A look back at 2015

The older I get, the older my kids get, the fewer books I read.

Consider it a function of work, their multiple activities, and the need for sleep. 

When most people were in their "summer reading" frenzy, I was mourning the death of my father.  I couldn't function for months.

This year I managed 42.  

Once again, I followed a "bingo" reading format -- this doesn't not include all 42 books, but the books I finished from my bingo "card." 

Here is the breakdown:

A book from the library: Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins

A book borrowed from a friend: The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison

A book by a British author:  Frenchman's Creek by Daphne duMaurier

A book club book:  The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

A book with a proper name in the title:  Serena by Ron Rash

A book about women's issues: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah (WWII women's resistance)

A book that makes you LOL!: Yes Please by Amy Poehler (which wasn't very funny after all)

A book with an African author and/or continent: Circling the Sun by Paula McLain\

A book by an author you've never read: Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 

A biography: Strapless by Deborah Davis (about John Singer Sargent and "Madame X")

An award winner: Bomb by Steve Sheinkin (Newbery Honor award)

A WWII historical fiction:  All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

An e-book: Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

A book about/with science:  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

A classic:  Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

A travel/exploration book:  Dead Wake by Erik Larson (about the sinking of the Lusitania)

A book set in Paris: A Star for Mrs. Blake by April Smith

A new juvenile fiction: Princess in Black by Shannon Hale

Squares I didn't complete:

A book with a Red cover

A book published the year you were born

A new YA book 

A religious book

A regency romance

A book by Anne Lamott

Missing the above makes me feel kinda silly. I mean, a book with a red cover or a YA book? How hard was that? Oh well. 

My ultimate favorite this year: All the Light We Cannot See

Looking forward to exploring the vast number of books on my shelf, as well as newly published books this year! 

Happy 2016 reading!