Quarterly Reading Wrap-Up

I seriously feel guilty about typing up the entire list of books I've read during the first quarter of 2015.  But then I think of how much I've enjoyed the list that Janssen has provided at Everyday Reading every quarter, and I feel considerably less guilty.  I had a good first quarter, finishing 64 books.  

So, in order they were completed with a few additional notes, here we go:

• Sister of Heart and Snow by Margaret Dilloway - adult fiction - I loved the story between the sisters, but not the samurai part 
• The Smartest Kids in the World by Amanda Ripley - non fiction- this look at education in the United States could easily make my top 10 best books of the year list.  
  
• I'm Glad I Did by Cynthia Weil - YA fiction - a fun mystery set in the 1960s. 
• Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan - humor- best in short snippets, I liked the humor a lot
• The Same Sky by Amanda Eyre Ward- women's fiction - a woman who wants to have a baby and can't, and a girl who is trying to come to the United States from Mexico to make a better life - on my kindle
• The Question of Miracles by Elana Arnold - middle grade realistic fiction - a perfect novel that deal with some tough questions
• Inside the O'Briens by Lisa Genova- fiction - another winner by Genova, this time dealing with Huntington's Disease- on kindle
  
• Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron- mystery- another installment into this series featuring a game warden living in Maine
• Living Well, Spending Less by Ruth Soukup, self-help, I've heard other books by Soukup are better, but this is the only one I've read and I found her advice practical and interesting - on kindle
• Falling into Place by Amy Zhang -young adult and apparently forgettable. I couldn't even recall the cover
• The Bookseller by Cynthia Swanson - moving back and forth in time, a woman tries to determine which reality she is living in is real.
• The War that Saved by Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley- tween historical fiction - a great novel of World War II, featuring a protagonist who benefited from the war
• A Quilt for Christmas by Sandra Dallas - a fast little Christmas story by Dallas that could be enjoyed year round
• My Father's Wives by Mike Greenberg- fiction which is not horribly memorable to me, but was mildly entertaining
• We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas - fiction - a five star read spanning one man's life that should make my best of 2015 list this year
  
• The Bridge From Me to You by Lisa Schroeder - a good solid tween read
• Glory O'Brien's History of the Future by AS King- young adult and my first experience with King; Glory can see the past and future and is uncertain what her own future holds
• All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven - young adult - a wonderful story of two friends dealing with the tough topic of mental illness (Kindle)
• The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah - World War II novel of two sisters who both go about assisting the Resistance in the only ways they can find.  Hannah at her best (Kindle)
  
• Dreamer Wisher Liar by Cherise Mericle Harper - middle grade - Ash is dreading this summer, but a jar in her basement allows her to see into a friendship of two girls from the past
• Read Between the Lines by Jo Knowles - young adult- interconnected stories where the middle finger plays a part
• Boston Girl by Anita Diamant- adult fiction- this isn't the Red Tent, but it could easily be the story of my grandmother's life, or yours.
• Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult - fiction - a fantastic five star read.  Jenna Metcalf is searching for her mother, a scientist who studies elephants.  Her search takes her to a variety of places but the twist at the end (even knowing Picoult's writing and that there will be a twist at the end) totally surprised me.
  
• Paper Things by Jennifer Richard Jacobson - tween novel about siblings and their need to strike out on their own, leaving them homeless.  
• The Undertaker's Daughter- memoir - having lived in a funeral home I could understand and relate to her memories of life in a small town and the way the funeral home business worked (kindle)
• Us by David Nicholls - fiction -Douglas and Connie have been married for nearly thirty years. When Connie tells him she wants a divorce, Douglas doesn't understand why. The two are brought back together as they search for their son Albie who is travelling around Europe.
• All The Rage by Courtney Summers-young adult-  Romy has been branded a slut in her school. She seeks refuge in the diner where she works. Her silence over what really happened to her may cause other girls to get hurt.
• More Love, Less Panic by Claude Knobler - non-fiction - part memoir, Knobler recounts the international adoption of his son, offering wisdom on parenting to all readers
• The Life We Bury by Allen Eskins -fiction - a college student while writing the life story of a man from death row decides to prove his innocence 
• Golden State by Stephanie Kagen- fiction -  a series of bombings at universities makes Natalie begin thinking that the notes the bomber leaves sound a lot like her estranged brother (kindle)
  
• Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon - fiction- a new twist on Nineteen Minutes by Picoult, Jake is thought to have been involved with a school shooting and is now missing, something his parents can't bring themselves to believe.
• Honey by Sarah Weeks- tween fiction -a sweet story of a girl looking for happiness
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond- -children's fiction- I've read this one many times, this time to my youngest daughter
• Beautiful Eyes by Paul Austin- memoir- Austin writes of his daughter's Down's Syndrome and how it has affected their family
• Her by Harriet Lane- fiction - a fast psychological thriller that had me turning the pages as fast as I could
• Happiness For Beginners by Katherine Center -fiction- Helen signs up for a wilderness survival course looking for a bit of happiness after her divorce.
  
• Writer to Writer: Think to Ink by Gail Carson Levine- children's non-fiction -a how-to for writers with great writing prompts
• More Than Happy: The Wisdom of Amish Parenting by Serena Miller- adult non-fiction - Miller gives practical advice on parenting after spending significant time in an Amish community and seeing firsthand their success with raising their children (kindle)
• Global Mom by Melissa Dalton Bradford- memoir- Bradford and her family have moved around the world and she shares their experiences in this memoir
• This Side of Home by Renee Watson-young adult fiction - Twins Nikki and Maya feel differently about the way their lives and community are changing
• The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand- young adult fiction- Lex can't help shutting everyone out after her brother killed himself, and feels responsible. 
  
• A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler -I loved the first half of this book, the second half not so much.
• Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper -fiction - Etta leaves a note for her husband as she embarks on a walk to find water. He understands as  he himself once went on his own journey during World War I.
• The Upstairs Wife by Rafia Zakaria - nonfiction- Zakaria's book is part memoir of a family and part memoir of Pakistan
• All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor- children's fiction- read aloud to Little Sister, this is a favorite to share with my girls
• Taking Hold by Francisco Jimenez- memoir- a fourth installment in Jimenez's memoirs
• My Sister's Grave by Robert Dugoni - mystery- Tracy has spent twenty years looking for her sister's murder and now that she is with the Seattle PD, she has a chance to exact justice
• Ghettoside: A Story of Murder in America by Jill Leovy - nonfiction - an interesting and very readable non-fiction account of the way young black men are murdered at a much higher rate than white men, and how infrequently these cases are solved. (kindle)
  
• Fish In A Tree by Linda Mullaly Hunt- children's fiction - a five star read - dealing with dyslexia and not fitting in
• The Martian by Andrew Weir - I'm not a science fiction reader, but this is one of my favorites about an astronaut who is stuck on Mars when his space ship leaves without him
• The Paper Cowboy by Kristin Levine - tween historical fiction -another amazing book by this author; McCarthyism, postpartum depression, bullying - this book is full of good stuff
• Second Life by SJ Watson - fiction - a bit creepy, involving the internet and not really knowing who you can trust
• Girl in the Dark by Anna Lyndsey - memoir- Lyndsey has a rare condition which causes her to live her life in a blacked out room, otherwise suffering the effects of light touching any part of her skin. (kindle)
• The Given World by Marian Palaia - fiction - spanning decades a woman searches for peace after her brother goes missing in Vietnam
• A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear - fiction - the most recent in the Maisie Dobbs series, which makes me want to get to the rest of them that are still on my TBR list
• Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins- psychological thriller- another great book in this genre I am coming to love.  
  
• The Real Thing by Ellen McCarthy- non-fiction McCarthy explores love, offering advice on each stage of relationships
• Top of the Morning by Brian Stelter- non-fiction - I loved the inside look at morning TV and the whole Ann Curry debacle.
• More All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor - children's fiction - I've never read more than the first in this series, so this read aloud with Little Sister is letting me know more about this family of five sisters, too. (kindle)
• Dear Hank Williams by Kimberly Willis Holt - children's fiction- a young girl picks rising star Hank Williams as her pen-pal, and a way to share her thoughts and feelings
• Head Case by Cole Cohen- memoir- Cohen has struggled all her life with certain tasks only to realize after years of tests that there is a lemon sized hole in her brain
• Gracefully Grayson by Ami Polonsky -tween fiction -Grayson has always enjoyed things most girls enjoy, something that sets him apart from his male peers.  
• It's What I Do by Lynsey Addario -memoir- Addario travels the world to get a story, something she finds as necessary as breathing
• Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver- young adult fiction - Oliver needs to be added to my list of authors to read. After finishing Vanishing Girls, I realized I have never read her work.
  

I'm not sure how the second quarter could top the first in 2015; I have read some amazing books.  Are there any from this list you've read? Join the fun, and link up with Janssen at Everyday Reading. Share your list!