2012 Books

Jan 1, 2012: I love to read. This is going to be a record of all of the books I read in a year. I think it will be fun.

Where it all began. I think we were supposed to be unpacking, or possibly growing our hair out. Either way, we were definitely caught up in the books.  

Jan 1, 2013: This was fun. I didn't end up recording all the books because I kept forgetting about it, but I like to look back on what I thought was worthy of writing down. *I mentioned earlier that I love to read. I do not have any more time than anyone else ( I work at least 50 hours a week, have a 2 year old who never sleeps, have the same chores/errands/etc. that everyone else does.) It drives me crazy when people say, "I wish I had more time to read." I choose reading over sleeping, cooking, watching TV,  working out, sitting down, etc. If this was a list of what I watched on TV all year it would be a few episodes of Breaking Bad & Walking Dead and one episode of Modern family in October. I am SO lucky that I am a fast reader, but, at the same time, it is the only thing (besides my family, of course) that I truly enjoy. I am not trying to be defensive, I think reading just means different things to different people and to me it is as crucial as oxygen, food and sleeping in socks. *

1. Unbroken EXCELLENT! It deserves the top spot, for sure. This is the true story of a punk kid turned Olympic athlete who is drafted in WWII. While he is serving in the navy in the Pacific Theater his plane is shot down. He lives for months on a raft before being captured by the Japanese & surviving years as a POW. True story. Awesome narrative. Really, really captivating. Stop reading and go get this book!

2. Outliers This one is a lot like "Freakonomics", if you've ever read that. He analyzes really successful people (the outliers) & tries to make connections between their lives. Pretty interesting. I was intrigued by the first chapter which bases success on your age when you start something. He argued that kids who start school on the older side are more successful. Nicole and I were 4 (bday in August) & we were pretty successful, I think. Then, I remembered the intro about this community in Pennsylvania that has a crazy low average of heart disease. It's because they have built in support with each other. Made me realize that is why we broke the rule about the age thing. We had constant support-each other. 

3. Slaughterhouse 5

Hmmm. I can see why this is an anti war novel because it was definitely a bit depressing. It was also sort of odd. 

 

4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
SO good!! This one blends history, sociology, science and a fascinating story. She tells the story of the first line of cells that didn't die. Despite reading the book,  I have no idea how to explain that in more scientific terms. A 30 year old woman died of cervical cancer in the 1950's & her cells have contributed to various vaccines (including polio & HPV), the use of chemo drugs, genetic predictions, etc. I am doing a really terrible job explaining this book, but I promise it is good!

5. One for the Money Cute, easy to read. I think Katherine Heigl is in the movie version & it seems like a good fit. 

Ok, I keep forgetting to put some of them on here. Change of plans: I am only putting the good books, that I actually recommend and liked enough to remember on here!

6. Operation Mincemeat
Another WWII one-it's about a deception plan to trick the Germans into thinking the Allied invasion of Europe was going to be in Greece instead of Sicily. (The first invasion...the second invasion was D-Day/Normandy) I had no idea so much detail went into things like this. The Allies took a dead body and created a fake identity for him, attached some papers with hints & dropped him off the shore of Spain. He washed up...history! It's not as easy to read as Unbroken if you don't like history.

7. A Dog's Purpose 
Told from the perspective of a dog trying to find his purpose. Made me cry and hug my dogs a lot. Not in a depressing way, but in a sort of positive way. I liked it better than Marley & Me. I have my own Marley-her name is Chloe. She has eaten light bulbs, crayons, diapers and dryer sheets, chewed on pepper spray & drug it through the entire house, ran into random people's houses & cars and made me lost more apartment deposits than I care to admit.

8. Secret Daughter Traces the connection between a baby girl born in India, her birth mother & her adoptive mother. This book made me so happy to live in the good ol' USA. (Not in the "A Thousand Splendid Suns" way, but in a calm grateful way).

9. The Foremost Good Fortune A memoir of a woman who uprooted her family from Maine & moved to Beijing, where she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Very well written and it made me want to know more about modern day China.

10. The Story of Beautiful Girl Very good-definitely recommend. The story follows a deaf black man and a mentally handicapped, pregnant white woman who is pregnant after they escape from "The School." Different, in a good way.

11. Once Upon A Secret 
Written by JFK's teenage mistress, this book was so interesting/creepy/sad/insightful. I knew JFK was scum with the whole unfaithful thing, but this girl was 18 when the affair began &, while she did continue

12. The Feminine Mystique Realized I never read this despite the fact that I teach about the role it played in starting the Women's Movement. Made me so grateful that women fought for equality (and the right to wear pants) well before I was born. I am very grateful.

13. The Hunger Games trilogy If you haven't read these you must live under a rock. READ THEM! I had to re read before the first movie. I enjoyed the set much more the second time.

14. The Other America Another book that I teach about-it started LBJ's Great Society. Stats are outdated, but interesting take on cycles of poverty. Made me a little sad.

HUGE BREAK because Brandon & got Netflix & are hooked on Breaking Bad & The Walking Dead, so not as much time to read!

15. Destiny of the Republic  AWESOME! I would never have found this on my own, so thanks goes to the FHS library. It follows the shooting of President Garfield through his death months later. He didn't die from the bullet, but from the infection from nasty fingers in his back as doctors searched for the bullet. I knew that (I teach History), but the story was SO much more. It told of the mind of his assassin, Guiteau, and how Lister was promoting antiseptic in surgery but people didn't believe the need for cleanliness and sterilization because they couldn't see the germs. (Long sentence, but I'm excited) And Bell invented the metal detector to locate the bullet, so it follows him a bit, as well. VERY interesting.

16. 11/22/63 This is a hefty (900 pages) Stephen King novel that involves time travel, the present day/late 1950's & JFK's assassination. It was a pretty good read for most of it, but the last third was a little slow. Mediocre, I guess. I did enjoy the description of life in the late 50's, though.

17. Goodnight, Goodnight Construction SiteAnderson & read a lot of books, but this one makes the list because it is just so cute. The rhyme, the story, the pics, the author's bio (she has 2 boys & it says "she is constantly inspired and often exhausted"). It is definitely one I don't mind reading over & over.

18. Mere Christianity Odd. I really tried to get into this one, but I just couldn't. I prefer Narnia.

19. Steve Jobs (Walter Isaacson)  Holy Ridiculous. FASCINATING!! He authorized the writing of this & basically picked out the author but didn't want any say over what was written. He is seriously a genius. A hippie, weirdo, creative, visionary, world changing, odd GENIUS! I will never be able to look at any Apple product again without being totally mesmerized. I honestly want to do an entire post on this book. Here are just a few fascinating tidbits: I realize he "borrowed" a few ideas but he said, "I'd rather be a pirate than in the Navy." He created Woody as a goody guy in Toy Story because Disney made him a bad guy-Jobs basically risked the company on re-writing the character but it totally paid off, one of his weird diets was called "fruitarian", hence Apple, there are reasons behind the white ipod accessories and the presentation and color and function of everything Apple creates, the feud with Adobe! I had no idea why my ipad doesn't work with Adobe, but now I love it! He started personal computers, added fonts because of one day in a calligraphy class in college, saved the music industry with itunes, changed music with the ipod, changed phones with iphone... Anyway, I just went on a rant. You need to read this book. This guy literally changed the world. My one major regret for him is that he didn't have surgery when he was first diagnosed with cancer. His next major project he had planned? Changing education. Sigh. If anyone could do it...

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." -APPLE

20. A Thousand White Women Fiction story based on white women being "traded" to Indians to help in the process of assimilation. Very creative story. 

21. Sh*t my Dad Says

Hilarious.  Very easy to read and each quote/story made me laugh harder than the previous one. Here's a preview...

22. Friday Night Lights
A true story, that centers around a small town in Texas in the late 80's & their obsession over high school football. Interesting/sad/insightful all at once. 

23. Caddie Woodlawn
This was a re-read from one of my favorites when I was little. It is based on a pioneer girl who is  a tomboy & friends with Indians.  I think it is one of the subconcsious reasons I became a history teacher. 

24. Guns, Germs & Steel
Very disappointed. It's about the downfall of civilizations based on geography. Boring. Boo. 

25. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer
This was actually really good! I was really hesitant to read it because it just sounds sort of dumb. But, the connections between actual events/primary sources was excellent. I really enjoyed it, want to see the movie!

26. The Postmistress
Set in WWII. Interesting writing. Made me sad because people died. (Duh, it was written about a war. But, still. )

27. The Happiness Project
VERY GOOD. One of the top ones that I will recommend from the year. Nicole gave it to me & it really made me stop and think about how much I complain and how much I really can control the reaction I have to life. 

28. What Alice Forgot 
Another Nicole loan book. LOVED this one, too. It was the unfortunate recipient of a "fire fighter" incident as I was trying to sneak in a little reading time when we were outside & Anderson thought I was on fire so he sprayed me/book with the hose. Very easy to read, very well written. 

29. Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay
A book about becoming a mom & trying to make it ok to not be super organic & hippie. 

30. Such a Pretty Little Fat
Jen Lancaster is hilarious & I am immediately reserving her other books at the library. Hilarious. Seriously. 

31. Pretty in Plaid
My second Jen Lancaster one. I told you she is funny.  

32. Fearless
I love America.Books like this make me even more in love with America. Following the life of a Navy SEAL, Adam Brown, it captures his low points of drug use &, of course, his high points of being a total badass. I've always had the utmost respect for all American soldiers and their families, but after reading this, I am officially sold on their amazingness. 

33. The Pact Eh. It was good while I was reading it, but it was very typical of Jodi Picoult...crime, trial, twist. They sort of blend together. 

34. Game Change
Another one I've read before, but it is just so relevant as the next election is coming up. This book made me hate John Edwards, sort of terrified of Sarah Palin & created some sympathy for Hillary Clinton.

35. Bitter is the New Black
Jen Lancaster. I'm ridiculous. 

36. Benjamin Franlin
Trying to brush up on some early American biographies before school starts!

37. Undaunted Courage
One of the summer reading books that I assigned my kids. FASCINATING story. Women kick butt. Seriously, the 3 year journey of Lewis & Clark would not have been possible without Sacajawea. AND, she was 15 and pregnant! (her baby daddy was a guy who kidnapped her) They story is not just about her (like 2 paragraphs are), but she just stuck out a lot to me. 

39. One and the Same Twins. 

40. Life of Pi I liked this one, but it was a thinker. I am not sure that last sentence was grammatically correct. I definitely recommend it. 

41. The Tipping Point
Sort of like "Outliers". Commentary on why things are they way the are.

42. I suck at Girls. 
HILARIOUS!! Very short read. I literally laughed the entire book

43. The Birthhouse About a midwife who delivers babies. Interesting, but I am scarred about the lack of anesthesia in the book. 

44. The Time Traveler's Wife Interesting. I want to see the movie now. 

45. Tiny, Beautiful Things READ this one! It is a series of responses from an advice column. A very honest, lots of cussing, to the point advice column. It's written by Cheryl Strayed, who wrote Wild (which I have yet to read because the library apparently has one copy)

46.The Lifeboat This book was awful. I am only including it to tell you not to read it. 

47. A Casual Vacancy Why, J.K.Rowling, WHY?? If you had so much extra time to write a book where is "Hogwarts, A History"? You should be ashamed at yourself. This book was pretty good, I could just not get over JK R's betrayal. 

48. Girl in Translation Really good. Read it in 2 days (while working, so basically after 10pm at night). It sucked me in. Girl moves to America with her mom from Hong Kong, works in a factory, is a genius at school. 

49. Wild Very, very good. She hiked the Pacific Trail (with very little experience) as a way to get over her grief for losing her mother. Very descriptive, great word choice, really good story. 

50. How Starbucks Changed my Life Did not change my life. 

51-57. Harry 1-7 Oh, Harry. And, Hermione, Ron, Neville, Mad Eye, Tonks, Lily, Luna, Hagrid, Minerva and MOST OF ALL, Albus....where would I be without you in my life? I shudder to think about it. I enjoyed re-reading these books as much as they first time I read them. This series sums up all that is magical about reading. (pun intended). My favorite parts always remain every single scene with Dumbledore, when Lily appears out of the the Resurrection Stone and tells Harry she is proud of him (tears, every single time), when Ron becomes funny and sarcastic, the vivid descriptions of the Hogwarts scenery/food/paintings/etc. and Hagrid, in general. Oh, and McGonagall. And, Lupin. And, Neville. And, the rest of the books.

58. Gone Girl 

A fitting end of year book, I guess. As in 2012 is Gone, Girl!. ha ha. This books was ok, not nearly as great as the hype, but definitely a good one. (I seriously read it on Dec 31-stayed up way to late to finish it because it was due back at the library and I will not pay a 10 cent late fee!. Good thing it was New Year's Eve & Brandon was working, so I had a few hours!)

59. Your Pregnancy, Week by Week I think I am on Week 21 now. I love pretending like I have some control over my pregnancy by reading a few pages every Thursday and finding out he is the size of a banana, he is starting to grow hair and, by now, my back is starting to hurt. Love it.