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Despite the fact that 2007 was a year of significant events and adjusting to a nomadic life, I faithfully kept up with my reading list. English-language books are predictably hard to find! I'm lucky to find even a bookshelf's worth of them in the towns around here, and even then half of the shelf is Harry Potter books, which just isn't my style! To top it all off, the books are expensive: 8 Euros or more for paperbacks, and if you factor in the current exchange rate for the dollar, well....

As usual, I read a lot in a variety of genres. My recommendations are the titles with bold comments, and if you have any questions or comments about a particular book, please feel free to ask!

1. Year Zero, Jeff Long Good book


2. Hitler's Children, Gerald Posner


3. A Simple Act of Murder, Mark Fuhrman


4. Death Watch, John Sandford


5. Judge & Jury, James Patterson


6. Arthur & George, Julian Barnes


7. Blackbird House, Alice Hoffman Beautifully written


8. The Probable Future, Alice Hoffman


9. The United States of Arugula, David Kamp


10. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, John Berendt


11. Dispatches from the Edge, Anderson Cooper


12. Mirrors of the Unseen: Journeys in Iraq, Jason Elliott


13. Dark Horse, Tami Hoag


14. Local Girls, Alice Hoffman


15. The Return of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle


16. His Last Bow, Arthur Conan Doyle


17. The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan Sheds light on the Organic movement--the back story--as well as how food ends up in our plates. Informative.


18. Armed Madhouse: Who's Afraid of Osama Wolf?, China Floats, Bush Sinks, The Scheme to Steal '08,No Child's Behind Left, and Other Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Class War, Greg Palast


19. The Book of Fate, Brad Meltzer


20. The Collectors, David Baldacci


21. Ice Cream: The Delicious History, Marilyn Powell


22. Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home, Nando Parrado with Vince Rause


23. You'll Never Nanny in This Town Again, Suzanne Hansen


24. The Power Broker, Stephen Frey


25. The Passion of Artemisia, Susan Vreeland


26. Chocolate: A Bittersweet Saga of Dark and Light, Mort Rosenblum If you're a chocophile, it's worth reading.


27. A Year in the World, Frances Mayes


28. Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic who Became a Saint, Donald Spoto


29. Taken, Chris Jordan


30. Next, Michael Crichton. Book takes an absurd but also realistic look at genetic engineering.


31. Leading with My Chin, Jay Leno


32. False Impression, Jeffrey Archer


33. Imperium, Robert Harris


34. The Alexandria Link, Steve Berry


35. Happy at 100, John Robbins Highly recommended


36. Step on a Crack, James Patterson


37. The Romanov Prophecy, Steve Berry


38. An Englishman à la Campagne, Michael Sadler


39. Of Paupers and Peers, Sherri Cobb South


40. The Last Empress, Anchee Min


41. The Expected One, Kathleen McGowan


42. Queen of Fashion, Caroline Weber


43. The Qur'an, Bruce Lawrence


44. Hannibal Rising, Thomas Harris


45. The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai


46. The Interpretation of Murder, Jed Rubenfeld


47. My Dog Skip, Willie Morris


48. Forcing God's Hand: Why Millions Pray for a Quick Rapture—And Destruction of Planet Earth, Grace Halsell


49. Ten Days to Die, Michael Musmanno Interesting and disturbing look into the last days of a madman


50. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust, Daniel Jonah Goldhagen


51. A Place Called Here, Cecilia Ahern


52. The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova Excellent, excellent book


53. Hour Game, David Baldacci


54. Wicked, Gregory Maguire


55. The Swarm, Frank Schätzing Great start, disappointing ending

I read some excellent books this year; in fact, I was quite happy with the last one I read, Diane Setterfield's The Thirteenth Tale and Salman Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown.

2006 Book List

1. Julie and Julia, Julie Powell (blogger)


2. The Washingtonienne, Jessica Cutler (blogger)


3. The Tapestries, Kien Nguyen


4. Wolves in Chic Clothing, Carrie Karasyov and Jill Kargman


5. How to Feed Friends and Influence People: The Carnegie Deli, Milton Parker and Allyn Freeman


6. The Celtic Collection, Alice Starmore


7. Saveur Cooks Authentic French (recipe book)


8. Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, Ayelet Waldman



9. The Third Secret, Steve Berry


10. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje


11. The Chairman, Stephen Frey


12. The Constant Gardener, John Le Carré


13. The Pardon, James Grippando


14. Dressed for Death, Donna Leon Good Fiction


15. Acqua Alta, Donna Leon Good Fiction


16. Johnny Cash: The Autobiography, Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr


17. What If I had Never Tried It, Valentino Rossi


18. Climbing Free, Lynn Hill Good Autobiography



19. A Vaudeville of Devils: Seven Moral Tales, Robert Girardi


20. Death and Judgment, Donna Leon Good Fiction


21. A Noble Radiance, Donna Leon Good Fiction


22. Uniform Justice, Donna Leon Good Fiction


23. Doctored Evidence, Donna Leon Good Fiction


24. The Rescue Artist: A True Story of Art, Thieves, and the Hunt for a Missing Masterpiece, Edward Dolnick Good "Documentary"


25. What Einstein Told His Cook 2, Robert L. Wolke


26. The Rule of Four, Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason


27. The Archer (The Grail Quest Series), Bernard Cornwell Good Historical Fiction


28. Vagabond (The Grail Quest Series), Bernard Cornwell


29. Heretic (The Grail Quest Series), Bernard Cornwell



30. Last of the Amazons, Steven Pressfield Very Good Historical Fiction


31. Tides of War: A Novel of Alcibiades and the Peloponessian War, Steven Pressfield


32. The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great, Steven Pressfield


33. Wendy Knits: My Never-Ending Adventures in Yarn, Wendy D. Johnson (blogger)


34. Gnomes, text by Wil Huygen and illustrations by Rien Poortvliet Cute


35. Predator, Patricia Cornwell


36. The Constant Princess, Philippa Gregory


37. The Undomestic Goddess, Sophie Kinsella


38. Bergdorf Blondes, Plum Sykes


39. Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt, Anne Rice


40. The Last Kingdom, Bernard Cornwell


41. Victorine, Catherine Texier


42. Pursuit, Thomas Perry


43. Rainbows End, Vernor Vinge


44. Mary, Mary, James Patterson


45. Priceless, Marne Davis Kellogg


46. Enemy of God, Bernard Cornwell


47. Stonehenge, Bernard Cornwell


48. Being Martha: The Inside Story of Martha Stewart and Her Amazing Life, Lloyd Allen


49. The Gladiator, Fik Meijer


50. Steve Jobs: The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business, Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon


51. Sleeping Dogs, Thomas Perry


52. Double Tap, Steve Martini


53. Small Apartments, Alejandro Bahamon


54. The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones, Anthony Bourdain


55. Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany, Bill Buford Interesting


56. The Secret Supper, Javier Sierra


57. Shalimar the Clown, Salman Rushdie Very Good Fiction


58. Lifeguard, James Patterson


59. The Beach House, James Patterson


60. Broken Prey, John Sandford



61. The Masque of the Black Tulip, Lauren Willig


62. Primal Branding: Create Zealots for Your Brand, Your Company, and Your Future, Patrick Hanlon Informative


63. The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart Nice take on Arthurian legend


64. The Hollow Hills, Mary Stewart


65. The Last Enchantment, Mary Stewart


66. The Wicked Day, Mary Stewart


67. Light Before Day, Christopher Rice


68. The Cinderella Pact, Sarah Strohmeyer


69. The Camel Club, David Baldacci


70. Jewels: A Secret History, Victoria Finlay Interesting short history on select precious stone


71. Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping, Judith Levine Not very good; I save more than her *with* shopping


72. Ashes to Ashes, Tami Hoag


73. Dust to Dust, Tami Hoag



74. The Crimson Petal and the White, Michel Faber


75. When We Were Gods: A Novel of Cleopatra, Colin Falconer


76. Belle de [sic] Jour: Diary of an Unlikely Call Girl, Anonymous (blogger)


77. The Ice Queen, Alice Hoffmann Very Good Fiction


78. The Debutante Divorcée, Plum Sykes


79. Cage of Stars, Jacquelyn Mitchard Good Fiction


80. In the Company of the Courtesan, Sarah Dunant


81. The Butterfly Hunter: Adventures of People who Found Their True Calling Way Off the Beaten path, Chris Ballard


82. Leonardo's Swans, Karen Essex


83. Target Underwear and a Vera Wang Gown: Notes from a Single Girl's Closet, Adena Halpern


84. Blood from a Stone, Donna Leon


85. Eating Korean (recipe book), Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee


86. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon


87. Holy Fools, Joanne Harris


88. The Madonnas of Leningrad, Debra Dean


89. Hunters of Dune, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson Engaging read!


90. An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore Must-have


91. Toujours Provence, Peter Mayle


92. No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks, Ed Viesturs and David Roberts Ed's the man


93. The Brief History of the Dead, Kevin Brockmeier


94. The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Josephine B., Sandra Gulland This trilogy was good


95. Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe, Sandra Gulland


96. The Last Great Dance on Earth, Sandra Gulland


97. The Templar Legacy, Steve Berry Average, but way better than Khoury's


98. The Last Templar, Raymond Khoury


99. Spanish Lessons, Derek Lambert


100. Bella Tuscany, Frances Mayes


101. The Lost Painting, Jonathan Harr


102. My Life in France, Julia Child with Alex Prud'homme


103. Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik


104. Almost French, Sarah Turnbull


105. A Death in Belmont, Sebastian Junger Very engaging, well written


106. The Extra Mile: One Woman's Personal Journey to Ultra-Running Greatness, Pam Reed


107. The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do, Clotaire Rapaille An eye opener


108. The Greatest Story Ever Sold: The Decline and Fall of Truth from 9/11 to Katrina, Frank Rich


109. The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel, Diane Setterfield Reads very much like Zafon's The Shadow of the Wind