I got a shiny new Kindle for Christmas and have been on a reading rampage for the past week – I blazed through The Hiding Place in just a few days and have been scouring the library’s e-Book offerings this evening, making a list of all the books I want to tackle this year (the beginning of a new year has me feeling all goal-oriented and list-crazed).  I also like the idea of taking a look back at what I’ve read over the previous year, so here’s my recap: I read 15.1 books in 2011 (that .1 is for the 150 pages I read of Les Miserables, before deciding I love reading too much to make myself trudge through all 1450 pages of Victor Hugo’s looooooong-winded story). There were a few definite winners in here, a few solid Sunday afternoon companions, and a couple that I just wish I hadn’t wasted my time on.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
 The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebowitz
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Naked by David Sedaris
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom
Best books of 2011: Three-way tie between Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,  The Hiding Place, and Cold Sassy Tree.  They were all dramatically different (child wizard vs. concentration camp survivor vs. mischievous boy in the early 1900’s South), so I can’t compare them – I’ll just say I loved them all for different reasons: the fantastical unraveling of an epic story, the spiritual inspiration, the witty and endearing characters…  The Poisonwood Bible and The Help were close runners-up.
Worst book of 2011: The Friday Night Knitting Club. Don’t read it. Just don’t. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet was also sadly unimpressive.
On the docket for 2012:  The Hunger Games Trilogy (a carry-over from my 2011 to-read list), The Great Gatsby (I missed classics this year), and The Power of One (I’ve heard amazing things).  I’ve decided that despite the rainy forecast, it’s going to be a very good winter.
Nance says:
I agree with all of your assessments. All of them! You had a pretty great year of reading! Excited to hear your thoughts on The Power of One. Definitely a fave.
January 2, 2012, 9:32 pmMichelle says:
yep, good list and i agree on the ones not worth reading. i just re-read “farewell to manzanar” and i still think it’s better if you want to read about the internment camps. and i like your list for 2012. i’m interested in your opinion of “the great gatsby.” i didn’t like it much in high school, but maybe i’d like it better now. keep us posted! 🙂
January 8, 2012, 3:21 pm