MY 2022 BOOKSHELF
1. The Christmas Pig – JK Rowling (carry-over from Christmas 2021)
MY 2018 BOOKSHELF
19. The Man in the Picture : Susan Hill
18. Boy: Tales of Childhood – Roald Dahl
17. Almost Amish One Woman’s Quest for a Slower, Simpler, More Sustainable Life – Nancy Sleeth
16. The Witchfinder’s Sister – Beth Underdown
15. Macbeth – Shakespeare
14. The Silent Key – Erin Tuttle
13. Before Ever After – Samantha Sotto
12. 13 Rue Therese – Elena Mauli Shapiro
11. My Life – Marc Chagall
10. The Last Runway – Tracy Chevalier
9. Queenie – Alice Munro
8. The Great Gatsby – F Scott Fitzgerald
7. The Gourmet – Muriel Barbery
6. Faith – Joanna Trollope
5. Chocolat – Joanne Harris
4. The Fifth Mountain – Paulo Coelho
3. To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
2. Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson
1. Meaningful Work : A Quest To Do Great Business, Find Your Calling and Feed Your Soul by Shawn Askinosie and Lawren Askinosie — got the Kindle version
MY 2017 BOOKSHELF
1. Traveling Bag by Susan Hill (4 short ghost stories). I have a beautifully designed small hardcover of this. When it comes to good ghost story writing, I think Hill is it.
2. Think Like An Artist by Will Gompertz. Fun and good insights.
3. My Life In Houses by Margaret Forster. Interesting and insightful.
4. The Outsider, My Life in Intrigue by Frederick Forsyth. Fun and action packed reading. I wished I had such an adventurous life and lived in those very interesting times. The author lived a life that makes you wish you did the same.
5. Silence by Endo Shusaku. Made into a film starring Liam Neeson. It’s on my to-watch list. Good book and painful — which makes it a good book.
6. The Muse by Jessie Burton. I enjoyed The Miniaturist. This one is just as fun, and tells a wonderful story that keeps your imagination juggling.
7. One Day by Dan Nicholls. I’ve watched the video of this before the book. I enjoyed the film slightly more.
8. The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon. The world as seen through the eyes of feisty girls.
9. A Quiver Full of Arrows by Jeffrey Archer. Short stories, I feel, are the best books to pack when traveling. And Jeffrey Archer is the master storyteller.
10. Cat O’Nine Tales by Jeffrey Archer. Short stories.
11. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
12. Dreaming in Mandarin by Deborah Fellowes. Short independent chapters.
13. The Painted Veil by Somerset Maugham
14.
NEW LIST FOR 2015
1. THE MINIATURIST by Jessie Burton. Fiction.
This book is good exercise for your imagination. The author writes vividly.
2. A KIND MAN by Susan Hill. Fiction.
Author of Woman in Black which was made into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe. Again, excellent writing. I finished the book on a flight to the US. And it is now in the hands of a very dear friend. I made her read it. :)
3. MRS. HEMINGWAY by Naomi Wood. Based on true story.
Stories of 4 women who became “Mrs. Hemingway”. It was a good book. I also wanted to get to the end of it already. Not in a bad way. But not in a good either.
4. WHITE OLEANDER by Janet Fitch. Fiction.
Brilliant writing and imagination. I will never be able to write like this. The author has such imagination grounded in excellent research.
UPDATED LIST FOR 2014
1. SOY SAUCE FOR BEGINNERS by Kristen Chen
2. THE HUSBAND’S SECRET by Liane Moriarty
3. GONE GIRL by Gilian Flynn
4. QUEENIE by Alice Munro
5. LEVELS OF LIFE by Julian Barnes (very good!)
6. THINK LIKE A FREAK by S. Levitt and S. Dubner. 6/2014
7. STRANGE WEATHER IN TOKYO by Hiromi Kawakami (translation: Allison Markin Powell). 6/2014
8. THE BOOK OF SECRETS by Elizabeth Joy Arnolds. Horrible. Overwrought development of the story. Too contrived. Inconsistent writing (some parts brill, mostly stupid). And very sorry characters, there is not one I liked or could relate to.
9. YOUR BEST YES by Lysa TerKeurst. I have friends who NEED to read this. It is about saving your time and energy for worthy caused and endeavors to which you can truly commit. The writing style was elementary and has the rah-rah of the fundamental religious. But there are jewels of wisdom here and there.
List of what is read. Or ready.
2. An Unconventional Love by Adeline Harris (finished 11/2010)
1. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen (finished 10/2010)
miss chicago 