Friday, February 10, 2012

Best of Books 2011

Nook Addiction. Check.

I have always loved books, but now with my Nook I am constantly on the prowl for new things to read. On Facebook, on Twitter, at work... I am always asking for recommendations of new things to read. My Nook has a backlog of books downloaded and at the ready.

Here are some of my favorite reads from 2011.

Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq by Jessica Goodell
A story of a young female soldier who volunteers to serve in the new Mortuary Affairs department of the military. Jess recounts her tales of dealing with with the fallen and the struggles of being a female soldier.
PunditMom's Mothers of Intention: How Women & Social Media Are Revolutionizing Politics in America by Joanne C. Bamberger
How is it that once a woman becomes a mother, somehow her voice is considered less? Yet, many women become even more political and vocal after starting a family. A fascinating read with lots of external voices sharing their stories on everything from the most recent election to the highly controversial partial birth abortion. 
DIY Blog Critique: A 43-point Guide to Take Your Blog To Awesomeness by Melissa Culbertson
In this fun and well written guide Mel takes you on a journey to make your blog the very best that it can be. While she does weekly critiques on her blog, this book allows you to give your blog a makeover one step at a time as quickly or slowly as you'd like. The DIY Blog Critique doesn't stop at being a 43-point guide, there are countless additional tips and links nestled throughout. A must have for any blogger. 
(My review of the book.)
UnMarketing: Stop Marketing. Start Engaging. by Scott Stratten
Any business be it a blog or a Fortune 500 company needs to read this book on effective engagement of customers in the flesh and online. Not your ordinary business book, you won't be able to put this down until you reach the end and then you'll be wanting more (which is good because he has a new book out in September). Lots of great real life stories are sprinkled throughout that really bring the book home. 
The Submission: A Novel by Amy Waldman  
A fictitious account of the building of a memorial after the 9/11 attacks. Amy does a tremendous job of capturing the passion, hurt and frustrations of all parties involved from the illegal immigrants working in the towers, the firefighters and those in charge of planning the memorial.  
The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin  
You don't have to be unhappy to want to be happier. Over the course of a year Gretchen sets out to make herself happier by setting a new "happiness" goal each month. In this book you get to be the "fly on the wall" that sees the ups and downs she experiences on her journey to a happier self. I've started my own Happiness Project and I must admit some days it's quite the challenge to stay on task. 
Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach
A book about all the little things NASA doesn't want you to know about the space program. Things like how the toilet in space has evolved (with photos), astronaut selection, sending cadavers into space and more. Fabulous read, I couldn't put it down until I was at the last page and then I wanted more. 
 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua  
This book brings all the can't-look-away-from-the-train-wreck elements of a good reality show to the page. A fascinating look into one mother's approach to raise perfect children. The book revolves around her relentless music lessons/practice for her children and her distaste of Western parenting among other things.
Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History by Ben Mezrich  
Did you know someone stole moon rocks from NASA? I didn't and I'm not sure how I missed it, but this can't miss TRUE story tells all the sordid details from the first inclination, the spectacular heist, to the later attempted sale and arrest.   
What fabulous books did you read last year?

No comments:

Post a Comment

Real Time Web Analytics