My Smart List (aka, my book list)

Bottom Line: I LOVE to read and I can remember enjoying it waaaay back. My mother was an avid library-card user and on Saturdays (especially before we became a family of 5 raised by a single mom), we would always make our trip to the library. (Afterwards, there was still a trip to the library, it was just ME now having to take my younger siblings. My mother stayed home and read.) But for the times, it was just her and me, she would stay downstairs in the Adult section and I would go upstairs to the Children's section. There, we would individually read books for a couple of hours and make the important decisions about which books we were going to check out. We were VIP's at the library -- the kind where, even though it was an innercity (of NYC, that is)library, we were known by all the librarians and staff by first names. The highlight for me was at the check out. For we each, always ALWAYS checked out 5+ books. And we DID READ them by the end of that week...ok, maybe we renewed 1 or 2. But we were serious readers and I definitely grew to love reading. As a freshman in highschool, I had read the entire Jean Auel Clan of the Cave Bear series. Not impressed?! These were 4 books about 600-700 pages, each! Still not impressed. K, I read War & Peace, a 1300 page classic. Yeah, I thought that would get at least a raised eyebrow.

So with that, I always have a yearly book list. I may not always stick to it --- I may add books, may not get to some...so it's more of a guideline....For example, right now, I am reading Girl with a Pearl Earring, because upon organizing, I "rediscovered" it among my collection and it was available. And with it being under 200 pages, I can get it done pretty quickly.

My 2011 Book List: (in no particular order...)

1. The Bucolic Plague
2. Bringing Up Boys
3. The Dirty Life
4. Freakonomics
5. A Life that says Welcome
6. The Mom I Want to Be
7. Life of PI
8. Sacred Marriage
9. Persuasion
10. The Kite Runner
11. Northanger Abbey
12. Practicing Hospitality
13. Be Bodacious
14. Made from Scratch
15. Mansfield Park
16. The Jungle Book, the Second Jungle Book and Just so Stories
17. A common life
18. In this mountain
19. Light from heaven
20. Shepherds Abiding
21. Heaven
22. One Thousand Gifts
23. Sherlock in Love
24. Four Spirits

and just added today, #25....because I just found out -- but the final book (#6), The Land of Painted Caves will be coming out in March! OH MY! I've been waiting over 20 years to read this book! *be still.....

Yes, that's 25 books --- about 2 a month.... as I said, growing up, reading was built in. In fact, it was my routine to read about 30 mins while in bed, before going to sleep. I just remembered a situation where for a week or so, I had NOT followed through on the going to sleep part, that at some point, my mother banned me from reading for a week. Yes, people, she banned me. That's my childhood. (love ya, mom) :)

What's on your reading list? Do you have suggestions for must read?

And as for what I have read so far in 2011: (I will keep updating this list)...
1. Summer Sisters
2. Life After 40
3. The Pillars of the Earth
4. Ahab's Wife
5. The Girl with Pearl Earring
6. Big Fish
7. A Conversation with God
8. Bringing up Boys
9. The Map
10. Reggie
11. A Common Life
12. Prisoner of Tehran
13. Life of Pi
14. Four Spirits
15. Freakonomics
16. Made from Scratch
17. The Bucolic Plague
18. Better Off
19. Hattie Big Sky
20. In this Mountain
21. The Jungle Book
22. Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass
23. (The New) Dare to Discipline
24. Hannah Coulter
25. (The New) Strong Willed Child
26. Home Economics
27. Mortgage-Free
28. The Prince Edward Island Book of Everything
29. Eat, Pray, Love
30. Bannock, Beans and Black Tea
31. The Land of Painted Caves
32. Ascent into Darkness
33. Blue Like Jazz
*updated December 19th, 2011