2011 proved to be a good year for me in reading books. I definitely picked up the pace compared to 2010. Pretty sure a baby with no more ear infections and sleeping through the night has a lot to do with that. :) So here is my recap in no particular order:
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls - I really loved this book. I always enjoy true stories, and this one was pretty incredible and an inspiring story of resilience. It's very well-written and engrossing.
Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls - So this is the prequel to The Glass Castle. I wish I had read them in chronological order. But I was still pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It's set during the turn of the century out on horse farms most of the time. Not what I usually gravitate to, but I couldn't put it down and really loved the main character.
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls - I really loved this book. I always enjoy true stories, and this one was pretty incredible and an inspiring story of resilience. It's very well-written and engrossing.
Half-Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls - So this is the prequel to The Glass Castle. I wish I had read them in chronological order. But I was still pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It's set during the turn of the century out on horse farms most of the time. Not what I usually gravitate to, but I couldn't put it down and really loved the main character.
Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter & Sweet by Jamie Ford - I enjoyed this book, but it probably ranked on the lower end of the ones I read this year. It's a novel but based during the WWII days when Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps. I really have not read a lot about this part of our country's history. Obviously hard to comprehend. There is a sweet story of friendship woven in.
Open by Andre Agassi - I love a good biography and decided to read this way before I started taking tennis lessons. I wish I could read it for the first time (I'm horrible at re-reading books) now that I understand the game of tennis so much more. But it was still surprising to read about someone's rise to success but see that they still feel isolated and lonely. Very sad at times but definitely interesting.
Crazy Love by Francis Chan - I had heard of this book and of Francis Chan for awhile, and then in April we were able to hear him speak at a conference. Wow. This guy is impressive. It's always refreshing to see what appears to be the real deal in a very public Christian leader. I liked the book, but I'm thinking because I had heard so much of it already, it didn't have the impact I've heard so many others talk about. Still all very applicable and good.
Still Alice by Lisa Genova - This was one of my favorites of the year. It was also one of the hardest to read. I had just come back from visiting my grandfather, who has severe Alzheimer's. The novel is based on a college professor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. It's from her perspective as the warning signs start to appear. Disturbing and sad, but also gave me such a different perspective knowing that someone I love has gone through something similar.
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - This one took me awhile to really get into. But once I did, oh my word. I couldn't put it down. I will say, though, it is disturbing at times. Pretty sure I had some odd dreams while I was reading this. It's the true story of a WWII pilot that was lost at sea for an insane amount of time on a raft and then held in a Japanese POW camp. Everything about his story is incredible and terrifying. But I loved that there is some hope to his story in the end even after the suffering. And another personal moment (SPOILER ALERT) was when he was finally rescued from the POW camp, he was on a bus with others rescued from the Bataan Death camps. My grandfather was part of the team that liberated those prisoners. Kind of neat to realize some connection.
The Hole In Our Gospel by Richard Stearns - Well this book (and video study with our Small Group at church) had a huge impact on me. It was a perfectly placed step in my search early in the year. His basic premise is that the missing hole in the American Christian Gospel is living out our faith and serving those that need it the most. We were going through this study when I found out about the trip to Haiti. The part of the book that stayed with me the most was his prayer of "Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours." This book opened my eyes in a new way, and I'm so thankful for the chapter it helped lead to in my life.
Bossypants by Tina Fey - Hilarious. Seriously, she is funny. Very interesting to see how her career progressed. Loved all of the stories and even easy to relate to after she had her baby.
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty - If you've seen the movie, The Vow, this book is pretty much the same thing (although much better!) but instead of a young, single girl, it's a middle-aged mom. She wakes up in a hospital after an accident and is fine physically but has forgotten the past 15 years of her life. Interesting and easy to read, good story.
Any great ones out there to recommend for this year? If you're like me, you like to get actual recommendations from people you know. So here are my lists from 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007. I wonder if this is the year I'll finally tackle the Benjamin Franklin biography and/or Jane Eyre? Those have been on my to-read list for about a decade. Procrastinate much?
Happy Reading!
Bossypants by Tina Fey - Hilarious. Seriously, she is funny. Very interesting to see how her career progressed. Loved all of the stories and even easy to relate to after she had her baby.
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty - If you've seen the movie, The Vow, this book is pretty much the same thing (although much better!) but instead of a young, single girl, it's a middle-aged mom. She wakes up in a hospital after an accident and is fine physically but has forgotten the past 15 years of her life. Interesting and easy to read, good story.
Any great ones out there to recommend for this year? If you're like me, you like to get actual recommendations from people you know. So here are my lists from 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2007. I wonder if this is the year I'll finally tackle the Benjamin Franklin biography and/or Jane Eyre? Those have been on my to-read list for about a decade. Procrastinate much?
Happy Reading!
3 comments:
Well, I do love to read but often find myself re-reading favorites or just silly Christian fiction. Thanks for sharing your reads - always inspires me to be more intentional. As I tried to think about what I'd recommend from my reading last year, I thought I'd mention "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. I often get stuck in nonfiction, but this one was narrative and fascinating. It tracks the lives of "successful" people to try to uncover patterns or reasons for their success. I actually listened to it on tape but went back to buy it so I could read it on paper as well!
Some I have read in the past couple of months that are worth mentioning...
* Safe Haven (a Nicholas Sparks book, but not typical Nicholas Sparks. A little less romatic and more suspensful)
* The Fault in our Stars (a little teen-ish and good, but sad)
* Night Road (Kristin Hannah)
* Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (I read it before the movie came out thinking I would go and see the movie. I haven't!)
* Matched (it is a series similar to Hunger Games. Pretty good)
Thanks for the recap Kelly - I'm always looking for a good recommendation. My two favorites lately - Seven by Jen Hatmaker (hilarious & convicting - very practical ways to combat the excess in our American lives) & Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis. Love her blog, and much of the book was pulled from it, but still a great inspirational read.
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