2011 Book List!

This is really only meant for my own personal reference, but I thought I'd put it into a post anyway in case anyone else cares. I really should have linked to the books and to the ones that I reviewed myself. But, I didn't. In 2012, I'm going to keep my running list of read books as usual, but I'm going to keep it in a more "blog ready" format--i.e. if I review it, I'm going to include the link on my list right then, rather than try to go back later.

You'll notice the dates aren't in order--that's because I updated the list on only a semi-regular basis and would go backwards through my FB postings from Kindle in order to update the list. I also kept a list of non-Kindle books in my phone and added those to the very end of this list (though, not all of the books on the main list were read on Kindle either, it just depended on when/what was available when I finished reading it and was ready to record it). The format of how I kept the list jumps back and forth depending on what I was copying and pasting from.

So, FWIW, this is my year-end list of books read in 2011. I read a total of 119 books. Some were somewhat short--novellas of about 120-150 pages. Some were long (like 400+ pages). I only included books I read out loud to the kids if they were over 200 pages, because then I definitely think that still counts as a book I read--out loud no less, that is MORE work than reading it to myself for sure!

Happy New Year! I look forward to many more wonderful reads in 2012!

1. 1/2/2011—Simply Give Birth (second reading, read for birth inspiration. Book of birth stories, mostly rapid and UC. Very inspiring and good and also funny—has cartoons J)
2. 1/2/2011—Motherhood Confidential (finished, second reading. Kind of wildy written—makes you feel a little crazy. Funny).
3. 1/9/2011—Living in the Lap of the Goddess: The Feminist Spirituality Movement in America.
4. 1/10/2011—Gentle Birth Companions: Doulas Serving Humanity (UK perspective, interesting)
5. 1/12/2011—Labyrinth of Birth (second reading. Good!)
6. 1/17/2011—The Handmaid’s Tale (first full-length Kindle read!)
7. 1/23/2011—New Lives (nurses stories from NICU, Kindle)
8. 1/26/2011—The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries (too witchy for my taste)
9. 1/27/2011—Summer at Willow Lake (lightweight romance story free on Kindle)
10. 2/2/2011--Wicca 404: Advanced Goddess Thealogy (Kindle)
11. 2/5/2011—Rebirth of the Goddess (feminist thealogy)
12. 2/8/2011—The Apothecary’s Daughter (free Kindle historical fiction)
13. 2/10/2011—Candle in the Darkness (free Kindle Christian historical fiction)
14. 2/11/2011—Soul Identity (free Kindle fiction)
15. 2/15/2011—Goddess Spirituality at the Crossroads (second read, first Kindle purchase)
16. 2/16/2011—Letters from a Woman Homesteader (free Kindle classic)
17. 2/19/2011—The Spiral Dance (more Wiccan-oriented than I am)
18. 2/23/2011—Talk of the Town (free Kindle Christian fiction—light on Christian. Reality TV producer goes to small town).
19. 2/26/2011—Daughters of the Goddess (anthology of essays)
20. 2/27/2011—A Time to Love (free Kindle Christian fiction about Amish people)
21. 2/28/1010—She is Everywhere (anthology of Goddess writings, focusing on the Dark Mother/Black Madonna. Very uneven).
22. 3/2/2011—Medicus: A Novel of the Roman Empire (good, free for Kindle)
23. 3/4/2011—A Bed of Spices (historical romance fiction, free for Kindle. Set in Europe during Black Death)
24. 3/2011—Focus (free ebook on Zen in the age of distraction. About time management with computer/online use. Very good!)
25. 3/11/2011—Leaving Mother Lake (memoir about the Moso people, a matrilineal group a the border of Tibet/China. Very good and interesting!)
26. 3/22/2011—No Impact Man (book club. Very good).
27. 3/28/2011—Millie’s Fling (lightweight, funny, Bridget Jones-esque)
28. 3/29/2011--What’s the Least You Can Believe & Still Be a Christian (free, Kindle. Interesting)
29. 4/6/2011—Wings (free Kindle fiction about faeries. Liked it!)
30. 4/15/2011—Home/Birth: a poemic (interesting. Took time to get rhythm, but then loved it. Felt like eavesdropping ;)).
31. 4/16/2011-- Kiss Me, Stranger: An Illustrated Novel -- --Pretty weird, but also very interesting (and was free). Post-economic collapse setting and about a mother with 14 children who ends up living in a landfill (scavenging waste metal and other usable items). War going on all around between revolutionary faction and "Presidential Militia" (from nutty totalitarian President who took over and ruined the country).
32. 4/18/2011 Cosmic Conversations: Dialogues on the Nature of the Universe and the Search for Reality 4 stars, because it was a little too uneven in quality to be a five star! Very interesting and thought-provoking collection of interviews with prominent thinkers/writers/scientists/spiritual leaders about cosmology.
33. 4/26/2011--Photographs & Phantoms, free Kindle fiction. short and light.
34. 4/23/2011—Tales of the Revolution: True Stories of People who are Poking the Box and Making a Difference
35. 4/20/2011--Do the Work
36. 5/1/2011—The Possibility of Everything (for book club)
37. 5/8/2011-- Sparks Fly (forgettable, free Kindle romance)
38. 5/9/2011-- She Who Changes: Re-imagining the Divine in the World
39. 5/13/2011-- Songs for a Teenage Nomad (free Kindle fiction)
40. 5/15/2011—Practicing the Presence of the Goddess
41. 5/17/2011—Arms Wide Open (midwifery memoir)
42. 6/7/2011—In Her Name: Empire (sci-fi Kindle novel)
43. 6/2/2011 finished Mind Cafe by Lizzy Ford and gave it 4 stars (interesting short)
44. 6/1/2011--finished A Fool Again: A Novella and gave it 3 stars (engaging, predictable short romance)
45. 5/30/2011--I actually LOL'ed at this quick, funny little book. 4 stars Stingray Bit My Nipple!: True Stories from Real Travelers
    
46. 5/30/2011--finished What the Dead Fear by Lea Ryan and gave it 4 stars (interesting short)
47. 5/30/2011--cheesy, simplistic, & cliche, but also fun (save eaten by rats & squashed by a hog incidents) 3 stars Bring on the Blessings with Bonus Material
    
48. 5/27/2011--finished Heart of the Witch and gave it 3.5 stars (mystery/romance. sort of cheap, sort of good)
49. 5/25/2011--another bizarre reading choice based solely on freeness. It was actually pretty funny though. The Twelve Sacred Traditions of Magnificent Mothers-in-Law
    
50. 5/23/2011--finished Write Good or Die by Scott Nicholson, Gayle Lynds et al. and gave it 3 stars
51. 5/18/2011--finished Matchmakers 2.0 (A Novel Nibbles title) by Debora Geary and gave it 3 stars. This was actually a pretty fun little book. And, a minor character was a midwife! Presented very normally and talked about knitting baby blankets at births or needing to leave if one of "her mamas is having a baby." :)
52. 6/2011--Tales of Ancient Wisdom (Zen parable/story thingies)
53. 7/15/2011—Burnt Toast (Teri Hatcher memoir on life, love, and motherhood. Book club read).
54. 7/22/2011—Ben Behind His Voices—schizophrenia memoir
55. October 16-- finished Jenny Pox (The Paranormals, Book 1) by JL Bryan and gave it 4 stars
56. October 11 finished Wings with Bonus Material by Aprilynne Pike and gave it 4 stars (Read this to the boys with slight edits due to teen content. Lann voted 5 stars on it. I'd previously read it to myself and gave it 4. Interesting fairy read!)
57. October 8 finished Anathema (The Causal Enchantment Series) by K.A. Tucker and gave it 3.5 stars
58. October 6 finished Awkward Memoirs From Actual India by Romi Moondi and gave it 4 stars--bizarrely amusing!
59. October 4 finished Lady in the Mist (The Midwives) by Laurie Alice Eakes and gave it 3 stars
60. Sept. 29 finished Lux 1.1 Seeds by Jalex Hansen and gave it 4 stars
61. Sept 27 finished Love's Magic by Traci E. Hall and gave it 3 stars (Cheesy free romance. I kept wanting to stop reading it, but there was just enough intrigue to keep me hanging on until the end. I've been reading the crappiest books lately. Things I never even would have dignified with a glance pre-Kindle)
62. Sept. 20 finished Impulse Control (Talent Chronicles) and gave it 4 stars--engaging X-Men-ish YA novella.
63. Sept 13 finished Thirst (Ava Delaney #1) by Claire Farrell and gave it 3 stars
64. Sept 11 finished Angela of Troy and gave it 3 stars--novella about necromancer & werewolves. Abrupt end.
65. Sept 8 finished Please Stop Laughing at Me and gave it 3.5 stars--book club read.
66. Sept. 7 finished George & the Virgin. 3.5 stars-yes, I read this & it was pretty cute & creative (if trashy)
67. Sept 5 finished Anathema (Cloud Prophet series, not the same book as the other Anathema on my list) and gave it 4 stars--intriguing first half, became weaker by end.
68. Sept 4 finished Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise & gave it 3.5 stars--light, engaging Christian fiction. (Pregnant woman has baby on second base and another player says they should take her to the hospital. The reply--"its okay, she was planning to have the baby at home anyway." :) Also, had a nursing mother on the team, who frequently had to take breaks to nurse the baby :) Baby was over 6 months old too. Woot!
69. Aug 30 finished Elliot and the Goblin War by Jennifer A. Nielsen et al. and Lann gave it 5 stars
70. Aug 28 finished The Trouble With Green by Liv James and gave it 3 stars--lightweight and semi-crappy.
71. Aug 24 finished Zarrella's Hierarchy of Contagiousness by Dan Zarrella and gave it 3 stars
72. Aug 24 finished The Witch of Agnesi (Bonnie Pinkwater series) by Robert Spiller and gave it 3 stars (Engaging enough to keep me going to find out whodunnit, but not good enough to keep me from skimming a lot (I rarely skim!).
73. Aug 23 finished The Hawk And His Boy (The Tormay Trilogy #1) by Christopher Bunn and gave it 5 stars
74. Aug 17 read The Year We Finally Solved Everything and gave it 4 stars--really odd, but quite good/absorbing (A lot of the book was spent in his head, so I think you'll like it. It was a weird, interesting, dark, offbeat, semi-depressing story with mucho use of the f-word.)
75. Aug 14 finished Alice At Heart by Deborah Smith and gave it 5 stars.
76. Aug 13 finished The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin and gave it 2 stars (Styles of writing have changed/evolved so much since "classics" were written that it is hard to appreciate them--I found this to be painfully slow going as well as confusing (it was really not straightforward or clear about what was actually happening and I could barely focus on it while reading!) The only silver lining is that you found the free version for us!) I continued to find it difficult to discern the plot throughout the book, so I don't know that you're missing anything! It was hard to figure out WHAT she was feeling or thinking and it took me quite a while to even figure out that she was in love with the Robert guy--it was very "subtle" I guess (too many other free Kindle books recently have me expecting torrid love scenes to clarify the love interests!). I read a variety of criticisms of the book saying they couldn't believe how badly she treated her husband, but I thought he was pretty jerky. And, during this time period, children of the social class they belonged to were primarily with nannies (like hers were), so I actually didn't really look at the story as her leaving her children--they were still being cared for in the same way with or without her actually in the house. That was part of the culture--the part of her life (her "woman's duty") that she abandoned was the pointless socializing and entertaining and keeping up of appearances. I also wonder how her leaving to live in her own house is any different than the husband being gone all the time and then going to his "club" until long after the kids were in bed--no "what a horrible husband and father" statements are made in the Amazon reviews at least! Apparently was so subtle that I missed that she committed suicide at the end of the book until one of my book clubmates pointed it out to me.
77. Aug 9 finished The Walled Garden and gave it 3 stars--interesting, but abruptly over, novella
78. Aug 7 finished The Turtle Boy (The Timmy Quinn Series) and gave it 4 stars--totally creepy novella.
79. Dec. 9 finished Will Allen and the Great Monster Detective by Jason Edwards et al. and Lann gave it 4 stars
80. Nov. 27 finished Guardian of Eden by Leslie DuBois and gave it 4 stars--erratic quality, but interesting
81. Nov. 26 finished Moonstone by Marilee Brothers and gave it 4 stars--fun YA read.
82. Nov. 20 finished Skulduggery Pleasant: Scepter of the Ancients by Derek Landy and Lann gave it 5 stars. One surprise about this piece of free kids kindle fiction is that it was 416 pages long! I had no idea when I started reading it to the kids (one of the only things that makes the kindle book experience different than a "real" book--you'd never get halfway through a hard copy book and say, hmm. I wonder how long this book is anyway?) It was very violent in places and I had to edit slightly for mild language and some excess gore, but overall Lann and I both really enjoyed it and will probably get more books in the series (print copies are like one cent on amazon!). It was too old for Z and he would fall asleep during it.
83. Nov. 22 finished Best Friends by Consuelo Saah Baehr and gave it 5 stars--Cover makes it look lightweight and casual. It isn't. Disturbing in places, sad and depressing in others. Somewhat uneven at times--jumpy or confusing--but overall engrossing and very good. Good, deep free kindle fiction is possible!
84. Nov. 13 finished Ghost in Her Heart (Dark Lands) by Autumn Dawn and gave it 3 stars. Quote: “Men might rule the world, but women created life, made it grow within them. Without the womb there was no kingdom to govern, and a king was as useless as the next man.”
85. Nov. 12 finished Signs and Wonders by Alex Adena, Ronnell Porter and Arturo Fernandez and gave it 3.5 stars
86. Nov. 6 finished Commune of Women by Suzan Still and gave it 5 stars
87. Nov. 3 finished Yesterday's Gone: Episode 1 and gave it 4 stars--serial thriller/post-apocalyptic
88. Oct 28 finished Hollowland and gave it 4 stars--semi-gruesome YA zombie apocalypse tale
89. 7/14/2011 The Friend Request 4 stars (if free)--creepy novel about sociopath using Facebook to ruin lives. B/c choppy toward end
90. 7/12/2011--finished Wild Child by Mike Wells and gave it 3 stars--dd but also interesting YA story. Ended abruptly/lacked resolution.
91. 7/11/2011--finished Delightfully Twisted Tales by and gave it 3 stars (super strange little shorts)
92. 7/10/2011--finished Fire Lord's Lover and gave it 4 stars (if free)--engaging/somewhat trashy romance novel
93. 7/5/2011--finished Too Big To Miss by Sue Ann Jaffarian and gave it 4 stars--light & fairly engaging mystery.
94. 7/3/2011--finished Dear Cupid by Julie Ortolon and gave it 3 stars--uber-cheesy romance.
95. 6/29/2011--finished Kali and gave it 3 stars--some good recipes. Basically a collection of foodie blog posts.
96. 6/28/2011--finished Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford and gave it 4 stars. While it wasn't what I expected and was lightweight, it was definitely of higher caliber than a romance novel (and much less nakedness than those have!) and surprised me a couple of times (ending was a little trite though).
97. 6/24/2011--finished Ravenous by Dayna Macy and gave it 4 stars--interesting & well-written!
98. 6/21/2011--finished The Fox by Arlene Radasky and gave it 4 stars. This was a pretty good about the ancient Picts (Celts) in Scotland during the approaching Roman invasion. Somewhat uneven/rough in places and seemed like it could use some additional editing work, but really hooked my interest and drew me in. Labyrinth imagery throughout.
99. 6/18/2011--finished Breakthrough! by Jon Queijo and gave it 4 stars--interesting book!
100. 6/13/2011--Listen, 4 stars (free=good; pay=probably no. Intriguing idea, sometimes heavy handed with the moralizing)
101. 6/11/2011--finished Their Last Suppers by Andrew Caldwell and gave it 3 stars (morbidly interesting)
102. 6/12/2011--read Don't Make Me Come Up There! Quiet Moments for Busy Moms, 2 stars(some funny "bad mom" stories)
103. 7/19/2011 read Silken Threads, 4 stars--historical fiction romance that pays homage to Hitchcock's Rear Window

Books read not on Kindle:

1. July--Doulas' Guide to Birthing Your Way
2. In Search of the Perfect Birth
3. Leah's Wake (Book Rooster fiction)
4. The Belly Mapping Workbook
5. August--Original Self
6. Daughters of the Goddess (second reading; for school)
7. Finnegan's Way (book rooster)
8. Momfulness
9. September--A Day in the Life of an American Woman (photo journey)
10. Rebirth of the Goddess (finished re-reading for class)
11. Altars
12. October--Shanghai Girls (book club)
13. December--Introduction to Human Services: through the eyes of practice settings.

Other textbooks this year:

1. Working with Families
2. Child Welfare

2010 Book Year in Review

I kept a running list of books I read in 2010. Did actually end up hitting the 100 book mark, without realizing it until I sat down to type them up! In addition to the books I read, I also listened to at least 15 audio books. My list is not actually in order of how I read them, but in order of how I jotted them on my notepad! In 2010, I read:

1. Small Gods (fiction, book club. Kind of good)
2. The Red Tent (third time I've read it, this time for book club. Like it very much!)
3. The Lacuna (book club. Very disappointing, because I usually love Barbara Kingsolver).
4. Womanspirit: A guide to women's wisdom (second reading, much enjoy)
5. Birth--an anthology of ancient texts, songs, prayers, and stories (disappointing)
6. Simplicity Lessons: 12 Step Guide to Living Simply (we worked through this book month-by-month in 2009 and then finished it in the early part of the year. Pretty good, but nothing new).
7. Women's Spirituality Book
8. Coming to Term (miscarriage and pregnancy-after-loss. Good, interesting)
9. The Grace in Dying (very good!)
10. U is for Undertow (for fun!)
11. My Name is Mary Sutter (very excellent historical fiction about a midwife/Civil War nurse)
12. Dance of the Womb (prenatal belly dance)
13. Brought to Earth by Birth (photo essay/lyrical ode to birth)
14. Wild Feminine (loved it! Very recommended)
15. A Silent Sorrow (miscarriage)
16. Pregnancy Loss
17. Miscarriage: Women's Experiences and Needs
18. Women's Rituals (read twice)
19. Circle Round
20. The Joy of Family Ritual
21. Pregnant Woman's Comfort Book (twice)
22. Avoiding Miscarriage
23. Painless Childbirth
24. The Women's Retreat Book (loved it. Highly recommended)
25. The Woman's Comfort Book
26. A Woman's Book of Rituals and Celebrations (twice. Very good!)
27. Mindful Motherhood
28. Survivor Moms
29. Birthing a Mother
30. Readings for Women's Programs (really enjoyed this. Used it for a class)
31. Your High Risk Pregnancy (read to review, did not enjoy and wish I hadn't read while also pregnant!)
32. Our Seven Principles in Story and Verse (UU)
33. In Nature's Honor (lots of ideas for seasonal celebrations)
34. Seven Times the Sun (so-so. Waldorfy book about creating home rhythms)
35. Sandra Dodd's Big Book of Unschooling (some great stuff, some annoying stuff)
36. The Year of Living Biblically (for book club. So-so. Funny).
37. Tending the Flame--The Art of UU Parenting
38. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter (second reading, enjoyed again)
39. FatherBirth
40. The Doctor and the Diva (did not really like. Fiction about early artificial insemination techniques, annoyingly dramatized, supposed to review but it didn't match my audience).
41. Dancing with Goddess (x's two)
42. Childbirth with Insight (an oldie and goodie. I'm getting ready to re-read this one)
43. An Easier Childbirth (third reading)
44. Active Birth (another classic!)
45. Secrets of Confident Childbirth
46. Immaculate Deception II (second reading)
47. Prodigal Summer (book club. Also Barbara Kingsolver and pretty good, though not my favorite one from her).
48. Labyrinth of Birth (new edition from Pam England. Very good. Getting ready to re-read)
49. Goddesses, Witches, and the Paradigm Shift (a collection of dramatic readings. Going to do a presentation from this at church for Women's History Month).
50. Optimal Birth (very long. Good).
51. The Alchemist (barely remember. oops!)
52. Mothervoices (??)
53. I Wish I Had a Read Dress (fiction, book club, second reading. Enjoyed).
54. The Feminine Mistake: Are we giving up too much? (thought-provoking)
55. Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn (new edition)
56. Living without Reservations (travel/simple living memoir. Enjoyed).
57. The Queen's Cloak
58. Wild Girls
59. Sacred Dimensions of Women's Experience (interesting)
60. The Wheel of Life and Death (interesting)
61. Birthing Ourselves into Being
62. Birthing from Within (approximately 6th reading. All-time favorite birth book for sure!)
63. Siesta Lane (simple living memoir, not what I expected).
64. The Patron Saint of Liars (fiction, forgettable)
65. The Joy of Pregnancy
66. Having a Baby, Naturally (second reading)
67. Finding Your Own North Star
68. Waiting (journal of pregnancy after loss)
69. The Shallows (book club, so-so).
70. Un-Jobbing (third or so reading, like it).
71. Courageous Parents, Confident Kids
72. Rediscovering Birth (second reading, lots of good pix, good anthropological look at birth culture)
73. The Politics of Women's Spirituality (really enjoyed, very long and dense and took AGES to finish reading. I worked on it for about four months, I think!)
74. Child of the Northern Spring (fiction about Guinevere for book club. Did not really like. Boring).
75. Goddess Spirituality at the Crossroads (first book read on my new Kindle! Really liked it. A collection of columns from a no-longer-published journal of women's spirituality).
76. The Roots of Natural Mothering (so-so)
77. The Goddess Companion (did daily readings from this over course of entire year--it is 365 meditations)
78. Simple Abundance (used this same way as above).
79. Introduction to Human Services textbook for class.
80. Child Welfare textbook for class
81. Effective Group Discussion textbook for class
82. Groups: Process and Practice textbook for class
83. Memoirs of a Singing Birth (e-book)
84. Understanding the Dangers of a Cesarean Birth (for review)
85. Great Gals (book/journal)
86. Understanding Pregnancy and Birth (very basic)
87. Breastfeeding Facts for Fathers (booklet)

These, I can't remember if I actually read in 2010, or just wrote reviews of in 2010:
88. 25 Ways to Joy & Inner Peace for Mothers
89. Pregnant on Prozac
90.She Births
91. Get Me Out
92. L’Mazeltov
93. Birth Day
94. Birth Space, Safe Place

And, these, I found on a separate list and realized I DID read 100 books in 2010 after all!

95. The Geography of Bliss (book club)
96. The Life Organizer (loved it)
97. Listening to Our Bodies
98. The Feminine Face of God
99. YogaFit (for prenatal yoga teacher training)
100. Heart of the Goddess (pictures/painting and accompanying stories)
101. Really, Truly Ruthie (American Girl book)
102. Meet Rebecca (AG)
103. Meet Julie (AG)
104 The Vagina Warriors ($1 Shop find)
105. The Inner Dance (guided meditations. Did not like).

Woot! On to 2011! I have about 15 books in progress right now ;-D