The Top Ten Best Parts of my 40th Birthday

Let me say right off the bat that I've been thinking about my 40th birthday for years. Because of the pandemic of COVID-19, all of my plans went out the window, and I had to adjust my expectations.
But thanks to some lovely, caring, crafty, clever, amazing people in my life, it was one of my best birthdays ever!

Top Ten Best Things about My 40th Birthday

10. No work

Don't get me wrong, I've enjoyed working from home during the pandemic. But working from home kind of leads to feeling like you're on the clock 24/7. Having a true break like this was a wonderful gift.  But also, I had no time in my day available to have done work. I was totally planning on checking email and touching base on a couple of projects, but I when I wasn't with my friends or family, I had a full-time job of keeping up with Facebook wall posts, Instagram stories and Marco Polos from friends and family. Oh and my cousin Sarah mailed me a card that included 40 memories she had of me. Some I remembered well, some not so well, but most of them made me laugh and made me love Sarah for sending them.

9. 40 balloons

I've always wanted my own set of these giant number balloons for years.  They make great photo props, and 40 has been such a big-deal number to me for a long time that I'm glad I got to take photos like this one.

8.  All my favorite foods

My day started with Chic-Fil-A breakfast delivered by my dad and finished with a family dinner with all of my favorites: hamburgers on the grill, my dad's pasta salad, company potatoes, fruit salad and salted caramel cake. For lunch, see #5

7. Rainbow week and custom shirts

It just so happened that my birthday fell during a theme week at the gym that I loved: Rainbow week! A different ROY G. BIV shirt each day led up to a collage of sweaty selfies at the end of the week. But also! I had been planning to have a custom shirt made that I could wear for my 40th, and my friend Michelle came through with not one, but three custom shirts! (the green, blue and purple shirts from the sweaty selfie collage below) I love them so much I've already worn the blue (Aloha Forty) and purple (I make forty look good) ones twice each, and it's only been a couple of days since my birthday.

6. A #Fitby40 Video 

A big part of this particular birthday is that I have been long been working under the mantra #fitby40 (and have lost 120-ish pounds in 18 months!). When I signed my contract at Burn, it was going to take me to my 40th birthday. It seemed like a sign, so I took it and it has transformed me both inside and out. Emily, a trainer at Burn, made a montage video of all the pictures and videos she's taken of me at the gym. It was really special to see the physical transition of me getting stronger and leaner, pic by pic.

5. A Taste of Millstone

The fact that this is rated number five is a testament to how awesome this birthday was, because a Taste of Millstone has been a dream of mine for awhile. Ordering all of my favorite pizzas and having a slice or two of each?? I never thought it would actually happen. But circumstances aligned, and my best friends and I each got a different personal pie (buffalo, sausage and goat, and the Zoe, respectively) and shared slices.

4. Fortune Feimster birthday wishes

My friend Judy texted me a personal video from comedian Fortune Feimster. It was so nice of Fortune to take the time to make it for me, and she specifically called out that we're both 1980 babies and that I have lost 100 pounds. Plus, this officially means I'm only one degree from Mindy Kaling now.

3. Video from Co-workers

I woke up to an email from a co-worker with a video they had compiled for me featuring classic Office birthday clips and wishes from each person that brilliantly showcased their personalities.  Knowing that they all filmed their videos not knowing what other people were doing, and still came together so perfectly added to it.  I was so touched. (I can't figure out how to embed it) so here's a couple of screen shots...)

2. Decorations and posters

Maybe you think this one is is so simple that it shouldn't be rated so highly.  But let me tell you, I had not one, but two, pairs of friends come to decorate the front of my house. I came outside as soon as I woke up just to see if anyone had and that's when I saw streamers, balloons, pinwheels and a beautiful Fabulous & 40 sign from Michelle and Becca.  I went back inside to workout and came out a second time to go for a walk and found memes and drawings from Jen and Glenda.

Plus, I got so many beautiful and thoughtful posters during the parade (#1 below!),  and they've been decorating my house ever since!

1. Personal birthday parade!
THE MAJOR HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY!

Unbeknownst to me, my friends conspired to throw me a surprise birthday parade. It consisted of 26 decorated cars (and more than 35 people!) cruising the block honking and yelling happy birthday to me and throwing me goodies and presents. I was so, so touched. I cried the whole time.

I thought that quarantine meant that my birthday would be a smaller, quiet affair, but to have so many people show up for me was just unbelievable.  And I really loved how it was a mix of people from so many of my different friend groups: Burn, book club, old friends, family and coworkers.  I guess it was maybe a simple thing to them, to come drive around the block (although there were several people who came from all the way from Charlotte) and maybe make a poster or two, but it meant so much to me.  And afterwards, my Burn sisters jumped out to do birthday burpees with me on the curb outside my house.

I feel like I keep saying "it was so special" or "I was so touched" over and over when describing my birthday or particular parts of it. I feel like words are failing me as I try to capture just how amazing my birthday was.  It was so much better than I could've imagined or planned myself.  It's just nice to be thought of, you know?

Here's to the next 40 years!

Books of 2019

1. Stop Starting Over: Transform Your Fitness by Mastering Your Psychology by Devan Kline (NF)
2. A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor

3. Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

4. Still Lives by Maria Hummel
5. The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
6. Happiness: The Crooked Little Road to Semi-Ever After by Heather Harpham
7. All We Ever Wanted by Emily Giffin
8. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
9. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
10.The Library Book by Susan Orlean (NF)
11.Unscripted by Claire Handscombe
12.Archenemies by Marissa Meyer (YA)
13.I Might Regret This: Essays, Drawings, Vulnerabilities and Other Stuff by Abbi Jacobson (memoir-ish)
14.The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (YA)
15.My Life as a Goddess: A Memoir through (Un)Popular Culture by Guy Branum (memoir)
16.Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills (YA)
17.This Adventure Ends by Emma Mills (YA)
18.Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
19.Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
20.Five Presidents: My Extraordinary Journey with Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Ford by Clint Hill (NF)
21.An Unconditional Freedom by Alyssa Cole
22.Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
23.Less by Andrew Sean Greer
24.First & Then by Emma Mills (YA)
25.1st to Die by James Patterson
26.Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
27.Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
28.Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson
29.The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
30.Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills
31.If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
32.The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
33. The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
34.Sisters First: Stories from Our Wild and Wonderful Life: Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Bush (memoir)
35.The Huntress by Kate Quinn
36.Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West (Memoir)
37.Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
38.The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
39.Any Man by Amber Tamblyn
40.Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman
41.The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth
42.The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle
43.Kissing Ted Callahan by Amy Spalding (YA)
44.Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham (YA)
45.The Clockmaker’s Daughter by Kate Morton
46.The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
47.On the Come Up by Angie Thomas (YA)
48.The Ghost in the Electric Blue Suit by Graham Joyce
49.There There by Tommy Orange
50.City of Girls by Elizabeth Gillbert
51.Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
52.Heartburn by Nora Ephron
53.No Hard Feelings: Emotions at Work by Liz Fosslien (NF)
54.Hey Ladies! The Story of 8 Best Friends, 1 Year and Way, Way Too Many Emails by Michelle Markowitz
55.Scarlett Undercover by Jennifer Latham (YA)
56.The Memory Trees by Kali Wallace
57.The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker
58.The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
59.The Clay Lion by Amalie Jahn (YA)
60.Evie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes
61.The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda
62.Sherwood by Meagan Spooner (YA)
63.In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
64.The Party by Robyn Harding
65.The First Mistake by Sandie Jones
66.The River by Peter Heller
67.Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
68.Lock Every Door by Riley Sager
69.A Nearly Normal Family by M.T. Edvardsson
70.The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory
71.The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
72.The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine
73.The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
74.Three Sisters by Susan Mallery
75.Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
76.The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
77.Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
78.Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love by Jonathan Van Ness (memoir)
79.When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton
80.An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena
81.Christmas Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
82.The Institute by Stephen King
83.Supernova by Marissa Meyer
84.Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
85.The Cactus by Sarah Haywood
86.The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
87.Star-Crossed by Minnie Darke
88.The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
89.Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
90.Final Girls by Riley Sager
91.One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
92.Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell (YA)
93.Stillwater by Nicole Helget
94.Conviction by Denise Mina
95.Not the Girl You Marry by Andie Christopher
96.The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
97.Legacy (YA) by Shannon Messenger
98.Wires and Nerve by Marissa Meyer (YA)
99.Gone Rogue by Marissa Meyer (YA)
100. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
101. My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul (Memoir)

According to GoodReads, that’s 35,727 pages.

Honestly, it was not a fantastic year of reading. A lot of just okay books. So, the above list is a lot to wade through, let me boil it down to my top 10 favorite books for you (in no particular order):
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey (best rom com in a long time!)
Lock Every Door by Riley Sager (tied with Turn of the Key for best thrillers!)
Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware
Giver of the Stars by Jojo Moyes
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
Five Presidents by Clint Hill (Best non-fiction)
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham (YA)

If you’re a reader and want more regular recommendations on what books I’m enjoying, sign up for my book newsletter at www.tinyletter.com/booknerd and once a month you’ll get an email from me with a few sentences on each of the books I read the previous month.

Books of 2018

 Books of 2018

1. Invictus by Ryan Graudin
2. Imagine Wanting Only This by Kristen Radtke
3. When I was the Greatest by Jason Reynolds
4. The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy
5. Lincoln in the Bardo by George
6. Tell Me How it Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions by Valeria Luiselli
7. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
8. City of Thieves by David Benioff
9. Stop! by Alison Bailey
10. Present Perfect by Alison Bailey
11. The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn
12. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
13. Come to the Edge by Christina Haag
14. 1222 by Anne Holt
15. Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson
16. Armada by Ernest Cline
17. You are Here: An Owner's Manual for Dangerous Minds by Jenny Lawson
18. The Map to Everywhere by Carrie Ryan (YA)
19. Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love and Writing by Jennifer Weiner (memoir)
20. Reading People: How Seeing the World through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything by Anne Bogel
21. I'd Rather Be Reading: A Library of Art for Book Lovers by Guinevere de la Mare
22. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
23. Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
24. In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It by Lauren Graham
25. The All of It by Jeannette Haien
26. Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger (YA)
27. A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes 1) by Brittany Cavallaro (YA)
28. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
29. Exhile (Keeper of the Lost Cities 2) by Shannon Messenger (YA)
30. The Man in the High Castle by Phillip Dick
31. Everblaze (Keeper of the Lost Cities 3) by Shannon Messenger (YA)
32. The Last of August (Charlotte Holmes 2) by Brittany Cavallaro (YA)
33. Neverseen (Keeper of the Lost Cities 4) by Shannon Messenger (YA)
34. Baker's Magic by Diane Zahler (YA)
35. Lodestar (Keeper of the Lost Cities 5) by Shannon Messenger (YA)
36. Nightfall (Keeper of the Lost Cities 6) by Shannon Messenger (YA)
37. This is Me: Loving the Person You are Today by Chrissy Metz (Memoir)
38. Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki (YA)
39. So Close to Being the Sh*t, Ya'll Don't Even Know by Retta (memoir)
40. The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
41. Love and First Sight by Josh Sundquist (YA)
42. Good Harbor by Anita Diamant
43. The Awkward Path to Getting Lucky by Summer Heacock
44. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
45. Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
46. The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
47. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
48. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (YA)
49. Sorta Like a Rock Star by Matthew Quick (YA)
50. Are You There God? It's Me Margaret by Judy Blume
51. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
52. Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
53. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
54. The Favorite Sister by Jessica Knoll
55. The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson
56. An Extraordinary Union (The Loyal League 1) by Alyssa Cole
57. A Hope Divided (The Loyal League 2) by Alyssa Cole
58. The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish (Memoir)
59. The Reece Malcolm List by Amy Spalding (YA)
60. Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu (YA)
61. We Should All be Feminists by Ngozi Chimamanda Adichie
62. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley
63. The High Season by Judy Blundell
64. The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
65. I'll Have What She's Having: How Nora Ephron's Three Iconic Films Saved the Romantic Comedy by Erin Carlson
66. Meant to be Broken by Brandy Woods Snow
67. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang
68. The Power by Naomi Alderman
69. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
70. The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spading
71. Roomies by Christina Lauren
72. The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr (YA)
73. Nine Women, One Dress by Jane Rosen
74. But What if We're Wrong? Thinking About the Past As if it Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman
75. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert (YA)
76. Summerland by Michael Chabon (YA)
77. The Blue Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee by Carolyn Brown
78. Whiskey in a Teacup by Reese Witherspoon
79. Circe by Madeline Miller (YA)
80. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
81. Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be by Rachel Hollis (Memoir)
82. This Will Only Hurt A Little by Busy Phillips (Memoir)
83. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
84. Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian
85. Lethal White (Cormoran Strike 4) by Robert Galbraith
86. The Winters by Lisa Gabriele
87. The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak (YA)
88. This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
89. Birds of America by Lorrie Moore
90. Marilla of Green Gables by Sarah McCory
91. The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
92. My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg
93. The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory
94. G'morning, Night! Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda
95. Dumplin' by Julie Murphy (YA)
96. Flashback (Keeper of the Lost Cities 7) by Shannon Messenger (YA)
97. We are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby (Memoir)
98. The Atlas of Love by Laurie Frankel
99. The Case for Jamie (Charlotte Holmes 3) by Brittany Cavallaro (YA)
100. Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel
101. Puddin' by Julie Murphy (YA)
102. From Time to Time by Jack Finney
103. Becoming by Michelle Obama (Memoir)
104. The Other Woman by Sandie Jones
105. Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy (YA)
106. One Day in December by Josie Silver
107. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandela
108. Side Affects May Vary by Julie Murphy (YA)
109. Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman

According to GoodReads, that’s 36,532 pages across the 109 books.

Below are some listings of my favorite books from the year. If you’re a reader and want recommendations on what books I’m enjoying, sign up for my book newsletter at www.tinyletter.com/booknerd and once a month you’ll get an email from me with a few sentences on each of the books I read the previous month.

Best Fiction Books
The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
This is How it Always is by Laurie Frankel
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Best Memoirs
So Close to Being the Sh*t Ya'll Don't Even Know by Retta
Becoming by Michelle Obama

Best YA Books
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green
Dumplin' by Julie Murphy
Puddin' by Julie Murphy

Best Romance/Rom Com Books
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillroy
One Day in December by Josie Silver

Sallie

My grandma died last Wednesday. I knew this was coming and yet I still feel so sad to have lost her.  Great sobs escaped me as my parents told me the news and discussed their plans for the next week or so.

I was struck by how selfish it was to be sad.  She had been ready to die for three years at least, since she had a stroke that stole her good health from her. Maybe more, since my grandpa died 10 years ago, and she often wondered why she was left behind without him.

At her 90th birthday party

I was able to visit her two weeks ago, during some of the last good days she had.  During the 48 hours I spent with her she told me over and over how beautiful I was, and how happy she was that I had come to visit. It was, honestly, a little awkward for a girl who doesn't know how to accept compliments, but her joy at my presence made me immensely glad to have made the journey. I will treasure that weekend for a long time.

They posted her obituary today. While it's probably more fulsome than the average obit, it doesn't paint a picture of the grandma I want to remember. My grandma made me feel special. I'm one of four children and one of 12 grandchildren, but my grandma saw me.

As a kid, I stayed with her on my own for several weeks each summer.  Together we would walk to the library a couple of times of week, because we both liked to read. My cousins came over, and she would treat us with a walk to the Homewood Grill, a magical place that served soft serve ice cream and hot dogs -- my two favorite foods.

Just weeks after her stroke. She
told me "Don't ever turn 96. It's
all downhill after 96"

When I became an adult, she was an avid reader of this blog and a fan of my Facebook page.  She couldn't figure out how to leave a comment on the blog, but she would tell my mom how proud she was of me for the work I put into losing weight, and she would call me and tell me the same occasionally.  But she never made me feel bad for being overweight in the first place. Even after I regained the weight, I kept trying to lose it because I knew how happy it would make her.  She joined Facebook when she was 92 and commented "like" on all of my posts for the next four years until she had her stroke and had to move into a nursing home.

Touring her garden

I only ever knew her as an old lady, and I wish I had spent more time getting to know her impressions of life as a young woman.  On my last visit, I was desperate to find out how she fell in love with my grandpa. She could recall the circumstances with vivid detail (he was a boarder at the home of one her sorority sisters in college), but she couldn't articulate the feelings (or maybe I wasn't articulating the point of my questions well enough).

The year I was born, my parents moved our family from our homeland of Illinois to the South.  The rest of my life has been spent making annual or bi-annual visits home where we stayed with Grandma.  She was an amazing hostess who had a magic plate (later Tupperware) that was always full of cookies.  No matter how many cookies we ate in a day, the next morning the plate would be full again.  It's a phenomena I've only ever experienced at Grandma's.

With her only daughter, my mama

She was an avid golfer and lamented, that last weekend I spent with her, that she had never gotten a hole in one.  She helped my grandpa run the family business, Johnson and Sons Funeral Home.  She was an active member of more than the average amount of civic and church and social groups.  Everybody liked Sallie, and if you tried to call her on a weekday during her 70s, 80s or early 90s, you wouldn't catch her because the was out socializing.

I know only the bare bones of her life, where she lived, what her parents were like, what she did for fun as a kid, when she married and when she had babies. I'm lucky enough to have several things of hers in my own home, that make me think of her fondly. Every June when my day lilies bloom, I will think of her garden, where these same blooms originated (day lilies are very hardy and easy to transplant, I've learned from her).

I am lucky to have known her. I am glad she is no longer in pain. I just wish it didn't hurt so much for her to be gone.

Books of 2017

1. Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
2. The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
3. Talking as Fast as I can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham (memoir)
4. House of Thieves by Kaui Hart Hemmings
5. The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer
6. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (re-read)
7. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (YA)
8. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick (memoir)
9. Introvert Doodles: An Illustrated Collection of Life's Awkward Moments by Maureen Wilson
10. Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen
11. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (re-read)
12. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (YA)
13. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Tevor Noah (memoir)
14. Younger by Pamela Satran
15. Heartless by Marissa Meyer (YA)
16. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner (re-read)
17. My Not so Perfect Life by Sophia Kinsella
18. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
19. The Wonder Trail: True Stories from Los Angeles to the End of the World by Steve Hely (memoir)
20. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (re-read)
21. Spare Parts: Four Undocumented Teenagers, One Ugly Robot, and the Battle for the American Dream by Joshua Davis (memoir)
22. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
23. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
24. This is Just My Face: Try Not to Stare by Gabourey Sidibe (memoir)
25. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed (memoir)
26. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
27. The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher (memoir)
28. You're Never Weird on the Internet by Felicia Day (memoir)
29. The People We Hate at the Wedding by Grant Ginder
30. Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
31. The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
32. The Nest by Cynthia Sweeny
33. Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date by Katie Heaney (memoir)
34. Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz (YA)
35. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (re-read)
36. This Lullaby by Sarah Design
37. What I Was Doing While You were Breeding by Kristin Newman (memoir)
38. Dear Emma by Katie Heaney
39. A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
40. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
41. Torch by Cheryl Strayed
42. A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab
43. Accidental Saints: Finding God in all the Wrong People by Nadia Bolz-Weber (memoir)
44. A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab
45. The Answers by Catherine Lacey
46. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
47. Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song (memoir)
48. Hyberbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping mechanisms, Mayhem and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh (re-read)
49. Fitness Junkie by Lucy Sykes
50. Vicious by V.E. Schwa
51. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
52. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance: A Memoir by Elna Baker (memoir, re-read)
53. Chemistry by Weikle Wang
54. Head Scratchers; When the Words of Jesus Don't Make Sense by Talbot Davis
55. Desert Places by Blake Crouch
56. The Almost Sisters by Joshilyn Jackson
57. What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons
58. The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
59. Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
60. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green (YA)
61. Goodbye Vitamin by Rachel Khong (YA)
62. Elsewhere by Gabrielle Kevin
63. Carry This Book by Abbi Jacobson
64. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
65. The Opposite of Everyone by Joshilyn Jackson
66. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
67. Artemis by Andy Weir
68. Camino Island by John Grisham (audiobook)
69. Uncommon Type: Some Stories by Tom Hanks (Short stories)
70. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling (re-read, audiobook)
71. Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
72. A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
73. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
74. Saints for All Occasions by Courtney J. Sullivan
75. Rich People Problems by Kevin Kwan
76. Far From the Tree by Robin Benway (YA)
77. Renegades by Marissa Meyer (YA)
78. Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson
79. Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (YA, audiobook)
80. The Other Einstein by Marie Benedict
81. When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (YA)
82. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (YA, audiobook)
83. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (YA)

Books of 2016

 Books of 2016

Last day of the year brings the traditional Books of the Year list. A * denotes a re-read. YA is also noted. Recommendations are at the end.

Here we go:

1. The Royal We by Heather Cocks

2. Career of Evil (Cormoran Strike #3) by Robert Galbraith

3. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

4. The Here and Now by Ann Brashares YA

5. Sick in the Head: Conversations about Life and Comedy by Judd Apatow

6. In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume

7. Lost & Found by Brook Davis YA

8. Year of Yes: How to Dance it Out, Stand in the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rimes

9. The Collected Stories of Katherine Mansfield

10. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

11. My Man Jeeves by PG Wodehouse

12. Mr. Kiss and Tell (Veronica Mars #2) by Rob Thomas

13. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

14. How to Be Single by Liz Tuccillo

15. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews YA

16. Wherever There is Light by Peter Golden

17. Spoiled by Heather Cocks YA

18. Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller*

19. The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next, #1) by Jasper Fforde

20. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant

21. Hamilton: The Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda

22. Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker Palmer

23. Girl Walks into a Bar...:Comedy, Calamities, Dating Disasters, and a Midlife Miracle by Rachel Dratch

24. I Work at a Public Library: A Collection of Crazy Stories from the Stacks by Gina Sheridan

25. Carry On by Rainbow Rowell YA

26. The Grownup by Gillian Flynn

27. Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

28. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng YA

29. Stars Above (the Lunar Chronicles, #4.5) by Marissa Meyer

30. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

31. A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

32. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

33. Seinfeldia: How a Show about Nothing Changed Everything by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

34. Texts from Jane Eyre: and Other Conversations with Your Favorite Literary Characters by Mallory Ortberg

35. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two by John Tiffany

36. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Mass YA

37. Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Mass YA

38. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman YA

39. Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

40. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick

41. Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss* (audiobook)

42. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

43. A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman

44. Heir of Fire (Throne of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Mass YA

45. Britt-Marie was Here by Fredrick Backman

46. All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister

47. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrick Backman

48. Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss* (audiobook)

49. Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

50. The Bassoon King: My Life in Art, Faith and Idiocy by Rainn Wilson

51. Life Moves Pretty Fast: the Lessons We Learned from Eighties Movies by Hadley Freeman

52. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

53. The Cove by Ron Rash

54. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman (audiobook)

55. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

56. Around the World in 80 Days (audiobook) YA

57. The Admissions by Meg Mitchell Moore

Best Memoir, depending on what you are into: Girl Walks into a Bar... , The Astronaut’s Guide To Life on Earth, Under the Tuscan Sun, I Work at a Public Library, Year of Yes

Best Non-Fiction: Hamilton: The Revolution, Life Moves Pretty Fast, All the Single Ladies

Best Fiction: The Boston Girl, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore,

Books of 2015

1. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess of the Bride by Cary Elwes

2. The Midwife: A Memoir of Birth, Joy and Hard Times by Jennifer Worth

3. Ruin and Rising (The Grisha #3) by Leigh Bardugo

4. The Monster in the Hallows (The Wingfeather Saga#3) by Andrew Peterson

5. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

6. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

7. Still Alice by Lisa Genova

8. The Warden and the Wolf King (The Wingfeather Saga #4) by Andrew Peterson

9. Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris

10. The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1) by Michael Scott

11. The Storied LIfe of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

12. Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure by Larry Smith

13. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

14. The Magician (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #2) by Michael Scott

15. Big LIttle LIes by Liane Moriarty

16. A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O’Conner

17. The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

18. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

19. The Sorcess (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #3) by Michael Scott

20. Serena by Ron Rash

21. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

22. The Martian by Andy Weir

23. Unabrow: Misadventures of a Late Bloomer by Una LaMarche

24. The Ncromancer (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #4) by Michael Scott

25. The Warlock (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #5) by Michael Scott

26. Very Good Lives: The Fringe Benefits of Failure and the Importance of Imagination by J.K. Rowling

27. The Opposite of Lonliness: Essays and Stories by Marina Keegan

28. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns

29. The Enchantress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #6) by Michael Scott

30. Landline by Rainbow Rowell

31. Boy: Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl

32. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

33. Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography by Neil Patrick Harris

34. The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty

35. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

36. Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

37. Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2) by Marissa Meyer

38. Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer

39. Fairest (The Lunar Chronicles #3.5) by Marissa Meyer

40. Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking The Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving my Neighbor by Jana Riess

41. Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver

42. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

43. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

44. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

45. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

46. The Dinner by Herman Koch

47. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

48. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

49. Pandemonium (Delirium #2) by Lauren Oliver

50. Samantha Green and the Case of the Haunted Pumpkin by Christy Allen

51. Spinster: Making a Life of One’s Own by Kate Bolick

52. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

53. The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

54. Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

55. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan

56. The Amber Room by Steve Berry

57. Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver

58. In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad #1) by Tana French

59. The Likeness (Dublin Murder Squad #2) by Tana French

60. Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller

61. Shopaholic to the Rescue (Shopaholic #8)

62. Who Do You Love by Jennifer Weiner

63. How I Became a Famous Novelist by Steve Hely

64. Faithful Place (Dublin Murder Squad #3) by Tana French

65. Broken Harbour (Dublin Murder Squad #4) by Tana French

66. Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari

67. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

68. Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

69. Rules for a Knight by Ethan Hawke

70. St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell

71. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

72. Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

73. Do Over: Rescue Monday, Reinvent Your Work and Never Get Stuck by Jon Acuff

74. Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella

75. Jim the Boy by Tony Earley