I like to read. a lot.  I’m not too picky, I’ll read just about anything from chick lit to historical fiction.  To be honest, I don’t read a lot of non-fiction…I try, I just never get past the first few chapters.  Feel free to email me (heather-at-heatherhalesdesigns-dot-com) and recommend a book, or tell me what you think about one you’ve read on my list.

This year (2012), I’ve decided to keep track of all the books I’ve read.  I want to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes when I see my success quantified!

1. Balzac and The Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie.  A coming of age story about 2 young Chinese boys being “re educated” in the 1970′s.  Great story about the power of literature!  I only wish the story were longer and included more about how the boys left Phoenix Mountain.

2. Crazy Ladies : A Novel by Michael Lee West.  A story of 4 generations of Southern women from Crystal Lakes, TN.  Their mixed up relationships and the hardship that comes from feeling unloved and unwelcome in your own family.  Women of grit and character.

3.  A Secret Gift: How One Man’s Kindness–and a Trove of Letters–Revealed the Hidden History of the Great Depression by Ted Gup.  WAHOO I finished a non-fiction book!!  This is a wonderful story about a generous man who donated money to those in need during the depression.  The book chronicles the benefactors life and the lives of those whom he helped.  I found it a great read, and was humbled to read the first hand accounts of the struggles of those during the great depression.

4. Maisie Dobbs (Book 1) by Jaqueline Winspear- I actually started this series on Book 2 and got hooked, so I bought Book 1 and 3 so I could keep going.  This is a great detective story, Maisie Dobbs is a Psychologist and Investigator in 1920′s London.  It is light reading, entertaining, sprinkled with great philosophic quotes you can use to impress your friends.  I love this series in the same way I love Tasha Alexander’s Lady Emily series.

5. Masie Dobbs; Pardonable Lies

6. Maise Dobbs; Messenger of Truth

7. Masie Dobbs; An Incomplete Revenge

8. Masie Dobbs; Among the Mad

9.The Forgotten Garden: A Novel By Kate Morton I loved this book!  Morton’s books always take a bit of getting used to, each chapter is written from a different characters perspective and can be from different points in time.  It always takes me a few chapters to get used to it, and then I don’t even notice it.  This is a fabulous book about finding oneself and the sacrifices one is willing to make in the name of friendship.  It deals with self perception on many different levels, and the outward effects.  The story is of a young girl who shows up alone on a dock in Australia, you trace her story all the way back to England and the events that lead to her arriving alone in Australia.  I finished the 500+ book in less than a week; I just couldn’t put it down!