Books of 2011

Happy New Year!

I have always counted reading as my favorite hobby since I was a little girl.

For the past several years, I've kept track of which books I've read. I simply jot down the title and author on my calendar on the day I finish the book. I never have any goals, either a number of books to read or a list that I "should" read. What's the fun in that? At the end of the year I like to look back at what I've read. That's what this list is.


1. The Confession by John Grisham
Fiction
I love a good lawyer story from John Grisham! This book was a gift for Christmas 2010.

2. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Nonfiction, Kindle
I received a Kindle for Christmas 2010 and I was anxious to try it out! Unbroken was at the top of the best seller list and I know Laura Hillenbrand had done such a good job with Seabiscuit so I read this book. It was fascinating and I learned a whole bunch about World War II in the Pacific, something I knew very little about.

3. Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
Fiction
I think I'd started this book before Christmas and since it was too fat to travel with, it stayed home while I went away. This is four long stories so I read them interspersed with the above books.

4. A Rope and a Prayer by Rohde and Mulvihill
Nonfiction, Kindle
I read an excerpt of this book in Vogue and then heard an interview with the authors on NPR. So of course I had to read it! This was my second Kindle purchase. Both this and Unbroken are essentially prisoner-of-war stories. Amazon then profiled me as a fan of this genre and kept sending me suggestions for other similar stories.

5. Just Kids by Patti Smith
Nonfiction
Really interesting story of Patti Smith in her youth and her friendship with Robert Maplethorpe, the photographer. This had gotten a lot of good reviews and was on several "best of 2010" lists so I read it.

6. Life by Keith Richards
Nonfiction
Continuing the rock star biography theme! I'd asked for and received this book for Christmas. I didn't know I was getting a Kindle. This book is really big and heavy so I'd recommend the Kindle version. It's amazing that Keith Richards is still alive!

7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Fiction
I had joined the Victorian Writers Club by Woolgirl. This is a yarn club where each project would be based on a specific Victorian writer's book. I knew in advance what the books were and a general idea of the project. I planned to read the book the month before the kit arrived and thus be inspired while knitting it. I really enjoyed the book, which somewhat surprised me, and definitely liked knitting my hooded cape. The Ravelry link to the official project is here and to mine specifically is here.

8. An Extravagant Hunger by Anne Zimmerman
Nonfiction, Kindle
I have always admired M.F.K. Fisher and enjoyed her writing about food way, way, way before all the celebrity chefs, Food Network, etc. I remember when I first moved to Houston, over 20 years ago, watching an interview with her on PBS when she was in her 90s. This is a biography which discusses some of the darker aspects of her life that she left out of her own writing.

9. Pearl Buck in China by Hilary Spurling
Nonfiction, Kindle
I'd heard good things about this book. I love reading biographies of strong women.

10. A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger
Nonfiction
This was a change in theme from strong women to a possible serial killer. I'd read an excerpt of this in Vanity Fair years before, had the book, but had yet to read it. I found it on the shelf and read it.

11. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Nonfiction, Kindle
This wasn't at the top of the best seller lists for so long for no good reason! Absolutely fascinating book.

12. Let Me In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Fiction
I'd seen the movie (American version) of this Swedish book a while back. Soon after on a trip to Costco I found the book at a discount. So I bought it and set it on the bedside table. Finally I read it. I love a good vampire story!

13. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Fiction, Kindle
The movie was about to come out. Pressure! I had to read the book before I could see the movie! So I did. Again, why did I wait so long? Sometimes books are best sellers for a long, long time because they are great books.

14. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Fiction
This was another of the Victorian Writers Club books. Believe it or not, I'd never read it before nor did I know much about it. I enjoyed it. However, I still haven't knitted the pattern inspired by it. I got caught up in other things, I guess. So I have this to look forward to in the future.

15. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
Nonfiction, Kindle
Another book I'd been hearing good things about. I'd read Erik Larson before and my boyfriend really liked this book, so we exchanged Kindles and I read it. I learned a lot about the Nazis and SS and all these other German police agencies and it was a great story.

16. At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream by Wade Rouse
Nonfiction, Kindle
Rene was still reading whatever it was he was reading on my Kindle, and we were on vacation, so I found this funny memoir on his Kindle. How he found it, I have no idea, but it made me laugh out loud.

A. UR by Stephen King
Kindle Single
While we were on vacation I read an article about books to be released in the fall. I hadn't realized there would be a new Stephen King. So when we were back in Houston I looked up the new book on Amazon. That led me to several "Kindle Singles" by him (and others). This story featured the Kindle itself.

B. Mile 81 by Stephen King
Kindle Single
More Stephen King!

C. Oxford Girl by Plum Sykes
Kindle Single
In the Kindle Singles browsing, I saw this. I've read her novels and regularly see her stuff in Vogue. As for this particular short memoir, it was ok but not great.

D. Riding the Bullet by Stephen King
Kindle Single
What can I say, I'm a huge fan!

17. The Stand by Stephen King
Fiction, Kindle
All these Stephen King short stories and anticipation of the new novel led me to pick up The Stand again. I have read this book several times over the years, starting in high school. I have a really big, heavy hardback version and I knew the Kindle version was the way to go this time.

18. 11/22/63 by Stephen King
Fiction
Loved this! As a long-time fan, I had to get the hardback version because it deserves a place on the shelf next to all my other Stephen King books. And yes, I finished before my Christmas vacation!


To sum up:
In 2011 I read 18 books. 10 were nonfiction, 8 fiction. I was evenly divided between traditional books (nine) and Kindle books (nine). Additionally I read four Kindle singles. This was definitely a Stephen King-centric year.


I have no idea what I'll read this year. Whatever grabs my attention! I'm starting out with The Tiger's Wife which I'm enjoying immensely.