Ten Good Books, One So-So Book, and One Disappointment

2016 has been an amazing year so far. Why, you ask? Well, I've already knocked out twelve books. Half were fiction (I hoped to read more fiction this year). And all but two were very good. A strong start.                     What have I read that I recommend highly? Write these titles down: Our Souls at Night. Humans of New York. Jesus: A Pilgrimage. Everything, Everything. Very good books? The Dust that Falls from Dreams. A Beginner's Guide to Paradise. Pacific. The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine. The Unforgettable Photograph. Deep, Dark Fears. So-so read? Fungus the Bogeyman. Disappointing? Fates and Furies.                     Two new books arrived in the mail, both quite promising:                      How is your 2016 proving? Any recommendations so far? Any disappointments?

cover	title	author	review
	Humans of New York: Stories	Stanton, Brandon	Humans of New York is the kind of book I like best. Reasons? (1) Little stories about lots of people. (2) Photography of the people. (3) Lots of surprising ...more
	Fates and Furies	Groff, Lauren	I hate to write this review, because it's completely unexpected; after hearing all the positive buzz, I just knew I'd love this story. Man's pov and w ...more
	The Dust That Falls from Dreams	Bernières, Louis de	The four McCosh sisters grow up between the well-mannered Pendennis boys and the wild Pitt boys in Edwardian England. Then along comes World War I to...more
	A Beginner's Guide to Paradise: 9 Steps to Giving Up Everything So You Too Can: Move to a South Pacific Island, Wear a Loincloth, Read a Hundred Books, Diaper a Baby Monkey, Build a Bungalow,	Sheshunoff, Alex	Here’s the subtitle (and, honestly, it’s better than the blurb on the back or my thoughts when it comes to deciding if this is a book for you): “9 ste ...more
	The Unforgettable Photograph: How to Take Great Pictures of the People and Things You Love	Lange, George	In a quest to learn more about making good photos, I bought this book. It’s all about taking photos of people, and the author is all about spontaneity...more
	Jesus: A Pilgrimage	Martin, James	Two priests take a pilgrimage into the Holy Land, walking in the steps of Jesus, sharing close knowledge of Christ. I’ll never make it to the Holy Land ...more
	Our Souls at Night	Haruf, Kent	Addie stops by Louis’ house and asks him a question: Would he stay the night with her? Just to talk? And Louis says yes. But Addie and Louis aren’t two ...more
	Fungus the Bogeyman	Briggs, Raymond	Fungus and his bogeyman friends are the cause of all the gross and upsetting things in the world, though those of us who live Up Top know little of th ...more
	Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atom Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers	Winchester, Simon	Winchester presents a collage of stories all centering on a place, the Pacific. He doesn’t stand back from a subject, like a good journalist, but leap ...more
	Deep Dark Fears	Krause, Fran	Fear is the devil, maybe. I’ve heard it says “Fear not” in the Bible 365 times. Whether or not that is true, I know fear crushes us. So, then, a book ...more
	The Woman Who Walked in Sunshine (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #16)	Smith, Alexander McCall	It’s the latest in Alexander McCall Smith’s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. You know what you get when you read a series; part of the fun is th...more
	Everything, Everything	Yoon, Nicola	I didn’t read as much fiction in 2015 as I wished, so I wanted to start 2016 out with some good fiction reads. Oh my, did I ever hit the jackpot with ...more

What is the Sunday Salon? Imagine some university library's vast reading room. It's filled with people--students and faculty and strangers who've wandered in. They're seated at great oaken desks, books piled all around them,and they're all feverishly reading and jotting notes in their leather-bound journals as they go. Later they'll mill around the open dictionaries and compare their thoughts on the afternoon's literary intake....That's what happens at the Sunday Salon, except it's all virtual. Every Sunday the bloggers participating in that week's Salon get together--at their separate desks, in their own particular time zones--and read. And blog about their reading. And comment on one another's blogs. Think of it as an informal, weekly, mini read-a-thon, an excuse to put aside one's earthly responsibilities and fall into a good book. Click here to join the Salon.

The Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's a chance to share news and recap the past week.

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. We share books that we found in our mailboxes last week.  It is now being hosted here.

Stacking the Shelves is a meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews in which you can share the books you've acquired.


It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between!  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from! I love being a part of this and I hope you do too! As part of this weekly meme Book Date loves to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.