January
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
February
Theodore Roosevelt: A Life - Nathan Killer
The Taming of the Shrew - William Shakespeare
A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Book of Lost Tales I - J.R.R. Tolkien
March
William Howard Taft - Herbert Duffy
The Shepherd's Crown - Terry Pratchett
April
The Book of Lost Tales II - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Elements of Style - William Strunk Jr & E.B. White
Woodrow Wilson: World Statesman - Kendrick Clements
May
The Book of Mormon - Various
Fevre Dream - George R.R. Martin
Rose of the Prophet: The Will of the Wanderer - Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman
June
The Lays of Beleriand - J.R.R. Tolkien
The Available Man: The Life Behind the Mask of Warren Gamaliel Harding - Andrew Sinclair
July
The Sword of Shannara - Terry Brooks
A Midsummer Night's Dream - William Shakespeare
Rose of the Prophet: The Paladin of the Night - Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman
The Shaping of Middle Earth - J.R.R. Tolkien
August
Coolidge: An American Enigma - Robert Sobel
The Elfstones of Shannara - Terry Brooks
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, & John Tiffany
September
Rose of the Prophet: The Prophet of Akhran - Margaret Weiss & Tracy Hickman
The Lost Road and Other Writings - J.R.R. Tolkien
October
An Uncommon Man: The Triumph of Herbert Hoover - Richard Norton Smith
The Wishsong of Shannara - Terry Brooks
The Soulforge - Margaret Weiss
November
FDR - Jean Edward Smith
December
The City of Mirrors - Justin Cronin
The Book of Mormon - Various
Brothers in Arms - Margaret Weiss & Don Perrin
So that is a total of thirty one books in all. Not too great. Ah well. I was reminded this year of how much I love some of my favorites. A Tale of Two Cities is just so magnificent, I don't think I could say enough good about it. The closing scenes are some of the most moving you can find anywhere, in my opinion. And although not fine literature in the same vein, I find with each reading that Rose of the Prophet ages well. Those books are great. Justin Cronin finished strong in City of Mirrors, although it probably is my least favorite of the trilogy.
On the other hand, I read the Shannara trilogy for the first time after having read The Wishsong of Shannara in my tween years. I remembered loving that book, but I was decidedly underwhelmed with the trilogy as a middle-aged man. I had some designs to read all of the Shannara books, which are legion, but I have abandoned that idea because I didn't care for the first three too much.
Getting past the gilded age presidents has been a good thing. A lot more interesting stories from the turn of the Century through the World Wars, so I have been enjoying that. The Tolkien stuff, meanwhile, was academic in nature and not for the casual reader. I am glad I read through the history of middle earth series once, but I am not sure I will revisit them . . . some pretty thick sledding.
And there you have it. Hopefully the number of books read will increase rather than decrease this year.
You're still my very best friend.
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