Top 5 Books of 2011

2011 was a funny reading year for me.  Having my first child in January meant that  sometimes I was reading a lot and other times, not so much.  Now that I’m expecting my second child, I’m reading a lot – as bed time calls around 9:30 and I like to wind down with at least a few pages of something good.

Based on what I read in 2011 (rather than what was published this year), here are my top picks:

#5

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

I really liked this book—I actually found myself shoving it in my purse or diaper bag *just in case* I ended up with time to read.  Well-written, with a poignant modern edge on the life of a staid older man, made for lovely read that left you with thinking not only of how you would want to spend the second half of life, but about what happens with cultures collide.  Are we really ready for a truly global world?

#4

The Bone Cage by Angie Abdou

I’m actually surprised I am putting this book at number four, because I LOVE IT.  Really.  I borrowed it from the library and ended up buying it, that’s how much I LOVE IT.  I’m not exactly sure why—it is the story of two athletes as they journey to the Sydney Olympics and I’m not so much an athlete (hence the blog on books!).  But something in the foreignness of the athletic mind fascinates me—the focus, the drive, the blinders to everything else—so different from my own multi-levelled-ever-changing ambition.  So interesting! And the story has a sweetness to it, almost a sweatiness to it, that draws you in.  I like reading a book that makes me want it to be longer and yet somehow satisfies.  Simple, sweaty and sweet.

#3

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins

I would love to just have the first two books in here as Mockingjay was a disappointment and, yet, I think you have to read them all so I’m holding them together.  That means that the first two were good enough for me to overlook the tragedy of the third.  Thematically, these books challenge our consumer culture (as I greedily consumed them all!) by highlighting the wastefulness of wealth and the unstoppable corruption of power.  Any book(s) that can tell a compelling story while shining the light on present day human follies without seeming preachy is right up my alley. 

#2

Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver

Okay, so I’m that person who also reads cookbooks.  And while I have come across many great cookbooks this year (also check out Canyon Ranch’s Nourish), the one that I think stuck with me the most in terms of learning about food and understanding cooking is Jamie Oliver’s teaching book Cook With Jamie.  He has great explanations and lots of interesting information and yummy recipes.  I made his berry meringue—still leaves me drooling!

#1

The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak

This might actually be not only the best book of the year but one of my top ten best books ever.  I almost don’t want to describe it; I just want you to read it.  I have never read anything so well written, so captivating and so powerful.  Granted it might take a minute or two to get in to the writing style, but please oh please, do not let that stop you!  I’m not even scared of overselling it, that’s how good it is!