2011 Book List

Thank goodness for Shelfari.com.  If I had not been keeping track of my books on this site, I would have lost the list.  See, our computer died in August and I lost a lot of pictures and documents, including my list of books read up to that date.

In 2010, I read 56 books.

In 2011?  75!!  (76 if you count the fact that I reread a book in November that I had read in March, cause I was bored and had my Nook with me at the time, so I re-read a book.)

I know there are people who read more, but for a working mom with a household to run, I am stoked!  Also, I don't count audio books in my car, which I listen to every day to and from work. I don't count comics that I subscribe to. I also don't count the books I read with Isabel, especially now that she reads them to me. They're way too small for me to add.


Here's my list that I had to hand-type because unfortunately, Shelfari won't let me export my list unless my profile on their site is 85% complete. Absolute poppycock, if you ask me.  What does that mean? Stupid things like "adding friends" or "editing book reviews" will make my profile be "more complete."  It's at 70% right now.  So, Shelfari is not being my friend right now.


Sh*t My Dad Says - Justin Halpern (yep, this is how I started 2011.)
The Likeness - Tana French
The Kalahari Typing School for Men - Alexander McCall Smith
Commencement - J. Courtney Sullivan
*A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
Girls Night In - various authors
*1984 - George Orwell
The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove - Christopher Moore
The Brambles - Eliza Minot
The Thief - Megan Whalen Turner
The Full Cupboard of Life -  Alexander McCall Smith
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
*Wives and Daughters - Elizabeth Gaskell
The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
Lost in a Good Book - Jasper Fforde
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
*The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
The Sea of Monsters - Rick Riordan
The Titan's Curse - Rick Riordan
*Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
Good in Bed - Jennifer Weiner
The Peach Keeper - Sarah Addison Allen
In the Company of Cheerful Ladies -  Alexander McCall Smith
InterWorld - Neil Gaiman
Florabama Ladies Auxiliary & Sewing Circle - Lois Battle
The Battle of the Labyrinth - Rick Riordan
Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas - James Patterson
Naked Heat - "Richard Castle"
The Last Olympian - Rick Riordan
A Jane Austen Education - William Deresiewicz
*Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
Undead & Unworthy - MaryJanice Davidson
13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson
Charming Billy - Alice McDermott
Diary of a Mad Fat Girl - Stephanie McAfee
The Time it Snowed in Puerto Rico: A Novel - Sarah McCoy
Hand-Me-Down - Lee Nichols
*Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
All the Names- Jose Saramago
The Angel Experiment - James Patterson
Knit Two - Kate Jacobs
School's Out Forever - James Patterson
The Well of Lost Plots - Jasper Fforde
Dead Reckoning - Charlaine Harris
Saving the World and Other Experiments - James Patterson
Blue Shoes and Happiness -  Alexander McCall Smith
Fablehaven - Brandon Mull
These Happy Golden Years - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Monster Island - Christopher Golden
The First Four Years - Laura Ingalls Wilder
Knit the Season - Kate Jacobs
The Weird Sisters - Eleanor Brown
Comfort Food - Kate Jacobs
Pendragon - D.J. McHale
The Merchant of Death - D.J. McHale
Mr. Chartwell - Rebecca Hunt
*Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Avonlea -  L.M. Montgomery
The Lost City of Faar - D.J. McHale
The Help - Kathryn Sockett
Anne of the Island - L.M. Montgomery
Anne of Windy Poplars - L.M. Montgomery
The Alchemist - Michael Scott (that's what she said)
Something Rotten - Jasper Fforde
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - Karen Russell
One for the Money - Janet Evanovich
The Yada Yada Prayer Group - Neta Jackson
Anne's House of Dreams - L.M. Montgomery
A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin
The Good Husband of Zebra Drive - Alexander McCall Smith
Two for the Dough - Janet Evanovich
One Day in May - Catherine Alliot
Heat Rises - "Richard Castle"

* - Classics List

A few notes:

Notes on some Classics:

I really enjoyed "A Tale of Two Cities" by Dickens.  Really well done.

"Madame Bovary" and "Jude the Obscure" were both written by different authors who got in trouble for being too progressive for their times.  Both books deal with adultery and are actually quite similar.


Books I Want my Money Back For:


Diary of a Mad Fat Girl - Stephanie McAfee (paid .99 and I still want my money back.)
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian - Marina Lewycka
The Likeness - Tana French (It was free; I want my time back.)


Favorites of the Year:


The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde (and all the rest in the "Tuesday Next" series.)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson
A Jane Austen Education - William Deresiewicz
*Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
Fablehaven - Brandon Mull
The Alchemist - Michael Scott
The Yada Yada Prayer Group - Neta Jackson (*this* is how I grew up getting my "praise" on.)

New Series I am enjoying
I just started Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.  I was prepared to be haughty and look down my nose at it (book snob here) and yet I love it!

Continuing Series I Love
I still love Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.  I love its sweetness, kindness and slow pacing.  As I get closer and closer to his newer releases, I am getting sad that eventually I will have to wait for more books to be published.

What did you read?  Anything you think I should read?  Let me know. Let's talk books!