50 Book Challenge--2011
See, I can post something that isn't depressing once every couple of months. I think I'm up to 56 books; it's just taken me a while to do this. I haven't keep notes on the books I've read this year, which made it hard to choose the top five.
(+) for books I like/recommend
1. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker (+)
2. Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn
3. Impossible by Nancy Werlin
4. I’m with Fatty: Losing 50 Pounds in 50 Miserable Weeks by Edward Ugel (+)
5. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
6. Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller (+)
7. Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself by becoming an EMT by Jane Stern (+)
8. Room by Emma Donoghue (+)
9. Fire Lover by Joseph Wambaugh
10. Shadow Fever by Karen Marie Moning (+)
11. Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue (+)
12. Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehanne
13. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (+)
14. History of a Suicide: my sister’s unfinished life by Jill Bialosky (+)
15. Marry Him: the case for settling for Mr. Good Enough by Lori Gottlieb
16. Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl by Tracy Quan
17. Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb
18. Cinderella Ate my Daughter: Dispatches from the front-lines of the new girlie-girl culture by Peggy Orenstein
19. Little Bee by Chris Cleave (+)
20. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller (+)
21. Suck Your Stomach in and Put Some Color On: What Southern mothers tell their daughters that the rest of y’all should know too by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
22. Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell (+)
23. The Science of Kissing by Sheril Kirshenbaum
24. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
25. Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
26. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White (+)
27. A Secret Gift: How one man’s kindness-and a trove of letters-revealed the hidden history of the Great Depression by Ted Gup (+)
28. How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O’Neal
29. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie war by Max Brooks (+)
30. And the Rest is History: the famous and infamous meetings of the world’s most passionate couples by Marlene Wagman-Gellar
31. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (+)
32. The Happiness Project: Or, why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle and generally have more fun by Gretchen Rubin (+)
33. You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
34. 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn (+)
35. Due South: Dispatches from Down Home by R. Scott Brunner
36. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (+)
37. Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11 by Damon DiMarco (+)
38. Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer
39. Accidentally on Purpose: A one-night stand, my unplanned parenthood and loving the best mistake I ever made by Mary Pols
40. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (+)
41. Embers by Sandor Marai
42. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
43. The Psychopath Test: A journey through the madness industry by Jon Ronson
44. A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life by Steven Kettler
45. Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson (+)
46. Without Conscience: the disturbing world of the psychopaths among us by Robert Hare
47. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk theory and why outsiders thrive after high school by Alexandra Robbins (+)
48. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
49. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown (+)
50. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (+)
1. Room by Emma Donoghue: For five-year-old Jack, Room (actually an 11x11 foot shed) is the whole world. For his Ma, it’s the prison where she has been held captive since she was kidnapped at age nineteen. Usually, these ripped from the headlines fictional novels don’t work for me, but there is more to this book than the shock value. It’s a story of the love between a mother and her child. Ma goes through extraordinary lengths to make a happy life for Jack in Room. I’ve encountered some people who didn’t like this book, but I found it thrilling, touching and heartbreaking all at the same time.
2. Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell: I haven’t seen the Oscar-nominated movie that was based on this book yet, but I can vouch that the book is great. Woodrell is an amazing writer in the style of Cormac McCarthy. In the dirt-poor Ozarks, sixteen-year-old Ree Dolly is struggling to keep her family together. She is barely managing to care for her younger brother and mentally ill mother when she learns that her father has put their house up for bond on crystal meth charges and disappeared. Ree embarks on a journey through the terrifying local crank culture to find him. It’s a beautiful written book and Ree is an amazing character, but I didn’t make it number one because it’s so short that it’s really more of a novella. I was disappointed that there wasn’t more.
3. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White: After some creative accounting in his magazine business, Neil White lands himself in a minimum security prison in Carville, Louisiana for a year. In a Southern gothic twist that is hard to believe is real, the prison is also home to the last leper colony in the United States. White struggles to come to grips with his failures and develops close relationships with the leprosy patients. White’s search for salvation is interesting, but it’s the tragic and triumphant stories of the lepers that make this memoir.
4. Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson: In 1970, Tyson was a ten-year-old boy in Oxford, North Carolina when several white men shot and killed Henry Marrow, who was black, in broad daylight in front of witnesses. The town boils over with racial tension and violent riots. I found this book interesting because I think that history has whitewashed and sanitized the Civil Rights Movement and Tyson is telling the riveting and ugly truth. This is the story of a crime but it’s also the story of Tyson’s father, a Methodist preacher, and his fight to do the right thing and still tend his flock and keep his job.
5. Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin: The fantasy genre is not normally my cup of tea but Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice Series has grabbed me by the throat and won’t let go. There is an epic battle for power going on in the fictionalized medieval world of the Seven Kingdoms. Martin juggles multiple points of view and tons of characters with great skill. These books have everything-adventure, romance, multi-faceted characters, intrigue, violence, etc. If you liked The Lord of the Rings, you’ll love these books. Even if you’re not into science fiction/fantasy, I still recommend giving this series a chance.
Honorable Mention: 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn: This one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read, but this was my second time reading it and I don’t like to put rereads in my top five. This powerful book is richly detailed, completely terrifying and terribly sad. It precisely follows the progression of events from shortly before the first plane hits to the collapse of the second tower. It was almost like reading a thriller, the way I wanted to yell at the people, "Don't go back into the building!" I couldn’t help but to flip to the end of the book to see if the people I was reading about lived or died. Everyone has their own memories of September 11th, but this book gave me a new perspective of what really happened to the ordinary people who went to work in the Towers that day.
(+) for books I like/recommend
1. The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker (+)
2. Mistress of Rome by Kate Quinn
3. Impossible by Nancy Werlin
4. I’m with Fatty: Losing 50 Pounds in 50 Miserable Weeks by Edward Ugel (+)
5. A Gate at the Stairs by Lorrie Moore
6. Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier by Alexandra Fuller (+)
7. Ambulance Girl: How I Saved Myself by becoming an EMT by Jane Stern (+)
8. Room by Emma Donoghue (+)
9. Fire Lover by Joseph Wambaugh
10. Shadow Fever by Karen Marie Moning (+)
11. Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue (+)
12. Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehanne
13. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (+)
14. History of a Suicide: my sister’s unfinished life by Jill Bialosky (+)
15. Marry Him: the case for settling for Mr. Good Enough by Lori Gottlieb
16. Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl by Tracy Quan
17. Crazy Heart by Thomas Cobb
18. Cinderella Ate my Daughter: Dispatches from the front-lines of the new girlie-girl culture by Peggy Orenstein
19. Little Bee by Chris Cleave (+)
20. The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller (+)
21. Suck Your Stomach in and Put Some Color On: What Southern mothers tell their daughters that the rest of y’all should know too by Shellie Rushing Tomlinson
22. Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell (+)
23. The Science of Kissing by Sheril Kirshenbaum
24. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
25. Kiss of the Highlander by Karen Marie Moning
26. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White (+)
27. A Secret Gift: How one man’s kindness-and a trove of letters-revealed the hidden history of the Great Depression by Ted Gup (+)
28. How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O’Neal
29. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie war by Max Brooks (+)
30. And the Rest is History: the famous and infamous meetings of the world’s most passionate couples by Marlene Wagman-Gellar
31. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (+)
32. The Happiness Project: Or, why I spent a year trying to sing in the morning, clean my closets, fight right, read Aristotle and generally have more fun by Gretchen Rubin (+)
33. You Know When the Men are Gone by Siobhan Fallon
34. 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn (+)
35. Due South: Dispatches from Down Home by R. Scott Brunner
36. The Angel’s Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (+)
37. Tower Stories: An Oral History of 9/11 by Damon DiMarco (+)
38. Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer
39. Accidentally on Purpose: A one-night stand, my unplanned parenthood and loving the best mistake I ever made by Mary Pols
40. A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (+)
41. Embers by Sandor Marai
42. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
43. The Psychopath Test: A journey through the madness industry by Jon Ronson
44. A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life by Steven Kettler
45. Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson (+)
46. Without Conscience: the disturbing world of the psychopaths among us by Robert Hare
47. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth: Popularity, Quirk theory and why outsiders thrive after high school by Alexandra Robbins (+)
48. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
49. All We Ever Wanted Was Everything by Janelle Brown (+)
50. A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (+)
1. Room by Emma Donoghue: For five-year-old Jack, Room (actually an 11x11 foot shed) is the whole world. For his Ma, it’s the prison where she has been held captive since she was kidnapped at age nineteen. Usually, these ripped from the headlines fictional novels don’t work for me, but there is more to this book than the shock value. It’s a story of the love between a mother and her child. Ma goes through extraordinary lengths to make a happy life for Jack in Room. I’ve encountered some people who didn’t like this book, but I found it thrilling, touching and heartbreaking all at the same time.
2. Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell: I haven’t seen the Oscar-nominated movie that was based on this book yet, but I can vouch that the book is great. Woodrell is an amazing writer in the style of Cormac McCarthy. In the dirt-poor Ozarks, sixteen-year-old Ree Dolly is struggling to keep her family together. She is barely managing to care for her younger brother and mentally ill mother when she learns that her father has put their house up for bond on crystal meth charges and disappeared. Ree embarks on a journey through the terrifying local crank culture to find him. It’s a beautiful written book and Ree is an amazing character, but I didn’t make it number one because it’s so short that it’s really more of a novella. I was disappointed that there wasn’t more.
3. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts by Neil White: After some creative accounting in his magazine business, Neil White lands himself in a minimum security prison in Carville, Louisiana for a year. In a Southern gothic twist that is hard to believe is real, the prison is also home to the last leper colony in the United States. White struggles to come to grips with his failures and develops close relationships with the leprosy patients. White’s search for salvation is interesting, but it’s the tragic and triumphant stories of the lepers that make this memoir.
4. Blood Done Sign My Name by Timothy Tyson: In 1970, Tyson was a ten-year-old boy in Oxford, North Carolina when several white men shot and killed Henry Marrow, who was black, in broad daylight in front of witnesses. The town boils over with racial tension and violent riots. I found this book interesting because I think that history has whitewashed and sanitized the Civil Rights Movement and Tyson is telling the riveting and ugly truth. This is the story of a crime but it’s also the story of Tyson’s father, a Methodist preacher, and his fight to do the right thing and still tend his flock and keep his job.
5. Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin: The fantasy genre is not normally my cup of tea but Martin’s A Song of Fire and Ice Series has grabbed me by the throat and won’t let go. There is an epic battle for power going on in the fictionalized medieval world of the Seven Kingdoms. Martin juggles multiple points of view and tons of characters with great skill. These books have everything-adventure, romance, multi-faceted characters, intrigue, violence, etc. If you liked The Lord of the Rings, you’ll love these books. Even if you’re not into science fiction/fantasy, I still recommend giving this series a chance.
Honorable Mention: 102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn: This one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read, but this was my second time reading it and I don’t like to put rereads in my top five. This powerful book is richly detailed, completely terrifying and terribly sad. It precisely follows the progression of events from shortly before the first plane hits to the collapse of the second tower. It was almost like reading a thriller, the way I wanted to yell at the people, "Don't go back into the building!" I couldn’t help but to flip to the end of the book to see if the people I was reading about lived or died. Everyone has their own memories of September 11th, but this book gave me a new perspective of what really happened to the ordinary people who went to work in the Towers that day.