Here are the books I want to read for the year. I will add to it any other books that I end up reading. If you have any suggestions, please let me know, I would love to hear them!
Girl with the dragon tattoo By Stieg Larsson. Wow! I started this book and completely spent every single minute I had reading it once I was into it. It's a huge book (841 pages), but when it ended, I wanted more. I'm a big fan of Dean Koontz and Mary Higgins Clark and this book was similar to those types of books, but with greater depth and more complexities. I cannot wait to read the second book of this series!
Girl who played with fire By Stieg Larsson
Girl who Kicked the Hornets Nest By Stieg Larsson
The alchemist By Paulo Coelho
Illusions By Richard Bach
This book provides a quick read with small tidbits of insight into the meaning of life. It's a lighter read told as a fictional story. It was an okay book, but didn't hold any "WOW" points for me.
The Secret Life of Bees By Sue Kidd
Beloved By Toni Morrison
Love in the time of cholera By Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Life of Pi By Yann Martel
The Diary of a Young Girl By Anne Frank.It took me FOREVER to finish this book - like 3 weeks (that's forever in my world). I think it's something everyone should read, to get to know an inside perspective of the war. It was interesting/heartbreaking to read of the fear, hope, hopelessness and frustration through the eyes of a young girl. It was a very heavy read though and I couldn't get through more than half a dozen pages at one sitting, which is very unlike me. But, I'm glad I got that book checked off my list!
The story of my life By Helen Keller. My Mom owned this book and was completely inspired by it
The Prophet By Kahlil Gibran. This book is a short read, but you will need time to really absorb the words and concepts. The writing kind of reminds me of Shakespeare - complex and old fashioned, since it was published in 1923. Great little read with plenty of motivational and inspiring quotes. My favorite quote from the book,
"your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding."
No Greater Love By Mother Theresa. My Mom was also very inspired by Mother Theresa, I'd love to read this book.
Lock and Key By Sarah Dessen
Always Looking Up By Michael J. Fox. Great suggestion from a reader!
Stumbling on Happiness By Daniel Gilbert. Another great suggestion from a reader!
The Camel Club, The Collectors, Stone Cold, Divine Justice by David Baldacci. These 4 books are part of a series written by Baldacci and I was hooked. I LOVE this author, and combines my love for Dean Koontz and Mary Higgins Clark. It's obvious that he spends a ridiculous amount of time researching a variety of topics - there is so much detail in his description of everything. Love, love, love him!
Ina May's Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin. I realize this book isn't for most of you, but it was an incredible book not only about labour & birth, but about the power of women. She discusses how to have a natural labour and really focuses on our primitive nature and trust in ourselves. Women are powerful, strong people who have the ability to avoid medication during labour. I felt empowered just reading the book, such an uplifting, inspiring, positive account of the natural process birthing is.
Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oates. I bought this book from a box sale because it resonated with me for obvious reasons. I wasn't expecting much, I have never been able to find a book that captures what I feel, but this author did a pretty good job of it. The novel follows a young girl close to my age through the very sudden and tragic death of her Mom. Her daily life is followed, which I think is the best way to understand what losing a parent is like. The emotion was raw yet the continuation of life aspect to it was very present as well. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
The 10 Minute Life Coach by Fiona Harrold. This book had so much promise I thought, and I was very disappointed with it. It took me a long time, with a lot of effort to eventually get through it. I found it boring, monotonous, and very basic, common sense ideas. AND I found a grammatical error in it, which just completely wrote off any professionalism I thought it may have. Yawn.
9 Secrets of Women Who Get Everything They Want by Kate White. I wasn't expecting much from this book, especially from such a cliche title, but I was pleasantly surprised. She emphasizes how women can feel empowered, mostly through business and work, but her points can translate into other areas of life as well. It was a positive book with some great ideas and helpful suggestions.
Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert.I expected so much from the continuation of Eat Pray Love, but this book was vastly different from the last. It was largely a book of research that Elizabeth did of marriages across time and space. She discusses the revelations she found through research marriage in anticipation of her second wedding, which she was terrified for. I missed the travel stories and documents of meetings with strange characters. I think if this book had been written by anyone else, I wouldn't have enjoyed it. But she has the wonderful ability to make the most mundane ideas humorous and light. I love her quirky personality which shone through in this book and made it actually a pleasure to read.
