Book post for 2013

Hello! I apologize for the radio silence; my 2014 has not been off to the greatest start -- more on that later but I wanted to post something before it becomes February and I realize I've only posted once! I mentioned before that I loved Valerie's posts on books she's read each year. My friend Kelly and I had a 'classics challenge' for 2013, and while I didn't finish the whole list, I feel pretty good about the 21 books I did read. Here's a list of what I read this past year, and a few quotes from some of my favorites (and some general commentary ;). I'm starting my Master's in English Literature program on the 27th, so I'm sure there will be some book discussions on the blog in the year to come :).

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

Broken Harbor by Tana French (French writes murder mysteries set in the Dublin, Ireland area, and I've read all of them. Easy, suspenseful, and aside from the whole murder aspect, really make me want to visit Ireland.)

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (I read The Sun Also Rises in college and didn't care for it, so I was shocked when I love, love, loved this book.)
-- “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” 

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Let's Explore Diabetes With Owls by David Sedaris (I had read short stories by Sedaris before but devoured two of his novels in two weeks.)
-- “States vote to take away my marriage rights, and even though I don't want to get married, it tends to hurt my feelings. I guess what bugs me is that it was put to a vote in the first place. If you don't want to marry a homosexual, then don't. But what gives you the right to weigh in on your neighbor's options? It's like voting whether or not redheads should be allowed to celebrate Christmas.” 

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (Fascinating and tragic.)

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (Love all three of his novels.)

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
-- "Even now, all possible feelings do not yet exist, there are still those that lie beyond our capacity and our imagination. From time to time, when a piece of music no one has ever written or a painting no one has ever painted, or something else impossible to predict, fathom or yet describe takes place, a new feeling enters the world. And then, for the millionth time in the history of feeling, the heart surges and absorbs the impact.” 

The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (Didn't really understand the hype here, unfortunately.)

More Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin (I love this series, very fun and San Francisco-y.)

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (Can you believe I had never read this? I loved it. I also laughed out loud at just about everything Holden Caulfield says, so I can't choose a quote.)

Wild  by Cheryl Strayed
-- “How wild it was, to let it be.” 

Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand (Okay, this took me for-ev-er. Brilliantly written and thought provoking but probably the closest I've gotten to the antithesis of a beach read.)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
-- “A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”  <--But seriously.

(Photo found here.)