Monday, January 2, 2012

Best Books of 2011

As I've done in previous years, I've created a list of the best books I read in 2011. Click the title to read my review. Enjoy!


Fiction
  1. Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese
  2. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant (reread)
  3. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (reread)
  4. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett
  5. Words in the Dust, Trent Reedy
  6. The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, Ann Weisgarber
  7. The 19th Wife, David Ebershoff
  8. The Wedding Officer, Anthony Capella
  9. Girl in Translation, Jean Kwok
  10. The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay, Beverly Jensen
  11. You Believers, Jane Bradley
  12. Midnight at the Dragon Café, Judy Wong Bates
  13. After You, Julie Buxbaum
  14. Pomegranate Soup, Marsha Mehran
  15. Hardball, Sara Paretsky
  16. Backseat Saints, Joshilyn Jackson
  17. House Rules, Jodi Picoult
  18. Bitter Bitch, Maria Sveland
  19. Faith, Jennifer Haigh
  20. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, Lorna Landvik
  21. Wishin’ and Hopin’, Wally Lamb
  22. Wild Ride Up the Cupboards, Ann Bauer
  23. Bel Canto, Ann Patchett
  24. Mink River, Brian Doyle
  25. The Book of Fires, Jane Borodale
  26. Bad Marie, Marcy Dermansky
  27. The Beekeeper’s Apprentice: Or on the Segregation of the Queen, Laurie R. King
  28. The Gilded Chamber, Rebecca Kohn
  29. South of Broad, Pat Conroy
  30. Operation Bonnet, Kimberly Stuart
  31. Odd Thomas, Dean Koontz
  32. Attack of the Theater People, Marc Acito
  33. The Ruins of Gorlan, John Flanagan

Nonfiction
  1. Knowing Jesse: A Mother’s Story of Grief, Grace, and Everyday Bliss, Marianne Leone
  2. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
  3. Drama: An Actor’s Education, John Lithgow
  4. It Takes a Worried Man, Brendan Halpin
  5. The Wilder Life: My Adventures in the Lost World of Little House on the Prairie, Wendy McClure
  6. Touching the Void, Joe Simpson
  7. Growing Up Laughing, Marlo Thomas
  8. The Male Factor: The Unwritten Rules, Misperceptions, and Secret Beliefs of Men in the Workplace, Shaunti Feldhahn
  9. Bossypants, Tina Fey
  10. Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention, Katherine Ellison
  11. Saving Graces, Elizabeth Edwards
  12. Laughing without an Accent, Firoozeh Dumas
  13. Up the Capitol Steps: A Woman’s Guide to the Governorship, Barbara Roberts
  14. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua
  15. Cockeyed, Ryan Knighton
  16. Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, Charles J. Shields
  17. Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering, Meredith Baxter
  18. Letters to My Daughter, Maya Angelou
  19. That Day in September, Artie Van Why
  20. In Stitches, Anthony Youn

3 comments:

  1. I love The Red Tent! My sister gave it to me back when I was in college and I reread it a few years ago; it was MUCH better reading it as a grown woman/mother than as a college student!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Even though it sounds cliche, I have to say it: This book (It Takes a Worried Man) made me laugh and it made me cry. It's the truth. Not many books can say the same, as I tend to be a tough critic.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree--it was a great read and a beautiful love letter to his wife.

    ReplyDelete