Update on 111 in 2011

111 in 2011

\We'll just start off with the obvious: I didn't complete my goal. I was doing SO WELL and then, I went three months without doing much of anything. I really could have finished my goal if I hadn't stopped reading for a while. That being said, I'm proud of myself for reading as many as I did. The majority of the books I read were read before the end of the summer, as well. I would say I read 95% of those books before September. I'm happy with that, even if I didn't get to 111.

94 books is a lot of books to read in one year. I even re-read the Hunger Games books when I saw the trailer for the movie come out towards the end of last year. Have you seen it? Click below to watch it if you haven't. Heck, if you have seen it, you know you probably want to watch it again. I know I do!

One of my favorite authors came out with a new book last year, two actually, if you count the short story you could download to the Kindle: Lee Child. I read The Second Son (Kindle Single) and The Affair. The Affair was fantastic. It took us readers back to 1997, when Reacher was still a part of the military, working undercover to find a murderer. The book is exciting and the story is well told. As a loyal "Reacher" reader, I was very happy with this novel.

On an exciting (nerd alert) book note, I got to meet John Feinstein in December. He writes sports novels. His latest book, One on One: Behind the Scene with Greats in the Game came out in early December. He stopped by Quail Ridge Books and Music on December 14th to talk a bit about his new book, take some questions, and sign books. I wanted to get the book for myself, but since it was so close to Christmas, I just bought one for my Dad and had it autographed for him. I figure I can read it when Dad's done with it. If you're a sports fan at all, I think you would really enjoy Feinstein. Some of my favorites of his are A Season on the Brink, A Good Walk Spoiled and The Last Amateurs.

I really enjoy reading multiple books at one time. I'm not always in the mood for one genre or another, so I can hop between them and read what is interesting me that moment. I also love listening to audio books on my drive to and from work. I have a 30-40 minute drive each way, so an audio book definitely keeps me entertained.

I don't plan on making a goal of reading "this" amount of books in 2012. My goal for 2012 is to get off of the internet more and spend more time with my nose in a book. Since becoming pregnant, I have found I am leaning on the internet for information and honestly, Dr. Google is not the best Dr. in the world. I'm a huge fan of The Mayo Clinic and recently purchased their book, which I am making my way through.

I am also reading 5 other books about post-pregnancy life. I think at this point in my life, I need to spend more time reading non-fiction. It feels good to spend some time learning rather than just reading for pleasure. Obviously, it's something I'm interested in right now but I'm also sure I'll pull some knowledge out of my sleepy head one day after this baby is born and I don't have time to read these books!