This year I read..........................





Isn't that the cutest picture?  It is by Charles Wysocki - one of my favorite "modern" artists.  I thought it would be an appropriate picture to use to do this post on books. 

I started keeping "A Record of Books I've Read" journal in 1995.  How I wish I had started this journal as a child.  I decided to "organize" my journal alphabetically instead of chronologically.  That makes it easy for me to check and see if I've previously read a particular book.  In my journal I record the book's title, author and the day I finished reading the book. 

I read lots of different types of books (you'll notice that as you read thru my 2011 list) and usually try to finish a book once I've started it unless it proves to be not worth reading due to filthy language/content.  So, here's my list for 2011:

• Classic New England Stories: True Tales and Tall Tales of Character & Culture (ed. Jake Elwell)
• Watch for the Light:  Readings for Advent and Christmas (var. authors)
• Lovely is the Lee by Robert Gibbings
• The Assault by Harry Mulisch
• Hansi: The Girl Who Loved the Swastika by Maria Anne Hirschmann
• Rereadings:  17 Writers Revisit Books They Love (ed. Anne Fadiman)
• Good Grief:  The Story of Charles M. Schultz by Rheta Grimsley Johnson
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
• The House on Beartown Road:  A Memoir of Learning and Forgetting by Elizabeth Cohen
• Cat Stories by James Herriot  :o)
• Good Daughters: Loving Our Mothers as They Age by Patricia Beard
• A Praying Life by Paul E. Miller
• The Gospel for Muslims: An Encouragement to Share Christ with Confidence by Thabiti Anyabwile
• How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard (loved the title.....not so much the book)
• O Love That Will Not Let Me Go:  Facing Death with Courageous Confidence in God (ed. Nancy Guthrie)   - great book!
• By Grace Alone:  How the Grace of God Amazes Me by Sinclair Ferguson
• The Cat and the Curmudgeon by Cleveland Amory (another cat book!)
• The Violin of Auschwitz by Maria Angels Anglada
• What Angels Wish They Knew:  The Basics of True Christianity by Alistair Begg
• Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill (a book about books!)
• Room by Emma Donoghue
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (my first reading of this classic!)
• Managing God's Money by Randy Alcorn
• A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community & Mission around the Table by Tim Chester
• A Memory of Vermont: Our Life in the Johnny Appleseed Bookshop by Margaret Hard
• Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (so glad my friend Marjorie recommended this book!)
• The Early Church by Henry Chadwick
• A Page Out of Life by Kathleen Reid
• The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma

So, there it is.  My favorites?  "The Reading Promise", "Unbroken", "Frankenstein" and "The House on Beartown Road".

What book did you enjoy reading in 2011?