111 in ‘11 Progress: January

So I think I got a good start on my 111 in ‘11 goal this month. I’m aiming for 10 books a month because I realize that some months are busier so I may not have as much reading time. So if I can get a bit of a head start in these cold winter months when I’m trapped in the house it will hopefully keep me from having to try to rush to hit my goal at the end of the year.

What I read in January

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace With Marriage – Elizabeth Gilbert. I didn’t love this nearly as much as I liked Eat Pray Love but I thought it was pretty good.

Reshaping It All – Candace Bure. I had heard a bit about this around the end of December and decided to give it a shot, even though it is very different from what I usually read. I thought it was pretty interesting (I loved Full House and think that Candace is really inspiring) and there were some really helpful tips and some delicious sounding recipes.

My Fair Lazy: One Reality Television Addict’s Attempt to Discover If Not Being A Dumb Ass is the New Black; Or, A Culture-Up Manifesto – Jen Lancaster. I loved this. Though I have pretty much loved all of her books, so it really wasn’t a huge surprise. What did surprise me though was the fact that I really related with what she was saying at times. This book fueled me to try to stick to my goal to turn off the TV and made me really want to get out there and experience new things. Definitely read this.

Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America – Firoozeh Dumas. I read this for the Immigrant Stories Challenge and totally loved it. I actually laughed out loud at so many parts of this book and read a couple of chapters to Doug – who also laughed. I definitely recommend this.

Anna and the French Kiss – Stephanie Perkins. I loved this book. Yes, it is considered Young Adult but I don’t care. I loved it. It reminded me a lot of the Sarah Dessen books I loved and that is a very good thing. I read this in about 2 days and was so sad when it was done, but I just couldn’t put the Nook down! I had to keep reading.

Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food - Jessica Seinfeld. Yes, this is a cookbook. But I’m counting it here because there are a lot of tips and tricks throughout the book and I really did sit down and read this whole book. I wasn’t exposed to a lot of different veggies as a kid, so I think these tips are pretty good. Plus I ended up getting this book for like $3.00 a couple of months ago, so it was a great bargain.

You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening – Gayla Trail. Doug and I have started making plans for our garden and I’m really excited (and yes, I plan to blog it!) so of course I had to go and get some library books right away. I wasn’t blown away by this one but there were definitely some neat tricks here. If you’re thinking about planting a garden this year definitely see if your library has this.

Stealing Buddha’s Dinner – Bich Minh Nguyen. This was the second book I picked for the Immigrant Stories Challenge. I was very different from the other book – and I don’t think I realized that when I picked it. It didn’t have the laughs the other one did but I thought it was so interesting. I’m definitely glad I read it.

The Backyard Homestead – Carleen Madigan. This is another book I picked out once we started planning the garden. I actually saw it in a seed catalog that Doug had (yay for a husband that went to school for horticulture!). and thought it looked neat. It is definitely way over what we are planning to do – I won’t be planting grapes and making my own wine any time soon – but I thought it was really interesting and neat to see what all one can do themselves with the space and time.

The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook Presents: A Magical Christmas Menu Sample – Dinah Bucholz. This was a free Nook book that I got since I love Harry Potter. It was neat and I really liked how the author gave you the text from the books showing how each recipe was used.

Bookstore Lore – Tom Lichtenberg. This was another free Nook book. I’m glad it was free. I love reading about dumb things people say but it was a bit much.

5 of USA’s Best Trips – Lonely Planet. Another free Nook book. This was kind of interesting to read. Doug and I have always loved to pull out the old “what’s one place you want to visit?” game (mine is always New York) so I liked getting some ideas for other places to add to the list.