I had fun on Day 1 checking out book blogs, getting reacquainted with some bloggers and meeting some new people, too.

Have you checked out the giveaways for participating bloggers this year? AME is one of the sponsors, and we’re giving away a Kindle: http://www.armchairbea.com/p/giveaways.html. There are tons of books and other goodies that will be given away this week. Individual bloggers are also conducting some of their own giveaways, and you can find them on Twitter by using the #ArmchairBEA hashtag.

Today’s topic is favorite books of 2011 so far. I haven’t read as many books as I would have liked, but so far I’ve really enjoyed the following (these books may have been published prior to 2011 but I’ve only just read them):

* Game Change: Obama and the Clintons, McCain and Palin, and the Race of a Lifetime by John Heilemann – a great book for political junkies like me! Plus, I did a lot of volunteer work during the 2008 presidential campaign so this was a great opportunity to learn about what really went on behind the scenes.

* Bringing Adam Home: The Abduction That Changed America by Les Standiford – hard to read but worth it, the back story behind the host of America’s Most Wanted and the saga to bring his son’s killer to justice. I can’t believe Fox is canceling the show – again. The first time around, viewer protests brought the show back. I hope it happens again; whatever the show costs to produce, it really does help catch criminals.

* Summer and the City: A Carrie Diaries Novel by Candace Bushnell – a really fun read. I think Candace did a great job developing the teenage Carrie. I don’t usually read YA books. I have nothing against them, it’s just I have so many other pressing books on my list. I was intrigued by the concept of teenage Carrie in a book. I read the first book, The Carrie Diaries, last year and liked it so I looked forward to this follow-up. By the end of this book, Carrie is friends with Samantha and Miranda and finally meets Charlotte. I think a third book will be warranted!

And now, a nice cat shot to prove that Foo loves Kindle. I’m not sure why, but he loves to curl up with it. Here he is with my Kindle 2. Apparently he can read upside down 🙂

I have a huge list of books I want to read… and that’s not counting what will be introduced at BEA. I’m almost afraid to see what’s there. But, books I look forward to reading this year include:

* Elizabeth I: A Novel by Margaret George. A Tudor novel? I’m there!

* The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory. Her books are so much fun to read, a good mix of fact and fiction.

* Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. I’ve already read an excerpt from Vanity Fair magazine. What a great book this is going to be.

* Politics and Pasta: How I Prosecuted Mobsters, Rebuilt a Dying City, Dined with Sinatra, Spent Five Years in a Federally Funded Gated Community, and Lived to Tell the Tale by David Fisher and Vincent “Buddy” Cianci. I lived in Rhode Island during one of Buddy’s infamous terms as mayors and even worked for a friend of his one summer. I can’t wait to see what he has to say!

* The Sword of Medina by Sherry Jones. I enjoyed The Jewel of Medina, the first book and I really look forward to the sequel.

* The Complete Tudors: Nine Historical Novels by Jean Plaidy. Jean also wrote as Victoria Holt and as Philippa Carr and several other pen names. Anyway, I think my Tudor fix will be met very nicely with this set!

And, since today is my birthday, I’m going to take a little time off to do some reading. Have a great day!