My 2011 reading lists

I have a special call-out on this post to friends who have recommended some great books for me to read during this 2011 year. Thank you: Alice, Angela, Erika, Ernie, Jennifer, Karen, Marie-Claire, Prashant, and Stephanie! Part of the reason why it's taken me so long to get both fiction and non-fiction reading lists together is that I went through each and every recommendation and read the synopses on Amazon. I totally appreciate the recommendations because without them, I would be missing out on some great books my friends (and cousins) have already read and enjoyed.

2011 Non-Fiction
1. Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo
2. Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse by Gregg Easterbrook

3. What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures by Malcolm Gladwell

4. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

5. The Teachable Moment: Seizing the Instants When Children Learn (Kaplan publishing)
6. The Successful Home Business Guide by Will Limkemann

7. The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan

8. A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller

9. The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice are Undermining Education by Diane Ravitch

10. The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz

11. Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp

12. The Story Factor by Annette Simmons

2011 Fiction

Unlike my non-fiction reading list, I don't have a set number of fiction books I would like to read as part of my 2011 goals. Most likely, I'll have a running list of books I've read this year and post it here on my blog. For now, here are some books I know I would like to read this year if I can land my hands on a copy . . .

1. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

2. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

3. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

4. The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

5. The Known World by Edward Jones

6. Unaccustomed World by Jhumpa Lahiri

7. Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

8. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

9. The 13th Tale by Diane Setterfield

10. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

11. The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan*

12. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan*

*I've committed to reading these first two books of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series with 'Shroom and Lolli. We are almost done with the first book The Lightening Thief and we love it, love it, love it!