What I Read - 2011

Part Two of my "What I Read" series (read Part One here).

This is a list of all the books I read last year, along with my thoughts and opinions.  (But, don't take my word for it!)


An interesting book if you're at all interested in the newspaper industry or personality flaws.  Read my book report here.

Washington Square

A short book, about a love story (or is it?).

The 2nd book in the Millennium Trilogy.  Didn't love the 1st, didn't love the 2nd.  But, that's just me.

I took my friend Kerri (also an avid reader) to see this author speak at a Barnes & Noble on the Upper West Side (now closed, and sadly becoming a discount department store).  I didn't love Jane Eyre.  I just couldn't understand why she would fall in love with Mr. Rochester - he was such a jerk!  (Oh. Yeah.  Now I get it.)  This book about Charlotte Brontë was very interesting, though.

Thankfully, the last of the series.  (Don't listen to me, though - everyone else loved it.)

I love Charleston.  This is a cute little book telling the history of the city.

Duchess: The Story of Wallis Warfield Windsor
Such an interesting woman.

I thought I would love this book - Paris, piano...  But it is SO boring. (Sorry Thad Carhart.)

LOVED this book!  It totally cured me of any desire to live on a farm (SO much work!), but I loved it! Read my book report here.

Complete History of Jack the Ripper
Maybe I'm completely macabre, but I loved this book.  I mean, how did he do it?  And who was he?  What a great mystery.  (Gross, but great.)

I hated the ending, but LOVED every single word until then.  Read my book report here.

A semi-interesting story about "Love and Madness in the Gilded Age".

A modern classic, really.  All about greed and arrogance.  And so funny!

This is really a collection of short stories, all taking place within one town, and all featuring Olive in one way or another.  It's not a happy book, but it's SO good.

This book was the basis of the play (and subsequent movie) Chicago (which I loved!).  It's good...

After reading Grapes of Wrath, I went on a bit of a John Steinbeck bender.  This is a really sweet book about friendship.

A very different Steinbeck book, about WW2.  Disturbing.  (But what isn't disturbing about WW2?)

Ok, last Steinbeck (for now).  Sad, but a classic.

Not "high literature", but an interesting story.

Daisy Miller
Henry James might have written this to send a warning to free-spirited girls.

Part 2 of the Hunger Games trilogy.  

And, part 3.  I liked this series more than Twilight (ugh!), but less than Harry Potter.

Oddly written, which is interesting sometimes.

Siddhartha

Maybe Hermann Hesse's most famous book (it was the only one I'd really ever heard of).  It was good - I liked the "money doesn't buy happiness" theme.

Again, if you want to read any of these books too, just click on the image. 

(And let me know what you think!)