You may remember, last year I mentioned wanting to read 50 books a year. I didn’t make my goal again this year – but this year I don’t blame my children, I blame the iPad and iPhone. I was reading at a pretty good clip and would have easily met the goal. Then we purchased the iPad and iPhones. Suddenly, I was surfing Pinterest before bed instead of burying my head in a book. Oh well, I’ve had a lot of fun with Pinterest this year too. 
I only included books on this list that I read in their entirety. If I started a book but didn’t finish it, it didn’t make the list. I also didn’t include books I just skimmed or cookbooks – if you add those, I’m sure I’d be well over 50, but I wanted this to just be books I actually read. You’ll notice a theme with many books from Kristin Hannah, Jodi Picoult, and Jennifer Weiner. I love their books because they are easy to read and the plot always manages to suck me in.
All of these books were good and I’d recommend any of them if you’re searching for reading material. My favorite was probably Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. 168 Hours was good because it gave me some perspective that I appreciated. I also really liked The Happiest Mom and definitely recommend that you follow Meagan’s blog. She is very inspiring.
Maybe I’ll put down the phone long enough to reach 50 next year…
Here are the books I read in 2011:
1. The Associate by John Grisham
2. Home Again by Kristin Hannah
3. Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult
4. Juggling Twins by Meghan Loomis
5. 168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam
6. Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah
7. House Rules by Jodi Picoult
8. How to be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway
9. The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen
10. Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
11. Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman
12. Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
13. Ready or Not… There We Go! by Elizabeth Lyons
14. Distant Shores by Kristin Hannah
15. Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein
16. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
17. Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives by Josie Brown
18. Leaving Home by Jodi Picoult
19. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
20. The Happiest Mom by Meagan Francis
21. The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer
22. Night Road by Kristin Hannah
23. Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
24. Afterbirth by Dani Klein
25. Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
26. Sweet Valley Confidential by Francine Pascal
27. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
28. Run like a Mother by Dimity McDowell
29. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
30. Bobby and Jackie: A Love Story by David Heymann
31. What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
32. Bossypants by Tina Fey
33. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
34. The One that I Want by Allison Scotch Winn
35. Naturally Thin by Bethany Frankel
36. The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner
37. One True Love by Barbara Freethy
38. The Pact by Jodi Picoult
39. Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner
40. When Did I get Like This? by Amy Wilson
41. Recalculating by Jennifer Weiner
42. Have a New Kid By Friday by Kevin Leman
43. The Amazing Adventures of Diet Girl by Shauna Reid
44. The Surprising Power of Family Meals by Miriam Weinstein
45. The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
What was your favorite book of 2011?
And yes, I am still alive. More to come about our Christmas very soon!
I am totally impressed that you read 45! I think I read (started and finished) one book all year and it was while we were on vacation in May – Too Small to Ignore by Wesley Stafford. I finally got Heaven is For Real for Christmas so I’m sure I’ll read that one this year.
Not sure what my favorite book was, I read a lot too this year, my Kindle makes it easier. Some I enjoyed that I didn’t see on your list: The Help, Water for Elephants, Unbroken- a WW2 Story of Survival, Little Princes.
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