The Books I Read in 2011

These are the 62 books I read this year (3 less than last year):

1. Les Misérables—Victor Hugo

2. Exposing the Real Che Guevara—Humberto Fontova

3. Their Eyes Were Watching God—Zora Neale Hurston

4. The Girl Who Played with Fire—Stieg Larsson

5. Inquisition—Toby Green

6. War and Peace—Leo Tolstoy

7. Guilty—Ann Coulter

8. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest—Stieg Larsson

9. How to Reach and Teach All Students—Simplified—Elizabeth Breaux

10. Mint Condition—Dave Jamieson

11. Righteous Indignation—Andrew Breitbart

12. The Complete Maus—Art Spiegelman

13. The Pale King—David Foster Wallace

14. Into Thin Air—Jon Krakauer

15. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People—Stephen R. Covey

16. Heaven Is for Real—Todd Burpo

17. I’d Go with the Helmet, Ray: A Doonesbury Book—G. B. Trudeau

18. American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar—Harvey Pekar

19. Persepolis—Marjane Satrapi

20. Demonic—Ann Coulter

21. The Recognitions—William Gaddis

22. Parrot and Olivier in America—Peter Carey

23. Persepolis 2—Marjane Satrapi

24. Falling Man—Don DeLillo

25. A Reliable Wife—Robert Goolrick

26. Wisconsin Death Trip—Michael Lesy

27. Primetime Propaganda—Ben Shapiro

28. Frindle—Andrew Clements

29. Don’t Cry—Mary Gaitskill

30. A Visit from the Goon Squad—Jennifer Egan

31. The Uncoupling—Meg Wolitzer

32. The Stoning of Sally Kern—Sally Kern

33. The Discomfort Zone—Jonathan Franzen

34. Riding toward Everywhere—William T. Vollmann

35. In My Time—Dick Cheney

36. Prince Caspian—C. S. Lewis

37. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader—C. S. Lewis

38. Troublemaker—Christine O’Donnell

39. Arguing with Idiots—Glenn Beck

40. The Invention of Hugo Cabret—Brian Selznick

41. Complete Plays 1913-1920—Eugene O’Neill

42. Salvage the Bones—Jesmyn Ward

43. Binocular Vision—Edith Pearlman

44. Flush—Carl Hiaasen

45. The Sojourn—Andrew Krivak

46. The No Spin Zone—Bill O’Reilly

47. The Buddha in the Attic—Julie Otsuka

48. Teacher Man—Frank McCourt

49. Bone Palace Ballet—Charles Bukowski

50. When You Reach Me—Rebecca Stead

51. The Help—Kathryn Stockett

52. The Angel Esmeralda—Don DeLillo

53. Americana—Don DeLillo

54. Savvy—Ingrid Law

55. The Tiger’s Wife—Téa Obreht

56. End Zone—Don DeLillo

57. Scumble—Ingrid Law

58. Mockingbird—Kathryn Erskine

59. Great Jones Street—Don DeLillo

60. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets—Stephen Crane

61. Ratner’s Star—Don DeLillo

62. Quartet—Jean Rhys

My top 10 books that I read this year:

1. The Help—Kathryn Stockett

2. Demonic—Ann Coulter

3. The Discomfort Zone—Jonathan Franzen

4. American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar—Harvey Pekar

5. A Visit from the Goon Squad—Jennifer Egan

6. The Angel Esmeralda—Don DeLillo

7. Heaven Is for Real—Todd Burpo

8. The Complete Maus—Art Speigelman

9. Righteous Indignation—Andrew Breitbart

10. Falling Man—Don DeLillo

For 2012, I plan to read mostly non fiction books. I have class coming up where I will have to read some Young Adult literature, but other than that it will be all non fiction. My plan for the next three years is to spend each year reading only a certain genre of literature. In 2012, it will be non fiction; in 2013, it will be poetry and drama; and in 2014, it will be novels and short stories. I plan to start of the year reading Barbara Ravage’s Burn Unit.

June 4 to December 31, 2010

Here's what I've read since White Teeth back in June:

17. The Old Maid--Edith Wharton

18. The Lesson of the Master--Henry James

19. The Purpose-Driven Life--Rick Warren

20. Catholics--Brian Moore

21. Andrea--John O' Hara

22. My Mortal Enemy--Willa Cather

23. Mario and the Magician--Thomas Mann

24. Youth--Joseph Conrad

25. The Death of Ivan Ilych--Leo Tolstoy

26. The Ambassadors--Henry James

27. The Onion Field--Joseph Wambaugh

28. In Cold Blood--Truman Capote

29. Beloved--Toni Morrison

30. The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger--Stephen King

31. To Kill a Mockingbird--Harper Lee

32. The Bible of Unspeakable Truths--Greg Gutfeld

33. John Calvin: A Biography--T.H.L. Parker

34. The Natural--Bernard Malamud

35. Lord of the Flies--William Golding

36. Bright Lights, Big City--Jay McInerney

37. The Conscience of a Conservative--Barry Goldwater

38. Notes from the Underground--Fyodor Dostoyevsky

39. Late Wife--Claudia Emerson

40. Underworld--Don DeLillo

41. Where I'm Calling from--Raymond Carver

42. Short Cuts--Raymond Carver (my second time reading it)

43. The Poisonwood Bible--Barbara Kingsolver

44. White Noise--Don DeLillo

45. The March--E.L. Doctorow

46. Freedom--Jonathan Franzen

47. Point Omega--Don DeLillo

48. The Road--Cormac McCarthy

49. The Case for Christ--Lee Strobel

50. Drinking the Rain--Alix Kates Shulman

51. Take God at His Word--Kregg Hood

52. Intellectuals Don't Need God--Alister E. McGrath

53. Billy Budd--Herman Melville

54. Goodbye, Columbus--Philip Roth

55. The Fall--Albert Camus

56. Dutch--Edmund Morris

57. Decision Points--George W. Bush

58. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--Stieg Larsson

59. America by Heart--Sarah Palin

60. Everyman--Philip Roth

61. Lord of Misrule--Jaimy Gordon

62. The Bonfire of the Vanities--Tom Wolfe

63. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle--David Wroblewski

64. Mao II--Don DeLillo

65. Being There--Jerzy Kosinski

My top 10 favorite books that I read in 2010:

1. In Cold Blood--Truman Capote

2. The Right Stuff--Tom Wolfe

3. Being There--Jerzy Kosinski

4. Mao II--Don DeLillo

5. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle--David Wroblewski

6. Underworld--Don DeLillo

7. The Bonfire of the Vanities--Tom Wolfe

8. White Teeth--Zadie Smith

9. Hooking Up--Tom Wolfe

10. Freedom--Jonathan Franzen

I was on a Tom Wolfe and Don DeLillo kick this year. I've always been a fan of Wolfe; after reading Underworld, I became interested in DeLillo's post-Modern style.

I read this year's Pultizer winner for Fiction, Paul Harding's Tinkers, and this year's National Book Award winner for Fiction, Jaimy Gordon's Lord of Misrule, not long after they were announced as the winners.

I plan to read at least 13 books in 2011. David Foster Wallace's last novel The Pale King will be released in April. I plan to read it as soon as it comes out.

From January 1 to June 3:

1. Going Rogue--Sarah Palin

2. House of Thieves--Kaui Hart Hemmings

3. Hooking Up--Tom Wolfe

4. Brand--Henrik Ibsen

5. Modern Times--Paul Johnson

6. Liberal Fascism--Jonah Goldberg

7. Power to the People--Laura Ingraham

8. Collected Poems: 1953-1993--John Updike

9. Lips Touch: Three Times--Laini Taylor

10. The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby--Tom Wolfe

11. Pride and Prejudice--Jane Austen

12. The Paideia Proposal: An Educational Manifesto--Mortimer J. Adler

13. Tinkers--Paul Harding

14. The Right Stuff--Tom Wolfe

15. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao--Junot Diaz

16. White Teeth--Zadie Smith (currently reading it)

December 31, 2010

I'll be posting the books that will have been read by the end of the year on 12/31.