100 Books Read in 2011!

I did it! I read 100 books for the second year in a row! I was not really trying to achieve the same goal again, but because I was reading through books so fast I thought I might as well race to 100.

Looking back over the books I have read, I can say that the majority of them were for fun and that I was not in pursuit of reading for educational purposes. There were a few books that were non-fiction, the majority were YA. While I find nothing wrong with reading for fun, I want to challenge myself to read books that are not in the fiction/fantasy genre and explore other types of books.

Reaching this 100 was just as fun as the last, and it just confirms for me how much I love to read and the positive impact books have had on my life.

And now for the list of 100 in 2011:

¤NW1:Secret Vampire 1-1-11
¤NW1:Daughters of Darkness 1-1-11
¤NW1:Spellbinder 1-2-11
¤Crescendo 1-7-11
¤Nightshade 1-8-11
¤I Do, Now What? 1-9-11
¤Blue Bloods
¤My Soul to Save 1-17-11
¤Going Too Far 1-20-11
¤Silver Kiss 1-21-11(10th)
¤The Social Security Fix-It Book 1-22-11
¤My Soul to Keep 1-26-11
¤The Iron Queen 1-30-11
¤Beautiful Darkness 1-31-11
¤Jellico Road 2-3-11
¤How to Ruin a Summer Vacation 2-9-11
¤Mascarade 2-10-11
¤Heist Society 2-12-11
¤Revelations 2-15-11
¤Perfect Chemistry 2-19-11 (20th)
¤Before I Fall 2-21-11
¤I Am the Messenger 2-24-11
¤Delirium 2-28-11
¤Infinite Days 3-3-11
¤Beastly 3-5-11
¤Tithe 3-8-11
¤Blink 3-8-11
¤Afterlife 3-10-11
¤NW2: Dark Angel 3-15-11
¤Desires of the Dead 3-18-11(30th)
¤Deamonglass 3-23-11
¤NW2: The Chosen 3-27-11
¤NW2:Soulmate 3-31-11
¤Unearthly 4-6-11
¤City of Fallen Angels 4-11-11
¤Cryer's'Cross 4-13-11
¤Gone 4-17-11
¤Wither 4-23-11
¤My Soul to Steal 4-26-11
¤The Healer's Apprentice 5-3-11(40th)
¤The Lost Saint 5-6-11
¤Illusions 5-9-11
¤I Am Number Four 5-13-11
¤All Together Now: Common Sense for a Fair Economy 5-14-11
¤My Soul to Lose 5-14-11
¤Bite Club 5-16-11
¤Rules of Attraction 5-22-11
¤Reaper 5-22-11
¤Heavenly 5-24-11
¤Matched 5-28-11 (50th)
¤Stray 6-1-11
¤Rouge 6-5-11
¤Pride 6-7-11
¤Prey 6-9-11
¤Shift 6-12-11
¤Alpha 6-16-11
¤Passion 6-17-11
¤The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 6-19-11
¤Nevermore 6-20-11
¤Academy 7 6-22-11 (60th)
¤Wicked Lovely 6-27-11
¤The Scorch Trials 7-2-11
¤Uncommon Criminals 7-3-11
¤Ink Exchange 7-11-11
¤Fragile Eternity 7-13-11
¤Radiant Shadows 7-17-11
¤Darkest Mercy 7-22-11
¤The Replacement 7-27-11
¤The Help 7-29-11
¤Stolen 7-31-11 (70th)
¤Forever 8-6-11
¤Anna and the French Kiss 8-10-11
¤Winter's Passage 8-10-11
¤Summer's Crossing 8-11-11
¤Supernaturally 8-15-11
¤Remembrance 8-21-11
¤Revolution 8-23-11
¤Succubus Blues 8-28-11
¤The Ivy 8-30-11
¤The Gathering 9-5-11 (80th)
¤A Northern Light 9-8-11
¤Ship Breaker 9-14-11
¤Bloodlines 9-16-11
¤Divergent 9-20-11
¤Stopping Time (1) 9-21-11
¤Stopping Time (2) 9-22-11
¤A Great and Terrible Beauty 9-26-11
¤Stork 9-29-11
¤Blood Bound 10-1-11
¤Tyger Tyger 10-3-11 (90th)
¤You Against Me 10-3-11
¤Across the Universe 10-5-11
¤Lola and the Boy Next Door 10-8-11
¤If I Die 10-11-11
¤The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People 10-13-11
¤Saving Francesca 10-16-11
¤Everafter 10-18-11
¤Beautiful Dark 10-19-11
¤Alice Bliss 10-21-11
¤Finnikin of the Rock 10-29-11 (100th)

A Brief Hiatus (Well, more like 9 months)

So what happened? Where have I been? Good question. The last time I reviewed a book I was living in Washington, DC finishing up my Master’s in Social Work by doing an internship with Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW). I had so many adventures up there and I was going 100 miles an hour-story of my life.

But I know that still does not explain why I suddenly stopped the reviewing process because let me tell you, I definitely did not stop reading. I was going along fine and then I think I just found other ways to occupy my time.

As of now I have read over 90 books and thinking about going back and reviewing all of those books is a bit daunting. I can’t say what exactly happened. I actually really enjoy writing out my thoughts about the journey a book takes me on. It’s like writing about an adventure and all the people I met and how I came away feeling after investing so much time and energy into the story. And because of this I want to start reviewing again. I might just start with the most recent and work my way backwards or only review the books that really had an impact on me.

No matter how it happens, I always remind myself that reading is first and foremost for me. But if I can share a great story with someone or teach others about what I have learned then that offers an opportunity to make a connection with someone else. What a gift!

As always, happy reading.

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Tithe by Holly Black

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell