top 10 books i read in 2011

it's becoming somewhat of a tradition for me on renown to post the top 10 books i read each year. (Top 10 list from 2010 HERE. Top 10 from 2009 HERE.)

my planned reading list did change a lot when we found out we were pregnant because i read several books like: Pregnancy Sucks for Men; The Guys Guide to Surviving Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the First Year of Fatherhood; and 30 Things Future Dads Should Know About Pregnancy. but only 1 full on pregnancy/baby book made the list.

*some may accuse me of cheating, but as i often do in my Top 10 lists i have a 3-way tie for 10th.
so, here we go - the Top 10 books i read in 2011:

#10  Getting Things Done - David Allen 
fairly boring read but BRILLIANT strategy & system for productivity. i've implemented the system and it's awesome. worth the boring read.

#10  Evil and the Justice of God - N.T. Wright
good book that caused me to think, but Wright never really offers many helpful solutions.

#10  In This Place - Kim Abernethy
part 1 of a Memoir from a good friend of mine. a moving and emotional account of her time as a missionary in Liberia. a great read.

#9  Freakanomics - Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner
BRILLIANT book. these guys are WAY smart and see how the world works differently than anyone else. very "Gladwell-ish". again, the reader is left to come up with practical application on his/her own. but wow... brilliant & fascinating stuff.

#8  Emotional Intelligence 2.0 - Travis Bradberry
the latest on emotional intelligence - complete with a test to rank yourself + strategies to improve. extremely practical action plans.

#7  Strengths Based Leadership - Tom Rath
The newest book in the Strengths revolution. This one focuses on helping leaders lead from their strengths and how to recognize and lead others through their specific strengths.

#6  Fields of Gold - Andy Stanley
awesome little book on what God and Paul said about giving. so simple, yet so powerful. it's pretty obvious what money is for and the reason God blesses it with us. if we want to keep being blessed with more we better be giving it away. thanks to Andy for making it so painstakingly clear.

#5  The Likeability Factor - Tim Sanders
almost like a modern Carnegie with a new "9 Ways". very relevant and practical.

#4  Under the Dome - Stephen King
wow. the best ever from the best ever. over 1,000 pages and i couldn't put it down. this thing kept me up until i fell asleep with it on my face at 4am many mornings. it was like Lost meets The Stand meets Lord of the Flies. simply brilliant.

#3  Love Wins - Rob Bell
yep, loved it. very moving. very powerful. very refreshing. i didn't even read any heresy... which may make me a heretic for saying that, but nothing i can do about that i guess? and please, don't send me hate comments or mail until you have actually held the book in your own hands and read it cover to cover. happy to have a conversation then.

#2  The Baby Bump - Carley Roney + thebump.com
this is the 2nd best book i read in 2011, but largely based on context of the timing i read it in. it was SO helpful for me. i recommend it to every soon-to-be dad to figure out what the heck is going on during pregnancy and after. so helpful, practical, and easy to follow.

#1  Humility - Andrew Murray
i've already written on this book several times including HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. so, i don't need to say much more other than i never expected this book to be the best book i would read all year, but WOW. it rocked my world. SO thankful for this little book i picked off my late grandmother's shelf. changing my life...

now, i'd love to hear your top books you read in 2011!