Books of 2011

Last year I did not exactly set myself a firm goal of the number of books I wanted to read.  In 2010 I managed 24 and hoped that maybe I'd do the same for 2011.  I got close with 20, once again starting off with many books at the beginning of the year, fewer in the summer, a spurt again in the fall, and then tailing off around the holidays.  That seems to be my pattern and I am satisfied to be in the 20 to 24 book range for my annual tally.  Here is a list and a few words about some of the books: (*denotes books read for my book club)

Dark of the Moon - John Sandford

The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson  I felt compelled to read after reading TGWTDT in 2010 and I've read some of the final installment, with a lot of skimming; perhaps I'll try reading TGWKTHN in its entirety this year

Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins  Despite being classified as "Young Adult", I absolutely loved this series (thanks J.L for pointing me towards it!)  Some may scoff at the YA rating but I still found all the books great page-turners, about teenagers surviving in a post-apocalyptic America and fighting to the death in the barbaric "Hunger Games".  I know I am but one of many fans looking forward to the first movie coming out in March http://hungergamesmovie.org/category/hunger-games-trailer/

Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

Pomme de Terre - Candace Simar The second book by a local MN author about Norwegian immigrants around the time of the Sioux uprising (1862) and in the years following.  Makes one appreciate all the modern conveniences we have today!

The Shack - William Paul Young  * Read for book club; an interesting look at God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit but in novel form; I learned a lot.

Water for Elephants - Sarah Gruen Thought it was good, the movie as well.

Moloka'i - Alan Brennert * Read for book club; an eye-opening look at leprosy and the effects it had on the Hawaiian people.

Vermillion Drift - William Kent Krueger The 11th book by this author (guess I'm a fan of his too) about a small town Minnesota sheriff-turned-PI.  I like the main character and recognizing some of the locales and settings.  The author is coming to a local library in February and I plan to go listen to his presentation.

The Thirteenth Tale - Diana Setterfield * My choice for book club though I had no knowledge of it, just sounded interesting.  It was very Jane Eyre-ish, and most of the book club gave it a thumbs-up.

Divergent - Veronica Roth  Another teenage-post-apocalyptic plot line, not sure why I picked this one up but found it decent.  Funny, I am reading ANOTHER similar book right now, must be a theme I am into.

Sex with Kings - Eleanor Herman  Very interesting and informative book about royal mistresses (and yes, Camilla Parker-Bowles did receive mention) throughout history.  I found the format of the book a bit hard to follow but it made me want to read more about some of these highly influential women.

The Forgotten Garden - Kate Morton

Birdie - Candace Simar  Third book by the local author about MN settlers

Bossypants - Tina Fey  Good for a few laughs

The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff *  Book club selection about the Latter Day Saints; I think we all learned a lot about the history of polygamy and the development of this religion through this novel.

The Hiding Place - Corrie ten Boom * Dutch resistence during WWII; made one thankful for fleas (you'd have to read it to understand)

Unbroken - Laura Hillenbrand  Probably my favourite book I read last year.  The true story of an American airman shot down over the Pacific in WWII, survived 40-some days on a life raft, only to be captured by the Japanese and stuck in POW camps for 2 years.  I learned so much about the Pacific theatre of war, the unbelievable and inhumane treatment that POWs suffered at the hands of the Japanese and the resilience of the human spirit.  The author did such an astounding job of research that you would swear she was perched on Louis Zamperini's shoulder through it all.  Tough to read but I highly recommend it.

Bride of New France - Suzanne DesRochers  The hardships faced by French women brought over to marry fur traders and help populate the colony that became Quebec.  Made me thankful for electricity, central heating and indoor plumbing!

And I am proud to include a list of the books that I read to my children last year.  I took some book suggestions from "The Read-Aloud Handbook" by Jim Trelease and others I just decided to read when I came across the book on the shelf ("The Wizard of Oz" for example). 

The Magic Treehouse series #1 to #37 - Mary Pope Osborne  History, adventure, culture, biology all rolled into a kid-friendly package.  My kids would sit and listen to a whole book in the Magic Treehouse series in one sitting if I felt like reading that long; they love the Jack and Annie books, we learn a lot from them and as soon as we finish one, they ask "what's the next one about?"  We have almost caught up to the end of the series and then will unfortunately have to wait a little longer between books.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl  Fun book, haven't shown them the movie yet

The Incredible Journey of Edward Tulane - Kate DiCamillo

Wizard of Oz (shorted but beautifully illustrated version) - Frank Baum

Stuart Little - E. B. White  (We just started "Charlotte's Web" last week!)

Babe:  the Gallant Pig - Dick King-Smith  I didn't know the movie came from a book; the author has a different style that made reading aloud a bit awkward sometimes but we loved the book.  We'll rent the movie soon.

The Water Horse - Dick King-Smith  A suggestion from "The Read Aloud Handbook", great story about kids finding and raising a Loch Ness-type monster!

I have only finished one book so far this year, "Northwest Angle" which is the 12th by William Kent Krueger, but I do have another three books on the go.  I always love to hear good book suggestions, ones you have read yourself or to your children that you enjoyed.  I'm hoping for a 24 book year again this year and have a stack on my nightstand and a list of requests at the library to help make that happen.