Books Read in 2011 with some mini reviews

"Woman Reading" by Mary Cassatt

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I read a total of 42 books in 2011. Twice as many as the year before! I use GoodReads to keep track of my reading. If you're wondering, I'm a die hard paper and ink reader. No Kindle for me, thanks. This was the year of the super long book for me. I read three books with than 400 pages!

My #1 read for the year was
Bonhoeffer:Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas. 592 pages.

My favourite book to read and re-read (and recommend to others) was
One Thousand Gifts:A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp.

My favourite novels were Major Pettigrew's Last Stand and The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. The character of Katey Kontent (from The Rules of Civility) was someone you really wanted to have as a friend. I kept wishing a movie would be made about Major Pettigrew, maybe played by James Cromwell?

My favourite memoir wasUnPlanned by Abby Johnson.

My favourite book of classic fiction was The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins. This book has a whopping 672 pages but it kept my attention throughout. This book is one of the first detective mysteries ever written.

This past year, I read quite a few books set during WWII, both fiction and non-fiction:

- Unbroken:A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand- an amazing book. 473 pages. I highly recommend it! Louis Zamperini is a true hero. I don't want to spoil this book so I won't write any more.

- The Paris Wife by Paula McClain - this book was such a letdown. I actually wish I hadn't bothered with it. It tells the story of Ernest Hemingway's first wife and their life in Paris during the Jazz Age. There was no-one likeable in the book.

- Daring Young Men: The Heroism and Triumph of The Berlin Airlift by Richard Reeves

- The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
- Nella Last's War: The Second World War Diaries....- This was a diary of a real woman. It has been made into a movie but I haven't seen it. I en-joyed this look into the day to day life of an average woman in London, dealing with rations, air raids, and a very nonsupportive husband.

- Henrietta's War:News from the Home Front 1939-1942 (fiction) The problem with this book is that I read it AFTER I had read many serious books about this time frame. This book had a cheerful comic tone which seemed almost sacreligious after reading a non-fictional book about a woman's sacrifices during the war (Nella Last's War) and after reading about someone in prison and eventually killed by Hitler (Bonhoeffer).

- Lost in Shangri-La: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of WW II by Mitchell Zuchoff. A disappointing book. Yes, it told a unique story in an exotic locale but I thought the book could have used some editing. There was way too much focus on the one female character and the last half of the book dragged.

Memoirs and biographies were another popular genre, although I seemed to read quite a few that disappointed me.

- Bossypants by Tina Fey. It was funny but not side-splitting as I expected. I've been told that listening to the audiobook is better than reading it. I love seeing her book next to the Dick Cheney one on my list of books recently read. Quite the juxtaposition, don't you think? :)

- Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews. This book was a disappointment. Too much name dropping and fawning over other actors/singers.

- Confessions by St. Augustine - I didn't finish this. It was a tough read. Maybe I need a better translation? I just picked up the cheap one at Barnes & Noble.

- In My Time by Dick Cheney
- Decision Points by George W. Bush

- Shattered Dream: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife by Irene Spencer. This is the second book I've read about women escaping Morman fundamentalism (polygamy). Escape by Carolyn Jessup was more dramatic but this book revealed more about day to day life in that world.

- An Education by Lynn Barber. I liked the movie (especially the soundtrack) but the book wasn't great. She wasn't a sympathetic character.

- Saved by Her Enemy: An Iraqi woman's journey from the heart of war to the heartland of America by Don Teague and Rafraf Barrak. Recommended. This book left me wanting to read more accounts from the point of view of journalists or soldiers in Iraq. If anyone has a suggestion of a book that isn't profanity laced or too grim, I'm interested.

- Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhonda Janzen. Funny.

- Nomad by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I preferred her first book Infidel. In Nomad she wrote about her atheism quite a bit.

- A Sixpence in Her Shoe by Phyllis McGinley. A fun look at housekeeping in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

Fiction:

- I read several books from the Chronicles of Fairacre series by Miss Read (Village School, Village Diary, Storm in the Village). These are "cosy" reads about a small English village and focus on the school.

- Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner. Chick lit but the subject matter (surrogacy) is one that could be discussed at a book club due to its moral and ethical implications
- Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner

- The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party - another installment in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series

- Mr. Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

- The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

- Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz. Ivy league admissions.

- Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - a depressing book.

- The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford. I saw the mini-series and decided to pick up the book. It was just OK.
- Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. I just read this gem a few days ago and it is still mulling around in my head.

Some other books that doesn't fit well into the other categories:

- Ten Big Lies about America by Michael Medved.

- Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save the World! by Andrew Breitbart
- Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C.S. Lewis.

In another post, I'll tell you about some of the books I want to read in 2012.

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