Book List

I love a good book.  Reading is one of my favorite (though not awe-inspiring) past times.  A good book recommendation is a big delight to me.

So I thought I'd share some of the books I read in 2011 - not all incredible but all worth reading.  Just in case you're like me and appreciate some reading suggestions!

The Double Comfort Safari Club

by Alexander McCall Smith

I loved all of Smith's Ladies' Detective Agency books.  I think you will too!  Start with the first one, though.

Unbroken
by Laura Hillenbrand

The true story of Louis Zamperini, set in WWII years, is one I couldn't put down.  I love books like this that are full of history but woven through a great story.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot

For me, this one wasn't a page turner but still a fascinating look at the family of a poor, black woman dying of cancer whose cells were taken without her knowledge or consent, grown in culture and are still alive today for use in medical research. 

Heaven is for Real

by Todd Burpo

Written by a dad about his son's testimony of his time in heaven after emergency surgery.  This book has been on the top ten list for months.   I know there are tons of books and movies out there about this kind of thing and I am the biggest skeptic of them all so I'm not weighing in on this one but do I believe heaven is real?  Yes I do.

My {not so} Storybook Life

by Elizabeth Owen

Subtitled "A Tale of Friendship and Faith", this was a cute and touching story of the author's journey as a friend is battling cancer.  I felt she over-used humor just a bit but I appreciate her honesty and I do enjoy her blog Mabel's House

Someone Knows My Name

by Lawrence Hill

A story of a woman kidnapped as a child from Africa and serving as a slave in South Carolina.  Wrenching.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

by Jamie Ford

A novel set in Seattle, shifting back and forth between WWII in the '40's and present day, this is a love story between a Chinese American boy and a Japanese American girl facing discrimination together until her family is rounded up and sent to an internment camp.

Okay, that's all for now.  But I may just do this more often because of how much I love to find things like this.  Do you have any good books you can recommend??