Books I Read in 2011 - What I'm Targeting in 2012

So, now, at the end of the past year and the beginning of the new year, I decided that it might be a good idea to look back at what I actually read this year, and what I think I'll read in 2012.

Now, when I say 'read', I include audiobooks. I learned as a child that audiobooks are a good way to make car trips more tolerable. It also helps for long days in the office.

Anyway, I read 15 books in 2011 (as chronicled on my Goodreads page). I will point out that I did not include the scriptures, which my wife and I have been reading throughout the year (we bounce back and forth between the New Testament and Book of Mormon Sunday School lessons, as we both have callings that keep us from attending Sunday School).

So, on to the list (and some of my thoughts) for the books read in 2011:

Be Ready When the Sh*t Goes Down: A Survival Guide to the Apocalypse
Forrest Griffin
If you're looking for advice on how to survive the Apocalypse from one who is so manly that he gets punched in the face for a living...this is the book for you! If you are in the mood for a 'manly' kind of book you can laugh at...this is the book for you! If you're a little more the dainty type, you might like some of the other books on my list instead. Let's see what else made the list...

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll
A classic story that I had never read until this year. I enjoyed it. And, even more important, it's free to download through the iBookstore or Kindle Store.

Atlas Shrugged
Ayn Rand
Thoughts on this book could take up an entire blog post. I will say, there is only one other book that compares in size to this book that I've read twice (this was my second time reading Atlas Shrugged), and that is Talmadge's Jesus the Christ. So...take that for what it's worth.

If You Ask Me: And of Course You Won't
Betty White
This was an audiobook...and it was read by Betty White herself! She's an interesting lady with a number of interesting stories. The most memorable was her building a relationship with a signing gorilla. Oh...plus hosting SNL. She relates a lot of the stories that surrounded her 'return' to the pop-culture limelight recently. It didn't take long to listen to...just a couple hours...but it made our drive to San Diego that much more entertaining.

The Downhill Lie: A Hacker's Return to a Ruinous Sport
Carl Hiaasen
This was another audiobook, and I listened to this one while I was working from my in-laws' guest/play room for a week in June. The author had picked up the game of golf while a younger man, but then stopped playing the game, so as to focus on other things in life. But, when approaching his mid-life-type years, he decided that picking the clubs back up might not be the worst of ideas. The book chronicles the ups and downs of playing the torturous game we all know (and some of us love) known as golf.

Two Years in St. Andrews: At Home on the 18th Hole
George Peper
Yes...another golf book. This one was a physical, ink and paper, book. As the title may hint at, it is about a man (and his wife) who live on the 18th hole of the Old Course at St. Andrews.

For those of you not familiar with the world of golf, the Old Course at St. Andrews is widely considered the 'Home of Golf'. It is the first documented instance of a golf course having 18 holes (there were some previous courses, including St. Andrews, that had 14 holes). It is home to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, which is the governing body of golf outside the US, and collaborates with the US Golf Association in drafting and maintaining the Rules of Golf.

Now that the background is out of the way, this is a story about George Peper, former editor of Golf Magazine, who had purchased a flat on the 18th hole of the Old Course many years previous, and decided to move he and his wife to that flat upon his pseudo-retirement. It documents the process of renovating the flat (they had rented it out to college kids in the years they didn't live there), getting acclimated to their new surroundings, and George's quest to shoot par on the Old Course. Their original plan had been to live in the flat for two years, and then sell the place in conjunction with the 2005 Open Championship. Needless to say, their plans changed, and they continue to live in St. Andrews to this day.

Candide
Voltaire
I saw this done as a play while I was in college, but had never thought to read this piece of classic literature. The resonating theme is 'all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds', but what occurs is a series of events that causes the protagonist to take a long, hard view of this philosophy that was taught to him as a young man.

When I Grow Up
Al Yankovic
Yes...a children's book. Yes...the author is 'that' Al Yankovic (really, how many 'Al Yankovic's are there). Yes...it was an audiobook (it took all of six minutes). Yes...it was read by the author. And it's that last piece of information that makes this one totally worth it!

Anthem
Ayn Rand
Imagine living in a world where the word 'I' doesn't exist. All is done for the collective good, but all are kept within their castes, less they reek havoc upon the structure of society. Imagine a world without a concept of the individual or self. Now...be the one to break the mold.

Boom! The Aftershocks on the Sixties
Tom Brokaw
Tom Brokaw interviews public figures that played important roles in, or were shaped by, the events that occurred in the US during the 1960's. He also looks at how the events of the 1960's shaped the world that we live in today.

Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History
Ben Mezrich
How many guys have promised their girlfriends the moon? This guy came through.

A true story relating an actual theft of moon rocks from a NASA laboratory, this book shows how one can start falling down a slippery slope before it's even realized that the ground is moving beneath your feet.

In the Dark Streets Shineth
David McCullough
A short story about Churchill's Christmastime visit to Washington, D.C. in 1941...a mere three weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor and the US' entry into World War II. This story was a part of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's Christmas concert, and the included DVD is a recording of Mr. McCullough relating that story during the performance.

Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?: A Professor And a Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity
Preston Jones and Greg Graffin
This isn't so much of a book, as it is a collection of emails exchanged between Preston Jones (a history professor, Christian, and fan of the band Bad Religion) and Greg Graffin (who holds a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology, an atheist, and lead singer of the bad Bad Religion). They have a lively discussion over a period of years over the concept of the place of religion in the world. While neither side is convinced by the other, it's good to see how two people can civilly disagree with each other on a topic that is considered to be so controversial.

All My Friends are Dead
Avery Monsen
A short, illustrated, humorous story about objects, animals, and people who find themselves in lonely positions.

House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies
Editor: Henry Jacoby
A group of philosophers breaking down the actions of a pop-culture reference (in this case, Dr. Gregory House of the TV show House), finding the philosophical categories that can explain his behavior, and then writing papers about it and putting them together in a book. If you studies philosophy in college (like I did), you may find this both a good philosophy refresher and an interesting read. If you didn't...I'd recommend checking it out from the library instead of heading to the bookstore (try it before you buy it).


Here's what is on the Reading List for 2012:

• In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larson
• The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1 - Mark Twain
• The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man - Brett and Kate McKay
• The Garden Tomb - Andrew C. Skinner
• Those Guys Have All the Fun: Inside the World of ESPN - James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales
• Does the Noise in My Head Bother You? - Steven Tyler
• Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman - Jon Krakauer
• Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut
• John Adams - David McCullough
• The Ancient State: The Rulers & the Ruled (The Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Volume 10) - Hugh Nibley

Now you know a little bit more about the my literary preferences...erratic as they are.

Thus Sayeth Your Haus