July by James Patterson
13. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
14. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
15. Silas Marner by George Eliot
16. What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn

I think so far my favorite was Away- it really surprised me for such a small novel. It was beautifully and passionately written. Rebecca was also a wonderful book. I enjoyed Crime and Punishment more than I thought I would and I hated slogging through Emma. No more Jane Austen for me in the near future!

I find your list so funny...dark modern murder mysteries and Emma and Message in a Bottle...much like mine!
Congrats on your first 10+!

Thanks for the message, Mary! I like to mix it up a little :)

17. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Did you read this book after you had seen the film?
I like the book immensely and re-read it this year. I'm never sure if I like it so because I'm picturing the film (which I'm a big fan of) or because it really is a good book?
What do you think?

What did you think of Away? I was disappointed, but maybe I was just expecting too much? Fran

Fran wrote: "What did you think of Away? I was disappointed, but maybe I was just expecting too much? Fran"

I actually went into it not expecting much and was very surprised. It was my first Amy Bloom and I thought it was going to be a light easy read but was surprised by how broad it really was. I enjoyed it- I'm sorry to hear you didn't! What didn't you like?

Leshawn wrote: "Did you read this book after you had seen the film?
I like the book immensely and re-read it this year. I'm never sure if I like it so because I'm picturing the film (which I'm a big fan of) or b..."

Hi Leshawn,

I actually think I would have liked the book a lot more if I had seen the movie first. I still have not actually seen the movie. The book sometimes had a kitchy (for lack of a better word) feel that made some of the characters seem to naive. On the other hand, this was also a fascinating view of NY in a different era. I think that was actually my favorite aspect of the book.

18. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, Amara Lakhous
19. Astrid and Veronika, Linda Ollson
20. The Dirty Girls Social Club A Novel, by Alisa Valdez-Rodriquez
21. The Possession, by Annie Ernaux
22. Disquiet, Julia Leigh
23. Island of Lost Girls A Novel, Jennifer McMahon
24. Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach
25. At the Earth's Core, Edgar Rice Burroughs

Clash of Civilizations was a great, quick read written in a style that I have not seen many other places. My one problem with it was that with different chapters told by different people, the voice never changed throughout. This did give it a unique feel though.

I was pleasantly surprised by Dirty Girl's Social Club. After not really enjoying the first half, I loved the second half.

Yay for 25! 1/2 way!

Thanks Aprile!

26. The Golden Key George MacDonald

whoohoo!

Thanks Mary Tood!

27. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

28. Suite Française, Irène Némirovsky

29. The Tale of Despereaux Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread, Kate DiCamillo

Jayme wrote: "28. Suite Française, Irène Némirovsky...i>

Not that you need another group to join, but we just discussed this book in the You'll Love This One group. The overwhelming majority in our discussion seemed to really enjoy it. Curious if you did as well.

Molly wrote: "Jayme wrote: "28. Suite Française, Irène Némirovsky...i>

Not that you need another group to join, but we just discussed this book in the You'll Love This One group. The overwhelmi..."

Hi Molly,

I loved it. I loved the first half more than the second have by quite a bit, but I think it was absolutely beautiful. It made me think about the War in ways I hadn't before. Thanks for the group suggestion- I'll check it out!

30. Persepolis 1 The Story of a Childhood, Marjane Satrapi

Jayme wrote: "I loved the first half more than the second have by quite a bit, but I think it was absolutely beautiful. It made me think about the War in ways I hadn't before..."

That's so funny - I was the opposite - I enjoyed the second part much more than the first! I thought she was brilliant in the way her writing styles were so different in each part to match the emotion and action going on in each.

I think part of my not liking the second part so much was that I borrowed this book from my sister and had to return it to her and so I rushed it. I may go back and reread it sometime in the future. I just loved how real the characters were- I know that is cliche, but this is the first book I've ever read about the Holocaust that really made me truly relate to the characters.

31. Bunner Sisters, Edith Wharton

Wow, I've never heard of "Bunner Sisters" and I thought I had a good grasp of Edith Wharton's output! I'll have to read it! How was it?

Bunner Sisters was okay- kind of depressing. It's a quick read though- I read it online during my lunch breaks. Not really the norm for Wharton, but worth the read.

32. Eat, Pray, Love One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia, Elizabeth Gilbert

Loved this book- I was hesitant because I didn't really want to read about divorce and I was mistaken about my first impressions of this book. It was beautifully written and I went through a range of emotions reading it. I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a laugh, a cry, or a story about some good Italian food.

33. The End of the Alphabet, C.S. Richardson

34. The Madonnas of Leningrad A Novel, Debra Dean

35. Diary of a Mad Bride, Laura Wolf

36. 2nd Chance, James Patterson

37. The Color Purple, Alice Walker

38. The Passion, Jeanette Winterson