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Happy New Year everyone! I hope all of you had a wonderful and relaxing time with family and friends.

I set my self a goal of reading 60 books in 2011, and I’m happy to say I just squeaked by with 63.

Here are a few leftover reviews from my 2011 reads:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

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I loved this! There are so many fascinating aspects of this non-fiction account of Henrietta’s contribution to science that I’m not sure where to begin. First, it’s incredible how they attempted to treat cancer in the 1950s; horrific how scientists used to perform experiments before informed consent; amazing how the few cells taken from Henrietta have allowed science to progress; terrible how Henrietta or her family neither consented to the procedure nor compensated for the resulting success of her genetic material. Rebecca Skloot wrote a touching portrayal of Henrietta’s family’s struggle to understand and come to terms with her unintended donation to science. It also explores the debate about ownership of your own body and what rights individuals should have versus the importance of scientific progress.

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Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives by Annie Murphy Paul

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Another non-fiction! One of my vacation reads, Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives by Annie Murphy Paul was an interesting look at the effects of a mother’s external environment on her unborn baby. Written from a unique perspective, as Paul was pregnant while performing the research, and me being pregnant while reading, I really enjoyed the variety of issues presented and that there was not too much panic-inducing “DON’TS.” I think the most interesting thing for me was the research on stress and how it appears to be beneficial for a pregnant woman to have some stress in her life instead of being treated like a delicate flower.

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NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman

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It seems like I couldn’t get enough non-fiction in the past few months! This was excellent. NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman takes a look at common sense parenting with respect to new research. There was a ton of useful and interesting information throughout, and I dog-eared quite a few pages for future reference (I never do this, but I didn’t have post-its in Mexico…). I especially loved the chapters on the importance of sleep and the development of language…and that testing for intelligence too early can pigeonhole children before they have a chance to really develop. Loved it!

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We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

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This was one of my favourite books of the year.  Difficult subject matter probably not something I should have read while pregnant but so well written that I couldn’t put it down. We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver was smart, but didn’t apologize for it, and I loved that. Written from the perspective of a reluctant mother, Shriver explores a variety of taboos, including not bonding with your child and well, not liking your child. It was honest, and harsh, and hard to read at times, but so well done. I’m interested to see the movie, but I’m not sure it can do this book justice. I will definitely be seeking out other titles by Shriver.

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I think my 2012 book goal will be slightly less ambitious as my life if going to change completely very soon, but I’m going to aim for 40 and see how it goes. Two down so far.

What was the best book you read in 2011?

C.