Mel’s Book List 2016

Last April I started trying to read one book per week, because books. Books are awesome and reading them makes me a better person and a better writer. It went pretty well. I read more for pleasure than I had since Jr. High.

Jr. High was probably my high watermark (so far) for the peak of books-per-day consumption. In my memory I’d literally come home from school and read about five per day, although it was probably closer to one or two. Still, per day!

Last year I made a list of books at the beginning of the year with the intention to read through each title on the list.

I discovered pre-choosing all the books on the list took the fun out of book discovery — picking up a random title at a yard sale or while wandering the streets.

This year I’ve decided to loosely choose some books, but let the rest be spontaneous discovery. This was I can take recommendations, enjoy spontaneous book purchases and also knock some titles I’ve been meaning to get under my belt.

Short reviews of what I’ve read appear under the Books category.

What I’ve read so far this year*

*I’ll continue to update this throughout the year.

  1. “The Silk Worm,” by Robert Galbraith
  1. “Killing and Dying,” by Adrian Tomine
  1. “Career of Evil,” by Robert Galbraith
  1. “The Book of Tea,” by Kakuzo Okakura
  1. “I Will Teach You to Be Rich,” by Ramit Sethi
  1. “The Year of Magical Thinking,” by Joan Didion
  1. “The Condé Nast Traveller Book of Unforgettable Journeys: Great Writers on Great Places”
  1. “My Life on the Road,” by Gloria Steinam
  1. “Notes from a Small Island,” by Bill Bryson
  1. “Life of Pi,” by Yann Martel
  1. “We Stand on Guard,” by Brian K Vaughan
  1. “When Breath Becomes Air,” by Paul Kalanithi
  1. “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho
  1. “Kabuki Library, Vol. 3,” by David Mack
  1. “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
  1. “On Writing,” by Stephen King
  1. “Mass Disruption: Thirty Years on the Front Lines of a Media Revolution,” by John Stackhouse
  1. “Into Thin Air,” by Jon Krakauer
  1. “Eat, Pray, Love,” by Elizabeth Gilbert
  1. “The Bonesetter’s Daughter,” by Amy Tan
  1. “The Opposite of Fate,” by Amy Tan
  1. “Galápagos,” by Kurt Vonnegut
  1. “The Elements of Style,” by William Strunk
  1. “Bad Feminist,” by Roxane Gay
  1. “Swing Time,” by Zadie Smith
  1. ‘”Absolutely on Music,” by Haruki Murakami

Author: Mel Hattie

Hi, I’m Mel, blogger and tea sommelier at Mel Had Tea. I love to explore, learn, and meet new people. Nothing inspires me more than reading, traveling the world, talking to strangers, and drinking tea.

What do you think?

  • I read Zadie Smith’s “On Beauty” and “White Teeth” in January. “White Teeth” might be one of my all-time favourites.

    • Ah, so glad you feel that way! It’s definitely one of mine. It’s so beautiful and tragic and true and I just can’t say enough good things about it. It also blows my mind that she published it when she was 24 years old and it’s one of the best english novels out there.

  • This is a spectacular list! I just started You’re Never Weird on the Internet, and Fangirl is one of my all-time favourites. My Brilliant Friend has been sitting on my shelf for a couple months, and I’m planning to read it this year. Also expecting Killing and Dying in the mail any day now! What a wonderful year for reading! 🙂

    • Dude. I am so excited. Speculative eco warning sci fi that got ripped off by George Lucas to be the basis for Star Wars? Bring. It. On.

  • I like this a lot. I really hope “whatever strikes my fancy” turns out to be a good book. Especially if you’re going to read it 26 times!

  • Ah I loved Fangirl, On Beauty, The Opposite of Loneliness, and Tiny Beautiful Things. Elena Ferrante’s series is on my to-read list as well this year, and I’ve been meaning to read Joan Didion for YEARS but have for some inexplicable reason never got around to it. Looking forward to seeing what you think of them all! x
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