I started keeping track of books that I read last year. I read a lot and when friends asked for recommendations, I would not be able to remember so many of the great books that I had read.
So, I decided to combine my two great loves - my love of reading and my love of lists (yes, I'm that Type-A type of person) - and start keeping track of, well, books that I've read.
What I am realizing is that my reading history provides an interesting time line of my life in regards to what I happen to be reading and why, at that moment in time, I felt compelled to read a certain book. Take that Facebook!
Below is the list of books that I read in 2011 in descending chronological order. The format is simple: Title by Author, Publish Date.
For the last two books that I read in 2011, I decided to dedicate a separate post to the books since my last two books of 2011 ended up being interesting selections...
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1. Eighteen Acres by Nicole Wallace, 2010 => Recommend
This book was a shout-out to my days when I lived in DC and was a bit obsessed with politics like most people there tend to be.
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling, 2011
3. An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting With Destiny by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski, 2011 => Recommend
The boy in the story grows up never sitting at a table to eat and wondering how he is to make it to school on time when there are no clocks at home. He never realizes that there is another way of life until Schroff introduces him to her world.
4. Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews, 2011 => Recommend
This is a good beach read candidate. Sure, there are predictable story lines, but at least the story moved and there are multiple plot lines, and not just a story about a whiny, yet sparkling, heroine. Apparently, whining translates to scintillating if a woman wears a cute outfit.
5. Pulse by Julian Barnes, 2011 => Recommend
My introduction to an amazing author. He captures people, reality and complex relationships so incredibly well.
6. It's Hard Not to Hate You by Valerie Frankel, 2011
7. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, 2010 => Recommend
8. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, 2009 => Recommend
9. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, 2009 => Recommend
I picked this up for my plane ride to China in October. I wanted a quick, easy, page-turner to survive the 14 hour flight. My friend Greg recommended Game of Thrones, and I got Hunger Games out of it. Don't ask - that's just how my mind works.
10. This is a Book by Demetri Martin, 2011 => Recommend
A funny, talented comedian with a very creative book - there are hilarious charts, imaginative use of words. A potpourri of funny.
11. Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close, 2011 => Recommend
12. Kosher Chinese: Living, Teaching, and Eating with China's Other Billion by Michale Levy, 2011
13. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, 2011 => Recommend
A good movie to see after reading this book is Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris.
14. Scandalous Woman: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women by Elizabeth Kerri Mahon, 2001
This is one of the perused books...
15. Smart Medicine: How the Changing Role of Doctors Will Revolutionize Health Care by William Hanson, M.D., 2011
I read this for work since I had recently started a new job in the health industry. Starting a new job is like starting a new relationship. In the beginning, you're so excited by the newness and want to find out everything you can. Then, the excitement wears off and things turn to a need to know basis.
16. Bloodmoney: A Novel of Espionage by David Ignatius, 2011
Not my genre, but I tried.
17. Something Blue by Emily Giffin, 2005 => Recommend
My friend Danielle recommended this ages ago, and I had no interest in reading chick lit back then. I was young and naive. I've come to realize that a lot of chick lit books are extremely well written, and not just filled with whiny, sparkling girls (see #4).
18. Bossypants by Tina Fey, 2011 => Recommend
Fey manages to be funny, very funny, while making astute observations that makes you think without any hint of preaching.
19. Stories I Only Tell My Friends: An Autobiography by Rob Lowe, 2011 => Recommend
You know how in LinkedIn or Facebook, you are surprised to see people you know who also know someone else you know? Like we don't know that we travel in small circles? That's like Lowe growing up in the industry - there are so many random Hollywood people he has come into contact with during his career.
Most impressively, I don't believe he used a ghostwriter to write this book. An example of how looks will get you only so far (like dating a Princess), but it's the smarts that keeps you there (like writing a book). Wait, what was my point again?
20. Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh, 2010
Hsieh is the CEO of Zappos and the man who drove its success. So if you are like my friend Rachael and spend $700 on five different pairs of shoes so that you can determine the one that you want and return the rest, than you may be interested in reading about the Zappos way.
21. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler, 2010 => Recommend
I've read all her books. If you're looking for someone similar to read, try David Sedaris. His books are hilarious and like Handler, draws material from his family and happenings in life.
22. Mao's Last Dancer by Cunxin Li, 2008
23. The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman, 2011 => Recommend
Amazing book. I loved this book, especially since I worked in the newspaper industry and it's nice to read a book that takes place in the good ol' fashioned world of newspapers.
24. A Lost Lady by Willa Cather, 1923 => Recommend
I never read Cather in high school, and definitely missed out. Thanks a lot, Mr. Williams.
25. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, 2007 => Recommend
26. A Woman's Guide to Successful Negotiating: How to Convince, Collaborate and Create Your Way to Agreement by Lee Miller and Jessica Miller, Second Edition 2010 => Recommend
This was before I accepted the position at the aforementioned health care industry (see #15) and had recieved two offers. The basic rule of negotiating: Just Ask.
Sadly, I'm still working on this... Even more sadly, a male co-worker who just graduated from college does a better job negotiating job offers than I do.
27. Little Bee by Chris Cleave, 2009 => Recommend
28. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier by Michael Chabon, 2000 => Recommend
A long, dense read, but worth it.
29. The 4-Hour Workweek: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich by Timothy Ferris, Expanded and Updated Edition 2009
30. Interpreter of the Maladies: Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri, 1999 => Recommend
31. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen, 2010 => Recommend
Franzen is one of my favorite authors.
32. After the Workshop: A Memoir by Jack Hercules Sheahan by John McNally, 2010
As someone who has always been interested in writing (but too practical to pursue), the prestigious Writers' Workshop program at Iowa has always intrigued me.
33. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, 2010 => Recommend
34. Room by Emma Donoghue, 2010
Not the best written book, but what it lacks in finesse, it makes up for it in creativity. The book is told from the point of view of a child who grows up being held captive with his mother in a room, resulting in a wapred sense of "reality". Similar to the real-life story of the boy in #3, who does not know any other reality than the reality he grows up in.
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