Reading list update

At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read at least one book that fit twenty different topics.  In late February, I did an update on the first four books I had read from my list (these books are in bold on the below list.) Since that post, I have continued whittling away on my list (while also managing to fit in several just-for-fun books along the way.)  So here is another update on my year of erudition.

1. Theology - The Mystic Way of Evangelism: A Contemplative Vision for Christian Outreach by  Elaine Heath
2. Pulitzer Prize Winner - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson; It took me a very long time to get into this book, but once I did, I felt it was well worth my effort.  Gilead is about a dying minister who is writing to his young son.  In testimony to the profoundness of the book, BJ got a couple of sermons out of me reading him some of my favorite parts.
3. Mystery - Brandy and Bullets by Donald Bain;  I was almost too embarrassed to admit this one on my list.  This book is actually based on the TV series, Murder, She Wrote.  Apparently, for the past twenty years, Donald Bain has been publishing murder mysteries staring Jessica Fletcher, and as it turns out, they're pretty dang good.  I've always been a devotee of the show, so when I needed a light read a month ago, I checked this book out.  It is set in Cabot Cove, so I was immediately enchanted with the atmosphere.  The rest was just a delightful little read.
4. Thriller - The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley; This was a Kindle Daily Deal that I bought specifically to fulfill my "thriller" requirement.  It was about a female archeologist in Scotland who is researching the site of an old Roman camp.  Of course, there were ghosts and murders and a romance with a charming, curly-haired Scotsman. Basically, I couldn't stop clicking for the pages to turn.
5. Trashy Romance - Years by Lavyrle Spencer 
6. A Vampire Book
7. Children's Lit
8. A book that has or is being made into a movie
9. A Collection of Poetry
10. A Shakespeare Play - The Tempest; Turns out that reading Shakespeare when you aren't being forced to in school is absolutely awesome!  It didn't feel like a chore I had to do to complete my New Year's resolution.  It was actually fun!  This may have to become a yearly goal.
11. A book of historical non-fiction written by Doris Kearns Goodwin - Team of Rivals; I decided that since this book was so long and hefty (and since my opportunities to read are usually short and include children screaming in the background), I would listen to it as an audio book while I worked in my kitchen.  Just 30 minutes in, I didn't want to turn it off.  I started trying to think of extra chores I could do in my kitchen.  I am not being facetious when I say this: I had the cleanest kitchen of my life that week.  And when I got to the final CD and the narrator announced that it was Friday and I knew that Lincoln was assassinated on a Friday, I put down my dish rag, set on the floor next to the CD player, and cried for the rest of the book.  Obviously, we all know how the story ends, but you can't help hoping for a happier ending even after a hundred and fifty years.
12. Biography (Currently working on this with David McCollough's John Adams.  It is so engrossing that I've hardly had time to clean house or think about my upcoming trip these past few days.)
13. Memoir - Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield; Another random find on my Kindle.  This book is written by a former English professor and lesbian who is now the wife of a minister in a very conservative denomination.  It truly is a story that is stranger than fiction.  While many of her currently-held views are a bit conservative for me, I found her humility in the face of God's divinity inspiring. 
14. Comedy - I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern; I laughed so much reading this book that BJ would leave the room because he couldn't focus on his homework.  Justin Halpern first got famous for his Twitter feed, "Sh*t My Dad Says." This book chronicles Halpern's encounters with women from childhood to marriage, and of course, his father plays a big role in his education about the opposite sex.  What surprised me most was what an amazing parent his foul-mouthed father actually is.  I actually got some good parenting tips from this book.
15. British classic and/or a Booker Prize winner - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen;  I read this book with my brother and sister-in-law (we have made our own book club.)  While it was quite different from Austen's other books, I still thoroughly enjoyed it.  All I have left now of her books is Emma.
16. An Agatha Christi - Peril at End House
17. Young Adult Lit - City of Bones by Cassandra Clare; My mother-in-law lent this to me about two years ago, but I just picked it up on a whim in May.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  It is definitely Young Adult.  You have to accept that the character are going to seem a bit immature before you pick it up.  But once you get in the right mind-set, it is a fast-paced, action-packed ride.
18. The Bible - Read through Chapter 96 of Psalms so far...
19. SciFi or Fantasy - The Once and Future King by T. H. White 
20. Graphic Novel