As always hat tip to the awesome Zandria, who already posted her 2010 list.
My previous lists are here: 2008, 2009.
In 2009 I made my annual goal of 12 fiction and 12 nonfiction books. In 2011, I surpassed it! Thanks to audio books during the big commute and the joyous discovery of a book club that suits me. I read 14 fiction and 14 non-fiction books in 2011, and this is with counting a couple young adult series as 1 "book" each.
I list my books in backwards order, so the most recent read first. A star indicates that I read it with my book club, and if I did a review I'll link to that as well.
"The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About Genetics, Talent, and IQ Is Wrong" by David Shenk
"Fame: A Novel in Nine Episodes" by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Carol Janeway *
"Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election that Changed Everything for American Women" by Rebecca Traister review
"The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon" by David Grann *
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" by Steig Larsson, translated by Reg Keeland *
"Pride And Prejudice" by Jane Austen
"Brazen Careerist" by Penelope Trunk
"Here Comes Another Lesson: Stories" by Stephen O'Connor review
"Blind Descent: The Quest to Discover the Deepest Place on Earth" by James M. Tabor
"Orbit: A Novel" by John J. Nance *
"The Day I Shot Cupid: Hello, My Name Is Jennifer Love Hewitt and I'm a Love-aholic" by Jennifer Love Hewitt
"The Forgotten Garden: A Novel" by Kate Morton review
"Fly by Wire: The Geese, the Glide, the Miracle on the Hudson" by William Langewiesche
"The Late, Lamented Molly Marx: A Novel" by Sally Koslow review
"East to the Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart" by Susan Butler
"Welcome to the Monkey House: Stories" by Kurt Vonnegut *
"Something Wicked This Way Comes" by Ray Bradbury *
"Columbine" by Dave Cullen *
"Meeting Your Half-Orange: An Utterly Upbeat Guide to Using Dating Optimism to Find Your Perfect Match" by Amy Spencer review
"Pudd'nhead Wilson" by Mark Twain
"Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal" by Ayn Rand, Nathaniel Branden, Alan Greenspan, Robert Hessen
"The Portrait of a Lady" by Henry James
"The Crimes of Paris: A True Story of Murder, Theft, and Detection" by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler review
"Hunger Games Trilogy" by Suzanne Collins *
"It's Called a Breakup Because It's Broken: The Smart Girl's Break-Up Buddy" by Greg Behrendt, Amiira Ruotola-Behrendt
"The Chronicles Of Prydain: The Book of The Three, The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, The High King" by Lloyd Alexander
"My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up" by Russell Brand *
"The Crimson Portrait: A Novel" by Jody Shields review from 2007, this was a reread
Hey, I see I met another goal for the year, which was to do at least six reviews on my blog. It's difficult because review books are sent in paper form, and the easiest way for me to read something is often via audiobook. Sometimes it's difficult to find time to read the traditional way. In fact, I have a book I'm hoping to review in January, and I think it's going to be a bit of a challenge. Still this year, same goals, so I'd better get crackin'!
I love this idea - I should keep track of the books I've read, because I usually read at least one a week. They're not nearly as diverse in genre as yours, though.
Posted by: Avitable | January 10, 2011 at 09:25 AM
Thanks for the shout-out! I see a few here that I'll be adding to my own "to be read" list as well. :)
Posted by: Zandria | January 10, 2011 at 09:56 AM
We need a change in the language. Because listening to a book is not reading a book. Reading is a skill. Both involve ingesting the content in some way, but listening to an oral rendition is not the same as reading words and comprehending them. They are totally different things. hhmmmm I wonder what word we could come up with.
Posted by: ~M~ | January 11, 2011 at 12:58 PM
For what it's worth, I find it much more challenging to listen to a book than to read it. And it's definitely still about words and comprehending them! Reading is easy. Listening is hard! :)
I definitely find it rewarding to keep track of what I've read, either way, hit a variety of types and topics, and then look at my list at the end of the year. :)
Posted by: lizriz | January 11, 2011 at 01:03 PM
To ~M~: As a "reader" of audiobooks as well as the traditional paper sort, I've often wondered about the reading vs. listening aspect. Sometimes, I can't even remember whether I've read or listened to a particular book. So my guess is that the brain processes the words in much the same way. The main difference I notice is that I now associate various places with the different books I was "reading" while passing through. Of course, I'm sure that the reader's voice and any sound effects also altered my perception of the books - I'd be interested in any scientific studies conducted to see if different areas of the brain are active for listening vs. reading.
Btw, a site I like for keeping track of all my books is goodreads.com
Posted by: Marina | January 13, 2011 at 12:42 PM