Dec 30 2017

Books I’ve Read in 2017…

Total Pages Read: 14,386
Shortest Book: 22 pages
Longest Book: 592 pages
Fiction: 36
Non-Fiction: 3
Cookbook: 6
Poetry: 7

Last Book Read:
52. 50 American Plays by Michael Dickman & Matthew Dickman.  My former classmates at the University of Oregon (and twin brothers) explore each of the fifty states with a short poem inspired by the format of a play.  110 pages. (Finished 30 Dec 2017).

Past Lists:

2016 List
2015 List
2014 List
2013 List
2012 List
2011 List
2010 List
2009 List
2008 List
2007 List

  1. The Father by Anton Svensson. (Made In Sweden #1) A string of bank robberies grip Sweden. Based on a true story, 3 brothers and a childhood friend rob ten banks in the 90’s. This is the story of them and the man that most influenced their lives, their father. 592 pages. (Finished 8 Jan 2017).
  2. milk and honey by rupi kaur. a collection of poems about love, loss, trauma, abuse, healing, and femininity. so touching and painful and joyful. 204 pages. (Finished 9 Jan 2017).
  3. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman. Britt-Marie has just left her husband and the only life she’s ever known. At the unemployment office she’s given a job that no one wants in a small village in the suburbs. 320 pages. (Finished 7 Feb 2017).
  4. The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky. Leah’s old boss and friend dies in a car accident and leaves her the car in her will. In a whirlwind trip for the funeral and to settle the estate, a series of events takes her on a path she couldn’t imagine. 208 pages. (Finished 11 Feb 2017).
  5. My Grandmother Sends Her Regards & Apologises by Fredrik Backman. Elsa is almost eight and her best friend is her Granny. They have created a secret world full of fairy tales and a secret language. When Granny dies of cancer, she sends Elsa on a treasure hunt that will be greatest fairy tale of them all. 368 pages. (Finished 24 Feb 2017).
  6. And Every Morning The Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman. Grandpa and Noah sit on a bench in a square that gets smaller and smaller each day. Backman’s novella explores an old man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories as his brain fails him. 76 pages. (Finished 25 Feb 2017).
  7. The New Nordic: Scandinavian Cuisine Through the Seasons by Simon Bajada. A gorgeous book that covers a range of dishes both more traditionally influenced and contemporary nordic cuisine. I can’t wait to make some of the things in this cookbook. 256 pages. (Finished 27 Feb 2017).
  8. Booked by Kwame Alexander. Nick is a star on his soccer team, almost thirteen, and about to ask out the girl of his dreams. Life is good because she also likes him. Then an announcement changes everything for him. A novel in verse. 320 pages. (Finished 28 Feb 2017).
  9. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander. Josh and Jordan are star players on their Junior High basketball team. Their dad is a former professional basketball player. The twins bind will be tested when one of them gets a girlfriend. A novel in verse. 240 pages. (Finished 4 Mar 2017).
  10. Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie. Rusdie spins a tale full of history, mythology, and love. The story of a great war between the forces of dark and light jinn. This is probably first Rushdie novel that just didn’t work for me. 304 pages. (Finished 14 Mar 2017).
  11. Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbø. Jon has betrayed his boss, one of Oslo’s biggest crime lords, and has run to one of Norway’s most isolated corners to try to escape. Will the midnight sun protect him or cause him to lose his sanity? 273 pages. (Finished 15 Mar 2017).
  12. Pok Pok: Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand by Andy Ricker. The stories are great, the recipes look great. However, they have a bunch of ingredients and take some planning to pull off. Probably not a cookbook I’d cook out of often. 304 pages. (Finished 17 Mar 2017).
  13. Home and Away: Writing the Beautiful Game by Karl Ove Knausgård and Fredrik Ekelund. Karl Ove (a Norwegian) lives in Sweden, likes 0-0 draws, and Argentina. Fredrik (a Swede) is in Brazil for during the World Cup, likes games that end 4-3, and Brazil. The two writers correspond about football and life during the 2014 World Cup. 432 pages. (Finished 24 Apr 17).
  14. The Man In the High Castle by Philip K. Dick. Since Germany and Japan won World War 2, America in the early sixties is a much different place. The west coast is part of Japan, while the east coast is part of Germany. Is there a way for America to escape the nightmare of this occupation? 274 pages. (Finished 8 May 2017).
  15. The Heart of Haiku by Jane Hirshfield. (Kindle Single) A little history about Bashō, who was a big part of the development of haiku in seventeenth century Japan. 29 pages. (Finished 10 May 2017).
  16. Stumptown, Vol 1 by Greg Rucka & Matthew Southworth. Dex is a talented P.I. but not a talented gambler. In order to clear her debt to the Wind Coast casino, she takes on a case to find the missing granddaughter of the tribe’s matriarch. 144 pages. (Finished 19 May 2017).
  17. Stumptown, Vol 2 by Greg Rucka & Matthew Southworth. Dex has her own office now and her first case is to find the prized guitar of a local rock star. 152 pages. (Finished 20 May 2017).
  18. Stumptown, Vol 3: The Case of the King of Clubs by Greg Rucka & Justin Greenwood. After the derby match between Portland & Seattle a Portland supporter is beaten and hospitalized. Dex needs to find the culprit before the rival supporters groups take action into their own hands. 144 pages. (Finished 21 May 2017).
  19. Stumptown, Vol 4: The Case of a Cup of Joe by Greg Rucka & Justin Greenwood. Dex gets a case to escort a package of highly sought after coffee beans. She never expected to be stepping into a world with eccentric billionaires and the Barista Mafia. 152 pages. (Finished 22 May 17).
  20. Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan. Guest workers make up ~80 of the population of the United Arab Emirates. They build the massive monuments to wealth, while having little in the way of rights, live in miserable conditions, and if they survive are forced to leave the country when they can no longer work. These stories tell their myths, struggles, desires, and success. 272 pages. (Finished 6 Jun 2017).
  21. The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #2) Two dead men wash up in a life raft on the shore. Just when Wallander thinks he’s done with the case, something happens that takes him to a country that makes no sense to him. 326 pages. (Finished 10 Jun 2017).
  22. The White Lioness by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #3) A Swedish housewife is murdered execution style without any apparent reason. While unraveling a motive, Wallander must also discover why a house exploded, and the owner of a finger found at the scene of the explosion. 440 pages. (Finished 17 Jun 2017).
  23. Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver. Yes they are essays…but many read like poems. Lovely as always. 178 pages. (Finished 11 Jul 2017).
  24. The Thirst (Harry Hole #11) by Jo Nesbø. Harry has retired from the police force and is now teaching at the Police Academy. A series of gruesome murders of women that had used Tinder, brings Harry back to help out Crime Squad find the killer. 467 pages. (Finished 18 Jul 2017).
  25. The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #4) Wallander is contemplating retiring from the force after not being able to come to terms with having killed a man in the line of duty a year prior. A surprise visit from an old friend…who is subsequently murdered…keeps him from signing his retirement papers and chasing an untouchable foe. 325 pages. (Finished 22 Jul 2017).
  26. Sidetracked by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #5) A teenage girl burns her self alive in a field, the a former Minister of Justice is brutally murdered and scalped. Somehow, Wallander must discover who is killing and scalping people and how the murders are connected to the suicide. 432 pages. (Finished 28 Jul 2017).
  27. Fiery Ferments by Kirsten & Christopher Shockey. A book about making spicy ferments, sauces, pastes, & kimchi. I won this from Food in Jars. 272 pages. (Finished 28 Jul 2017).
  28. Fermenting Vegetables by Kirsten & Christopher Shockey. After getting Fiery Ferments I decided I wanted to check out their first book. A good reference for ways to ferment and use a bunch of different vegetables. 368 pages.(Finished 28 Jul 2017).
  29. We’re All Damaged by Matthew Norman. Andy had the American dream, a good job, a good wife, and a home to call his own. Then his wife left him for a paramedic down the street, he ruined his best friend’s wedding and he moved to New York City to get away from his old Midwestern existence. Then he gets a call to come home to say goodbye to his dying Grandfather and he must confront the past he’s been avoiding. 284 pages. (Finished 31 Jul 2017).
  30. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. The United States has transformed to a monotheocracy called the Republic of Gilead. It is a place where women are property and must life by extreme puritanical means. Some of higher status are wives, some are used for breeding, some are just the help. A look at just how quickly things can change when no one stands up. 324 pages. (Finished 7 Aug 2017).
  31. The Fifth Woman by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #6). A new series of murders are happening and the only thing that seems to connect them is they were all brutal men. Wallander must figure out what connects them all so he can prevent more murders. 432 pages. (Finished 14 Aug 2017).
  32. One Step Behind by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #7). Three young people are missing…or maybe just traveling around Europe. Just as Wallander starts to wonder about what really happened to them, a colleague is murdered in his apartment. 440 pages. (Finished 16 Aug 2017).
  33. Firewall by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #8). Two teenage girls murder a taxi driver showing no remorse. Around the same time…an otherwise healthy man dies after checking his account balance at an ATM. When these two events become linked…Wallander must figure out how to navigate an increasingly high tech world…and prevent other people from being murdered. 404 pages. (Finished 24 Aug 2017).
  34. The Pyramid by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #9). Five short stories of a young Wallander before the events of Faceless Killers. We see Wallander on his first case as a detective and his first case after he moves to Ystad. 416 pages. (Finished 31 Aug 2017).
  35. An Event in Autumn by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #9.5). Wallander’s dream of finally buying a house in the country may just come true when Martinsson tells him about his wife’s cousins place for sale. Everything looks good at first glance until he gets a feeling to go back and look closer at a root he tripped over in the garden earlier. He discovers that it wasn’t a root, but a human hand and suddenly a new case to solve is dug up. 176 pages. (Finished 9 Sep 2017).
  36. The Troubled Man by Henning Mankell. (Kurt Wallander #10). When his granddaughters other grandfather goes missing, Kurt takes some time off to help figure out what has happened. The case gets stranger still when the grandmother also disappears. 385 pages. (Finished 13 Sep 2017).
  37. Before the Frost by Henning Mankell. (Linda Wallander #1). Linda Wallander has finished her studies at the Police Academy and is set to start in the same police department as her famous dad. While she waits for first day she reconnects with a few of her friends from her childhood. When one of them mysteriously disappears, she begins to snoop around for clues that keep getting her involved in the case her dad is working on. 391 pages. (Finished 26 Sep 2017).
  38. Solo by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess. Blade is 17, in love, and about to graduate from high school. He also happens to be the son of a famous rock star. Lately though his dad has been getting all the wrong attention. When Blade finds out a family secret it sends him on a trip for the truth. 320 pages. (Finished 27 Sep 2017)
  39. azhar by Isra Al-Thibeh. A collection of poetry and prose that explores the journey of life through the evolution of a seed. 176 pages. (Finished 2 Oct 2017).
  40. Beartown by Fredrik Backman. Beartown is a tiny community that is slowly disappearing into the forest. It is also a hockey town. On the verge of winning a big tournament that may bring fortune back to the town, something happens that will change the town forever. 432 pages. (Finished 7 Oct 2017).
  41. Sourdough by Robin Sloan. When Lois is gifted a sourdough culture by the strange brothers running the underground restaurant she is fond of, her life changes in ways she could never expect. 262 pages. (Finished 11 Oct 2017).
  42. Will It Waffle?: Bacon and Eggs to Mac ‘n’ Cheese, Bibimbap to Chocolate Chip Cookies — 53 Irresistible, Unexpected Recipes to Make in a Waffle Iron by Daniel Shumski. Lots of fun things in this book, but be wary some of them are messy. 208 pages. (Finished 19 Oct 2017).
  43. Gentlemen of the Road: A Tale of Adventure by Michael Chabon. Set in the Caucause Mountains around 950 AD, a Jewish physician and an ex-soldier end up falling into a quest that even they couldn’t imagine. 206 pages. (Finished 30 Oct 2017).
  44. Ajax Penumbra 1969 by Robin Sloan. A prequel to Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore tells the story about how Mr. Penumbra came to the bookstore in the first place. 61 pages. (Finished 31 Oct 2017).
  45. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur.  Her second collection of poems. I honestly wasn’t able to get into this collection as much, though perhaps that has more to do that she was kinda off putting at the reading I went to. 256 pages. (Finished 11 Nov 2017).
  46. How to Instant Pot: Mastering All the Functions of the One Pot that Will Change the Way You Cook by Daniel Shumski. This is by far the best Instant Pot specific book that I’ve read. It has recipes for more than just the pressure cooker function. It does a great job of explaining what the other functions do and how to use them. I can’t recommend this book more for the nervous new Instant Pot owner. 288 pages. (Finished 20 Nov 2017).
  47. An Arrangement of Light by Nicole Krauss. (Kindle Single) A short story narrated by the personal secretary to a world-famous landscape architect. What would you to to survive and fulfil your dreams? What would you compromise? 22 pages. (Finished 9 Dec 2017).
  48. Freebird by Jon Raymond. The story of a Southern Californian family that are drifting apart to their own individual destructions. 336 pages. (Finished 12 Dec 2017).
  49. The Eagle Tree by Ned Hayes. March is 14 years old and on the spectrum. His parents have just split up and his mom and him have just moved to a new house. His biggest joy in life is climbing trees and when he sees a giant Ponderosa Pine from his new back yard, it is the tree he most wants to climb. 236 pages. (Finished 17 Dec 2017).
  50. Holy Trinity: An Eagle Tree Story by Ned Hayes. While up in a tree, March discovers lichens and begins to learn everything he can about them. In the process he makes a discovery. 44 pages. (Finished 18 Dec 2017)
  51. Forest Dark by Nicole Krauss. A Kafka-esque story of metamorphosis set largely in Israel. My least favorite book by Krauss. 305 pages. (Finished 30 Dec 2017).
  52. 50 American Plays by Michael Dickman & Matthew Dickman.  My former classmates at the University of Oregon (and twin brothers) explore each of the fifty states with a short poem inspired by the format of a play.  110 pages. (Finished 30 Dec 2017).

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