As I mentioned on Monday, I finished the final book for my Summer Book Bingo card over the weekend. And so, today, I am sharing with you all 25 titles that I have read since Memorial Day. Links are to GoodReads and you can read my ratings and reviews there if you wish. The photos are of the front (which you already saw) and the back because it’s easier to read the titles there. (Please note that the back is the reverse of the front, i.e. top left on the front is top right on the back.)
Square: By a Canadian author Book: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny Justification: Louise Penny is Canadian
Square: Reread a favorite book Book: The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian Justification: I don’t reread books. I mean, I guess I do because To Kill A Mockingbird and Pride and Prejudice. But still, I don’t reread. So, instead I read a book by a favorite author and Chris Bohjalian is one of my favorites, for sure.
Square: By a small press Book: A Skeptic’s Guide to Writers’ Houses by Anne Trubek. Justification: University of Pennsylvania Press is a small press.
Square: A classic that you should have read in school Book: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Justification: It’s a classic, my friends, and I never had to read this one in school.
Square: Cozy Mystery Book: Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay Justification: Very cozy indeed.
Square: About art or an artist Book: Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee Justification: The main character is an opera singer.
Square: Nature writing Book: The Round House by Louise Erdrich Justification: Okay, this one is a stretch but I really wanted to read this book and this is the only square I could (sort of) make work. I figure that a reservation in North Dakota counts as nature.
Square: Nonfiction Book: Being Mortal by Atul Gawande Justification: It’s non-fiction.
Square: About royalty (fiction or non) Book: The Royal We by Heather Cocks. Justification: The main character is the Prince of Wales.
Square: Set in a country from which one of your ancestors came Book: On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan. Justification: My mother’s side of the family is English.
Square: Humor or satire. Book: Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris Justification: David Sedaris is funny.
Square: With an alliterative title Book: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy Reichert. Justification: Lots of C’s.
Square: Free square Book: Miller’s Valley by Anna Quindlen. Justification: I could put anything here!
Square: Re-read an assigned book you hated in school Book: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Justification: I hated it with a passion when I read this in high school. I just wanted him to catch that damn fish so that the book would be over.
Square: Set in the place where you live Book: Dark Tide by Stephen Puleo Justification: It’s about the Great Molasses Flood that happened in Boston in 1919.
Square: With a main character over 60. Book: Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman Justification: Britt-Marie is 63.
Square: Hated by someone you know. Book: My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult Justification: I have a friend who hates anything written by Jodi Picoult.
Square: An audibook Book: LaRose by Louise Erdrich Justification: Ummm. I listened to it? hahaha
Square: Includes recipes but is not a cookbook. Book: My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl. Justification: Okay, some people might label this as a cookbook but in my interpretation it’s a memoir.
Square: With a family member in the title. Book: My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman. Justification: A grandmother is a family member. Duh.
Square: By an author who shares your first name Book: With or Without You by Carole Matthews Justification: Do I really have to spell this one out?
Square: With 200 pages or fewer Book: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi. Justification: It’s less than 200 pages. It’s also fabulous.
Square: Self published. Book: The Goatmen by Dale Julius. Justification: This is a book that Dale has been working on since 2009 and he’s been bugging me to read it for practically forever. I decided that this bingo square provided the perfect opportunity. I know it’s not published yet so it’s technically not self published. But it’s close enough for me. And also, the book is pretty good and I think he should clean it up and get the darn thing to a publisher.
Square: Part of a series. Book: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny Justification: It’s part of the Inspector Armand Gamache series. I love them all, by the way.
Square: Set in Africa. Book: Circling the Sun by Paula McLain Justification: It’s set in Africa.
Wow. That’s a lot of links! I feel like it took me as long to write this post as it did to read The Old Man and the Sea! Seriously, though, it’s a pretty great group of books. And I think the secret of my success this time was planning everything I wanted to read in advance. I not only selected a book for each square but I also noted where the book would come from – the library, Overdrive, an audio, etc. It really made it easy to get this cover all.
And now comes the best part. I’m going on vacation and I can read whatever I want!
What an achievement just to list them all! I should try to find more time to read. You’re an inspiration.
That is a lot of reading. I’ll pop over later to see some of your reviews, but I hope it was mostly good stuff with so much time invested. Congrats!
You can ALWAYS read whatever you want. Or even put a book down unfinished and never go back!
I am so thrilled for you Carole! You are inspiring! XO
That’s an incredible feat! Thank you for your links, your justifications and your reviews. You are the Queen of Books!
Congratulations on finishing your bingo! I have 4 more books to go and while I have really enjoyed it, I am ready to read what I want to again too! I also read The Royal We for the same category and I’m going to read Better:A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande for the disease category. I also love Louise Penny.
Great finish Carole! I’ve read a few on your list and you reminded me of one I’ve wanted to read (Circling the Sun).
Wow! Your reading life is sure prolific! I am jealous–vacation sounds so nice!. Have a great time!
Amazing! Congratulations for achieving your goal! Some new titles and reminders of others to move up on my list. I wish I felt like I could read right now. Listening to books has taken over. Sitting time, while very limited these days, has been reserved for knitting for upcoming travels. Maybe on the plane?
Congratulations Carole! Thanks for all the links.
Wow-looks like some really interesting titles. I’m pleased with my progress, and I think I’ll actually finish before the “deadline”.
that’s a great summer of reading…and you still have a few more weeks to go! what are you going to read next?
Congratulations!!!