Casey, That is a lot of books read! I'm a little envious!

Thanks! But it's not my best year, haha.

I don't have a list, because I never write them down. Maybe I should start. Yours looks good! I liked The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry a lot. I haven't read any of the others, but I recently bought a book on writing by Elizabeth Berg. I've been told my fiction writing style is somewhat similar to hers, but when I tried one of her novels (I forget which one) I wasn't crazy about it. I suppose I should try another.

Have you read any of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series? I loved the first two. Will get to the others eventually.

No, haven't read any Outlander books. I'm not really into historical fiction or fantasy.

All of Beatrice Smalls books except the pleasure series.

Casey, I'm not either. I said that for years, resisting the efforts of many friends to get me to try one of those books. I was even in an online writing group with Diana Gabaldon when she was writing the first one, and I wasn't interested in it. But when I finally picked it up a couple of years ago it hooked me immediately.

On the other hand, I raved about it to my stepdaughter and she gave up on it after about 15 pages. :-)

I have read all the Outlander books and they are my favorites. Casey, the Outlander series is historical, yes but it's so much more. It has romance, intrigue, mystery, humor, time travel. I would not call it fantasy though. Give it a try. I think you will be surprised.

One I really liked this year was All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. I also wish I would keep track of those read, as there are a LOT of them!

Phyllis, I read "All the Light We Cannot See" in 2015 and I loved it!

Congratulations on your interesting list and that you have read so many. I know I read many, but have not kept a list for a few years now, but think I will start. I do have a huge list made up of books recommended by others here at the table and cannot keep up with them. My intention is to broaden my 'comfort zone'? I do tend to read the same authors; new ones to enjoy is a goal.....even old, old ones to revisit. Thanks for sharing, again!

Another vote for "All the Light We Cannot See". One of the best books I've ever read.

I also loved "A Man Called Ove", "My Grandmother Wants Me to Tell You She's Sorry" and Britt Marie Was Here" all by Fredik Backman.

"Vinegar Girl" by Anne Tyler.

"The Girls at the Kingfisher Club" by Genevieve Valentine.

"The Whistling Season" by Ivan Doig

A series I've been reading are the Longmire books by Craig Johnson (the tv show is based on them).

Several mysteries by Jane E. Casey. I do keep a list and out of over 100 books, and these are the ones that stand out for me. So many books sound so good and turn out to be so forgettable!

So far, this year looks good. Just finished "Ordinary Grace" by William Kent Krueger and it was really good.

Norar, I've ordered " Man Called Ove" because I can't find it anywhere here. It should be here this week!

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was one of my favorite books.

I also read mostly fiction, but this past year I did read "American Sniper" by Chris Kyle, "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell, and "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand. All three would rate a 5 (per Casey's 1 - 5 system) in my opinion.

I usually average reading 2 to 3 books every two weeks, but I don't keep lists or make notes, so I have only my memory to rely on about what I've read. I've read a couple that are on Casey's list, "Still Life with Breadcrumbs" by Anna Quindlin was one of my favorites, but I think I read it before 2016. "The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin really didn't impress me one way or another. I remember reading and thoroughly enjoying "Icy Sparks" by Gwyn Hyman Rubio, but wouldn't be able to tell anyone what it was about.

Kristen Hannah's "The Nightingale" is definitely a 5 in my opinion, as is her "True Colors", both read last year. The last book I read in 2016 was "Family Tree" by Susan Wiggs, another 5. I think I've read everything Richard Paul Evans has written (not all in 2016, of course!), and all of Nicholas Sparks, too. Love them both!

The next to last book I read in 2016 was "Small Great Things' by Jodi Picoult, another 5. I love her writing. Everything I've read by her are "I can't put this down" books for me. I almost hesitate to mention her books, as one of the very few times I tried posting in the Reader's Paradise forum, her books were immediately criticized by the most frequent posters there, and I felt chastised for even mentioning her. So now I do read that forum every now & then, but don't post there. The KT seems a much better 'fit' for me, much friendlier people.

I could probably go on and on about what books I've read but I won't. I do love to read! !

Rusty

Thanks Rusty. I saw the Movie "American Sniper" and I rarely read books after I see the movie. I did enjoy the movie. I've thought about reading "Unbroken" because I've heard so much good about it.

I've read a couple by Kristen Hannah and my friend just recommended "The Nightingale" to me as well.

I've read many of Jodi Picoult's books and enjoyed them all. I have several of hers on my bookshelf to read too.

"I've thought about reading 'Unbroken' because I've heard so much good about it."

I highly, highly, highly recommend Unbroken. I didn't want to see the movie after I'd read the book (partly because I'm not an Angelina Jolie fan and I just could not imagine her being a good director for this movie). But, hubs and I saw the movie (he'd already read the book, too), and both of us were very disappointed with the movie. There is so much more to the book. It is almost unfathomable that a man could go through so much and come out of it not only alive, but with the outlook on life that he had.

I read A Man Called Ove on my Kindle shortly after it first became available, and loved it! [Just checked my orders on Amazon, and saw that I purchased A Man Called Ove on 20 March 2015. The Kindle price at that time was $1.99, and there was some sort of promotional credit on my account, so I got it for free! The Kindle price is now $11.99 -- and worth it!]

Casey, I rarely read a book after I've seen the movie, but I don't watch many movies, either. And I never EVER watch a movie after I've read the book! ! ! Did that once or twice many years ago, and was very disappointed! I have a vey vivid imagination, and as I read, I have very clear pictures in my mind of the characters, everything about it. Movies never depict things as I've pictured them, and they always seem to change things, too. Movies never live up to the book in my mind. I feel books feed my imagination, movies dumb it down.

Lindsey, I saw a program on TV about Angelina Jolie directing "Unbroken", (don't remember what the program was), and I thought it looked like she did a fairly good job. But, there is no way the movie could be true to the book and have a rating of PG-13, if I understand ratings correctly! They would have had to omit or completely change so much of it. So much that is necessary to really be able to completely understand what that man went through! As you said, how he managed to not only survive, but with the outlook on life he had, is amazing!

I will be looking for "A Man Called Ove" on my next trip tot he library.

Rusty

I too think that any book is almost always better than the movie. One of the biggest gaps I recently saw between book and movie was Still Alice. I just loved the novel about the main character, Alice, who has early onset Alzheimer's Disease. I was disappointed in the movie that only showed the bare bones of the novel. Perhaps someone seeing the movie without having read the book first would appreciate it more. IMDB.com gave the movie 7.5/10 and Amazon gives the book 4.5/5 stars. Format makes a difference to me too. A man called Ove is one of my favorite novels but when I tried to listen to the audio format, it wasn't as satisfying. The voices I had mentally given the characters didn't match the narration.

There are times, often with non-fiction books, that I get the sense that the author does the research, finishes writing and then finds out the publisher or literary agent thinks the book is too short. In such cases, the fix seems to be to prolong the tale by gluing fluff on at the end.

Unbroken was one such book for me. A good portion of the last part seemed to dawdle and not add much to the story. It was an interesting story overall, I simply thought the writing craftsmanship wasn't what it should be. I'll also say that things I learned from my own searching around after reading the book made me like the book and the story in it less.

I have always loved reading. I was not at all interested in getting a Kindle, but lo and behold my hubby got me one for Christmas several years ago (when the 2nd Generation Kindle was newly available). Since then, I always read on a Kindle (and now I have 4). My newest Kindle is the updated version of the Paperwhite (in white) which I received at the end of June 2016. When I am done reading a book, I move it into a "collection" which I have named Done Reading. As of yesterday, there are 123 books in the Done Reading collection on that Kindle, so that's how many books I've read since receiving that particular device.

Currently I'm reading Upstairs at the White House: My Life With the First Ladies by J.B. West, who is a former Chief Usher. I'm really enjoying it.

Stacey_Mb , I glad you mentioned Audio books. I do listen to audible and enjoy most books I hear. But I am really struggling with a Man called Ove. Glad to know it's just the presenter. It's good but missing....something.

Toni - My "reading" has been almost exclusively audiobooks since I began walking long distances for exercise. I have been considering posting book reviews on KT again, but I'm aware that the audiobooks that I experience won't necessarily translate into great reads in print. Very often for audiobooks, as you probably know, the narrator makes a big contribution. IMHO some books are best in print such as when I tried Little women in audio and decided this was better read.

I read about a book a week from the library. Sadly I don't keep a list like my husband does. A few times I've checked out a book only to read a paragraph and realize....whoops.

Every year I vow to read more. My problem is I don't have time to read during the day and if I try to read at night, I fall asleep. I only read non fiction. Tried to force myself to read fiction but it doesn't hold my interest. I have 2 books here that I want to read....American Sniper and Lone Survivor. However I will say that when Stacy describes a book she has read, they always sound so interesting. Reminds me of when I was taking care of Ken. He read all the time and would pick up a book and read it all the way through, hardly laying it down. I would get a book to read and not have time, so I would give it to him and say, " Read it and tell me about it."

marilyn, if helps, try to read one chapter a night. I have started out that way, and at the beginning, struggling to make it a habit, and by the end of it I was limiting myself to a chapter a night. Read whatever you want. Don't feel like you need to read highbrow stuff. Pure fluff can work Comfort me with Apples (Ruth Reichel), recipes included. I could read anything she writes. Her description of Paris... the pictures she painted. Oh my. I felt like I was there. I've never been except in my mind.

"However I will say that when Stacy describes a book she has read, they always sound so interesting." Thank you so much for your comment, Marilyn. That's one of the best compliments I have ever received.

I wonder how many comments it takes to get a thread closer to the beginning of KT? One must go through seven pages to find this one.

All it takes is one comment.

I have no idea how many books my DH and I have read in a year. We often read the same fiction. (I don't have *his* list.)

We are just finishing a LONG book we both had barely started when we were so sick at the end of 2016. The library here had it, so we picked up on the story. It's not new, and we'd seen the short TV series years ago: "Any Human Heart" by William Boyd.

I also thoroughly enjoyed "A Gentleman in Moscow" by Amor Towles.

I think these two make good 'bookends' of what makes a man -- the Russian retains character, despite inflicted adversity; the Englishman never develops his, despite opportunity. Deep vs. Shallow.

Dandyrandy, to find a thread sometimes the search box at the top of the forum can be helpful, but not always. Also if you cannot find something, just start a new thread, where is .....?. Someone here will find it for you.

I really enjoyed all the books by Lisa See. Listening to Maya Angelou on audiobook was fabulous! You could hear the words come alive with such thoughtful detail in her voice. I loved Mom & Me & Mom by Maya Angelou.

I read about two books a week. I started borrowing books for my Kindle from the library last April. It took me 9 months to get All the Light You Cannot See. I just put A Man Called Ove on hold and I am #52 of 2 copies. It will be awhile.

Sabbath I've read and enjoyed a lot of Lisa See's books too.

jkayd, I bought "A Man Called Ove" and it arrived two days ago. I just have to finish the one I am reading now.