2011 - Books

The full list of books I read during 2011 is below. I do think its probable that a few of have been left off. I'll be aiming to break 50 books during 2012. I broke the list down into various categories, and in each grouping I've listed a few of the books which stood out:

Novels:

Victor Hugo's Last Day of the Condemned Man, Gabrielle Ambrosio's Before We Said Goodbye, Yannick Haenel's The Messenger and Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife were the standouts.  Not surprisingly, the novels which have stood out to me, are those which have some political historical angle.  Last Day, is an impassioned plea from the 19th Century, for the abolition of the death penalty. Before We Said Goodbye is set on the Gaza, and without taking sides, focuses on a suicide bombing. I found The Tiger's Wife to be a beautiful and original read.

Biography:

The two that really stood out to me, were Malcolm Fraser's Political Memoirs and Goodbye Sarejevo. Prior to reading Malcolm Fraser's book, I hadn't read too much about Australian History, but my respect for Fraser grew through reading the book. Goodbye Sarajevo, is one of those must read books -  set in the middle of the Balkan Conflict, it is a moving and compelling true story of courage,  and hope. 

Political 

One of the highlights, was George Negus' The World From Down Under, which drew on his interviews with a wide range of world leaders. The books by Rebecca Hamilton and Samantha Power were eye openers to America's responses to genocide since the beginning of the 20th Century.

And in the other categories, I found Nicholas Carr's book on how Google is changing the way we think, to largely ring true, as does a bit of Andrew Keen's thesis in The Cult of the Amatuer.

So, I'm looking for more books to read this year, so let me know what you're reading.

Full List:
Novels:
Ernst Hemmingway - Farewell to Arms
Alain Robbe-Gilbert - In the Labyrinth
Mirza Waheed - The Collaborator
Tea Obreht- The Tiger's Wife
Jack Kersh - Hotel Sarajevo
Jessica Rudd - Campaign Ruby
Colm Tobin - Brooklyn
Victor Hugo - Last Day of a Condemned Man
Gabrielle Ambrosio - Before we Said Goodbye
Louis de Bernières - Captian Corelli's Mandolin
Freedom (Collection of Short Stories)
Chimamjanda Ngozi Adichie - The Thing Around my Neck
Phillip Roth - Everyman
Phillip Roth - The American Pastoral
Jonathan Franzen - Freedom
Yannick Haenel - The Messenger: A Novel
Biography / Autobiography
James Hird - Reading the play
Wayne Bennett - The Man in the Mirror
Kevin Sheedy - Stand Your Ground
Michael Chugg - Hey You in the Black Tee-Shirt
Malcolm Fraser - The Political Memiors
Izzeldin Abuelaish - I Shall Not Hate
Peter Fitzsimmons - Beazley
Hana Schofield & Atka Reid - Goodbye Sarajevo
Edward Kennedy - True Compass
Anh Do - The Happiest Refugee
Politics / Sociology / History / Psychology / Religion
Samantha Power - A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide
Rebecca Hamilton - Fighting for Darfur: Public Action and the Struggle to Stop Genocide
Laurie Oakes - On the Record
Dambisa Moyo - Dead Aid
Hugh Mackay - What Makes Us Tick
George Negus - The World From Down Under
Lindsay Tanner - Sideshow
Paul & Tania Roos - Life is Sport & Sport is Life
Andrew Leigh - Disconnected

Ravi Zacharias - Has Christianity Failed You

Kevin Lenman - Have a New You By Friday
Technology
Andrew Keen - The Cult of the Amatuer
Nicholas Carr - The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain
Humour
Richard Glover - Why Men are Necessary
Sport
Jim Main - Shake Down the Thunder
Duncan Hamilton - The Last Summer