My 2011 Reading List!

I love reading. I could spend a whole day in Barnes and Noble and be the happiest girl in the world. In February, Matt bought me a Kindle before our trip to Disneyland. At first I hated it. He bribed me. He said if I got a Kindle that I could buy books whenever I wanted. 

(He hates clutter....there goes my Beauty and the Beast library dream---he's slowly opening up to the idea because when we have kids I'm going to go nuts buying books...real books). 

So, I hold him to that deal and I buy books on my Kindle whenever I want 

(within reason...I AM the budget queen lately so...). He loves when he sees me reading it. I hate technology and change and he is the exact opposite so this makes him happy.

ANYWAYS...

Here is my 2011 Reading List!! I read some really good books this year.

Here are some mini reviews.

SO good! I couldn't put them down. It was like reading HP or Twilight all over again. I love a good series. I love knowing there is more to come and then loving them so much that I feel like crying when the last one is over. I recommend them to anyone -- man, woman, teen, moms, middle school kids. I recommended it to my Mom who read them all on her Kindle Fire and even to my dance kids. They're just so awesome. Action, suspense, love. Its one of those books that really make you feel like your there. It let my imagination soar. 

Five Stars *****

This book is so so sad. A young college student girl is kidnapped and kept in a small shed in a backyard. No ones she is there except the man who kidnapped her and she lives there for years. While there she has a son (figure it out...so sad). Her son grows up believing that the room is the whole world. She raises him with the thought that anything outside of the room is like outer space. She has to, how sad would it be for the child for him to know they were trapped and it was bad. This is there story. It's incredible. The child will make you so so sad. I cry over any kid things (I just cried at a Pampers commercial last night while Matt laughed his ass off at me lol). It's just really good. I read it fast because it was so good. 

Four Stars **** (just because I read so many and feel bad giving them all fives)

This book really hit home for me. It is about a teen boy who has Autism. My sister has Autism. It's a great story about how Autism makes this boy take everything extremely literally. I don't want to go into the story too much because I know I'll give too much away. Jodi Picoult is my all time favorite author. My favorite book by her is The Pact. This one came in close to that and My Sister's Keeper. It was so good. It was also a quick read and I remember being sad when it was over because I loved reading it so much.

Four Stars ****

My favorite, favorite, favorite book of the year! Even more than The Hunger Games. I loved every second of this book! Growing up with black siblings and cousins and other family members, I have never known the difference of color. I was born color blind (not literally...I mean with race). I have always had a strong anger towards people who are ignorant and prejudice. This book really got me going. I would laugh and cry and feel super angry all at the same time. It was just so good. When it was over I remember exactly where I was, sitting on the couch with Matt while he played video games on mute so we could sit together (we do this often lol.) I remember crying right away and Matt being so confused. I just said, "I just didn't want it to be over yet!" I love when a book does that! I still haven't seen the movie, but I can't wait to! Such an amazing story. It is so something I would have done had I lived then. LOVE.

Ten Stars! ********** lol.

A close second for favorite of the year. Well maybe third, I think The Hunger Games was second for me. Anywho, I loved this book. Elephants are my favorite animals and I cried a lot. The book is kind of like The Notebook where it is an old man remembering his youth. It's really really sad but it was one that I could not put down. I didn't see the movie and I'm glad I read the book first. It was just a really great story. I loved that in between chapters they would show real historical photos of different circuses. Interesting for sure. When I was little we would go to the circus in Baraboo, WI every year and I would get to ride the elephant and there were photos from that but old old ones. Pretty cool. This book is a love story between man and woman and man and his animal best friend. Having Cogsy now I understood that a lot more. It was great!

Five Stars *****

I am just about 30% through this book, but will definitely finish it before 2012. I have off and have had a lot of time to read. So far I like it. I thought I would like it a lot more, but we'll see. It is definitely a boy book. At least I think so. There is a lot of language in it that I have a hard time reading because it is made up. That always throws me off. It's my self diagnosed ADD that kicks in and makes me uninterested. I find myself re-reading pages a lot because my mind drifts. Matts promising that the more I read the better it gets so I'm going to continue reading :) 

As of now I give it Three Stars ***

I started this book. Got super bored after about 30-40 pages and then stopped. Katie told me that if I keep reading just a little farther I won't be able to put it down. So, I'm going to give it a go as my first book for 2012. I'll let you know :) 

I'm going to start reviewing all the books I read. I am hoping to read a lot more in 2012 than I did in 2011. I would love it if you could recommend some books to me for the new year! If I do get into The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, I'll read all of those and I want to read Heaven is Real. That should last me only a month, maybe two though. : ) What books did you read in 2011??

It's 12:45 and I just woke up an hour ago, I should probably eat breakfast lol. I cannot wait to have a schedule again, this waking up at 11:30 thing is getting old. 

Happy Hump Day Everyone!