Books I Read in October and November: 2010

I didn't ever get around to posting the books I read in October and do you know what? No one even noticed or cared. That said, reading books is fun. I like it. Here's what I read in October and November.

How Not to Look Old by Charla Krupp. Get a body shaper. Don't wear too much eye make up or dark lipstick. Done and done. And done.


Bitter Seeds by Ian Tregliss. What if we had Super Heroes and Magic to fight Nazis? Where do I sign!


Don't Sweat the Small Stuff for Women by Kristine Carlson. This was a good book, I guess. I was too distracted by the author's references to her daughter named "Jazzy" to notice anything else. Jazzy?


On Gratitude by Todd Aaron Jensen. This is a very interesting book with short interviews by famous people. Insightful, humble, coherent famous people are not plentiful. Stan Lee is one. John Krasinski is another. Wow. Movie stars say a lot of cliches.


*The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Everyone who suggested this book to me was absolutely right. It is one of my top 5 favorite books ever. It is beautiful and moving and interesting. I love it. You might think, what else could someone write about the Holocaust?(See also Bitter Seeds.) Or you might think that you know all about the Holocaust already. But you're wrong and this book is something special. If you loaned it to me, I will return it soon. But I did spill some Diet Coke on it so I'm buying you a new one.


*Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling. Really, really awesome. It's such a great story. I really wish people who think they are too good for Harry Potter could know how delightful this series is. But I'm actually kind of glad they don't because it's a way of punishing them for having bad taste and being prideful. If you haven't read it out loud to your kids, seen all the movies on opening night, dressed up as the characters for Halloween or had deep, meaningful chats about the nature of good and evil and the importance of treating others kindly then you just missed out on ten years of rollicking good fun.



The Introvert Advantage by Marti Olsen Laney. Life-changing for a person like me. I always thought I was just a failed extrovert.


*The Introvert and Extrovert in Love by Marti Olsen Laney. Also life-changing. This books describes every fight Christian and I have ever had--he always thought I was just a failed extrovert.


Gunn's Golden Rules by Tim Gunn.  Tim Gunn is a good person. He's also an introvert.


Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman. I have a special testimony of Abraham Lincoln. He was important. I kind of love him. A few Saturdays ago after I did some preliminary chores it became clear to me that I would stay in bed for the rest of the day and watch the History channel. I'm not shy about how much I love certain TV shows, but it's actually quite uncommon for me to lay around and watch live TV for several hours. I started with a show about Lincoln which was incredible and informative. Then I watched something about Lizzy Borden and then D.B. Cooper. They were less inspiring.


Soft-Spoken Parenting by Wallace Goddard. This has some great suggestions and I really like the principle of this book. Abraham Lincoln would like this book, too.  He said, "It is my pleasure that my children are free, happy, and unrestrained by parental tyranny. Love is the chain whereby to bind a child to its parents."


So there you have it. I've read 55 books this year. Some are short and some are long. Recommendations are always welcome--if it weren't for blog comments I would never have read The Book Thief, which would be a great loss.