Blogocentric Formulations

2011 Reading List

Well, my goal for 2011 was to read more books than I did in 2010... and I read eleven more than last year. At 44 total for the year, I'm still a few short of my goal of 50, but well over my other goal of beating last year's record of 33. For anyone who's interested, here's what I read this year:

FICTION

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Graeme-Smith
Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Crooked Little Vein by Warren Ellis
Deadly Honeymoon by Lawrence Block
Death Match by Lincoln Child
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Fantasy Lover by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson
Impact by Douglas Preston
Left Behind by Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins
Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz


NONFICTION

1776 by David McCullough
5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Brain Rules by John Medina
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond
Crime Beat by Michael Connelly
Decision Points by George W. Bush
Decoded by Jay-Z
Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Drive by Daniel Pink
Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullough
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
Poetics by Aristotle
New New Thing by Michael Lewis
Wanderlust: A Love Affairs with Five Continents by Elisabeth Eaves
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell


There are a lot of amazing books in that list... it was a very good year for quality writing (excepting Breaking Dawn, of course). But if I had to pick my three favorite books of the year, I think they would be Crooked Little Vein for its sheer bizarreness and ability to offend just about every sensibility any reader might have; Devil in the White City for a true serial killer story that rivals anything fiction can create; and Memoirs of a Geisha for being one of the most vivid and evocative books I've read in a long time. I highly recommend all three (although the first two only to those with a strong stomach).

It was really difficult to pick favorites out of this list... they were all remarkable in their own way. If anybody wants any other recommendations or additional details about any of the books, just let me know.

2012 Reading Goal: 50 books, more nonfiction than fiction.