The Book Nook

For the last two years I have taken part in Jessica's Booking It program. Perhaps "program" isn't the right word - that takes me back to my Booking It days at Pizza Hut. The point is, I participated with Jessica and a few other lovely fellow readers in choosing books to read and review each month and then sharing it with everyone. It was fun, even when I didn't successfully complete my list of books that I started with in January.

So, another year, another book list. For the third year in a row, I'll be linking up to Jessica's Booking It posts, but I've also got a little list of my own - books that I'd like to read this year and goals that I'd like to meet.

But I have a little confession to make...

You see, whenever I am faced with one of those "About Me" boxes, I always identify myself as "a reader" or "a book lover", and while that is still true, the reality is that over the last few years I have stopped making time to read. I have allowed other distractions (Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, even Busy Nothings) take the place of my beloved books, and I have slowly given away my reading time for a few minutes hours spent browsing online. It's not that those things don't have their place, but for the last couple of years I have allowed them to have too large a spot in my life and my reading (along with other tasks) has been shifted to the back burner.

Little Bite Goal: Online Time Management and Prioritize Daily Reading Time

A friend turned me on to goodreads last year, and although I haven't taken full advantage of all it has to offer, it has been an easy way to keep track of what I did manage to read in 2011 (22 books), and it has allowed me to create a reading list for 2012. In case you don't have a goodreads account or you don't have time to go check it out, I'll share my list here as well. I may not check them all off or the list may change, but these are at least on my reading radar...

1. Fellow CreateSpace author Sherban Young's mystery books (Five Star Detour, Opportunity Slips, Double Cover, and Fleeting Memory)
2. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: How I Learned to Live a Better Story by Donald Miller
3. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson
4. The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic by Jennifer Trafton
5. The Double Comfort Safari Club by Alexander McCall Smith

           

6. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
7. One Bite at a Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler by Tsh Oxenreider
8. Woe Is I: The Grammarphobe's Guide to Better English in Plain English by Patricia T. O'Conner
9. The Feast Nearby: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on $40 a week) by Robin Mather
10. West with the Night by Beryl Markham

           

11. All In Good Time: When to Save, Stock Up, and Schedule Everything for Your Home by Tara Kuczykowski
12. The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball
13. In the Company of Others: A Father Tim Novel by Jan Karon
14. Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
15. The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish by Sal Glynn

           

16. Who Made God?: And Answers to Over 100 Other Tough Questions of Faith edited by Norman Geisler and Ravi Zacharias (I WILL finish it in 2012!)
17. Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman
18. A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz
19. Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie J. Davis
20. In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson (Another book that I WILL finish this year!)

           

21. The Mother Tongue - English And How It Got That Way by Bill Bryson
22. A Red Herring Without Mustard: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley
23. Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time by Brian Tracy
24. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley
25. Rereadings: Seventeen writers revisit books they love by Anne Fadiman

           

That should be more than enough to keep me busy and keep my nose in a book, don't you think? As I said earlier, I may switch up some of the books on this list, but at least it gives me a starting point. I think the thing that I'm the most excited about regarding this year's book list is that I don't have one re-read on here, they are all new to me and I'm hoping to find a new favorite among this group.

What about you? Do you have a reading list for 2012 or do you wing it, just reading whatever falls into your lap? Any recommendations that I should add to my list? I'll be back with reviews as I finish the books on my list and I'll be sure to let you know if I should find that new favorite! Until next time, Happy Reading!