Meet Mittens. Promoted from paper weight to list keeper.

In January 2011, I pulled out a crisp new spiral notebook and penned the words “Donna’s Reading Log” on the front. My plan was to list every book I read in 2011. I’ve posted previously about the fluid picture book log I keep, complete with word counts, publishers, and reading levels. But, that list has always been alphabetical. I had never tallied how many books I read in a given year. 

So, here we are at the end of 2011 and I’m staring down the inked-in pages of said new spiral. Some of these titles were pulled for study purposes, some for recreation, some to satisfy a curiosity. Now that I’ve added up the whole shebang, my exceeded book buying budget and my perpetual library late fees make a bit more sense. This list won’t mean anything to you but, for me, it’s an interesting reflection of my reading year and writing focus. I’ll do the same for 2012 and see how my interests morph. And, as a bonus, my eleven year-old son has decided he wants to start his own reading log. Yes!

In no particular order, except for genre, I offer my 2011 reads.

NF and historical fiction Picture books
STAGECOACH SAL by Deborah Hopkinson
UNDER THE QUILT OF NIGHT by Deborah Hopkinson
ABE LINCOLN CROSSES A CREEK by Deborah Hopkinson
SWEET CLARA AND THE FREEDOM QUILT by Deborah Hopkinson
YOURS FOR JUSTICE, IDA B. WELLS by Philip Dray
I, MATTHEW HENSON: POLAR EXPLORER BY CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD
HUMMINGBIRDS: FACTS AND FOLKLORE FROM THE AMERICAS by Jeanette Larson
DARWIN by Alice B. McGinty
WHEN ABRAHAM TALKED TO THE TREES by Elizabeth Van Steenwyk
MOONSHOT by Brian Floca
HALLELUJAH FLIGHT by Phil Bildner
DAVE THE POTTER: ARTIST, POET, SLAVE by Laban Carrick Hill
ABRAHAM LINCOLN COMES HOME by Robert Burleigh
SO SAID BEN by Michael McCurdy
SUSANA OF THE ALAMO by John Jakes
QUEEN OF THE FALLS by Chris Van Allsburg
LINCOLN AND DOUGLASS by Nikki Giovanni
GEORGE WASHINGTON’S TEETH by Deborah Chandra
FOOTWORK: THE STORY OF FRED AND ADELE ASTAIRE by Roxane Orgill
THE WATCHER: JANE GOODALL’S LIFE WITH CHIMPS by Jeanette Witner
STAND STRAIGHT, ELLA KATE: THE TRUE STORY OF A REAL GIANT by Kate Klise
BALLET FOR MARTHA by Jan Greenberg
HONDA:THE BOY WHO DREAMED OF CARS by Mark Weston
BALARAMA: A ROYAL ELEPHANT by Ted & Betsy Lewin
POP! THE INVENTION OF BUBBLEGUM by Meghan McCarthy
THE POT THAT JUAN BUILT by Nancy Andrews- Corbel
THE LAST BLACK KING OF THE KENTUCKY DERBY by Crystal Hubbard
IF WALLS COULD TALK: FAMILY LIFE AT THE WHITE HOUSE by Jane O’Connor
CATCHING THE MOON: THE STORY OF A YOUNG GIRL’S BASEBALL DREAM by Crystal Hubbard
LOST BOY: THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO CREATED PETER PAN by Jane Yolen
PAUL ROBESON by Eloise Greenfield
BLACK ELK’S VISION: A LAKOTA STORY by S.D. Nelson
JULIA MORGAN BUILT A CASTLE by Celeste Davidson Mannis
JIMI SOUNDS LIKE A RAINBOW:A STORY OF THE YOUNG JIMI HENDRIX by Gary Golio
HOME ON THE RNAGE: JOHN A.  LOMAX AND HIS COWBOY SONGS by Deborah Hopkinson
LIBERTY’S VOICE: THE STORY OF EMMA LAZARUS by Erica Silverman
ROUGH, TOUGH CHARLEY by Verla Kay
WHAT CHARLIE HEARD by Mordicai Gerstein
ODETTA: THE QUEEN OF FOLK by Stephen Alcorn
ODD BOY OUT: YOUNG ALBERT EINSTEIN by Don Brown
LOUISA: THE LIFE OF LOUISA MAY ALCOTT by  Yona Zeldis McDonough
FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC: THE REMARKABLE STORY OF MARIA ANNA MOZART by Elizabeth Rusch
LIPMAN PIKE: AMERICA’S FIRST HOME RUN KING by Richard Michelson
SAWDUST AND SPANGLES: THE AMAZING LIFE OF W.C. COUP by Ralph Covert
THE DARING MISS QUIMBY by Suzanne George Whitaker
A PICTURE BOOK OF HARRY HOUDINI by David Adler
HARRY HOUDINI: ESCAPE ARTIST by Patricia Lakin
THE GREAT HOUDINI: WORLD FAMOUS MAGICIAN AND ESCAPE ARTIST by Monica Kulling
BEN FRANKLIN: HIS WIT AND WISDOM FROM A-Z by Alan Schroeder
EAT YOUR MATH HOMEWORK by Ann McCallum
THE MULTIPLYING MENACE by Pam Calvert
THE MULTIPLYING MENACE DIVIDES by Pam Calvert
SHE LOVED BASEBALL: THE EFFA MANLEY STORY by Audrey Vernick
RON’S BIG MISSION by Rose Blue
LINCOLN TELLS A JOKE by Kathleen Krull

Fiction Picture Books
ALL THOSE SECRETS OF THE WORLD by Jane Yolen
HARVEST HOME by Jane Yolen
WEINER WOLF by Jeff Crosby
SISTER BEAR: A NORSE TALE by Jane Yolen
SPARKY THE FIRE DOG by Don Hoffman
ROSCOE AND THE PELICAN RESCUE by Lynn Rowe Reed
___
= 61 picture books

Nonfiction Chapter Books (and a few crossovers)
TO FLY: THE STORY OF THE WRIGHT BROTHERS by Wendie C. Olde
KAKAPO RESCUE: SAVING THE WORLD’S STRANGEST PARROT by Sy Montgomery
THE VOICE THAT CHALLENGED A NATION by Russell Freedman
HARNESS HORSES, BUCKING BRONCOS, & PIT PONIES by Jeff Crosby and Shelley Ann Jackson
HEART AND SOUL: THE STORY OF AMERIA AND AFRICAN AMERICANS by Kadir Nelson
THE BOYS WAR by Jim Murphy
LINCOLN: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY by Russell Freedman
CAN I SEE YOUR ID: TRUE STORIES OF FALSE IDENTITIES by Chris Barton
MARCHING FOR FREEDOM: WALK TOGETHER, CHILDREN, AND DON’T YOU GROW WEARY by Elizabeth Partridge
WE’VE GOT A JOB: THE 1963 BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN’S MARCH by Cynthia Levinson
MUSIC WAS IT: YOUNG LEONARD BERNSTEIN by Susan Goldman Rubin
DIGGING FOR TROY: FROM HOMER to HISARLIK by Jill Rubalcaba and Eric H. Cline
MYSTERY ON EVEREST: A PHOTOBIOGRAPHY OF GEORGE MALLORY by Audrey Salkeld
SHH! WE’RE WRITING THE CONSTITUTION by Jean Fritz 

CAN’T YOU MAKE THEM BEHAVE, KING GEORGE? by Jean Fritz
_____
= 15 NF chapter books

Novels
MASTERPIECE by Elise Broach
ESPERANZA RISING by Pam Munoz Ryan

ALIEN INVASION by Brian Yansky
PHANTOM TOLLBOOTH by Norton Juster
WHAT THE MOON SAW by Laura Resau
ANOTHER WHOLE NOTHER STORY by Dr. Cuthbert Soup and Jeffrey Stewart Timmins
WAITING FOR THE MAGIC by Patricia MacLachlan
THE ADVENTURES OF NANNY PIGGINS by R.A. Spratt
HOW NOT TO BE POPULAR by Jennifer Ziegler
A THOUSAND NEVER EVERS by Shana Burg
TRUTH WITH A CAPITAL T by Bethany Hegedus
TUESDAYS AT THE CASTLE by Jessica Day George
SASS & SERENDIPITY by Jennifer Ziegler
THE PRIVATE THOUGHTS OF AMELIA E. RYE by Bonnie Shimko
Oy MG by Amy Fellner Dominy
CALLI by Jessica Lee Anderson
ODD GIRL IN by Jo Whittemore
AL CAPONE DOES MY SHIRTS by Gennifer Choldenko
BEAUTY QUEENS by Libba Bray
SNOW IN SUMMER by Jane Yolen
MOON OVER MANIFEST by Clare Vanderpool
THE DAY THE FALLS STOOD STILL by Cathy Marie Buchanan
THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett
COMMITTED by Elizabeth Gilbert
______
= 24 novels

Adult Nonfiction- just for fun
SURVIVING TITANIC by Violet Jessop
SELF PORTRAIT WITH SEVEN FINGERS by Jane Yolen and J. Patrick Lewis
INVENTING NIAGARA by Ginger Strand
NIAGARA: A HISTORY OF THE FALLS by Pierre Berton
INVENTING THE VICTORIANS: WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW ABOUT THEM AND WHY WE’RE WRONG by Matthew Sweet
 THE TALENT CODE: GREATNESS ISN’T BORN. IT’S GROWN by Daniel Coyle (my current read-will finish by week’s end)
____
= 6 Adult nonfiction

Books about the writing craft
WRITING FOR STORY: CRAFT SECRETS OF DRAMATIC NONFICTION BY A TWO-TIME PULITZER PRIZE WINNER by Jon Franklin
ANATOMY OF NONFICTION by Margery Facklam and Peggy Thomas
SAVE THE CAT : THE LAST BOOK ON SCREENWRITING THAT YOU’LL EVER NEED by Blake Snyder
SECOND SIGHT: AN EDITOR’S TALKS ON WRITING, REVISING, AND PUBLISHING BOOKS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT by Cheryl Klein
___
= 4 books on craft



Scholarly Books and Sources related to my Works-in-Progress
Sorry…Keeping a lid on my extensive list of research titles
and scores of historic newspapers and journals related to my as-yet-unacquired works-in-progress. That list to come later

Grand total= 104 books in 2011.
It’s almost time to turn the page where 2012 will begin.