Firstly – Thank You for yesterday- I have many great questions to answer while I am travelling. This will be fun. Most excellent.
Now the next thing on our Christmas List is our Christmas Book List! I had not forgotton.
This year, because last years list got SO BIG and SO LONG (like many of you I read – and listen to audio books a lot so I too have heaps of favourites), I think that this year we will limit ourselves to TWO personal favourites – it can be a novel, or cookbook, or nonfiction, or fluffy historical romance, audio book or book of art – any book at all but one we met for the first time THIS YEAR in 2016. Not your favourite book of all time just two of your favourite books from your 2016 reading list.
And let us know the genre and a why you recommend we read it.
Have a scroll through the comments and if your favourite book is already there SECOND it, or third it or fourth it. This way we will get a really good idea of what everyone is reading (or listening to) and you get to name two MORE books in your own comment if your first favourite is already in the list. 
I am never without a book. Often I am listening to a book (while I do housework or cook) and then read another book (usually on my kindle in winter when it is hard to get to the shops) before I go to bed. So I get through a fair number of books. And I often listen to podcasts when I am cleaning in the barn but that is a completely new discussion! 
I love our annual Fellowship Book List. Sound like fun? Good – because – I need some good reading material for my travels. I particularly need a good airplane book. (Why airplane book is not a genre I do not know!).
I will collate the list tonight and publish it for you tomorrow so you can print it and use it as a book mark or give it away during the holiday season.
If you run your own book list with your own readers at your blog be sure to link it back to The Kitchens Garden (I will note it at the bottom of my post the day I receive the link) so that we can all come and look at your list as well. Your own readers might have some new ones too!
The roads were frozen sheets of ice out here in the country yesterday and for two days we have not even received our mail. The country roads are too dangerous. I hope they are better today because Lori the Pig Lady is coming to collect the little barrow. I am glad he is going to a good home but I have to admit I wish he were not going at all. He has been a perfect little house pig. Boo and I will miss him awfully.
Much love, have a lovely day.
celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
112 responses to “Annual Book List request 2016”
I am sure that Barrow will be very happy in his new home just like Lurchy is..you do your utmost for the comfort of your animals and for that I am eternally grateful. I am a real softie where animals are concerned and many a farmer would have just killed Barrow off , but not you….
have a wonderful holiday..travel in safety…enjoy yourself…but come home soon…love P
Sent: Wednesday, December 21, 2016 at 2:12 PM
yes, I hope to have a great trip away.. c
Is that rooster Sir Peghorn or Son-of-Son-of -of Neanderthol Man? I can’t decide but either way he is still pretty but looking aged. Books are so expensive here now I haven’t bought one in ages, and most of my reading is on screen, sigh. I also have heaps of books stored in boxes that I can’t give away for one reason or another , double sigh. Laura
Yes, that is Peghorn – he is looking quite good at the moment don’t you think?
Love, love. love the piglets pics!!!! Absolutely adorable!!! xoxoxo
Just finished “Behind the Beautiful Forevers” by Katherine Boo, a fascinating nonfiction book that reads a story of life in the undercity of Mumbai, India.
Also “My Holiday in North Korea: The Funniest/Worst Place on Earth” by Wendy E. Simmons was an almost unbelievable, but true story, of her ‘vacation’ to North Korea. It’s so difficult to believe, but absolutely true, as I was fortunate to hear her speak of her experiences there! I’ve been reading every other book on North Korean I can get my hands on! It’s so hard to wrap my head around the fact that a country can be so isolated and controlled in the 21st century!
I have the Katherine Boo book on my shelf. Sounds like I picked a good one 🙂
wonderful suggestions thank you Di, c
Both of these sound fascinating. Just today I was asking my Facebook friends for book recommendations and now I’ve landed here. Thanks!
Good morning!
My two favorite books of 2016 are “Nella Last’s War” editted by Richard Broad and Suzie Fleming, and “Jambusters” by Julie Summers, which inspired the television series “Home Fires.” I am in a women of WW2 mindset this year, which was kicked off kast year by the audiobook, “The Queen Mother,” by Wm. Shawcross. All of them are just brilliant. Nella Last was a housewife in England during WW2 and kept a journal for the Mass Observation Project, recording her experiences during the war. “Jambusters” is a proud and inspiring record of the Women’s Institute’s (WI) achievements during WW2. I think it wonderful that women then accepted the wonderful differences that separate us from men, embraced them, and went on to do any job that needed to be done. It seems to me today that we women willingly throw away our femininity and female strengths to prove something to ourselves about our equality, something that is unnecessary to prove. Our grandmothers and great-grandmothers set wonderful examples for us; I sometimes think a skewed historical perspective outweighs common sense.
I highly recommend these books, and eagerly anticipate all of your fine recommendations.
Happy travels, Merry Christmas, and Hapoy New Year!
Shani
central IL
I also read a lot of the WW2 period – great pics – thank you.. c
‘Outliers’ and ‘David and Goliath,’ by Malcolm Gladwell. His ‘Revisionist History’ is what got me into his audio books and I have since listened to them all. These two are my favorite! He tells the a deeper backstory or other sides of the coin to traditional narratives that we are familiar with. It is an easy listen that keeps you intrigued the whole time. If you like lesser-known or alternative history, this is your ticket.
Enjoy!
I should clarify. ‘Revisionist History,’ is a podcast. Pardon the omission!
My book group read “Outliers” and we had a lively, interesting discussion over it.
PLUS a podcast Remic – thank you! I look forward to reading these – i think I will start with Outliers!
Try two historical fictions–A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles and The Dark Lady’s Mask by Mary Sharratt. The former is about an aristocrat imprisoned in a Moscow hotel for life after the Russian revolution, and the latter is about the first woman poet in England who is suspected of being Shakespeare’s lover and muse. Great cultural reads. Happy travels!
SECOND Gentleman in Moscow – just finished it
And I just bought it for my husband for Christmas! I’ll read it when he is finished. Another friend highly recommended it also.
Fortunately or unfortunately, I became completely engrossed in the Outlander books. I had not allowed myself the pleasure of reading for the last 20+ years–guilt at “wasting time”. I was urged by many that I would love Outlander and simply could not do without them now. Historical fiction at its best!
SECOND!!!!!!
Which was your favourite Carla? I have only read the first one – c
Gosh, that’s like asking which of my children is my favorite! 😉 They must be read serially if you are to understand where the story has taken you.
I really like book 3-Voyager, but only because Claire and Jamie are reunited. I got a bit stressed in the first two books because it seemed like the main characters were always, always in peril. I would remind myself that the author had written 8 books and is currently working on the 9th—-so the main characters must survive or there wouldn’t be so many books. I love them all and badly miss the characters while the author works on book 9.
At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracey Chevallier
The book starts with James and Sadie Goodenough stuck; figuratively and literally stuck int the Black Water Swamp of Ohio in the 1830’s. Settlers from Connecticutt, where their families live, they head west in a wagon. The wagon gets stuck in the mud of the swamp, near Perrysburg, Ohio. At the start of the story, they have already lost 5 children from swamp fever, have suffered from it themselves, and are involved in a dysfunctional family if ever there was one. James adores the “eaters”, while Sadie craves the “spitters” – or, rather, she craves the apple jack made from them. (eaters and spitters being apples)
Story takes a turn when something horrendous happens and son leaves, eventually giving the reader an interesting peak into the great Sequoias of the Pacific Northwest, how the seeds and trees were harvested – and how they were destroyed.
The Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson (audio)
Bryson’s memoir growing up in small town Iowa in the 1950’s. As I finished each CD, I passed it on to my husband. We spent a good week at the dinner table trying to explain chapters, but couldn’t, as we couldn’t stop laughing long enough to get the words out!
Great suggestions- I especially love reading books set in American history.. thank you.. c
You are welcome.
I second Thunderbolt Kid – I have enjoyed all of Bill Bryson’s books I have read. Even if I don’t always agree with his viewpoint, he is still an entertaining author.
Agree! I especially enjoy listening to him on audio.
Second that Tracy Chevalier! ALL of hers are great reads.
Whoa, didn’t know I was logged in as Old Jules! Jeanne here… will try to fix that!
“The Glass Castle” A Memoir, by Jeannette Walls–fascinating true story of an incredibly dysfunctional, impoverished family with many unique ways of survival.
“The Mysteries of Udolpho” by Ann Radcliffe–A gothic novel full of darkness, intrigue, and some of the hardest prose I have ever read, but underlying it all, a classic work. It is a huge novel so give yourself time…lots of time.
Loved Glass Castle!
SECOND: Glass Castle – stunning
Loved “The Glass Castle” as well – and it was another of our book groups discussions.
I really liked At The Edge of the Orchard too, but I can’t count that as part of my two, because really I’d like to recommend twenty and only two is hard enough!!!
To The Bright Edge of the World, by Eowyn Ivey: A fabulous adventure story in Alaska; the story of a marriage, the husband an arctic guide and explorer, the wife staying ‘home’ in Anchorage, pregnant. Each has their own great story line. Takes place in 1885. There’s two feelings to this book – it’s like a dream, reminds me of a Terrence Malik film, like The New World – there’s a sort of filmy lens – but at the exact same time there is a gritty urgency to the explorer’s mission, the hard weather is coming in and they’re in hostile territory and they’ve got to get some things accomplished. I was completely sucked in and enjoyed it all the way to the end. Has won lots of ‘best book of the year’ awards.
The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead: What if the Underground Railroad was really a railroad? A reimagining of this time and the way slaves escaped, and how each state dealt with slavery. A hard book at the beginning with a very stark (and realistic) picture of what it is to be a slave on a plantation, once the main character gets moving things start looking up. I so enjoyed the adventures of this main character and was really rooting for her, and each place she stops has its own interesting story (each state handles the ‘slave issue’ differently and that’s a fun device), but I do have one complaint – the book ends very abruptly and I wish it had gone on just one more chapter. This book has also had a lot of recognition this year.
I could go on and on and on – if you’d like some interesting environmental and/or gardening books, I have a ton of nonfiction to recommend too. But not sure that’s airplane reading.
Save travels!
I have Underground Railway on my Wish List – airplane books are such an art right? If you get a bad one a plane in the high sky is not a good place to be! c
To The Bright Edge of the World, by Eowyn Ivey – I just put it on my list.
The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka – precursor to Permaculture Design – it establishes the most amazing mind set about how to approach growing food and revising the earth. Not a long read but powerful. Permaculture in a Nutshell
by Patrick Whitefield, Terry Greenwell (Goodreads Author) (Illustrator), Glennie Kindred (Illustrator) A great hand book with the Permaculture precepts well demonstrated and illustrated. It does a great job of organizing how to approach nature when designing land, working with natural laws, and getting the highest yield from it.
SECOND – One Straw Revolution – wonderful
I loved ‘Close to Hugh’ by Marina Endicott. The book’s characters are so real and easy to identify with. The plot covers one week in the life of two generations in a small town – wrapped up in a school drama program and a local art gallery. The kids are facing the pull of the world as they are about to graduate high school and the adults are facing their own dilemmas with kids leaving, marriages shifting, bodies aging. It is poignant and funny at the same time. A good read.
My second recommendation would be “After Dachau” by Daniel Quinn. It is more of a sci-fi dystopian novel. I suggest it for the slowly evolving twist in the plot line that leaves you with lots to think about. I would categorize it as an ‘alternate history’ tale.
Two very dfferent suggestions – thank you! Onto the list they go! c
The Martian by Andy Weir. You have to love a story line that includes Duct Tape and 11.22.63 by Stephen King. What might happen if someone tried to change what happened that day. (A disappointing end to a great story) Both are sci fi/fantasy and great traveling audio books.
SECOND The Martian – loved it/. c
The Real Doctor Will See You Shortly by Matt McCarthy is a slightly scary but funny and sad memoir of his first internship year at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan. Some of this I probably did not really want to know, but it was a fascinating look at how a doctor really becomes a doctor.
When looking for this list I realize I have been catching up on two fiction series which both need to be read in order. Daniel Silva’s Gabriel Allon spy series is quite unusual as it looks more closely at Israel’s place in the world of international spying. I really like the characters, although as each one is introduced in each successive novel, Silva falls back on using cut-and-paste descriptions which got a little annoying as I was reading them one right after the other!
Piggie photos are the best. I hope the little Barrow boy does well in his new home and that he gets there safely. Safe travels to you as well, Celie!
Thank you. Can you remember which book of the spy series you liked the most for the list- I see that they need to be read in order but there is always one that is better than the others.
I think that one of my favorites in the Silva series is A Death in Vienna. It explains a lot about the main character and the art connections that go back to the Holocaust is gripping.
I have been reading The Hour of Land, by Terry Tempest Williams. It’s a view of our National Parks here in the US. I just started reading. I love the way she writes just like I love reading and viewing the photos of your blog!!
What a great choice – I look forward to reading that one – thank you. c