I read 47 books toward my goal to finish 52 books in 52 weeks. That means I only met 90% of my goal. Not shabby, but still a little disappointing. In my defense I read longer, more challenging books. But I don't set my goal on page count, I set it on volumes. Complete stories told from beginning to end in as many pages as it takes. I read some really great stories this year.
Here I recommend a few:
The Year of the Flood (MaddAddam Trilogy #2) by Margaret Atwood
Every Last One by Anna Quindlen
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Inés of My Soul, by Isabel Allende
Fall of Giants (The Century Trilogy #1) by Ken Follett
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
I, Claudius by Robert Graves
The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay
Reading Lolita in Tehran Azar Nafisi
If I could recommend just one from the list above it would be Reading Lolita in Tehran. That is a book for readers. It's beautiful, relevant, and generally awesome. Notably it was the first book I finished in 2011 and it still stands in my mind as the best.
Here I discourage you from the following:
The Shack by William P. Young
Anarcho Grow by T.A. Sedlak
4 Months to a 4-Hour Marathon by Dave Kuehls
These are all books that I started, sometimes more than once, and couldn't finish. I did finish the marathon one, however, only to discover later that some of its claims were a bit misleading.
I predict I will read these books in 2012:
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod by Gary Paulsen
In 2012 I again hope to finish 52 books. If you are an avid reader and would like to follow what I read please sign-up at goodreads.com. My I.D. is Denver Brunette, I think. If you are an occasional reader and just want a recommendation from time to time, send me an e-mail and ask! No other question brings me greater gladness. For reals.
PHOTO NOTE: Pictured with our New Year's Resolutions. More on this later!
5 comments:
I can't wait to hear about your resolutions. And you have a really beautiful tree. And I love that you did this post. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is my favorite book. Can't wait to see what you read this year.
That was Claudia, by the way.
I wish I had your desires and interests in books and reading. I hope that maybe it will come later in life when I don't have children that I'm getting up with in the middle of the night. Right now when I try to read, I just fall asleep. So until then, I'm going to just admire what you do.
Congratulations on acheiving 90% of your goal! I don't even remember my goal(s) for 2011!!
I think I read around 10 books in 2011 & I LOVE to read, but just don't have the time. Again, I commend you. If you like mystery, suspense types, I suggest anything by Harlan Coben. Good luck in 2012-I'm rooting for you!
Love to read. I am currently reading, "The Elegance of the Hedgehog." PRetty tree.
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