I remember my first favorite book, the one I first read over and over again at the age of 9 “Little Men” by Louisa May Alcott. Yes, I preferred the adventures of boys rather than the mild, and to me hum drum lives of the “Little Women” written about by the same author.
Though I had been a reader before the age of 9 at that particular age I found that my Barbie dolls were boring and my pogo stick and tether ball no longer seemed engaging. Reading became my play, and more than that, it became my way to seek adventures, to travel through time and space, to feast on life. For me books are as essential as air, and food and sometimes more essential than sleep. I would love to know your favorite books.
In 2011, I wrote more, spoke more, and traveled more than in any year of my career. To balance my wonderful real life with my creative life that meant I also read a lot of wonderful books.
Here are my favorite books from 2011 in order of “wonderfulness.”
1. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
2. Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon
3. Fifth Avenue 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson
4. Eureka Street by Robert McLiam Wilson
5. The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
6. La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith
7. The Lake Shore Limited by Sue Miller
8. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos
9. Bittersweet by Leslie Li
10. Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson
11. The Season of Second Chances by Diane Meier
12. How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway
13. Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik
14. The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
15. The Man in the Wooden Hat by Jane Gardam
16. Goodbye Without Leaving by Laurie Colwin
17. Heart of Deception by M.L. Malcom
18. A Question of Attraction by David Nicholls
19. Stardust by Joseph Kanon
20. The Doctor and The Diva by Adrienne McDonnell
21. Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
22. My Name is Mary Sutter by Robin Oliveira
23. That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
24. The Empress of One by Faith Sullivan
25. The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld
26. Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright
27. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
28. The Imperfectionist by Tom Rachman
29. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
My two favorite Autobiographies this year
30. Bossypants by Tina Fey
31. Seriously… I’m Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres
Favorite nonfiction book
32. Paid to Speak with one little chapter by me
More Wonderful Books by Authors I Love
There are some authors whose books you read simply because you love their writing and other authors you read simply because you love the characters and want to see what happens next. I have read all the books published by the following authors. This list is of books of theirs that I read in 2010.
33. The Innocent Man by John Grisham(Excellent,but read it when you can stay up all night)
34. The Man From Beijing by Henning Mankell
35. The Red Door by Charles Todd An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd
36. Careless in Red by Elizabeth George
37. The Cooper Beach by Maeve Binchy
38. Juliet Naked by Nick Hornby
39. New England White by Stephan L Carter ( Author of the Emperor of Ocean Park)
40. Murder on the Leviathan by Boris Akunin
41. The Water Room- A Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery by Christopher Fowler
42. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith
43. Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson
44. The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
45. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
46. Mary Ann In Autumn by Armistead Maupin
47. Both of Betty White’s Biographies
The following books I read and later gave to friends who liked them more than I did
48. One Day by David Nicholls
49. Elements of Style by Wendy Wasserstein
50. Grange House by Sarah Blake
51. Rescue by Anita Shreve
52. The Ghost of Greenwhich Village by Lorna Graham
53. The Colour by Rose Tremain
Patti Wood, MA, Certified Speaking Professional - The Body Language Expert. For more body language insights go to her website at http://PattiWood.net. Also check out the body language quiz on her YouTube Channel at http://youtube.com/user/bodylanguageexpert.