So long 2011!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! I did! I'll update all about it over the next few days but I've been out of town and don't have the energy at the moment. Instead of going out and getting crazy, Dt and I will be spending our evening cuddled together on the couch watching football (for him, I don't care since my Tigers don't play until wed) and reading (me, obvi). I also see some sushi in our future...  yum!

If I have more time tomorrow I may do a year in review of 2011 but I may not because even though I know a lot has happened, the only significant thing I can think of off hand is graduating from grad school. Hopefully next year I'll have my blog to remind me of all the wonderful things I did in 2012. One thing I will do is a quick review of my 50 in 2011 because it will change to 50 in 2012 tomorrow!

I'm proud to say exceeded my goal (by only one and it may have been an accident because I wasn't sure exactly where I stood but whatever) and am ready for my next 50. For a quick recap (and since it will disappear tomorrow) here are the books I've read in 2011.

1. Definitely Dead
2. The Confession
3. Bed of Roses
4. All Together Dead
5. From Dead to Worse
6. Dead and Gone
7. Water for Elephants
8. Savor the Moment
9. Anna Karenina
10. Voyager
11. Happy Ever After
12. The Hunger Games
13. Fallen
14. Mockingjay
15. Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang
16. Catching Fire
17. The Return of the King
18. Harvesting the Heart
19. Carrie
20. The Bikini Car Wash
21. Darkly Dreaming Dexter
22. Not my Daughter
23. Sundays at Tiffany’s
24. Shool”s Out- Forever
25. Star Island
26. Drums of Autumn
27. Dead in the Family
28. Dearly Devoted Dexter
29. Where Mercy is Shown, Mercy is Given
30. Beachcombers
31. Pride and Prejudice
32. Reading Lolita in Tehran
33. Sarah’s Key
34. The Time Traveler’s Wife
35. The Name of the Wind
36. One Day
37. 1st to Die
38.  A Summer Affair
39. The Little Prince
40. Sh*t my Dad Says
41. The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook: A tale of Sex, Money, Genius, and Betrayal
42. 2nd Chance
43. The Girl’s Guide To Homelessness
44. The Pact
45. Firestarter
46. Torment
47. Don't Blink
48. Bleachers
49. 3rd Degree
50. Hide and Seek
51. Sail


Thanks to goodreads for helping me keep track of everything and I'm excited to read all of my new  books! Yes, I know I'm a nerd and I fully embrace it and maybe it makes me cuter ;)? Ok, maybe not but I'll just act like it does. See you next year!!!

50 in 2011

*Disclaimer: this is my nerd tribute to all things literary, if you are not interested in (or obsessed with) books you may want to skip this page.

So, one of my passions in life is reading. This is something that I’m lucky enough to share with both of my parents and I credit them with my love of this pastime. I also credit them with my eclectic taste in books. My mom loves a good romance novel and has stacks of Danielle Steele and Nora Roberts books on her bedside table. I lovingly refer to this genre as “fluff” but will recommend these books to any of my girlfriends because this is what they are always looking for when they ask me what to read next. My dad on the other hand, wouldn’t touch a Nora Roberts book even if she was writing under the pseudonym J.D. Robb in the genre that he likes which is the basic action, suspense, mystery, manly novels. Authors he has introduce me to include Dick Francis, Gus Lee, and Clive Cussler. He is also the man who introduced me to my beloved Harry Potter within months of this unknown author’s book hitting the shelves, which allowed me to grow up with the whole Hogwarts gang. My paternal grandmother who has shared her love of fantasy/sci-fiction has opened me up to an all-new genre. So, growing up with these three book lovers, I was bound to have an eccentric taste in books.

I also have this really weird thing where I find reading lists and make it a goal for myself to read all of the books on the list, whether they’re popular or not. Now some people might think this is crazy (I’m a self-professed crazy person so I’m ok with that) and wonder why I would “waste my time” reading books people I don’t know suggest. But personally, I think there are thousands of great books out there that people will never know of because they weren’t made into a movie or didn’t make it to the top of the bestseller list. So I’m going to continue my eternal consumption of all books, genres, and stories, which I will find in any way I can.

One of the ways I find new lists and book recommendations is the lovely internet that seems to always bring people together over what they love. The best book website that I have found for my book obsession is Goodreads. You can use this website to find books, document and review the ones you’ve read, learn about your favorite authors, and discuss books with fellow diehards. It is through this website that I started my goal of reading 50 books a year. At first I thought this was going to be easy, I thought I read at least 50 a year because I’m constantly reading and I’m a pretty fast reader. But when I started this in 2010 (three months late and in the middle of War and Peace), I realized that life, grad school, and work really cut into my reading time and I’m reading less than a book a week. In the end, I reached my goal and am on track to do it again this year but I’d love to be able to read more than 50 because there are so many books and so little time.

I’m going to use the 50 in 2011 page to document the books I have read this year (which is almost over but I’ll start another one for 2012) and give you guys an idea of what type of random books I stumble upon. If you have any recommendations please let me know, I’m always looking for them! Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Love, Em