Beyond the Wakefields

2006 was the first year that I tracked my reading and I wish that I had started much earlier. I kept a simple spreadsheet on Tracks Life and put a link to it on my Firefox toolbar at work and at home so I’d be sure to update it. I know many librarians and literature fans keep very detailed reading logs with book reviews, but this was much easier for me to maintain.

Overview

I read 111 books this year. I would have read a lot more, but I moved in June which cut my commute from a one-hour each way T ride to a ten minute drive. Good for my mental health, but bad for my reading. The complete list of books I read (and their ratings) can be found here.

Of these, 75 were YA books. This is the first year I’ve read a number of adult books (at least, not school-assigned adult books) in addition to YA books. This is also the first year where I was interested in reading non-fiction books. Personal finance, pop culture, and glbt issues were a focus. I also decided to start reading chick-lit (since I am a woman in her 20s and not a teen anymore) and think that Jennifer Weiner can do no wrong.

Omissions

I didn’t read nearly enough comics this year. My teens LOVE manga, but I can’t get into it, and my interest lies in the area of indie comics which they won’t touch with a ten foot pole. I consider Fun Home by Alison Bechdel to be one of the best books I read this year.

My most notable omission is the absence of any science fiction or fantasy books! I’m not sure how I let myself get away with that since as a librarian I should be reading outside my comfort zone and my fiance reads pretty much nothing but fantasy. I need to make reading fantasy books a new year’s resolution since I can’t keep booktalking Inkheart and Feed and nothing else.

Adbooks members may note the almost complete absence of JHunt nominees. I’m generally a lurker anyway although last year I read all but one of the books and voted throughout, but unfortunately, this JHunt season almost none of the books I was interested in reading made the list. I like literary fiction as much as the best of them, but my teens would not even attempt most of the titles on the list so I’ll wait for next year.
What I Liked Best (2006 Books in no particular order)

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
I loved the characters of Colin and Hassan.  The plot wasn’t quite as unique as Looking for Alaska, but I could listen to these two characters for a long time.

Good Girls by Laura Ruby
Every teen girl should read this book.  One of the most honest portrayals of teen sexuality I’ve ever read.

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Not YA by any means, but one of the best books written this year period.  Give this to any adult friends who don’t think comic books are for kids and are lacking in literary value.

Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
I love pretty much everything he’s written, and this series of essays does not disappoint.

The Murder of Bindy MacKenzie by Jaclyn Moriarty (aka Becoming Bindy MacKenzie)
I wish that I had time to go back and read Feeling Sorry for Celia and Finding Cassie Crazy (I don’t like the American title, The Year of Secret Assignments, as much) since there is a lot of overlap, but this book does stand alone.

Blind Faith by Ellen Wittlinger
Sandpiper was my favorite book of 2005 and I think Blind Faith is just as strong.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Who would have thought that suicidal thoughts and a stint in a mental hospital would be so funny…but mostly poignant and emotional.

Saving the World by Julia Alvarez
I took an entire class on the works of Julia Alvarez in college, so I am by no means an objective observer, but this is one of her best.  I don’t like historical fiction, stories that take place on boats, or stories with multiple timelines pretty much as a rule, but I was engrossed from the third chapter on.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
This was the first Sarah Dessen book I had read and I immediately grabbed two of her others the next day at work.  The only way this book could be better is if the music described in it were real.

King Dork by Frank Portman
I’ve been a Mr. T Experience fan since high school so I knew any book by Dr. Frank would be extremely witty and enjoyable to read.  I didn’t expect that he would have done his homework so well, and that this book would satirize the current state of young adult literature while skewering The Catcher in the Rye.

A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone
I hate the cover of this book and I think I’m pretty much done with the verse novel thing, but I am so glad that I picked this one up anyway.  I booktalked this to a freshman class and almost every girl in the class read it (even the ones assigned to read a different book).  It’s honest and thoughtful and hey, any reference to Judy Blume’s Forever is a welcome one.
Honorable Mention (Books that have really stayed with me)

Rules by Cynthia Lord
The Girls Who Went Away by Ann Fessler
Bass Ackwards and Belly Up by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain
The Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner
Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
RX by Tracy Lynn