2011 books

one of my new year's resolutions for LAST year in 2011 was to read 30 books throughout the course of the year. 30 is not an especially high number for me, since i am (and always have been) an obsessive, committed reader, but i always fall out of the habit when i'm in school and always working on homework. so i thought 30 would be a reasonable goal to have. but i blew through book number 30 sometime back in april or may and ended up at 86. i am THRILLED to be back on the book-reading train, after a few years of being too focused on school and too out of the habit to read books that i wanted to for fun. my goal for 2012 is to reach 100 books for the year--should be easily done, since i'm graduating in may and have NO PLANS beyond that.

some of the books i especially enjoyed in 2011 were:

-The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain: i had never actually read this book. i was supposed to when i was in high school and i only read the spark notes because i thought it was SO BORING. but i listened to it on audiobook early this year and couldn't wait to get back to the car every day to finish it--the narrator was great and the story was excellent. i am a fan.

-Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand: an absolutely INCREDIBLE story, and written so beautifully. i really appreciated how she wove all of the facts about WWII into the narrative about louis zamperini's life. i give this book five stars and would recommend it to anyone.

-Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith: i heard about this book probably two or three years ago and thought it would be SO DUMB and the english major in me avoided it with high-minded dignity. but i found it as an audiobook at the library and needed something to listen to for the week and i just could NOT stop laughing as it was going. so many of the lines come straight from the original Pride and Prejudice, intertwined with gory zombie scenes and elizabeth's ninja training. it was hilarious.

-East of Eden by John Steinbeck: the actual storyline of this book is so heartbreaking and depressing, i won't even describe it to you. but the lesson and the SYMBOLISM is so inspiring. it's totally mormon doctrine.


-Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas Kristof and Sherry Wudunn: it really is incredible to read about real women's situations throughout the world today, and to hear about how progress is being made to help them become more independent. i kept trying to explain how powerful this book was to my freshmen and they were not super impressed--but i loved it.


-Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver: i just finished this in hawaii, and i keep telling everyone about it. i read a lot of food books this year, and this was the one that finally made me actually interested in really changing the way i eat (who knows if i'll actually go through with it, of course). she makes me want to eat more vegetables and learn how to garden, and i love thinking about the new options for eating and shopping she introduces. i want to be more food-conscious this year, thanks to her.


there are many reasons why i've been trying to be more committed to reading the last year, but one of the major ones is because i always feel like there are SO MANY BOOKS out there that i've never read and will never get the chance to read. i want to read all the really good books out there that i've always heard about (huck finn? i'd never read it before? are you SERIOUS?) and keep improving my mind, even while i feel like i'm wasting away in pointless work in school or at home. when i read, i don't feel like i'm wasting my time or being lazy, which i ALWAYS do when i get off the computer after spending too long surfing the internet or facebook. i'm so excited about all the books i'm going to read this next year.