Reading with Intention 2012

I always look forward to my annual reading list sum up. Even if it is the only thing I end up blogging all year... I read FIFTY-FIVE books this year. NOT including the ones I read to/with Elie. I felt like I did a pretty good job of reading "intentionally" but I realized as I was looking back that it wasn't quite as faultless as I thought. I mean besides reading the entire Harry Potter trilogy, I also read a couple other kid's fantasy books. Call it research for when Elie gets to that stage. I need to be well informed, right? Anyway, one of the books made it to my top list of books that I read this year. Well, technically it is a saga, so there are currently three of them.

(In no particular order)
The Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. Andrew Peterson is one of my all time favorite musicians/ songwriters. All his music is very storytelleresque and I just love the imagery of all of his songs. I read an article by him that actually was what convinced me to read Harry Potter. When I found out he wrote a young adult fantasy series (my guilty pleasure) I just had to read it. It was definitely worth reading.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy- One of the best books I have ever read. I actually read it twice. I read it once and then immediately read it again. It is beautifully written. It is also very bleak and a little gruesome (post apocalyptic). It kind of has the same feel as "Book of Eli" without the violence. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, but it is definitely worth the read.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell- I heard this described as "Jane Austen with meat." It is roughly the same era as Jane Austen, but not quite as silly. I loved, loved, loved this book. I actually read this book twice too. This is one that I will pick up in the future when I need a little romance fix. There is also a BBC miniseries that is also fantastic.

Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson- I read this on recommendation and I am SO glad I did. Bill Bryson is a comedic travel writer and this is his memoir on growing up in the 50s. It is hilarious. And I did not grow up in the 50s. I laughed so many times. I was even in tears.

Bossypants by Tina Fey- This was a quick, funny read. I read it without ever seeing 30 rock (which I am now a fan of) or really ever watching SNL so there were some parts that were kind of boring for me, but overall a good laugh.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger- Another very well written book similar to The Road but not gruesome at all. VERY VERY well written.

Les Miserable by Victor Hugo- UNABRIDGED. The story is classic and amazing. If I were to ever read this book again I would get the Abridged version. There is a lot of extraneous detail (about 200 pages on the benefits of recycling human feces) that doesn't really pertain to the story. The story itself is very well told and I loved the humanness of the characters.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas- Unabridged. This book was amazing. It had the length of Les Mis without the superfluity. It was so well told. Reading these books and a couple by Gaskell made me realize how inundated with Christ the culture used to be. If you ever want to teach a non-Christian about who Christ is have them read Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell, or the abridged version of Les Miserable.