Surly’s Reading List

My current reading list, an excellent start for a reading list for women!

“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” Wait a minute. That isn’t right. But a Surly trivia point to whoever can name that movie!! For as long as I can remember, I have always loved reading. I had stacks of Babysitters Club books, and I would spend my weekends reading and rereading them. To this day I still love libraries and book stores and am always on the hunt for the next great book.

After college I sort of fell off the reading train and I wanted to make myself more accountable so I set a goal to read 40 books by 40. I am so glad I did because completing this goal revived my love of reading, and I reached my goal in the summer of 2016!

So many people, moms especially, are always looking for good book recommendations. So I thought I would create a place where I could list all of the books in one place! This is a full list of all the books I have read. Mostly fiction, a few non-fiction, as these are books are read in my leisure time. Links in the bold go to the books I have written about and links in italics go to Amazon.

Let me know which books you want to hear more about and what you have been reading lately!!

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Currently reading

Fiction: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Nonfiction: The Great Revolt by Salena Zito and Brad Todd

40 Books by 40 (Jan 2013-July 2016)

1. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
2. Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter
3. God, If You’re Up There, I’m F*cked by Darrell Hammond
4. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
5. Life After Death By Damian Echols
6. Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson
7. Burglars Can’t be Choosers by Lawrence Block
8. The Last Jew of Treblenka by Chil Rajchman
9. Theodore Boone: The Abduction by John Grisham
10. Kisscut by Karin Slaughter
11. Seven Wonders by Ben Mezrich
12. Bonk by Mary Roach
13. Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.
14. The Burn Palace by Stephen Dobyns
15. We Are Water by Wally Lamb
16. Five by Ursula Archer
17. A Faint Cold Fear by Karin Slaughter
18. Defending Jacob by William Landay
19. Adios America by Ann Coulter
20. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
21. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
22. The Expats by Chris Pavone
23. Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham
24. No Time to Wave Good-bye by Jacquelyn Mitchard
25. You’re Better Than Me: A Memoir by Bonnie McFarlane
26. The Burglar in the Closet by Lawrence Block
27. Five Presidents by Clint Hill
28. Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson
29. Indelible by Karin Slaughter
30. A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallari
31. Theodore Boone: The Activist by John Grisham
32. Theodore Boone: The Fugitive by John Grisham
33. The Cereal Murders by Diane Mott Davidson
34. Digging up Mother: A Memoir by Doug Stanhope
35. Faithless by Karin Slaughter
36. A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) by George R. R. Martin
37. A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 2) by George R. R. Martin
38. A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 3) by George R. R. Martin
39. A Feast for Crows (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 4) by George R. R. Martin
40. A Dance With Dragons (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 5) by George R. R. Martin

July-December 2016

1. The Last Suppers by Diane Mott Davidson
2. Beyond Reach by Karin Slaughter
3. Killer Pancake by Diane Mott Davidson
4. Once Upon a time in Russia: The Rise of the Oligarchs-A True Story of Ambition, Wealth, Betrayal, and Murder by Ben Mezrich
5. The Main Corpse by Diane Mott Davidson
6.  The Burglar who Liked to Quote Kipling by Lawrence Block
7. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbra Demick
8. Inside the O’Brien by Lisa Genova
9. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter
10. Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History by Dan Flores
11. The Chimera Sequence by Elliot Garber
12. I Know How She Does It: How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time by Laura Vanderkam
13. March Violets by Philip Kerr
14. The Devil’s Diary: Hitler’s High Priest and the Hunt for the Lost Papers of the Third Reich by Robert K. Whitman and David Kinney
15. The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes by Anthony Sadler, Alec Skarlatos, Spencer Stone

2017

1. Theodore Boone: The Scandal by John Grisham
2. I’ll Take you There by Wally Lamb
3. A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
4. Into the Woods by Tana French
5. Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy
6. The Red Market by Scott Carney
7. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
8. How to Talk so Kids will and Listen so Kids will Talk by Adele Faber
9. Unconditional Parenting by Alfie Kohn
10. The Last of August by Brittany Cavallaro
11. No Man’s Land by Simon Tolkien
12. The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith
13. The Grilling Season by Diane Mott Davidson
14. Damned by Chuck Palahniuk
15. Prime Cut by Diane Mott Davidson
16. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach
17. The Burglar who Studied Spinoza by Lawrence Block
18. Ordinary Men by Christopher R. Browning
19. Mean Dads for a Better America by Tom Shillue
20. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
21. Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko
22. Inferno by Dan Brown
23. The Man From the Train by Bill James

2018

1. Tough Cookie by Diane Mott Davidson
2. The Burglar Who Painted Like Mondrian by Lawrence Block
3. The Pale Criminal by Philip Kerr
4. Business Boutique by Christy Wright
5. Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History’s Most Iconic Extinct Creatures by Ben Mezrich
6. The Good Daughter by Karin Slaughter 
7. Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done by Jon Acuff
8. A Winsome Murder by James DeVita
9. Bonfire by Krysten Ritter
10. The Forgotten Highlander by Allstair Urquhart
11. The Queen of Hearts by Kimmery Martin
12. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
13. Sticks and Scones by Diane Mott Davidson
14. Outrage, Inc by Derek Martin
15. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
16. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
17. Sackett’s Land by Louis L’Amour
18. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith
19. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by John Tiffany, Jack Thorne, and J.K. Rowling
20. The Likeness by Tana French
21. No Country for Old Men