Officiality

I know, I know...that isn't really a word...is it? Well, today it is! Yesterday, I received the e-mail from GAPE that my MLIS has been awarded and posted to my transcripts! WOO HOO! I guess I am now officially official. Now for that job......

My Favorite Reads of 2011

Whew! A reading tornado alert has been in effect all year at my house.... Total books read in 2011: somewhere around 280. Nailing down my top ten from all that was a challenge. That being said, here is my top ten list for 2011...along with a few honorable mentions.

1. Wildwood by Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis

So I may be a bit biased with my number one pick, but who doesn't love a story that takes place in their hometown (excluding True Crime of course)? There is a special relationship established with a book when you recognize the places found within and Wildwood is no exception. Here, Colin Meloy (lead of the musical group The Decemberists) has created a world that could easily fit into one of his bands quirky songs. Wildwood is a romp through the fantastic that everyone should buy a ticket for!

2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

3. The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjailian

4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

5. Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

6. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

7. Delirium by Lauren Oliver

8. The Submission by Amy Waldman

9. Bossypants by Tina Fey

10. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs by Molly Harper

The main character is a librarian....and a vampire. Fun Fun Fun books!


Honorable Mentions:

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht

The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

If you have not read the Flavia deLuce mysteries by Alan Bradley, I would highly recommend them!

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

The Sister's Brothers by Patrick deWitt

Room by Emma Donoghue

Beautiful Darkness (Caster Chronicles #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

The Night Bookmobile by Audrey Niffenegger

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Wither (Chemical Garden #1) by Lauren DeStefano

Blood Red Road by Moira Young

and a guilty pleasure of mine The High Heels Series by Gemma Halliday

I know that's a lot! I would love to see what your favorites were this year!

My e-portfolio is eating my brain

I have been sooooo bad about posting on here. This is my final semester in grad school and I am about halfway through the completion of my e-portfolio, the capstone project for the program. Having a wonderful e-portfolio advisor has been a big help. Even with that, my brain feels like Swiss Cheese. I also have two other classes that I have to remind myself about constantly!

I try and do some leisure reading before bed to quiet my thoughts and find my evening escape vicariously through the perfect men of the romantic suspense genre. Perhaps someday a brooding ex-Navy SEAL will come sweep me off my feet..... Yeah, right...

Not all my reading is frivolous in nature. I am currently reading The Submission by Amy Waldman. This timely novel centers around the backlash when a 9/11 memorial committee discovers that the design they chose was the creation of an American Muslim. While fictional, it makes some very poignant statements. I am just now a little over halfway through an I would highly recommend it!

I hope that you are all well and will try and do a better job of keeping in touch....

Happy Reading!

Book tracker

Hello Everyone!

I have added a tracker so my friends can keep up with the book count for the year....

Another top 10 for 2010

So I realized after seeing the post from Legos Liberos that I never listed my top ten for the year 2010 so here goes:

1. The Passage   Justin Cronin
2. Shiver   Maggie Stiefvater
3. The Art of Racing in the Rain   Garth Stein
4. Full Dark, No Stars   Stephen King
5. You Suck   Christopher Moore
6. Guilty Pleasures   Laurell K. Hamilton
7. Need   Carrie Jones
8. Fallen   Lauren Kate
9. Ghost Road Blues   Jonathan Mayberry
10. Faithful Place   Tana French

Lego Liberos' Top 10 for 2010

Bibliophilecic invited me to occasionally share some of what I'm reading on this blog. I read around 70 books in 2010, which is probably the most books I've ever read in a year. At the moment, I mostly read stuff in the fantasy or history/political/biographical genre. I do read young adult novels, some popular fiction, classics, and stuff relating to the English language or writing (which is usually for professional development). I really just read whatever catches my attention and looks interesting. I am looking to getting into science fiction, so if anyone knows some good novels in that genre, let me know in the comments!

So my Top 10 for 2010, in no particular order, would be:

1. The Greatest Generation by Tom Brokaw
2. The Sword of Truth Series by Terry Goodkind
3. Dewey: The Small Town Library Cat that Changed the World by Vicky Myron
4. The Time Travelor's Wife by Audrey Niffeneger
5. Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English by John McHorter
6. Going Rogue: An American Life by Sarah Palin
7. Broke: The Plan to Restore of Trust, Truth, and Treasure by Glenn Beck
8. Ragged Dick by Horatio Alger
9. The Roots of Obama's Rage by Dinesh D'Souza
10. Outliers  by Malcolm Gladwell

Watch for additional authors!!!

I have extended invites to a few friends who are also interested in sharing their reading lists, adventures, etc.... Watch the blog for new posts!