Ellen Isaacs My smiling face
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Reading
  Books read in 2006
  Books read in 2005
  Books read in 2004
  Books read in 2003
  Books read in 2002
  Books read in 2001
  Books read in 2000
  Books read in 1999
  Books read in 1998
  Books read in 1997
  Books read in 1996
  Books read in 1995
  Books read in 1994
  Books read in 1993
  Books read in 1992
  Books read in 1991
  Books read in 1990
  Books read in 1989
  Books read in 1988
Ellen's book list
I keep a list of all the books I've read since 1988, when I first started keeping track. I do this mainly because I love to read and because I'm a list maker. If you like a lot of similar books and want to recommend one, please send me a note. The "Buy" links take you to that book on Amazon (the paperback version) and the author links take you the Amazon page that lists all of that author's books. My -4 to +4 ratings scale is explained below the list.

On this page, I provide a list of my all-time favorites, my +4 ratings. To see all the books I've read in each year, click on the links on the left side of the page. In 1999, I started writing short reviews of the books I read, though I haven't kept it up recently. To see them, either click on the book title or the rating. My next project is to make this list searchable.

Ellen's All Time Favorite Books
(in order of Year Read)
No. Author Title Year
Read
Rating
(-4 to +4)
26 Khaled Hosseini The Kite Runner  [Buy] 2005 +4
25 Jung Chang Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China   [Buy] 2003 +4
24 Barbara Kingsolver Prodigal Summer   [Buy] 2002 +4
23 Ellen Isaacs & Alan Walendowski Designing From Both Sides of the Screen: How Designers and Engineers Can Collaborate to Build Cooperative Technology  [Buy] 2001
+4
(well ok, we wrote it)
22 Sue Miller While I Was Gone   [Buy] 2000 +4
21 Jane Hamilton A Map of the World   [Buy] 2000 +4
20 John Irving A Widow for One Year [Buy] 1999 +4
19 Sharon Kay Penman The Reckoning [Buy] 1997 +4
18 Sharon Kay Penman Here Be Dragons [Buy] 1997 +4
17 Pat Conroy Beach Music [Buy] 1996 +4
16 Sharon Kay Penman Falls the Shadow [Buy] 1996+4
15 Sharon Kay Penman The Sunne in Splendour [Buy] 1996 +4
14 Sally Helgesen The Female Advantage: Women's Ways of Leadership [Buy] 1995 +4
13 Bebe Moore Campbell Your Blues Ain't Like Mine [Buy] 1993 +4
12 Zora Neale Hurston Their Eyes are Watching God [Buy] 1993 +4
11 Jane Smiley A Thousand Acres [Buy] 1993 +4
10 Barbara Kingsolver The Bean Trees [Buy] 1992 +4
9 Barbara Kingsolver Animal Dreams [Buy] 1992 +4
8 Forrest Carter The Education of Little Tree [Buy] 1992 +4
7 Amy Tan The Kitchen God's Wife [Buy] 1991 +4
6 Amy Tan The Joy Luck Club [Buy] 1991 +4
5 John Irving A Prayer for Owen Meany [Buy] 1991 +4
4 Margaret Atwood Cat's Eye [Buy] 1991 +4
3 Pat Conroy The Prince of Tides [Buy] 1989 +4
2 James Clavell Shogun [Buy] 1988 +4
1 John Irving The Cider House Rules [Buy] 1988 +4
 Books read in 2004

Rating Scale
-4 -3 -2 -1 0 +1 +2 +3 +4
Hated it, struggled through it Take it or leave it Good book, enjoyed it All-time favorite

© 2005 Ellen Isaacs