I’ve been lucky enough to get in quite a bit of reading time this year. Many of the books I’ve read were good, but here are my ten favorites. These are in no particular order:

1. Big Little Lies, by Lianne Moriarty. If you haven’t read any of Lianne’s novels yet, do yourself a favor and go out and buy all of them. She’s great. This book is set in Australia, and you can really hear the voices come through as if you were listening to your captivating Aussie best friend tell you a story you are just. Not. Gonna. Believe.
2. Necessary Lies, by Diane Chamberlain. It’s a story about an early social worker in the rural south. Ummm…this former-social-worker-turned-writer-of-southern-fiction is sold! It’s authentic and well-researched, and if you didn’t know that the US used to have a eugenics program in which poor people were forced to undergo sterilization surgery, you really need to read this book.
3. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, by Gabrielle Zevin. This book is as charming as it’s title character, who despite his best efforts, manages to touch the lives of so many people in a remarkable way.
4. Whistling Past the Graveyard, by Susan Crandall. I read that the author had never written in Southern dialect before this book, but I simply do not believe it. You will swear you’re in 1963 Mississippi listening to the locals speak.
5. The Husband’s Secret, by Lianne Moriarty. I only discovered this author this year, and since I loved her so much, I read three of her books in a row. The only reason I haven’t included What Alice Forgot on this list is because I’m afraid you’ll think I don’t read anything else. Seriously, she’s great.
6. The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, by Jonathan Evison. This story is heartbreaking and triumphant all at once. I cried so much reading it, but still walked away from it feeling good about the world. Plus, one of the main characters has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, as does my brother. It was kind of creepy and surreal to see Evison bring that disease to life in such an accurate way.
7. The Hurricane Sisters, by Dorothea Benton Frank. I read this book on my vacation this summer at Rehoboth Beach. As luck would have it, the author was at the local book store, Browseabout Books, doing a signing. I walked past that book store every day I was there, but I didn’t notice the sign announcing her event until about an hour after it was over. Arg! Crummy luck. It was still a great beach read, though.
8. The Island, by Elin Hilderbrand. Now this author I DID get to see in Rehoboth Beach. I love that the book store there hosts so many author signings. Elin was super sweet, and totally in love with my little Gianni. Her book was wonderful too. A nice light read to snuggle up with.
9. Child’s Mind: Mindfulness Practices to Help Our Children Be More Focused, Calm, and Relaxed, by Christopher Willard. I read this book for tools to help my AD/HD daughter relax and focus, and it is helping me tremendously too!
10. How the Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss. This classic is still one of my favorite children’s books of all time, and since Raymond is currently obsessed with it, I’ve read it a bazillion times recently. And you know what? I still cry when the Grinch’s heart grows three sizes.

What have you read and loved this year? I’d love to hear from you!