My Book List 2010
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Favorite Books from 2010
Reading is one of my favorite pastimes and I usually have two or three books on the go at one time.
And I am particular about what I read, meaning that I usually read books that I've researched, that have been recommended to me, or are on a topic I am really interested in. So, rarely am I disappointed in or fail to finish a book.
On this page, I've kept track of what I read in 2010, with a little review of each. I hope you'll share what you're reading.
A Little History
of my love for reading
As a teenager, I was enthralled by the historical novels of Irving Stone. They are spell-binding stories that also taught me a lot about history. Stone's most well-known book was The Agony and the Ecstasy about Michaelangelo, but my favorite was Love is Eternal about Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of Abraham Lincoln. Another favorite author was Herman Wouk, who wrote War and Remembrance (about WWII), among many other books. This particular book became a very popular mini-series.
Biographies are also a favorite book category and I remember being taken with The Camera Never Blinks about a new, up-and-coming reporter named Dan Rather. His story made me want to be a journalist, although I ended up taking a different path after college. While in college, my roommate and I read just about every book written by Anne Morrow Lindbergh, about her life married to the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh, and her struggle to raise a family and be an independent woman. And, in my 20's I read what has become my favorite book of all time - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - by Robert Pirsig. This book I read again when I turned 50 and once more a couple of years later so that I could write an article on it (see below).
Today, I still love novels and biographies, as well as spiritual books and books on environmental issues.
Featured Book Review
Zen and the Art of Motorycycle Maintenance
Final Two Books of 2010
Other End of the Year Books
One of My Favorites This Year
The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
I loved this book! Written through the lens of a psychiatrist, this is a mystery in disguise. Dr. Marlow's patient, Robert Oliver, is a man obsessed, but who will not talk. Marlow, in his attempt to get to the bottom of Oliver's mental illness, becomes obsessed himself. The characters are all fascinating, and I did not know the meaning of the title until I was 90% into this 550+ page book.
Kostova's first book was the best seller, The Historian.
The Swan Thieves
Amazon Price: $5.98 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $15.99
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Featured E-Book - The Firestarter Sessions
by Danielle Laporte
The War of Art
by Steven Pressfield
The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Amazon Price: $27.88 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $12.95
Loved this book, which I downloaded to my Adobe Digital Editions Reader. This book was recommended by people I really respect so I thought I would give it a whirl. Come to find out that Stephen Pressfield wrote the book, The Legend of Bagger Vance, as well as the screenplay for the movie, which is one of my favorites of all time.
This book is all about resistance in the practice of making art. Resistance arises from our fears, so it's important to recognize when we're feeling resistant, and identify the fears. Sometimes, just the realization can banish the fears. The most important way to combat resistance is to just do your art. Battle through it. Opposing resistance are the muses, allies, angels, which help us to battle through. Invoke them as much as you can.
Very helpful book for any artist.
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More Books on my List
The Not So Big Life
by Sarah Susanka
The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters
Amazon Price: $7.83 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $16.00
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Review of The Not So Big Life
Inspired by The Not So Big Life
You can do this with your own research, but the author is also a good source for other books, either through their bibliography or books the recommend in the actual content.
The books below were inspired by the the last book I read, The Not So Big Life by Sarah Susanka. Diamond Heart, Book One is the first I've read of A.H. Almaas and I plan to read more of him. The Enneagram, a psychology of personality, passions, and virtues, has always been a favorite subject of mine.
Chickens, Mules, and Two Old Fools
by Victoria Twead
Chickens, Mules and Two Old Fools: Tuck into a slice of Andalucían Life
Amazon Price: $11.21 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $11.99
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Game Change
Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime
Amazon Price: $3.20 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $27.99
Behind the scenes look at all of the riveting stories from the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. I couldn't put it down and know Republicans and Democrats alike who enjoyed this book.
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Devil in the White City
by Erik Larson
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Amazon Price: $7.20 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $15.95
Fascinating story of the creation of the Chicago World's Fair in 1893 and a murder mystery going on at the same time. Learn about careers that were made or broken by this fair. Interesting tidbits about electricity, ferris wheels, and more.
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Inspired by the Dalai Lama
Einstein's God
by Krista Tippett
With this book, she collects some of her interviews that have to do with science and the human spirit. I have listened to most of them via podcast, but it is very interesting to see them synthesized here in one book. Fascinating conversations that will really make you think.
Einstein's God: Conversations About Science and the Human Spirit
Amazon Price: $6.90 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $16.00
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Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann
It did win a National Book Award, but what really sold me was a quote right before the Contents page which said, "All the lives we could live, all the people we will never know, never will be, they are everywhere. That is what the world is." ~ Aleksandar Hemon, The Lazarus Project. This reminded me of the quote that says that we pick up a handful of sand and call it the world. Not one of us has all the answers.
So, I took this book on my recent summer vacation and absolutely loved it. It is the story of ten different people in New York City in 1974 and how their lives intersect. Real people and real stories. I found myself looking at the people in the airport differently.
Let the Great World Spin: A Novel
Amazon Price: $6.40 (as of 02/18/2012)
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More Books from my Summer Vacation
Grail
by Brian Doyle
Grail, The: A year ambling & shambling through an Oregon vineyard in pursuit of the best pinot noir wine in the whole wild world
Amazon Price: $7.80 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $18.95
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Visit my Page on Two Days in Oregon Wine County
The Naked Now
by Richard Rohr
This book was much easier to read than the former or maybe I just am understanding his concepts a little better. Anyways, this book is right up my alley, a mixture of Western and Eastern spirituality. Since my favorite quote is "The meaning of life is to see," reading this book really resonated.Here's an early line from the book.
"True spirituality is not a search for perfection or control or the door to the next world; it is a search for divine union now."
Amen. At the end of the book, Rohr gives 8 exercises for practicing awareness.
The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See
Amazon Price: $12.05 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $19.95
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Awareness
Anthony de Mello
Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality
Amazon Price: $5.79 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $14.99
The writings of Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit priest, were highly recommended to me by a friend. From India, he has melded the best of Western and Eastern spirituality.
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The Story Sisters
Alice Hoffman
The Story Sisters: A Novel
Amazon Price: $3.93 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $25.00
While a little depressing at times (several tragedies befall this one family), it is a worthwhile commentary on love and redemption.
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At Home in the Vineyard
Susan Sokol Blosser
At Home in the Vineyard: Cultivating a Winery, an Industry, and a Life
Amazon Price: $10.70 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $19.95
A fascinating look at one family's life and experiences owning a winery. Their story also parallels the growth of the Oregon wine industry.
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Things Hidden: Scripture as Spirituality
by Richard Rohr
Things Hidden: Scripture As Spirituality
Amazon Price: $13.00 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $19.99
Challenging and thought-provoking overview of the Bible in terms of the evolution of human consciousness. I loved this book!
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Einstein's Dreams
by Alan LIghtman
Einstein's Dreams
Amazon Price: $7.86 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $14.00
A book for those with great imaginations! Through imagined dreams of the scientist, Einstein, Lightman explores different experiences of time.
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Mindsight
by Dr. Daniel Siegel
Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation
Amazon Price: $8.53 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $27.00
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See My Review
at the following page
The Winter Vault
by Anne Michaels
It is the story of Avery and Jean, a young, newly-married couple in the early '60's. Avery is an engineer who is assigned to Egypt to help salvage the two temples of Abu Simbel, which had to be moved along with the people who live there to make room for the new Aswan dam. This brings back memories for Jean, who lived near the St. Lawrence Seaway when it was created. She saw people having to move from their homes to make room for the river and the impact it had on their lives. The intensity of feelings along with Jean's miscarriage threaten what was a very good marriage. They return to Canada, but separate and Jean meets another man, Lucjan, whose memories of the destruction and rebuilding of Warsaw fit into the overall theme of "What is home?"
Michaels prose can only be described as "dripping with beauty." However, she sometimes seems to be writing at a level that is above my comprehension. Many reviews say that a slow, meditative type of reading is required for this book so maybe taking a second look is in order.
The Winter Vault
Amazon Price: $3.09 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $25.00
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Linchpin
by Seth Godin
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
Amazon Price: $6.43 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $26.95
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I Nominate Mimi
My Linchpin Page
True Compass
by Edward M. Kennedy
True Compass: A Memoir
Amazon Price: $1.87 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $35.00
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The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Amazon Price: $4.39 (as of 02/18/2012)
List Price: $15.00
A touching book of letters written by people who experienced the German Occupation on the Channel Islands. I didn't want this book to end. The characters will endear themselves to you.
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My Other Reading Lists
What are you reading now?
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Woverwijk
Aug 11, 2011 @ 1:00 pm | delete
- Hi Kim, love your book selection! Since you mentioned you like the enneagram and books by Almaas, I recommend his Facets of Unity. An exploration of the enneagram as it relates to the depth of Reality, it really takes the subject to a whole new level!
Happy reading,
Willem
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MaxReily
Mar 10, 2011 @ 6:42 pm | delete
- Right now I'm reading "Fall of Giants", the first of a trilogy by Ken Follett. I loved his "The Pillars of the Earth" and "World Without End". Several years ago I read "Einstein's Dreams" and really enjoyed it. I haven't read "The Swan Thieves", but it's on my short list! This is a great idea. I have a vast list of every book I've ever read, but never thought to group them by year. I may have to try to do it retro-actively! Wonderful lens.
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LKW31
Jun 14, 2010 @ 4:34 pm | delete
- Ooh! Lots of lovely books here I haven't read and now want to! I think "At Home in the Vineyard" looks very interesting. I am currently reading Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell and Success by Martin Amis.
Lensrolling you right back to my Summer Reading List lens!
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WindyWinters
Jan 26, 2010 @ 2:04 pm | delete
- I enjoy reading biographies and travel books. I can imagine the book you are reading on Ed Kennedy is quite fascinating. Can't wait for your review on his memoir. :)
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LindaJM
Jan 22, 2010 @ 5:17 pm | delete
- I love to read about what other people are reading - because you give me ideas for my TBR list! 5*/blessed!
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About the Author
by kimmanleyort
I love to read and share books with others. This page will keep track of what I am reading in 2010, including reviews.
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I Recommend
Devil in the White City
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America
Amazon Price: $7.20 (as of 02/18/2012)
Fascinating story of the creation of the Chicago World's Fair and a serial killer.
More Book Reviews
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