Heather's Adventures in Lesotho

As some of you may remember, at the beginning of the year I published my “17 Before 2017″ list outlining the things I want to accomplish/do before I turn 40 at the end of 2017. The biggest item on my list that requires continual progress is reading 250 books – or 42 books per year. This has become quite the topic of conversation. Besides getting asked about how I’m doing, the other most frequently asked question is “Why 42 books?” Good question. I wanted to challenge myself to read more than I was previously, which I thought was about 2 books per month. Turns out, on further analysis, I was reading more like 1.5 books per month. 42 books also adds up nicely to just more than 250 books. It has been tough keeping up and sometimes I just want to read long articles on Instapaper but I feel the pressure to keep reading. Right now I only have 2 more books to finish before the end of the year. (Likely “Blue Nights” by Joan Didion and “Seriously … I’m Kidding” by Ellen Degeneres.) Here is the list of the books I read this year, in order of the ratings I gave it on Goodreads with random comments/reviews.

5 Stars:

• The Wisdom of Whores: Bureaucrats, Brothels and the Business of AIDS by Elizabeth Pisani (I don’t read much about AIDS because I generally read to be distracted from work, not think about it more. This was worth reading.)
• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. (Sob.)
• Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristoff and Cheryl WuDunn (Eye opening and motivating.)
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand (You can tell that a TON of research went into this, but it’s all woven together into a coherent and engaging story. I tell people about this book all the time.)
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Another book I tell people about all the time.)
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. (Fun, blast to the past.)
• Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall (Really interesting read, even for non-runners. Bought a pair of “barefoot technology” shoes after reading this and LOVE them.)
• The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer (Sob. Epic.)
• Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt (Brilliant YA book that’s not just for kids. Sob.)

4 Stars

• The Giver by Lois Lowry (How did I not read this as a kid?)
• Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann
• Faithful Place by Tana French (Have read all of her books. I love a good mystery/detective story.)
• Mrs. Kimble, The Condition and Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh (Becoming a big fan of hers.)
• The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson
• One Day by David Nicholls (The ending helped win the whole book over for me.)
• Bossypants by Tina Fey
• In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson (Also a big fan of his. Fascinating.)
• The Informationist by Taylor Stevens
• Austenland by Shannon Hale
• Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty by Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo
• Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson
• The Most Dangerous Thing by Laura Lippmann (Will be reading more of her work next year.)

3 Stars

• Saturday is for Funerals by Unity Dow (Book about AIDS in Botswana.)
• The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follet (Meh.)
• Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
• The Nearest Exit by Olen Steinhauer
• Alone by Lisa Gardner
• Lonely Planet Morocco (Yes, this counts. I read basically the entire book as part of trip preparation.)
• Case Histories by Kate Atkinson (This was only okay. I’m trying another of her books as I’ve heard good things about her in general.)
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan (Did NOT turn me into a vegetarian.)
• The Bang-Bang Club: Snapshots from a Hidden War by Greg Marinovich (Better than the movie as it dealt more with the boundaries between when a photographer should get involved or not.)
• Why He Didn’t Call You Back: 1,000 Guys Reveal What They Really Thought About You After the First Date by Rachel Greenwald (Yes, I read a book about dating.)
• Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
• Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach (Fun. Great for listening to on a long car ride with mixed interests.)
• The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling