My non-elitist random attempt to plan thoughtful elitist Booklist

I don’t make a big show of my yearly reading list. You see the bar up at top and see what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and what I want to read. That list is flexible, and it changes all the time. I also have year-round running booklists, in three or four different applications, none of them matching or posessing any continuity. My Amazon booklist, well…check it out, it’s roughly eight pages (ignore the random non-book saves). I don’t keep track of the books I’ve read, and I don’t write intricate scholarly reviews detailing the many depths of analysis I’ve taken away from what I’ve read. I read because all day I write in a language comprised of wingdings and broken English that requires some semblance of mathematical acuity, something I don’t possess without sincere effort.

That being said, I’ve somewhat caved and decided to make a post of just a few of the books I’ve decided to read this year. I make no guarantees, I might pop some other books in if I come across something I like. I don’t make reading an assignment, because the moment it’s on a schedule or becomes a promise or manditory, it stops being a mental vacation and something I look forward to.

Without further ado, my 2010 Reading List, categorized or those with literary OCD:

Non-Fiction

• It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather B. Armstrong
• Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer
• Ayn Rand and the World She Made by Anne C. Heller
• When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris

Fiction

• The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance – Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Seth Grahame-Smith
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
• The Friday Night Knitting Circle by Kate Jacobs

Politics/Culture

• God’s Harvard: A Christian College on a Mission to Save America by Hanna Rosin
• The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff Sharlet
• This Land is Their Land (Reports From a Divided Nation) by Barbara Ehrenreich
• Losing My Religion: How I Lost My Faith Reporting on Religion in America-and Found Unexpected Peace by William Lobdell

Religion & Spirituality

• The Mystery of the Rosary: Marian Devotion and the Reinvention of Catholicism by Nathan Mitchell (Author)
• Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots by Scott Hahn
• The Case for God by Karen Armstrong

Cooking

• The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
• In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon
• The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen Page, Andrew
• A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond

Health/Mind/Body Home & Garden

• Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less are the Keys to Sustainability by David Owen
• Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart
• The Self Sufficient Life and How to Live It by John Seymour

Art & Craft

• Printing by Hand: A Modern Guide to Printing with Handmade Stamps, Stencils, and Silk Screens by Lena Corwin
• Beyond-the-Square Crochet Motifs: 144 circles, hexagons, triangles, squares, and other unexpected shapes by Edie Eckman

I should also note that currently I’m participating in #B90days (thats a Twitter hash for those of you who don’t use it). Essentially it’s grouping together with other people to read the Bible in 90 days. Being Catholic, I wasn’t raised with a lot of Bible study so I’ve never actually read more than a few passages or a line or two at any one time. I thought it would be a nice way to start off the year and a nice tribute to my grandmother. I’ll be blogging sporatically about my progress. I’m two days behind currently, so I’m kind of embarrassed.