Books of 2011: Part 2

Aaaand, here we go, round 2 of the books I read this past year! You can find Part 1 here.

30. The Spies of Warsaw; Alan Furst {audiobook}: Loved. Especially loved how it was read.

31. The Geography of Bliss; Eric Weiner: It was OK. A fun collection of anecdotes, but, not something I'd re-read.

32. The Water Mirror; Kai Meyer {audiobook}: I had a hard time getting into this, but I think it was because of the narrator. I'm hoping to pick these up at the library in print.

33. Cinderella Ate My Daughter; Peggy Orenstein: Yes, you should read this.

34. You had me at Woof: How dogs taught me the secret of Happiness; Julie Klam {audiobook}: Adorable. A must-read for dog lovers. I laughed out loud!

35. Spoken from the heart; Laura Bush {such a sweet lady!}: I loved this perspective on George W. Bush's presidency. And I just generally love how classy Mrs. Bush is anyways.

36. The Mistress Contract; He and She: I wanted to like it, and I wanted it to be groundbreaking, but it just wasn't to me.

37. Shanghai Girls; Lisa See {audiobook}: You can't go wrong with Lisa See. I was on the edge of my seat.

38. The Lady of the Rivers; Philippa Gregory: Really loved this. A good perspective on a lesser-known figure in Elizabethan England.

39. Open: Love, sex, and life in an open marriage; Jenny Block: I adored this. I was impressed at how Block handled a very sensitive and sometimes controversial topic. This is not for everyone, but is a wonderful perspective on marriage and the importance of communication, even if you wouldn't choose what she does.

40. Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish; Abigail Pogrebin: Liked, but it was tedious at the end.

41. Tough cookies: leadership lessons from 100 years; Kathy Cloninger: Good. Short, and more of an explanation of the changes in GSUSA with a smattering of statistics about girls than anything else.

42. The Lady of the Butterflies; Fiona Mountain: Loved. A must-read. I mean, it's about a woman scientist in the days of Puritan/war-torn/American colonizing England. How could you not?

43. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court; Mark Twain {audiobook}: Yawn. It was good but Mark Twain is far too verbose for my taste. I really could only get into it at the very end.

44. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society; Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows {audiobook}: LOVE! The actress narrating also did a PHENOMENAL job.

45. Heresy; S. J. Parris {audiobook}: Hard to get into, but the story was good. I would rather read this than listen to it.

46. Star Trek The Next Generation: Indistinguishable From Magic; David A. McIntee: Good. Had 2 climaxes, but if you're a Trekkie, an excellent choice.

47. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter; Sue Monk Kidd: Um....lots of blather. Made some good points about patriarchy and misogyny and religion, but I would have liked to know more about the author's experiences rather than her thoughts. I'm just more of a memoir-type person.

48. Inheritance; Christopher Paolini: Good. Long. Nice ending to the series.

49. the Distant Hours; Kate Morton: A little slow, but it doesn't get woefully stuck. And there's a nice twist at the end.

50. The Neverending Story; Michael Ende: A fun fantasy novel. I didn't like it as much as Narnia or The Mists of Avalon, but it was pretty good. Same premise as Narnia, though.

51{ish}: I'm about to finish The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. OMG, it's just that good.

What have you read this year? Any recommendations for me?!