The Books I Read in 2006

I broke this list in half with an update on the books I’d read in the first six months of 2006 in early July. There were thirty-six books on that list. Now here are the titles of the sixty-seven books I’ve read in the last six months of 2006 —with links to my reviews of many of them.

Alabama Moon–Key A- Cybil Award nominee 2006.
All of the Above–Pearsall B+ Cybil Award nominee 2006.
American Bee: The National Spelling Bee and the Culture of Word Nerds–Maguire B+ Semicolon review here.

Among the Hidden–Haddix B+ Semicolon review here.
Among the Imposters–Haddix B+
Among the Brave–Haddix B+
Among the Barons–Haddix B+
Among the Betrayed–Haddix B+
Among the Enemy–Haddix B+
Blue–Hostetter B+ Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Book Thief—Zusak B+ Cybil Award nominee 2006.Recommended by Jen Robinson and others. Semicolon review here.
Brideshead Revisited—Waugh B+ Semicolon review here.
Clementine–Pennypacker A- Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen–Anderson B- Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time—Haddon A- Semicolon review here.
Dante Club—Pearl C+ Semicolon review here.
Double Identity—Haddix B Semicolon review here.
End of the Affair—Greene B- Recommended by Jared at Thinklings
Escape from Memory—Haddix B Semicolon review here.
Fighting for Dear Life—Gibbs B Semicolon review here.
Flashman—Fraser B-
Fly By Night–Hardinge B+ Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Framed–Boyce B Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Framley Parsonage—Trollope B+ Semicolon review here.
Girl-Son–Neuberger B Semicolon review here.
Glamorous Powers—Howatch B Recommended at Breakpoint.
Glittering Images—Howatch B+ Recommended at Breakpoint. Semicolon review here.

Heat–Lupica Cybil Award nominee 2006.
Hood—Lawhead B+
House on the Gulf—Haddix B Semicolon review here.
In a Sunburned Country—Bryson B
In This House of Brede—Godden A
It’s Too Late Now: Autobiography–AA Milne B Semicolon review here.
Julia’s Kitchen–Ferber B+ Cybil Award nominee 2006. Brown Bear review here.
Kingdom of Children—Stevens Semicolon review here.

Kristen Lavransdatter—Undset A Semicolon review here.
Leaving Fishers—Haddix B Semicolon review here.
Mission to Cathay—Polland B Semicolon review here.
Monsoon Summer—Perkins Semicolon review here.
Mountains Beyond Mountains—Kidder
Never Let Me Go—Ishiguro A- Semicolon review here.
On the Beach—Shute B+ Semicolon review here.
Out of Patience–Meehl B+ Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Pippa Passes—Godden B Semicolon review here.
Portuguese Irregular Verbs—Smith A Semicolon review here.
Possession: A Romance—Byatt A- Semicolon review here.
Princess Academy—Hale A- Semicolon review here.
Professor and the Madman—Winchester B Semicolon review here.
Rules–Lord A-Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Sarah’s Ground–Rinaldi B+
Secret River—Grenville B+ Semicolon review here.
Shakespeare’s Secret–Broach B+ Semicolon review here.
Shug–Han C Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Sights Unseen—Gibbons B+ Semicolon review here.
Single Shard–Park A- Semicolon review here.
Snow–Calvin Miller. C
Thirteenth Tale–Setterfield A- Recommended by Laura at Lines in Pleasant Places. And by Mental Multivitamin. And by just about everyone else who’s read it.
Town Like Alice—Shute B+ Semicolon review here.
Tree of Hands—Rendell B Recommended by Cathy at PoohSticks.
Victory–Cooper B Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Weedflower–Kadohata A- Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
When We Were Orphans–Ishiguro B Semicolon review here.
Wind, Sand and Stars—Saint Exupery A- Semicolon review here.
Winter Birds–Turner A- Semicolon review here.
Woman in White–Collins B+ Semicolon review here.
Year of Impossible Good-byes–Choi B Semicolon review here.
Year of the Dog–Lin B Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.
Yellow Star—Roy A Recommended by Fuse 8. Cybil Award nominee 2006. Semicolon review here.

Favorite nonfiction books read in 2006: Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner and Education of a Wandering Man by Louis L’Amour.

Favorite Cybil Award nominee so far: Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy.

Favorite adult fiction books read in 2006: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, River Rising by Athol Dickson, and Kristen Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset.

Favorite children’s fiction read in 2006: The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Best book re-read in 2006: In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden.

So that’s 103 books read in 2006. Of those 103, seventeen were Cybil Award nominees, children’s fiction. Twenty of the books I read this year were nonfiction; the rest were fiction, no books of poetry or essays. I’m looking forward to reading in 2007 a lot more children’s literature, biography and autobiography, and just whatever suits my fancy. It’s not as if I don’t have some ideas.

6 thoughts on “The Books I Read in 2006

  1. Wow.

    Sometime I would love a glimpse into your daily life…how much time you give to reading and writing AND schooling your own children.

    Do your children understand the time Mom gives to books and writing? Mine are 5-11 and I worry they see me staring at a book or screen more than anything else.

    Look forward to looking into some of your recommendations, I’ve found some gems this way. Susan Howatch was my discovered fiction author this year, as I don’t read a lot of “modern” fiction…my current read “High Flyer” I think I like even better than “Glittering Images”.

    Merry Christmas!

  2. Okay, I’m writing in “to read” notebook as fast as I can! 🙂

    Education of a Wondering Man is one of my all time favorite nonfiction books. I saw it recommended on a book list long ago in a homeschooling magazine and I found it at the library. Since then, I have found two hardback copies at library sales…a good thing.

  3. I’m reading L’Amour’s Education of a Wandering Man right now and thoroughly enjoying it. And River Rising is on my shelf waiting right now. Your list is inspiring – I’ll have to come back when I have more time.

  4. I read Kristen Lavransdatter about twenty years ago when I was thumbing through an ancient (1950-ish) paperback that was simply a list of great books to read. My mother had read every book listed- she claimed it kept her sane while the kids were very little. Of all of the books, she mentioned Kristen Lavransdatter by name. Very memorable. Nice post.

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