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I have a goal of 50 books each year. Last year, I made it to 47.

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I read most of this in 2010, but I didn't finish it until a few days into 2011.

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Non-fiction about the effect a decision to get a service dog had upon one person with cerebral palsy (CP). Insightful and a worthwhile read.

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Enjoyable read. A few minor inconsistencies throughout, but the story was fun, making it easy to keep on reading. They were so minor, I can't recall the specifics, just that I was mildly distracted by them. Loved the part with her parents and their relationship!

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This is non-fiction, almost a textbook, but it's a time in American history that fascinates me. Ms Edwards has summarized this area pretty completely and given me a good foundation for more research and learning.

One thing I learned as I was reading the book is everything the US is experiencing now politically and economically has all been experienced before in eerily similar ways. We have learned from some of the experiences, but life truly is cyclical. Humans, as a species, have a pretty flat learning curve.

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A good read, told with an even pacing. This is much more a story of the sacrifices her parents made to give her a solid chance in life than her public life that came later.

I sense her acknowledgment that she took her parents' sacrifices for granted throughout the book. As such, even though both her parents have passed on, this book is a tribute to them and all they did to support her development.

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Written by a former grad school professor of mine, I like his voice. This is his third novel (well, second, the first was a short story collection). Set it Montgomery, AL, it mixes drugs, politics, and betrayal.

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An excellent recap of key decisions President Bush made during his tenure, why he made them, and what he thought he got right as well as where he thought he got it wrong.

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I'd say this is a historical romance and was an enjoyable read.

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First time novelist. First person story of a young woman coming to terms with her mother's abandonment, her father's death, and coming of age as the cycle has the opportunity to repeat.

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This deals with the emotional side of overeating and offers techniques to turn emotional barriers into fun ways to help you lose weight. It's not a diet but a supplement to whatever diet or eating plan you're following.

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This is a YA novel in the FaithGirlz series. I've found it enjoyable.

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I won this as part of Library Thing's Early Reviewer program. Mr Bryant is the author of the NY Times' "Corner Office" column. As a result, he interviews many Chief Executive Officers (CEOs). This book analyzes those interviews in an attempt to document common themes identified by a wide variety of CEOs as they relate to leadership.

The book is well done and if you're wondering what it takes to be a top leader -- either to quantify qualities you identify in others or to see how you measure up, this book will help you do that while providing a path to follow if you decide you want to pursue a top leadership role.

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The full title: GONE: A Heartbreaking Story of the Civil War, A Photographic Plea for Preservation. Short story by Shelby Foote and photographs by Nell Dickerson

This was a LibraryThing reviewers electronic copy -- two in two months, wow!

The premise intrigued me, and it does not disappoint. Mr. Foote's short story is gripping. Ms Dickerson's photography is thought-provoking. I'm not sure this combination as it's presented will inspire massive preservation efforts. Some readers may not find a connection between the two, but I "get" it.

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This is my first Cat Johnson. I got it when it was offered free on Kindle. It was a fun read.

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A YA novel, also available free on Kindle for a while. I liked how this one came out -- the MC seemed to be causing nothing but trouble in her sincere efforts to do the right thing, but she perseveres and comes out the hero.

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I thoroughly enjoyed this -- another Seatbelt Suspense Thriller.

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The Devlin Group, Book 3. I thoroughly enjoy Shannon Stacey's writing.

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The third in the "Yours to" series starring the Kowalksi family. Great story sucks you in and pulls you through to the end.

This edition has some missing words here and there and a few other copy-editing annoyances.

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Tony Dungy's Quiet Strength is an interesting testament to his faith and how he's tried to live his life.

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A nice little Christian romance by a debut author that goes a little over the top (not much) and has a few rough spots. HOWEVER, I loved the story, so I could overlook the few minor rough areas.

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Not really my cup of tea, but I wanted to give it a try. It's erotica, and it had a plot and character development as thin as the film or videotape used to record a porn movie. I should have expected that.

One thing I did like - prior to the book beginning, there was a blurb in the front letting potential readers know the types of situations they could expect to find in the book as well as what they would NOT find. I thought that was helpful for giving readers an opportunity NOT to be surprised or to not be looking for something that wouldn't be there.

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A narrative of the weeks leading up to President Lincoln's assassination. There are a lot of books that cover this one. This one does a good job.

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By our own David Bridger, and I really enjoyed it. David created a world where the magical world overlaps the "real" world and the story takes place across the spectrum of both.

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The third in a series tracking the Bush White House. This one covers the very nasty time which led up to but not including implementing The Surge in Iraq. It was painful reading.

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Shannon Stacey's first novel, published by Ellora's Cave (yes, it's erotica). The characters are believable. The one liners are hysterically funny and they come fast and furious. Are you supposed to laugh this much reading a story billed as erotica?

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An enjoyable romance with all the sex I think Jaci's known for. I guess I'm getting old, I skimmed a lot of those sections. I don't think I've ever skimmed sex scenes before.

The book had some annoying continuity errors, mostly regarding the MC's son's status as a freshman or sophomore in high school, probably complicated by the book taking place during the summer between the two years. And there were a couple terminology misappropriations. I knew what was meant, but those are the types of errors I think should have been caught during the editing cycle of the book, and they detract from the quality of the finished product when they aren't caught before going to production.

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Last year's holiday novella -- I didn't buy it until this year, but it's a fun story that I enjoyed immensely.

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After grousing about having to read the first book in this series for Holly's "How to Revise Your Novel" course, I'm hooked and plan to read the entire series.

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You know, given the size of the books, you might want to count this as 29 & 30.

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Probably the only way I'll get anywhere near fifty books this year. Grin.

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The first two books in this series are great. After they they drift ... more than a little. I gave up after the 4th book and WILL NOT read the 5th.

Thanks, Scott. I've heard that, too. I have the next two books, but will wait on the fifth (it's not out in paperback yet, anyway).

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Mary Ellen O'Toole is a retired FBI Profiler who writes about how we can prepare ourselves through our risk analysis and decision making training (those are my terms) to reduce our risk with people likely to hurt us. She (probably through her co-authors writing, since they're pretty open they're both there -- a nice touch and good credit given to the co-author throughout the book, by the way) explains why our gut feeling that someone's a "nice guy" is unlikely to be accurate. If you've done any reading about psychopaths, you understand what she means. Nasty people don't get to you by being nasty -- they're nice right up until the time you realize you're going to die.

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I liked the story, but what appeared to be continuity errors throughout drove me nuts. I didn't go back and verify them, but I had nagging thoughts as I was reading that ran like this, "Wait! Wasn't so and so this age earlier in the book? If so, this doesn't fit on a timeline for this other thing she says happened." One or two of those things are annoying, but there were so many by half way through the book that I almost didn't bother to finish it.

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A fun romance. Going for shorter works to get my numbers up for the end of the year.

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A holiday novella.

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A fun holiday romance emphasizing that you can fulfill your dreams and have your HEA.

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