Top 50 Book List

A few years ago I put together a list of my all-time favorite books that I had read. These are the books I've read that were so good or that I connected with so much that when I think of them it takes me back to the time in my life when I read them. They had meaning to me, they opened my eyes to different things, I had "aha" moments with them. I traveled in my mind to places I may never go physically, things clicked about the way the world works when I read them. They're not all classics, but I connected in some way to all of them. I shared the list a couple of years ago with my co-workers, who then put together their own lists and shared them with the team. I'm always trying to find great new books, and I got some great ideas from those lists.

There's a few books on my "want to read" list, including "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand, "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford, "The Paris Wife" by Paula McLain, and "Faith" by Jennifer Haigh. I usually buy my books either on Amazon.com for newer books, or Half.com for books that have been out for a few years.  I also subscribe to Goodreads.com, a site that sends new releases each month and reviews from readers. So here it is, my updated Top Book 50 List of 2011. Please feel free to share your ideas for books that should be on this list!!

1.      Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand

2.      Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follet

3.      A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith

4.      Bonfire of the Vanities – Tom Wolf

5.      Harvard Yard – William Martin

6.      Sophie’s Choice – William Styron

7.      Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay – Michael Chabon

8.      East of Eden – John Steinbeck

9.      Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

10.  The Inferno – Dante

11.  1984 – George Orwell

12.  Of Mice and Men – John Steinbeck

13.  Sarah’s Key – Tatiana de Rosnay

14.  The Old Man and the Sea – Ernest Hemingway

15.  The Giver – Lois Lowry

16.  There Are No Children Here – Alex Kotlowitz

17.  Tuesdays With Maurie – Mitch Albon

18.  Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls

19.  The Help – Kathryn Stockett

20.  Half Broke Horses – Jeannette Walls

21.  The DaVinci Code – Dan Brown

22.  The Other Boleyn Girl – Phillippa Gregory

23.  Their Eyes Were Watching God – Nora Neale Hurston

24.  Devil in the White City – Erik Larson

25.  Brave New World – Aldus Huxley

26.  Memoirs of a Geisha – Arthur Golden

27.  I Know This Much is True – Wally Lamb

28.  Life of Pi – Yann Martel

29.  Girl with a Pearl Earring – Tracy Chevalier

30.  Grapes of Wrath – John Steinbeck

31.  Back Bay – William Martin

32.  Angela’s Ashes – Frank McCourt

33.  West With the Night – Beryl Markham

34.  Notes From a Small Island – Bill Bryson

35.  Hoop Dreams – Ben Joravsky

36.  Boss – Mike Royko

37.  Lake Effect – Rich Cohen

38.  Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini

39.  Sacred Hoops – Phil Jackson

40.  Memory Keepers Daughter – Kim Edwards

41.  Midwives – Chris Bohjalian

42.  The Queen’s Fool – Phillippa Gregory

43.  She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb

44.  The Girl With The Dragon Tatto – Steig Larsson

45.  The Secret Life of Bees – Sue Monk Kidd

46.  Nanny Diaries – Emma McLaughlin

47.  Confessions of a Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella

48.  A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini

49.  Pigs in Heaven and The Bean Trees – Barbara Kingsolver

50.  A Girl Named Zippy – Haven Kimmel