Before I get to my 2011 Reading List , I wanted to reflect quickly on my faves from 2010 including:
- The Help – This is so good and by far the book that stuck with me the post. Told from multiple perspectives, this book will touch, shock and make you laugh out loud.
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larrson series) – a little dark and sometimes twisted, this series (especially the first book IMHO) keeps you engaged and caught up in the adventures.
- I was Told There’d be Cake – recommended by my awesome sister-in-law, the collection of essays reminded me of the girl version of David Sedaris, whom I love. Check out Lindsay’s original post to see the pretty cover.
- My Horizontal Life – perfect for a light summer read and great to share with girlfriends - the always hilarious Chelsea Handler is shocking and doesn’t disappoint.
Although I thoroughly enjoyed the abovementioned books, with the exception of The Help there wasn’t anything that really stuck with me. In prior years, The Glass Castle and Water for Elephants both captured my attention and stayed with me for months…
So here is what I’m reading in 2011 and some editorial review comments…
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
“Jonathan Franzen’s new novel, Freedom, like his previous one, The Corrections, is a masterpiece of American fiction . . . Freedom is a still richer and deeper work—less glittering on its surface but more confident in its method . . . Like all great novels, Freedom does not just tell an engrossing story. It illuminates, through the steady radiance of its author’s profound moral intelligence, the world we thought we knew.”—Sam Tanenhaus, The New York Times Book Review (cover review)
Perfection by Julie Metz
"Metz's Perfection chronicles with lapidary precision one woman's climb back to happiness after not just a spouse's death, but also the shocking recognition that her life before that death was not what she had thought it was. The journey is a painful one, but Ms. Metz is much the stronger for having survived to recount it."--Julie Powell, author of Julie & Julia
Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand
“….inspiring true story of a man who lived through a series of catastrophes almost too incredible to be believed. In evocative, immediate descriptions, Hillenbrand unfurls the story of Louie Zamperini--a juvenile delinquent-turned-Olympic runner-turned-Army hero. During a routine search mission over the Pacific, Louie’s plane crashed into the ocean, and what happened to him over the next three years of his life is a story that will keep you glued to the pages, eagerly awaiting the next turn in the story and fearing it at the same time.” -- Juliet Disparte
What are you reading this year? I’d love to hear additional suggestions or comments.
I loved Water for Elephants! It was such a good book! I am considering adding an old classic to my list this year - you could do that as well. Also, have you read the Hunger Game series? It's on my list of things to read for 2011
ReplyDeleteLove it! Can't wait to start the Help which is next in line.
ReplyDeleteJust finished The Help and LOVED it!
ReplyDeleteI just finished Freedom. Found it pretty hard to get through at times, really depressing at other points, and then the end is so real and uplifting, it makes the whole thing more than worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteAlso, reading The 19th Wife now which is totally incredible!
Sounds like some good books! Love The Help and I just started reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo ~ might have to steal some of your other picks!
ReplyDeleteLooks like some good ones Sarah! I finished The Other Boleyn Girl recently, a little bit late as the movie's quite old now!, but it was really excellent. Once I get off my historical fiction kick I have The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo lined up on my shelf. May have to check out The Help too, not heard of that one here...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments everyone! I'm glad you all liked the 2010 and 2011 choices. I'll post my reviews after I read them. Does anyone have a funny or scary recommendation?? I'd like to mix it up a bit!
ReplyDeleteThanks!!
PS: Abs - what's the 19th Wife about? Sounds kind of awesome.
ReplyDeleteAll good books, Sarah!! I LOVE David Sedaris too :)
ReplyDeleteIf you get a chance, check out Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. Just started it this month. It's about an Australian convict whose put in jail in India but does some good things like starting a free health clinic in between imprisonments. He wrote the book twice and the prison guards took and destroyed it. The published book is his third writing of his story. Very funny and witty and tragic and uplifting at the same time.
Thanks Payal - great suggestion!
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