A while back my Peace Corps post received an adorable letter from an elementary student in Massachusetts asking the Volunteers various questions, among which laid this gem: “Do you ever have time to read?” When this was read aloud to the room, everyone chuckled. Do I have time to read? Son, that is just about all that I do. You’d be surprised how much you can read in a world without tv or internet.
So, for your viewing pleasure, I’ve compiled a list of the books I read during my service. Several of the titles are books I have read before, but simply re-read while here. Others are books I was assigned to read in school but never did. Many of the books are ones I’ve always wanted to read by never had the time. Some are titles I’d never heard of, but picked up on a whim. The genres are varied, but many authors repeat. I even read three complete series, though only two consecutively.
I took a little liberty with including the last title, as I am currently reading it, but anticipate its completion prior to my departure next week. Also, if you’re feeling lazy, I’ve whittled the list down to my favorite 10 titles, and that shorter list can be found first.
After you’ve perused the lists, feel free to ask me to review any of the books. Lord knows I’m full of opinions. Enjoy!
Top 10 List (in no particular order):
- The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
- A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey)
- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland on a Ship of Her Own Making (Catherynne M. Valente)
- The Time Travelor’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
- Columbine (Dave Cullen)
- The Bean Trees (Barbara Kingsolver)
- The Shack (William P. Young)
- The Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy)
- Island of the Colorblind (Oliver Sacks)
Complete Book List (June 2012- July 2014)
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Robert Luis Stevenson)
- The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
- Bossypants (Tina Fey)
- Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Ransom Riggs)
- Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton)
- The Time Machine (H.G. Wells)
- Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness (Alexandra Fuller)
- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Catherynne M. Valente)
- The Lover’s Dictionary (David Levithan)
- A Long Way Down (Nick Hornby)
- Devil In the White City (Erik Larson)
- My Horizontal Life: A Collect of One-Night Stands (Chelsea Handler)
- Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of WWII (Mitchell Zuckoff)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey)
- Heaven’s For Real (Todd Burpo)
- Bridge to Terrabithia (Katherine Patterson)
- To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
- The Art of Racing in the Rain (Garth Stein)
- Drown (Junot Diaz)
- Outliers (Malcom Gladwell)
- Hoot (Carl Hiaasen)
- The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
- 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny: Life Lessons from Teaching (Phillip Done)
- Next (Michael Critchon)
- To Sir, With Love (E.R. Braithwaite)
- The Reader (Bernard Schlink)
- The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
- Holes (Louis Sachar)
- The Thirteenth Tale (Diane Setterfield)
- Silver Linings Playbook (Matthew Quick)
- Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
- A Wrinkle in Time (Madeline L’Engle)
- My Korean Deli: Risking It All For a Convenience Store (Ben Ryder Howe)
- Annie Freeman’s Fabulous Traveling Funeral (Kris Radish)
- The Island of the Colorblind (Oliver Sacks)
- The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency (Alexander McCall Smith)
- Wrong About Japan (Peter Carey)
- The Sex Lives of Cannibals (J. Maarten Troost)
- The Runaway Jury (John Grisham)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (J.K. Rowling)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling)
- The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weiberger)
- Tears of the Giraffe (Alexander McCall Smith)
- Columbine (Dave Cullen)
- The Unheard: A Memoir of Deafness and Africa (Josh Swiller)
- Ape House (Sara Gruen)
- The Bean Trees (Barbara Kingsolver)
- Theodore Boone: The Abduction (John Grisham)
- We the Animals (Justin Torres)
- 11/22/63 (Stephen King)
- The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry (Jon Ronson)
- The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
- The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)
- The Titan’s Curse (Rick Riordan)
- The Battle of the Labyrinth (Rick Riordan)
- The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan)
- Surviving Paradise (Peter Rudiak-Gould)
- A is for Alibi (Sue Grafton)
- The Freedom Writers’ Diary (Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers)
- Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
- Pigs in Heaven (Barbara Kingsolver)
- Along Came a Spider (James Patterson)
- Good in Bed (Jennifer Weiner)
- A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
- The Shack (William P. Young)
- Orange is the New Black (Piper Kerman)
- Kiss the Girls (James Patterson)
- Wild (Cheryl Srayed)
- The Scarlet Pimpernel (Baroness Orczy)
- The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There (Cathrynne M. Valente)
- David and Goliath (Malcolm Gladwell)
- Ferenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
- Into Thin Air (Jon Karakauer)
- The Secret Garden (Franes Hodgson Burnett)
- Forrest Gump (Winston Groom)
- Romeo and Juliet (William Shakespeare)
- A Star Called Henry (Roddy Doyle)
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? And Other Concerns (Mindy Kaling)
- The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
- A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson)
- Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)
- The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern)
- The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
- Little Bee (Chris Cleave)
- Island of the Sequined Love Nun (Christopher Moore)
- Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
- 1984 (George Orwell)
- 12 Years a Slave (Solomon Northup)
- The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
- The Zookeeper’s Wife (Diane Ackerman)
- Teacher Man (Frank McCourt)
- The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two (Catherynne M. Valente)
- The Winner Stands Alone (Paulo Coelho)
- A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier (Ishmael Beah)
- Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim (David Sedaris)
- I Am the Messenger (Markus Zusak)
- Sun Flower and the Secret Fan (Lisa See)
- The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
- Ship Breaker (Paola Bacigalupi)
- Love Medicine (Louise Erdrich)
So many of the books above were wonderful to read; my top 10 list was a very difficult decision. And as excited as I am to go home, I realize I will no longer have enough time to read as much as I’ve become accustomed. But regardless, I see a library card in my future.
Happy reading!
--Christy
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