Book #75

Drum roll, please ...

Book #75 is The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver.

Awesome, AWESOME book.

A tale of a Baptist preacher who takes his family into the Congo in 1959. (I absolutely hate the concept of missionary work - hate it. It's arrogance, narcissism and condescension in their highest forms.) The book traces their arrival, struggles and tragedies over the years - first as missionaries, then in their lives as they move on - some out of Africa, some still within.

What stays with me most of all is the (recent) history of the Congo/Zaire, the politics and the devastation of a once vital population by Europeans and Americans. I've developed a respect and admiration for the continent as a whole, and the people, that I never would have had without Kingsolver's novel. Like "A Long Way Gone", I think this of this book as required reading, especially for those who are ignorant of Africa's struggles.

1. The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman
2. The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman
3. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman
4. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
5. Innocent in Death - J.D. Robb
6. Seven Up - Janet Evanovich
7. Hard Eight - Janet Evanovich
8. Unconditional Parenting - Alfie Kohn
9. To the Nines - Janet Evanovich
10. Tourist Season - Carl Hiaasen
11. The Secret Life of Bees - Sun Monk Kidd
12. Crazy Time: Surviving Divorce and Building a New Life - Abigail Trafford
13. Ten Big Ones - Janet Evanovich
14. Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
15. The Ruby in the Smoke - Philip Pullman
16. Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
17. The Accidental Tourist - Anne Tyler
18. Blood Brothers - Nora Roberts
19. Eleven on Top - Janet Evanovich
20. The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing - Melissa Bank
21. Zlata's Diary - Zlata Filipovic
22. The Reading Group - Elizabeth Noble
23. Heartburn - Nora Ephron
24. The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
25. Twelve Sharp - Janet Evanovich
26. Girl, Interrupted - Susanna Kaysen
27. Lean, Mean Thirteen - Janet Evanovich
28. Plum Lovin' - Janet Evanovich
29. The Curious Incident of the Dog in Night-Time - Mark Haddon
30. Skinny Dip - Carl Hiaasen
31. Metro Girl - Janet Evanovich
32. Native Tongue - Carl Hiaasen
33. Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
34. Morrigan's Cross - Nora Roberts
35. Dance of the Gods - Nora Roberts
36. Valley of Silence - Nora Roberts
37. Strangers in Death - JD Robb
38. The Mermaid Chair - Sue Monk Kidd
39. Me Talk Pretty One Day - David Sedaris
40. The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K. Hamilton
41. Flush - Carl Hiaasen
42. The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks
43. Bare Bones - Kathy Reichs
44. Sick Puppy - Carl Hiaasen
45. Plum Lucky - Janet Evanovich
46. Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris
47. Lucky You - Carl Hiaasen
48. Stormy Weather - Carl Hiaasen
49. Necessary Losses - Judith Viorst
50. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
51. Holidays on Ice - David Sedaris
52. Blue Dahlia - Nora Roberts
53. Black Rose - Nora Roberts
54. Red Lily - Nora Roberts
55. The Little Book of Letting Go - Hugh Prather
56. Twilight - Stephanie Meyer
57. How to Survive the Loss of a Love - Peter McWilliams, Harold H. Bloomfield, and Melba Colgrove
58. New Moon - Stephanie Meyer
59. Mom's House, Dad's House - Isolina Ricci
60. Naked - David Sedaris
61. The Memory Keeper's Daughter - Kim Edwards
62. The Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall
63. Wicked Nights - Nina Bangs
64. To Bed a Beauty - Nicole Jordan
65. Key of Light - Nora Roberts
66. Pictures of Hollis Woods - Patricia Reilly Giff
67. Ellen Foster - Kaye Gibbons
68. Key of Knowledge - Nora Roberts
69. Key of Valor - Nora Roberts
70. Auriel Rising - Elizabeth Redfern
71. Break No Bones - Kathy Reichs
72. Open House - Elizabeth Berg
73. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier - Ishmael Beah
74. Kafka's Soup - Mark Crick
75. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver