Dec 29 2013

Books I’ve Read in 2013

Total Pages Read: 10,701
Shortest Book: 128 pages
Longest Book: 940 pages
Fiction: 13
Non-Fiction: 8
Cookbook: 9

Last Book Read:
31. Police by Jo Nesbø. Someone is killing police in and around Oslo at the site of their unsolved murders, but this time Detective Harry Hole isn’t around to help as he’s no longer a part of the police force. 436 pages. (Finished 29 Dec 13).

Past Lists:
2012 List
2011 List
2010 List
2009 List
2008 List
2007 List

  1. Fairy Tales From The Brother’s Grimm by Philip Pullman. A new English version of 50 of the Brother’s Grimm collection of Fairy Tales.  Includes some background and references to similar stories in other languages after each tale.  405 pages.  (Finished 5 Jan 12)
  2. Astray by Emma Donoghue.  A selection of short stories about people that have left their land/place of birth.  All of the stories are inspired by at least some part of historical record. (Whether its a sentence in a newspaper or a larger historical record.) 288 pages. (Finished 12 Jan 13).
  3. Detroit City is the Place to Be by Mark Binelli.  The story of the “rise” and mostly the fall of an American metropolis. 300 pages. (Finished 21 Jan 13).
  4. This Is How You Lose Her by Junot Díaz.  Stories of love, longing, and cheating.  At the heart of all of them is Yunior as a teenager, a college student, and an adult. 213 pages. (Finished 25 Jan 13).
  5. Joseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman Rushdie.  A memoir of Rushdie’s time in hiding as a result of the fatwa issued by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini. 636 pages.  (Finished 10 Mar 13).
  6. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. A newly divorced woman…still dealing with the recent death of her mother decides to hike a large portion of the PCT.  346 pages. (Finished 19 Mar 13).
  7. The Mozza Cookbook: Recipes from Los Angeles’ Favorite Italian Restaurant and Pizzeria by Nancy Silverton.  A Christmas present from 2011, I finally got around to doing more than just a quick skim through the book.  368 pages. (Finished 25 Mar 2013).
  8. Slam by Nick Hornby.  Sam is into skateboarding and not much else (though he does like making art at school).  His mom takes him to a party of a coworker where he meets Alicia and everything changes.  This is Hornby’s first novel specifically directed towards young adults.  309 pages. (Finished 3 Apr 2013).
  9. The Kimchi Chronicles by Marja Vongerichten. A KCRW cookbook club selection from last year that I finally got around to reading.  It is a companion piece to the television show of the same name on PBS.  As you might guess its about Korean food (with her husband Jean-Georges French influnences in some recipies, as well as her American influences (she mainly grew up in the US).  272 pages. (Finished 5 Apr 2013).
  10. The Jaguar Smile: A Nicaraguan Journey by Salman Rushdie.  In the summer of 1986, Salman visits Nicaragua.  At the time the Sandinistas are in power after a revolution had overthrown a brutal dictator.  Because of left leaning policies (and friendly diplomatic relations with the USSR and Cuba), the Reagan administration wasn’t a big fan and supported/created a counter-revolutionary force (The Contras).  Not originally intending to write about it, he came home with such an experience that he felt he had to.  171 pages. (Finished 12 Apr 2013).
  11. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. A young adult is sent by his family from Prague to the USA just before WW2 clamps down on the Jews of Prague. He ends up sharing a room with his comic book obsessed cousin and the soon create their own character and place in comic book history.  The book covers their rise and fall in both career and life.  636 pages. (Finished 6 May 13).
  12. Sweet Tooth by Ian McEwan.  Set in the early 70s, MI5 wants to influence the culture by sponsoring writers who’s views align with the government.  To help the project along, they use a beautiful Cambridge student to approach the author.  A story of loving and losing. 301 pages. (Finished 17 May 13).
  13. Jam On: The Craft of Canning Fruit by Laena McCarthy.  A cookbook from the founder of Brooklyn’s Anarchy in a Jar.  Lots of jams, jellies, and other fruit preserves. 272 pages. (Finished 20 May 2013).
  14. Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories by Sherman Alexie. A collection of new and old short stories by Sherman Alexie. 465 pages. (Finished 22 Jun 2013).
  15. The Preservation Kitchen: The Craft of Making and Cooking with Pickles, Preserves, and Aigre-doux by Paul Virant. Lots of fun interesting recipes with some unusual ingredients.  304 pages. (Finished 1 Jul 2013).
  16. The America’s Test Kitchen d.i.y. cookbook:Can It, Cure It, Churn It, Brew It. by America’s Test Kitchen.  Recipes from the cooks of America’s Test Kitchen on how to make some things at home that you might normally buy at the store. 360 pages. (Finished 9 Jul 2013).
  17. Winter of the World by Ken Follett. Book two of the Century Trilogy. The book picks up just before the beginning of the second World War.  The five families are brought closer together and apart at the same time.  940 pages. (Finished 28 Jul 13).
  18. American Savage: Insights, Slights, and Fights on Faith, Sex, Love, and Politics by Dan Savage.  Collected essays on the above subjects. 301 pages. (Finished 7 Aug 13).
  19. Fine Preserving: M.F.K. Fisher’s Annotated Edition of Catherine Plagemann’s Cookbook by Catherine Plagemann & M.F.K. Fisher. Originally published in 1967, Plagemann’s cookbook is interesting enough. She uses food coloring in her recipes as Certo (artificial pectin).  Many of her recipes have been passed down from family sources (and most likely were not USDA tested).  M.F.K. Fisher on the other hand is absolutely aghast at the idea of using artificial pectins and actually seems to only really enjoy a few of the recipes in the book.  Her annotations are great fun nonetheless. 132 pages. (Finished 12 Aug 13).
  20. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver.  The story of a family’s quest to grow as much of their own food as possible and get the rest locally (within 120 miles). 400 pages. (Finished 9 Sep 13).
  21. The Skies Belong To Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking by Brendan I. Koerner.  The story of Roger Holder and Cathy Kerkow, a couple with ties to Coos Bay, OR, who at one time held the record for the longest distance successful hijack of an American plane.  Holder eventually returned to the US and faced charges (a plea deal) however Kerkow was never apprehended after disappearing from Paris in 1978. 336 pages. (Finished 13 Sep 13).
  22. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot.  The story behind one of the most used cell lines in medical research HeLa, the woman they came from, and her family. 362 pages. (Finished 24 Sep 13).
  23. The Adobo Road Cookbook: A Filipino Food Journey – From Food Blog, to Food Truck, and Beyond by Marvin Gapultos.  A KCRW Cookbook Club selection.  Recipies from his food blog and from his former food truck the Manilla Machine. 144 pages. (Finished 1 Oct 13).
  24. The Redeemer by Jo Nesbø.  The sixth book in the Harry Hole series. A Salvation Army worker is murdered during a public performance and Harry is on the case to unravel the mystery of who the killer is. 397 pages. (Finished 7 Oct 13).
  25. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Two teenagers fall in love, however conditions take them on separate paths.  One leaves Nigeria for America, the other ends up briefly in England.  Both eventually come back to Nigeria where they have to navigate the inbetween. 477 pages. (Finished 23 Oct 13).
  26. The Amish Cook’s Baking Book by Lovina Eicher & Kevin Williams. A book of baking by hand using simple tools and techniques. 224 pages. (Finished 28 Oct 13).
  27. What is the What by Dave Eggers.  The fictionalized autobiographical story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. This is the story as remembered and told by Valentino to Dave Eggers.  In it Valentino describes both his journey from Sudan to Ethiopia to Kenya and eventually the United States as well as his struggles adapting to life in the United States. 477 pages. (Finished 21 Nov 13).
  28. The Bat by Jo Nesbø. The first of the Harry Hole series. Harry is sent to Sydney to help investigate the murder of a minor Norwegian celebrity. You can tell its the first book in the series (it was just released in the US last year while later books in the series had already appeared) but I definitely see the promise in the character. 331 pages. (Finished 26 Nov 13).
  29. Ice Cream Sandwiches: 65 Recipes for Incredibly Cool Treats by Donna Egan. A bunch of recipes for ice cream sandwiches from a shop based in London. 128 pages. (Finished 2 Dec 13).
  30. Night Film by Marisha Pessl. A journalist becomes increasing obsessed by the mysterious death of an iconic, reclusive film maker. He stumbles further down the rabbit hole until he finally hits bottom and discovers the true story. 602 pages. (Finished 24 Dec 13).
  31. Police by Jo Nesbø. Someone is killing police in and around Oslo at the site of their unsolved murders, but this time Detective Harry Hole isn’t around to help as he’s no longer a part of the police force. 436 pages. (Finished 29 Dec 13).

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