Posts
As a follow up to last year's post "2010: A Year in Books", I've decided to do another quick rundown of all of the books I've read this year. Over the past several years the number of books I've read has decreased as the number of magazines I'm loaded down with (those I subscribe to at home and those I get at work) has massively increased. I started tracking my books on the website Shelfari.com last year and was pleased when I finished the year with a total of 10 books read. Amazingly, this year I read 22 books!
Kindle
I attribute much of my increase in reading to my wonderful Kindle. David's parents got me a Kindle for my birthday and I happily joined the world of e-reading. At first I struggled with the reader a bit - flipping back and forth wasn't as easy as I was used to and the first ebook I read had a complex list of characters, names, and cities. My second challenge was that I often fold down pages in business books to be able to quickly reference an idea I liked. On the Kindle you can do an electronic bookmark which took me a while to get used to at first, but in the end it serves the same function. A few months into owning my Kindle, I loved it!
Book Club
I also joined a book club late in the year in an attempt to find a new social outlet that wasn't related to running. Don't get me wrong, I love running, my running friends, and Girls on the Run. But ... there is more to life than running. I have only made it to one book club meeting so far because of my schedule but have read three of the books they've chosen. The books they choose are those that I would never read on my own, which I think is a good thing. I kind of enjoyed the first two and struggled through the third, but like that I'm getting a chance to expand my literary horizons beyond chick lit, endurance athletics, and business books.
And now for my reviews! (Click on the title of any of the books to hyperlink to the Amazon page.)
Book #1: Twenties Girl
Subject: Cute chick-lit fiction from my favorite author Sophia Kinsella (who wrote the Shopaholic series).
Review: I have loved every Sophia Kinsella book I've read, and this one was no exception. It's a cute and funny story with a little hint of mystery.
Book #2: The Paleo Diet for Athletes
Subject: How to follow the Paleo Diet if you're an endurance athlete
Review: Modified version of the Paleo Diet which is a diet based on foods our Stone Age ancestors would have eaten. The original Paleo Diet is stricter, and this version is adjusted to accommodate hard training and racing days. The diet is essentially high in vegetables and lean meats and doesn't allow process foods, dairy, grains, legumes, and refined sugar. I tried this diet out for after hearing a lot of hype about it in the tri community. I couldn't stick to it though and gave up after a month. Faileo!
Subject: Concise strategy guide for Brand Managers
Review: This book read a bit like a textbook (not like I should have been surprised) but had a lot of useful points and ideas. This book actually inspired me to make a change to one of our printed marketing pieces that we use with our sales reps and customers and they LOVED it. That made dragging myself through this whole book worth it.
Subject: The story behind Zappos and why they are so successful today.
Review: Best book I read all year! I totally loved this book and wrote a blog specifically dedicated to it. (More here.) The Zappos story is an interesting and unique one, and the tale this book tells is inspiring on a personal and professional level.
Book #5: Cocktails For Three
Subject: Chick-lit fiction book by Sophia Kinsella under her other pen name Madeleine Wickham about three friends who meet each month for drinks and the intertwined drama in their lives.
Review: Cute and funny book, but oddly not as funny as Sophia Kinsella's other books. Did she get funnier when she changed her name? While the idea of a group of young women all with their own personal and professional drama may not seem unique, this book was still interesting and I enjoyed it.
Book #6: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Subject: Fictional mystery story about a murder, family drama, and personal relationships.
Review: A bit dark for my taste but still a really good book. I was unprepared for the graphic violence in this first of three books and was happy to see that it was toned down in the next two books. I struggled at first to keep all of the Swedish character and town names straight, but aside from that this book kept me intrigued and at the edge of my seat right through to the end. I have put the original Swedish version of the film in my Blockbuster queue and I'm hoping to see the American version of the film soon.The story was so riveting that soon after finishing this first book I soon read the second and third in the series.
Book #7: Oatmeal vs. Bacon
Subject: Why is oatmeal boring and bacon so exciting? Why is that true for some many brands? This brief marketing book takes a look at why some brands excel while others fail.
Review: I loved this book since I work in Marketing as a Product Manager and let's be honest, my product is bacon! Ha ha. This book is entertaining and insightful. I recommended it to my boss who read it and enjoyed it as well. If you are in Marketing or Sales I highly recommend this book so you can learn how to make your brand or product the next bacon.
Book #8: Strengths Finder 2.0
Subject: A guide to determining your strengths and focusing on them.
Review: I am really into personal development books and loved this book. Instead of focusing on our weaknesses and trying to change them, why not focus on our strengths and do whatever we can to grow them? I buy into that! This book is more of a guide than a book. The beginning talks about why you should focus on strengths versus weaknesses, you are then sent to a website to identify your 5 key strengths, and then the rest of the book has a chapter on each of the 34 possible strengths. There are also online resources where you can create custom action plans that line up with your strengths.
Book #9: The Girl Who Played With Fire
Subject: Second book in 'Dragon Tattoo' series that follows the same main characters in a new murder mystery.
Review: Enjoyed the second book as much as the first if not more since there was less graphic violence.
Book #10: Bossypants
Subject: The story of Tina Fey's life from Childhood through Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock, and beyond.
Review: I thought this book was funny, but not as funny as the dozen people who recommended it to me. It reads like a long stand-up comedy bit that is mostly chronological, with some tangents. It's an easy read saturated with Tina Fey's humor (which I like), but string of one story butting into another became a bit tiring at times.
Book #11: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Subject: Third book in the 'Dragon Tattoo' series.
Review: Good book as with the first two. The focus is more on Lisbeth than Blomquist in this book, and there is a lot of history of the government and corruption which I found a tad boring .. as I do with most history. (I think my Dad just rolled his eyes and sighed.)
Book #12: The Divorce Party
Subject: Fictional story of a drama filled family planning for a party to 'celebrate' the divorce of a well-to do couple with grown children.
Review: This is one of the first books I bought on my Kindle purely because of the "you might also enjoy this" suggestion and high star rating referral. Both I may never trust again. While the book was mildly interesting and had some funny moments, I really had to drag myself through it just because I didn't want to waste the money I spent on it. Let me save you time and $10. Don't read this.
Book #13: The Kitchen House
Subject: Fictional, dramatic story of an Irish immigrant who grows up with slaves on a tobacco plantation.
Review: This was the first book I read with my new book club and is a book I would never, ever have chosen on my own. I had a hard time getting into the book and found it a bit depressing, but in the end I thought it was well written and I enjoyed it. The story is quite tragic and sad, but it's interesting to get a peek into the lives of slaves during that time, even if it's a well-researched fictional peek.
Book #14: My Life on the Run
Subject: Life story in relation to running of Bart Yasso, arguably one of the most famous running icons.
Review: This book is a must read for any runner. Bart has had an incredible life and tells and interesting and funny tale of his life from childhood through adulthood. The various races, characters, trips, and crazy stories make this book extremely entertaining. The only thing I didn't like about this book is the conversational tone it is written in, but I'm just a picky reader.
Book #15: Looking For Salvation at the Dairy Queen
Subject: Fictional story of a small town girl with big city aspirations, who struggles with personal tragedy and family challenges which bring her back to the town which she learns to see in a different way.
Review: This was the second book I read with my book club and again, it's a book I would never have chosen on my own. Wow, look at how a monthly club is expanding my horizons! The main character's story was interesting to follow, but nothing about this book really stood out for me.
Subject: Marketing/personal development book focused on personal branding
Review: Although this is a topic that I'm highly interested in, I found myself really struggling to get through this book. I found some of the suggestions to be mundane or outdated, but others gave me something to think about in respect to my own career and life. The book comes with a workbook that helps you put together your own personal branding statement and plan. This is exactly what I've been looking to do in the past few months but I haven't quite gotten around to doing this post-book 'homework' yet. It's on my list for next year. As far as personal branding books go there are a lot out there, and I'm sure many others will show up on 2012 list of books.
Book #17: I'm Here to Win
Subject: The story of Chris McCormack's (aka Macca's) path to winning the 2010 Ironman World Championship in Kona.
Review: Second best book I read all year! If you are an athlete, you have to read this book! Go buy it now! What are you waiting for? This book is incredibly well written, honest, and funny. Macca shares his strategies for success and "winsights" that can help you push yourself to be a better athlete. I thought about this book a lot while preparing for and running my last full marathon. I've taken a lot of what he has said to heart, and I really enjoyed the honest and logical way he has laid out ways that his successes can be broken down systematically and used by anyone.
Book #18: The Mistress's Revenge
Subject: Fictional diary of a scorned mistress after she was dumped by her lover.
Review: I was given this book for free from my book club and I am SO glad I didn't spend any money on it. If it weren't for the fact that I have OCD tendencies and hate leaving things unfinished, I totally would not have finished reading this book. How does this book have 4 stars on Amazon? I thought it was terrible! The book club leader warned us that she thought it was awful but I thought I'd give it a chance to see if I found it entertaining. I didn't. I wasn't even intrigued to see how the story would end up for the main character. I just wanted to get through the endless rambling 'inner thoughts' of a crazy women. I hope there aren't woman as crazy as the narrator out there in the real world.
Book #19: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Subject: A nine year old boy is on a mission to unlock a secret that he thinks
his late father (lost in the 9-11 World Trade Center disaster) left
behind.
Review: The story and main character are quirky and interesting, and you might recognize the title of this book since the movie is being released soon. I found the book difficult to read from the bizarre narration of quirky kid, but did enjoy seeing the story progress and the mystery unravel. I saw the movie trailer after I finished the book and the movie trailer looked really interesting. Given the chance to go back in time, I would've skipped reading the book to watch the movie instead.
Book #20: The Hunger Games
Subject: Fictional story of a 16-year old girl named Katniss chosen to fight for her life in the annual "Hunger Games" put on by the government. The story has suspense, strategy, drama, and even love.
Review: I haven't been so engrossed in a book series since Twilight. The story is well written and really draws you into the characters, society, and suspense involved with the games. I couldn't put the book down once I started reading it and finished it within a day, eagerly moving on to the next book in the series to see where the story goes next. The Hunger Games movie comes out in March, so you have plenty of time to read all three books before then. Do it!
Book #21: Catching Fire
Subject: The second book in the Hunger Games series that follows Katniss into life after the "Hunger Games" and the challenges winning the games brings.
Review:This book picks up where the first book leaves off. I enjoyed this book as much as the first in the series and after finishing this book in a day as well, I quickly moved on to the third book.
Book #22: Mockingjay
Subject: Third book in the Hunger Games series.
Review: Sadly, this was the last book in the Hunger Games series. The focus of the book is more on the government known as the Capitol and shows the main character in a different light. In addition to the action and suspense there is also a continuing thread of a love story that I was eager to see through. I finished this book in a day as well and am happy with the way the series wrapped up. When I finished Twilight I was sad that the series had ended, but when I finished this Hunger Games series I was content and pleased with the adventure that I was just lead through.
So there you have it! My year in books! What were some of your favorite books for the year?
