Lately I have found myself wanting to read more and yet not making the time to curl up with books. There is plenty waiting to be read on my shelves and I am looking forward to working through those and others in the coming year. What were your favorite books of 2009? Is there anything that I should be adding to my shelves for this coming year? I would love to hear your thoughts.

For now, this is the list of books read this past year. Many of them have separate blog entries, but sometimes I was lazy and never got around to updating. Let me know if you would like to know more about any of these.

• A Painted House by John Grisham
• The Island of the Colorblind by Oliver Sacks
• Presenting to Win by Jerry Weissman
• Generation Y and the New Rules of Management by Mark Murphy and Andrea Burgio-Murphy
• Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y by Bruce Tulgan
• The Chains of Heaven by Philip Marsden
• The Bookseller of Kabul by Asne Seierstad
• The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
• Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
• Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeline L’Engle
• Praying for Sheetrock by Melissa Fay Greene
• When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty without Hurting the Poor…or Yourself by Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert
• Treasure by Clive Cussler
• Hunter by J.A. Hunter
• The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World’s Most Famous Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn
• Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni
• Tribes by Seth Gordin
• Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lhairi
• Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
• A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson
• It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather Armstrong

Title: It Sucked and then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita

Author: Heather Armstrong

Genre: autobiography

Form: hardcover

Recommended: yes – for all those people who have or are considering having children or who deal with depression in yourself or loved ones

Thoughts: Heather writes her autobiography much like how she writes her blog – candidly, verbosely, and full of humorous images. Nothing is off-limits, everything is worth discussing, and humor is found in the smallest moments. I found that I devoured the first half of the book and then took the second half much slower as her writing style is one better digested in small pieces. I love her honesty about life, children, and depression. All three are much less intimidating when approached openly. Read it with a drink in hand while laughing a loud, honest, and obnoxious laugh.

Title: Balzac and the LIttle Chinese Seamstress

Author: Dai Sijie, translated from French by Ina Rilke

Genre: fiction

Form: paperback

Recommended: maybe

Thoughts: This is one of many books that I have picked up at used book stores simply because it seemed like it would be a good story; it was ok. The book tells the story of two young boys in China who are sent to the countryside to be ‘re-educated.’ They find treasures in hidden books, storytelling, and a young seamstress. The story and writing were both good, and yet I find that this book did not capture me and hold me in the way I had hoped. Maybe it would be better in the original French, or maybe it was just my mood. If you read this, let me know your thoughts.

Title: A Wrinkle in Time

Author: Madeline L’Engle

Genre: fiction, science fiction

Form: paperback

Recommended: definitely

Thoughts: This is one of those books I subconsciously rejected reading for years because I am not normally a fan of science fiction. And then Renee presented it to me for my 28th birthday last year with the inscription, “For Pamela, 28, because you need this on your shelf and in your head.” She could not have been more correct. L’Engle is an excellent story teller, and the symbolism throughout the book is outstanding. In future years I plan to tackle the other four books in the series. If you have not yet read A Wrinkle in Time, you should.

Title: Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

Author: Tracy Kidder

Genre: biography, nonfiction

Form: paperback

Recommended: yes

Thoughts: Dr. Farmer works to provide medical care to the rural poor in Haiti, is a doctor of infectious disease in Boston, a Harvard professor, and works to change modern medicine’s view of treating the diseases of the poor. Kidder spent a lot of time with Dr. Farmer as they travelled the globe, walked mountains in Haiti, and corresponded extensively. It is from this perspective that Kidder tells Dr. Farmer’s story. I once heard someone say that this book is annoying because it makes Dr. Farmer out to be hero – someone impossible to emulate and yet you are left feeling like you should be trying. I think that person was slightly right, and that annoyance means that it is worth reading because there is something worth learning, pieces of life worth living, that are contained in this book. So, be inspired and be annoyed all at once.

Title: The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World’s Most Famous Cooking School

Author: Kathleen Flinn

Genre: autobiography, nonfiction

Form: paperback

Recommended: yes – but only for foodies

Thoughts: Flinn tells her story of leaving the corporate world, falling in love, and following her long-time dream of attending the Le Cordon Bleu – a famous French cooking school. Each chapter ends with a recipe – many of which looked good, but I have not yet tried any of them. Her writing / storytelling was not outstanding, but I think you foodies (probably more so the female foodies) would enjoy this story.

Title: Hunter

Author: J. A. Hunter

Genre: autobiography, nonfiction

Form: hardback, out of print

Recommended: Definitely

Thoughts: This is an amazing book. Amazing because Hunter tells his own story in his own own way of a land that he watched change and no longer exists. Born in 1887, he traveled to East Africa in 1908 and subsequently watched and took part in the taming of vast amounts of land. Yes, he talks more about guns than I care for, but this is balanced by observations of the tribes he worked with, cultural practices like pointing with one’s lips, and places that I have been to (e.g., Ngorongoro Crater) that seem nothing like what he describes. The land he walked in was truly wild in such a way that I doubt exists today, which is wonderfully refreshing. If you can track down a copy of this book, you should read it. Thank you Josh for sharing this book with me.

Given that you might not have ready access to this book and that every now and then I post ‘safari photos’, I thought I should share a few quotes from Hunter on photo safaris. Also, just for the record, safari means trip or journey in Swahili – nothing more.

“In my youth, the only animals that were photographed were dead animals. This made the problem of animal photography very simple. After your client had shot his trophy, he posed on the dead beast while you clicked the camera. But today people are determined to secure pictures of living animals. The animals seldom care to cooperate.”

“I must admit that animals are sometimes remarkably tolerant of picture taking. I have watched in amazement while a group of photographers ducked in and out of brush within thirty yards or so of a heard of elephants, taking light readings, changing lenses, and assuming the most incredible poses to get unusual ‘angle shots.’ The elephants must have known that they were there and still the big brutes put up with their antics very patiently. After considering the matter carefully, I am convinced that the elephants thought that the photographers were a herd of baboons. Elephants are short-sighted, so this is a natural mistake for them to make under the circumstances.”

Title: Treasure

Author: Clive Cussler

Genre: beach trash, action

Form: paperback

Recommended: Yes, as beach trash

Thoughts: Classic Clive Cussler – need I say more? Car and boat chases, archaeological digs, the lost library of Alexandria, and a bit of romance to top it off. In case you did not know, I think there is a place for most types of books. I find beach trash to be fantastic when I need to relax and escape. And yes, I love action movies.

Title: When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor… And Yourself

Author: Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert

Genre: development

Form: paperback

Recommended: Definitely

Thoughts: Corbett and Fikkert talk about poverty and community development in a refreshing, and, honestly, beautiful way. In this book the poor are held with a dignity that is often denied them. The authors use personal stories thus avoiding pointing fingers at other people’s failures and also provide clear steps to take for everyone involved in development. Whether you help at a homeless shelter or a food pantry or are involved in large-scale international development projects, you should read this book.

Title: Praying for Sheetrock

Author: Melissa Fay Greene

Genre: creative nonfiction

Form: paperback

Recommended: Yes

Thoughts: Greene tells the story of the civil rights movement in McIntosh County, George in the 1970’s. Most of the book sounds like stories found in novels telling of more historic times, thus leaving the reader with a poignant reminder of how long change has taken and how hard people fought for each step of change. Through excellent research and by striking a good blance between story and history, Greene brings to life characters of the story.

Title: Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art

Author: Madeline L’Engle

Genre: creative nonfiction

Form: paperback

Recommended: definitely

Thoughts: To L’Engle, art and faith are inseparable – and through this book she winds the two together in such a way that it is at once explanation of the creative process and devotional. To everyone who is an artist, this book will sing to your soul. If you want to understand an artist, this book will open up their world. This is one I will reread until it falls apart. 

Title: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Author: Patrick Lencioni

Genre: business, management

Form: audiobook

Recommended: Yes, for all of you who work in team settings and are wondering why something just is not clicking.

Thoughts: In this book Lencioni’s presents a fable of a management team that is not functioning and the process it took to make the team work. At times long winded and seemingly over-direct, the fable does what it sets out to do: clearly demonstrate what Lencioni terms the five dysfunctions of a team (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results).