The project where I read a book a week this year. See more about my project here (and feel free to leave your book suggestions). You can read my other 52 in ’11 posts here.

Book 21: Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison
My rating: Great beach read

I’ve never been a shoe person.

I guess that’s why even though this book came out four years ago, I never picked it up.

Kind of odd, I guess. I mean I watched Sex and the City. I’ve read all of Laura Wiserman’s books (and Candice Bushnell for that matter) and they all revolve around women and their shoes.

Unlike most women my age, I don’t have the need or the thirst to buy all sorts of different shoes — especially the uncomfortable “fashionable” ones. Up until a few years ago, I only had three pairs of shoes — one pair of runners and two pairs of heels (both black). I’ve branched out since then, but I still don’t see the point into spending that kind of money on shoes.

That being said, Shoe Addicts Anonymous was a lot more than just about shoes and was a great quick read while I was on holidays.

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The project where I read a book a week this year. See more about my project here (and feel free to leave your book suggestions). You can read my other 52 in ’11 posts here.

Book 20: Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan
My rating: Must read

I picked this book up on the advice of a recent copy of Entertainment Weekly.

“If you liked the movie Bridesmaids,” was the header.

I did and thought it might be fun to read a similar-type book where I could be laughing out loud and have a great time for a few hundred pages.

And yes, there was a laugh-out-loud moment, or two, but this book was much more serious — and I’d argue much more well-rounded — than Bridesmaids was.

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The project where I read a book a week this year. See more about my project here (and feel free to leave your book suggestions). You can read my other 52 in ’11 posts here.

Book 19: A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard
My rating: Hard to rate

I was hesitant to buy this book, especially after getting nightmares from just watching Jaycee Dugard’s interview with Diane Sawyer a couple of weeks ago.

I wanted to read it because, like everyone else who’s bought it, I was curious to hear about those 18 years Dugard was missing. How she survived, how she lived, etc. etc.

But there was stuff I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to read about how she was victimized sexually. I didn’t want to know how she was treated. I didn’t want to read about a child losing her childhood.

And while parts of the book are hard to get through (and I freely admit I did have to skip a few paragraphs here and there), the book is fascinating.

It’s nothing like I expected it to be. While Dugard does go into a lot of detail, the focus of the book isn’t those 18 lost years. Sure, she talks about her abduction, and her early days with the Garridos, but she is rescued not two-thirds of the way through the book. She also puts her present-day reflections into the chapters about her abduction and hiding.

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The project where I read a book a week this year. See more about my project here (and feel free to leave your book suggestions). You can read my other 52 in ’11 posts here.

Book 18: Animal Farm by George Orwell
My rating: Great read

Look, I’m ashamed to admit it, too. I’ve never read Animal Farm. As long as we’re being honest, I’ve never read any George Orwell book (though I have a pretty good idea what most of them are about). I’ve also never read To Kill a Mockingbird.

Shocking, I know.

But that’s part of the reason I took on this challenge to read 52 books this year. Part of the deal I made with myself was to read the “classic” books I never got around to in high school or college.

After all, reading 52 books that are all fluffy in a year is easy, but reading ones that require you to use your brain and imagination make the challenge a little bit harder.

So while one can argue I picked up Animal Farm because it’s short and I’m, ahem, slightly behind my quota, I also picked up Animal Farm because I’ve never read it and I wanted to rectify that.

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