Here is my reading list for 2011. I’d originally set a goal of 30 books for the year, but little man came into our life and reading was put on the backburner for a few months. Funny how that works! While I didn’t quite reach my goal, I did get to read some fabulous books this year. Top picks? Tough choice, but these are the reads I’m still thinking about at the end of the year: Jane Eyre, Tinkers, Cutting for Stone, At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Olive Kitteridge and Garlic and Sapphires.

The key to my ranking is as follows:
No stars – don’t bother
* – okay read, but not one I’d pass along
** – enjoyable read, but probably wouldn’t read again
*** – great read, happily encourage anyone to enjoy, books I could revisit again

•  Peacocks in Paradise, Elisabeth Inglis-Jones***
• The Confession, John Grisham*
• To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee***
• One Day, David Nicholls
• Adoption is a Family Affair!, Patricia Irwin Johnston***
• Garlic and Sapphires, Ruth Reichl***
• Shopping in Marrakech, Susan Simon** (highly recommend for anyone heading to the crazy-wonderful world of Marrakech!)
• The Everafter War, Michael Buckley**
• Persuasion, Jane Austen*** (for the 4^th? 5^th? time)
• Olive Kitteridge, Elizabeth Strout**
• Little Bee, Chris Cleave**
• Adopting: Sound Choices, Strong Families, Patricia Irwin Johnston*** (best adoption book I’ve read!)
• Postivie Discipline The First Three Years, Jane Nelsen**
• Case Histories, Kate Atkinson
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson**
• At Home: A Short History of Private Life, Bill Bryson***
• The Shipping News, Annie Proulx**
• Cutting for Stone, Abraham Verghese***
• The Sweet Life in Paris: A Recipe for Living in the World’s Most Delicious City, David Lebovitz**
• Sister of My Heart, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni**
• The Inside Story, Michael Buckley** (great for YA)
• Tinkers, Paul Harding***
• The Girl Who Played With Fire, Stieg Larsson*
• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, Stieg Larsson*
• I, Coriander, Sally Gardner (I know this was an immensely popular children’s book, but neither J nor I could get into it…)
• Jane Eyre, Charlote Brontë***

On the list for the coming year:

Ivanhoe, Wuthering Heights, The Maytrees, The Time Traveler’s Guide to Medieval England, Diary of a Country Priest and I’m still plodding my way through Don Quioxte… I’m sure I’ll finally finish it this year, right?

I’ve been slowly working my way through the Image journal’s ‘top 100 books of the century‘ list as a sort of guide to my reading. They have a great mix of fiction, non-fiction, history and poetry. I’ve also been reading The Well Educated Mind: A Guide to the Classical Education You Never Had. It is excellent and really transforming the way I read. If you’re looking for ideas I would recommend both.

So, what’s on your reading lists for the year to come? Any suggestions? How do you decide what to read? There are so many great books out there, I can’t wait to look back this time next year and see what stories have left imprints and added depth and shape to my year.