The Well: 2016 Reading Wrap Up

Tuesday, December 27, 2016

2016 Reading Wrap Up

This is my fifth year participating in this endeavor. I didn't think I would make 52 this year, but I read a lot over the last two weeks! I did not link the books I mentioned within this wrap up post, but there is a list of all the books at the end of it with the links if you want to see favorite quotes or reviews.

Here are the Wrap Up questions from http://www.read52booksin52weeks.com/:

How many books did you read and did you meet or beat your own personal goal? Or did you get caught up in reading and forget to keep track like me? *grin*

I read 52. I love to have goals. This is a manageable one for me after reading all the books on Well-Educated Mind, Invitation to the Classics, and 100 Great Books Lists (see links to those lists above - it was a Big Hairy Audacious Goal).

What countries and time periods did you visit?

COUNTRIES:

England: this was the main one since we traveled there (see my Travelogue of that trip here: http://carolhomeschool2.blogspot.com/search/label/Travelogue) to see a photograph I had on exhibition there and to enjoy some of the haunts of our favorite authors.
Afghanistan (In the Sea there are Crocodiles)
Middle East (The Rise of ISIS, The Terror Years)
Iran (My Name is Mahtob)
Multiple Nations in Poverty (Half the Sky)
Everywhere (Pray for the World)
I had some delightful journeys to Narnia also!

TIME PERIODS:

Post War London (The Life and Times of Call the Midwife)
1930's America and Germany (The Boys in the Boat)
1930-1950's England (The Fellowship and Bandersnatch)

What were your most favorite stories? Any stories that stayed with you a long time, left you wanting more or needed to digest for a while before starting another?

Ben-Hur - Absolutely beautiful
The Boys in the Boat
The Silver Chair (my favorite of all the Narnia books because of Puddleglum's speech)

The Way of the Beloved was not a story but one of my favorites of the year.

Which books became comfort reads? - don't have one

What is the one book or the one author you thought you'd never read and found yourself pleasantly surprised that you liked it?

Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life - I thought it would be another "pop" Christian book and was so delightfully surprised at its depth and beauty!

Did you read any books that touched you and made you laugh, cry, sing or dance?

Boys in the Boat - WOW!

Any that made you want to toss it across the room in disgust?

Half the Sky - You can read my review, but I really hated the patronizing tone of the authors. The stories about women were around the world was good though.

Please share a favorite cover or quote.