Marcella's Top 5 . . . Didn't Read

Everyone has their up years and everyone has their down years, right? The roller coaster plummeted to the bottom of the track this year. At least, I hope it was the bottom. A suicidal family member in a lot of danger started the year out all wrong (he's been treated and is doing really well, thanks.) My husband's best friend - 34 years old - died in her sleep in spring. Unemployment came to call in the early summer, and though it was a conscious choice, it's stuck around. Then came the two cancer diagnoses and subsequent deaths, one in July, then another September. Perhaps you see where I'm going.

Reading that has required any kind of higher brain function from me simply did not happen this year. Which is to say, I read a lot. I just read all of my comfort reads - the thought of shopping for a new book (and hey, I'm still a card carrying member of Book Buyer's Anonymous) was overwhelming. Any kind of decision was. So I didn't make any. About books. Clearly I made decisions about paying bills, buying groceries and doing all of the things that kept the rest of my family alive, but after that? Not many resources left to do anything but fall into the comforting embrace of old literary friends.

My top three comfort reads:
1. Sunshine - Robin McKinley
2. Games of Command - Linnea Sinclair
3. Finders Keepers - Linnea Sinclair

As the life rollercoaster occasionally tipped its nose into the air to climb a few feet before dropping again, I did pick up some non fiction books to read. Some were on productivity. Some on leadership. Some on general psychology principles. Several were okay. Some were a waste of pixels on my Kindle. A few were actively good.

The actively good:
1. When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times - Pema Chodron
2. The War of Art - Steven Pressfield
3. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us - Daniel H. Pink

I have grandiose plans to read NEW books this year. This is aided and abetted by all the people I adore in my life who gave me Amazon and B&N gift cards. Fiction, people! Fun, filthy, lots of adventure fiction. Suggestions??