Your BEST BOOKS of 2011
DiscussieWhat Are You Reading Now?
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1PaperbackPirate
For the 6th year in a row, here is the thread to tell us about your best reads of the year.
We ask that you post ONLY TEN - TWELVE 'BEST' BOOKS. If you wish to make categories, please limit the total books mentioned to 10-12. Believe me, we know how hard it is to whittle the list down! (in 2006 and 07 you had to whittle it down to five!)
Tell us your best reads of the year, and perhaps one line of why they made the list (really isn't that more interesting than just a list of books?).
Best of 2006
Best of 2007
Best of 2008
Best of 2009
Best of 2010
Have fun!
We ask that you post ONLY TEN - TWELVE 'BEST' BOOKS. If you wish to make categories, please limit the total books mentioned to 10-12. Believe me, we know how hard it is to whittle the list down! (in 2006 and 07 you had to whittle it down to five!)
Tell us your best reads of the year, and perhaps one line of why they made the list (really isn't that more interesting than just a list of books?).
Best of 2006
Best of 2007
Best of 2008
Best of 2009
Best of 2010
Have fun!
2magnumpigg
My choices are based on if I can even remember anything at all about the book.
I keep "years read" tags, so I find it funny the number of books I rated high this year, yet I can't remember them. (Embarrassing, huh?)
Then, on the other hand, some books linger, even though rated lower; I don't just remember them...they linger.
So, here is what lingers fondly for the year:
Top read, hands down: The Cold Kiss by John Rector -- A crime as creepy and cold as the weather in which it takes place.
Quickly followed by: Midnight Solitaire by Greg F. Gifune -- again, creepy in a snow storm; is there a pattern here? hum.
The first three in the Tomorrow series by John Marsden -- 3 books I read in quick succession so they felt like one; thrilling, entertaining.
Mandibles by Jeff Strand -- Great B-movie fun -- giant ants and mayhem -- tough to beat that combo.
...and of course that has to be followed by Joe McKinney's The Red Empire -- more ants on the attack, though these weren't giants.
Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson -- I read a lot of zombie books (quirky fun); of the 14 read this year (so far) this was the most fun.
A Thousand Cuts by Simon Lelic -- a very moving school-shooting story; still haunts me.
Shadow Season by Tom Piccirilli -- more crime and creepiness in a snow storm.
Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski -- fun crime and time travel story.
...and finally Lights Out by David Crawford -- a great big read of a self-published book, but it was good post-apocalyptic "lights out" fun.
I keep "years read" tags, so I find it funny the number of books I rated high this year, yet I can't remember them. (Embarrassing, huh?)
Then, on the other hand, some books linger, even though rated lower; I don't just remember them...they linger.
So, here is what lingers fondly for the year:
Top read, hands down: The Cold Kiss by John Rector -- A crime as creepy and cold as the weather in which it takes place.
Quickly followed by: Midnight Solitaire by Greg F. Gifune -- again, creepy in a snow storm; is there a pattern here? hum.
The first three in the Tomorrow series by John Marsden -- 3 books I read in quick succession so they felt like one; thrilling, entertaining.
Mandibles by Jeff Strand -- Great B-movie fun -- giant ants and mayhem -- tough to beat that combo.
...and of course that has to be followed by Joe McKinney's The Red Empire -- more ants on the attack, though these weren't giants.
Night of the Living Trekkies by Kevin David Anderson -- I read a lot of zombie books (quirky fun); of the 14 read this year (so far) this was the most fun.
A Thousand Cuts by Simon Lelic -- a very moving school-shooting story; still haunts me.
Shadow Season by Tom Piccirilli -- more crime and creepiness in a snow storm.
Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski -- fun crime and time travel story.
...and finally Lights Out by David Crawford -- a great big read of a self-published book, but it was good post-apocalyptic "lights out" fun.
3momom248
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Cutting For Stone, A Fine Balance, To Kill A Mockingbird.
5mainrun
I read two books that I would rate five stars: a book I would read again. They truly earn that grade, as they were actual re-reads:
Salem's Lot I am reading King's Dark Tower series. In a smart, moneymaking move, King included a character from Salem's Lot in one of the DT books. It worked on me, as I read this book. I go to the public library for my books though, so I got the last laugh. I first read this in the late 1970's or early 1980's.
Anne of Green Gables I was reading a DEADLY boring book. In a bold and rare move, I did something I never do: I started this funny, entertaining novel at the same time I was reading the other book. It got me through the other story. I first read this in the 1990's.
I gave the following four stars: page turners; hard to stop and easy to start:
Dead or Alive This book brought back nice memories of previous Tom Clancy novels. Several times, one line in the book reminded me of another 700+ page Jack Ryan book.
The Last Ringbearer The sequel to "The Lord of the Rings" with a cool "history is written by the winner" concept.
Flashback I finished this just a couple weeks ago. I enjoyed this Simmons novel more than his last few books.
Good reading all
Salem's Lot I am reading King's Dark Tower series. In a smart, moneymaking move, King included a character from Salem's Lot in one of the DT books. It worked on me, as I read this book. I go to the public library for my books though, so I got the last laugh. I first read this in the late 1970's or early 1980's.
Anne of Green Gables I was reading a DEADLY boring book. In a bold and rare move, I did something I never do: I started this funny, entertaining novel at the same time I was reading the other book. It got me through the other story. I first read this in the 1990's.
I gave the following four stars: page turners; hard to stop and easy to start:
Dead or Alive This book brought back nice memories of previous Tom Clancy novels. Several times, one line in the book reminded me of another 700+ page Jack Ryan book.
The Last Ringbearer The sequel to "The Lord of the Rings" with a cool "history is written by the winner" concept.
Flashback I finished this just a couple weeks ago. I enjoyed this Simmons novel more than his last few books.
Good reading all
6browner56
Best "Old" Books:
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Stoner by John Williams
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Best "New" Book:
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
Stoner by John Williams
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Best "New" Book:
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
7Capybara_99
Asterisk means non-fiction. A year in which my fiction reading favored the brief and quirky.
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson -- favorite of the year. A novella charting the life of a man in the American west from late 1800s through mid 1900s. Beautiful in its simplicity, and the simultaneously normal and unique life it depicts.
Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson -- Novella about normal life in a highly abnormal situation, a Dutch family hiding a Jewish stranger during WWII.
Out of Sheer Rage by Geoff Dyer* -- Geoff Dyer doesn't write his book about DH Lawrence, but does.
Flip Flop Fly Ball by Craig Robinson* -- Imaginative infographics about baseball
Mary Broome by Allan Monkhouse -- Rediscovered turn of century play, a comedy of class and manners that is remarkably fresh. No doubt I liked it more for being surprised by it.
Savage War of Peace by Alistair Horne* -- Classic, great history of the War in Algeria 1954-62. Shocking all around.
Toward You by Jim Krusoe -- Short humorous story of man attempting to communicate with the deceased
Assumption by Percival Everett -- Three first person stories of detection involving an out of place African-American deputy in rural New Mexico -- a novel.
Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine -- Very funny -- another deluded woman narrator in her twenties better able to see others than herself.
The Arabs by Eugene Rogan* -- Broad narrative history of the Arab peoples from, roughly, the Ottoman Empire up until fairly recently. Background reading for the "Arab Spring."
Thy Neighbor's Wife by Gay Talese* -- Talese investigates the sexual revolution of the sixties and seventies. Written back then.
Train Dreams by Denis Johnson -- favorite of the year. A novella charting the life of a man in the American west from late 1800s through mid 1900s. Beautiful in its simplicity, and the simultaneously normal and unique life it depicts.
Comedy in a Minor Key by Hans Keilson -- Novella about normal life in a highly abnormal situation, a Dutch family hiding a Jewish stranger during WWII.
Out of Sheer Rage by Geoff Dyer* -- Geoff Dyer doesn't write his book about DH Lawrence, but does.
Flip Flop Fly Ball by Craig Robinson* -- Imaginative infographics about baseball
Mary Broome by Allan Monkhouse -- Rediscovered turn of century play, a comedy of class and manners that is remarkably fresh. No doubt I liked it more for being surprised by it.
Savage War of Peace by Alistair Horne* -- Classic, great history of the War in Algeria 1954-62. Shocking all around.
Toward You by Jim Krusoe -- Short humorous story of man attempting to communicate with the deceased
Assumption by Percival Everett -- Three first person stories of detection involving an out of place African-American deputy in rural New Mexico -- a novel.
Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine -- Very funny -- another deluded woman narrator in her twenties better able to see others than herself.
The Arabs by Eugene Rogan* -- Broad narrative history of the Arab peoples from, roughly, the Ottoman Empire up until fairly recently. Background reading for the "Arab Spring."
Thy Neighbor's Wife by Gay Talese* -- Talese investigates the sexual revolution of the sixties and seventies. Written back then.
8barney67
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography by Humphrey Carpenter
J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey
The Road to Middle Earth: How Tolkien Created A Mythology by Tom Shippey
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football by John J. Miller
The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks
The Paper Grail by James Blaylock
To The Last Man: A Novel of the First World War by Jeff Shaara
Ancestors and Others by Fred Chappell
J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century by Tom Shippey
The Road to Middle Earth: How Tolkien Created A Mythology by Tom Shippey
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football by John J. Miller
The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement by David Brooks
The Paper Grail by James Blaylock
To The Last Man: A Novel of the First World War by Jeff Shaara
Ancestors and Others by Fred Chappell
9vulpineways
It's in chronological order, not in "love" order. ;-)
- Angélique and the King by Serge and Anne Golon.
So, this is the 3rd book in the series... the whole series is amazing, but this book is one of the best. I could not put it down. This series is much underrated, and for me it's one of the best Historical Fiction written about Louis XIV's France!
- It Sleeps in Me
- It Wakes in Me
- It Dreams in Me
These three books together make the Black Falcon Trilogy by Kathleen O'Neal Gear. I loved this series, I could not stop reading any of these books. The book is a bit on the erotic side sometimes... it has VERY graphic sex scenes, but all works within the context of the story, which is very well-written and well-researched (the author is an archaeologist so she knows what she's talking about). I confess I did not like very much the ending of the trilogy, but... we never like when good stories end, do we? ;-)
- People of the Raven by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear
After reading the Black Falcon Trilogy, I began to read the "The First North Americans" series by the same authors. This one was very criticized on Amazon, specially when compared to the first book People of the Wolf. To be honest, I liked "People of the Raven" more. The book is a nice mix of action, political intrigue and shamanism, and it was very well-written.
The nicest thing about the "The First North Americans" series is that the books are individual stories, with a thin thread that connects them. You don't have to read all the book, and you don't have to read them in order.
- A Spy in the House of Love by Anaïs Nin
I have always liked Anaïs Nin's diaries and erotic literature, but I found "A Spy in the House of Love" to be even better than those. It's a very short book - I read it in three days!
- The puppet master by Liz Greene
A very GOOD historical fiction, with some occult astrological references that I enjoyed. This book really surprised me! I just found the ending a bit confusing, I think I'll have to re-read it someday to see if I missed the point. Aside from that, it was still a great read!
- The Sea Priestess by Dion Fortune
A very nice occult fiction. It has a bit of Atlantis, a bit of magic and a healthy dose of male-female tension that keeps the sotry interesting. I must confess I liked the sequel more, because the narrator of "The Sea Priestess" annoyed me sometimes.
- Moon Magic by Dion Fortune
The sequel of "The Sea Priestess", better than the first one in my opinion. Again, the may subject is occultism, but this time the emotional tension between the characters of the story is stronger, and the narrator, more interesting. In my opinion, of course!
- Introduction to Tantra : The Transformation of Desire by Lama Yeshe
This is an amazing introduction to the Tibetan Buddhism, written by Lama Yeshe. It's concise, light and even funny sometimes, but still treats the subject with the respect and seriousness it deserves.
- Angélique and the King by Serge and Anne Golon.
So, this is the 3rd book in the series... the whole series is amazing, but this book is one of the best. I could not put it down. This series is much underrated, and for me it's one of the best Historical Fiction written about Louis XIV's France!
- It Sleeps in Me
- It Wakes in Me
- It Dreams in Me
These three books together make the Black Falcon Trilogy by Kathleen O'Neal Gear. I loved this series, I could not stop reading any of these books. The book is a bit on the erotic side sometimes... it has VERY graphic sex scenes, but all works within the context of the story, which is very well-written and well-researched (the author is an archaeologist so she knows what she's talking about). I confess I did not like very much the ending of the trilogy, but... we never like when good stories end, do we? ;-)
- People of the Raven by W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear
After reading the Black Falcon Trilogy, I began to read the "The First North Americans" series by the same authors. This one was very criticized on Amazon, specially when compared to the first book People of the Wolf. To be honest, I liked "People of the Raven" more. The book is a nice mix of action, political intrigue and shamanism, and it was very well-written.
The nicest thing about the "The First North Americans" series is that the books are individual stories, with a thin thread that connects them. You don't have to read all the book, and you don't have to read them in order.
- A Spy in the House of Love by Anaïs Nin
I have always liked Anaïs Nin's diaries and erotic literature, but I found "A Spy in the House of Love" to be even better than those. It's a very short book - I read it in three days!
- The puppet master by Liz Greene
A very GOOD historical fiction, with some occult astrological references that I enjoyed. This book really surprised me! I just found the ending a bit confusing, I think I'll have to re-read it someday to see if I missed the point. Aside from that, it was still a great read!
- The Sea Priestess by Dion Fortune
A very nice occult fiction. It has a bit of Atlantis, a bit of magic and a healthy dose of male-female tension that keeps the sotry interesting. I must confess I liked the sequel more, because the narrator of "The Sea Priestess" annoyed me sometimes.
- Moon Magic by Dion Fortune
The sequel of "The Sea Priestess", better than the first one in my opinion. Again, the may subject is occultism, but this time the emotional tension between the characters of the story is stronger, and the narrator, more interesting. In my opinion, of course!
- Introduction to Tantra : The Transformation of Desire by Lama Yeshe
This is an amazing introduction to the Tibetan Buddhism, written by Lama Yeshe. It's concise, light and even funny sometimes, but still treats the subject with the respect and seriousness it deserves.
10Canadian_Down_Under
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
- a tragic and suspenseful account of the Mount Everest disaster
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- a classic dystopian novel
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- Authur Miller's wonderful play about the Salem Witch Trials
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
- A great book which shows how governments use crises to advance unpopular policies (eg war in Iraq)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- a look at racism in the south through the eyes of a young girl
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
- my first Sarah Waters' novel - well written with wonderfully drawn out characters
Backlash by Susan Faludi
- A real eye-opener about the backlash against any gains in women's rights throughout history
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
- Foer's journey into vegetarianism. This book shows us where our food comes from - the ugly side that the food companies would rather we didn't see.
Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley
- a nice biography of the Roosevelts and a look into their long and interesting marriage.
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
- a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and deservedly so. Shields creates some amazing characters here
- a tragic and suspenseful account of the Mount Everest disaster
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
- a classic dystopian novel
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
- Authur Miller's wonderful play about the Salem Witch Trials
The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein
- A great book which shows how governments use crises to advance unpopular policies (eg war in Iraq)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
- a look at racism in the south through the eyes of a young girl
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
- my first Sarah Waters' novel - well written with wonderfully drawn out characters
Backlash by Susan Faludi
- A real eye-opener about the backlash against any gains in women's rights throughout history
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer
- Foer's journey into vegetarianism. This book shows us where our food comes from - the ugly side that the food companies would rather we didn't see.
Franklin and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage by Hazel Rowley
- a nice biography of the Roosevelts and a look into their long and interesting marriage.
The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
- a Pulitzer Prize winning novel and deservedly so. Shields creates some amazing characters here
12mollygrace
This was very difficult . . . I read so many amazing books this year. I've tried to choose a variety from a list of about 18 (from the 80+ books I've read this year Listed in the order in which I read them:
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell by Charles Simic
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry
A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (with a special shout-out to Nathaniel Philbrick's Why Read Moby-Dick?)
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
I'd also like to mention several authors who were important to me this year (besides those listed above): Jose Saramago, Ward Just, Alan Furst, ichael Holroyd, Beryl Bainbridge, Jennifer Johnston, Joan Didion, Margaret Drabble
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
The Circus Fire by Stewart O'Nan
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Dime-Store Alchemy: The Art of Joseph Cornell by Charles Simic
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry
A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (with a special shout-out to Nathaniel Philbrick's Why Read Moby-Dick?)
Doc by Mary Doria Russell
I'd also like to mention several authors who were important to me this year (besides those listed above): Jose Saramago, Ward Just, Alan Furst, ichael Holroyd, Beryl Bainbridge, Jennifer Johnston, Joan Didion, Margaret Drabble
13whymaggiemay
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, teen explains why she's considered an outsider
Columbine by Dave Cullen, the Columbine tragedy examined
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna, three people caught in an African civil war
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, two young magicians compete in a fantastic circus in the early 1900s
The Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao (wrong touchstone), a woman and her teen daughter leave warn torn Vietnam for the U.S.
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, an elderly Korean woman lost at a train station affects the family
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, the decision of a father has lasting effects on two families
Incendiary by Chris Cleave, the affects on one woman of a bombing in London
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan, the how and why of the 1930s Dust Bowl and the lasting effects thereof
Lying Awake by Mark Salzman, a nun in a cloister who is having visions discovers there may be a medical reason for them
Unbroken, a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, Louie Zamperini (sp?) goes to the Olympics and then to war, where he is imprisoned by the Japanese
Manhunt, the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson, it is what it says it is.
The first four in the list got 5 stars, the remainder 4.5. All will be remembered a long time.
Columbine by Dave Cullen, the Columbine tragedy examined
The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna, three people caught in an African civil war
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, two young magicians compete in a fantastic circus in the early 1900s
The Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao (wrong touchstone), a woman and her teen daughter leave warn torn Vietnam for the U.S.
Please Look After Mom by Kyung-sook Shin, an elderly Korean woman lost at a train station affects the family
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards, the decision of a father has lasting effects on two families
Incendiary by Chris Cleave, the affects on one woman of a bombing in London
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan, the how and why of the 1930s Dust Bowl and the lasting effects thereof
Lying Awake by Mark Salzman, a nun in a cloister who is having visions discovers there may be a medical reason for them
Unbroken, a World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand, Louie Zamperini (sp?) goes to the Olympics and then to war, where he is imprisoned by the Japanese
Manhunt, the 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson, it is what it says it is.
The first four in the list got 5 stars, the remainder 4.5. All will be remembered a long time.
14avaland
There's still a few more days, and I have a couple of books yet to read this week, but here is what I have thus far in no particular order:
*Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (2011, US, Powerful, character-driven tale of family love set during 10 days leading up to and during Hurricane Katrina)
*Go With Me by Castle Freeman, Jr. (2008, US, Vermont. Modern story of chivalry, told with humor and suspense)
*Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates (1980, US, New York. Epic, satirical family saga)
*The Wedding of Zein by Tayib Shalih (Sudanese,1969, T, more for the novella of the same name, less for the other stories)
*Penwoman by Elin Wagner (Swedish, 1910, T 2009, an oldie but goodie, and amazingly still relevant)
*Embassytown by China Miéville (2011, UK author, intriguing science fiction)
*The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah (2007, T 2010 Mauritius, a powerful little book of an unlikely, very brief friendship between two young boys)
*The Last Patriarch by Najat El Hachmi (2010, Morocco, T, powerful, rough story told with black humor of one woman's coming into her own)
*Five Bells by Gail Jones (2011, Australian)(Lyrical tale of love and loss, set near the Sydney opera house)
*Isle of Dreams by Keizo Hino (T. 2010, Japan) Intriguing magical realist story about a middle-aged man seeing another side of the city he loves.
*The House of Mist by Mariá Luisa Bombal (1937, Ecuador) Magical realist tale that's a cross between the Gothic and a fairy tale.
*The Blue Fox by Sjon (T 2008, Icelandic) Fable set in wintry Iceland.
*Living with Complexity by Donald Norman (2011, nonfiction, about design)
*The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone (2011, graphic nonfiction, the history of the American media)
*Bossypants by Tina Fey (2011, US, audio, wet-your-pants funny memoir)
*The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (crime novel, 2011, Scottish, 2nd book in series about cops who investigate other cops)
*The Pyramid by Henning Mankell (crime novel, T 2008, Swedish, early tales of Wallander)
*1222 by Anne Holt (crime novel, T 2011, Norwegian, clear homage to Agatha Christie. Belongs to series but easily read as a stand alone)
Anything by Garry Disher (crime novels, Australian. Fabulous, character-driven crime novels set on the coast near Mebourne, I read all 5 or so this year)
No real stand out poetry collections or anthologies read this year; nor can I list a short fiction collection or anthology as I dipped in and out of many of these this year (but did not read any from cover to cover)
*Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward (2011, US, Powerful, character-driven tale of family love set during 10 days leading up to and during Hurricane Katrina)
*Go With Me by Castle Freeman, Jr. (2008, US, Vermont. Modern story of chivalry, told with humor and suspense)
*Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates (1980, US, New York. Epic, satirical family saga)
*The Wedding of Zein by Tayib Shalih (Sudanese,1969, T, more for the novella of the same name, less for the other stories)
*Penwoman by Elin Wagner (Swedish, 1910, T 2009, an oldie but goodie, and amazingly still relevant)
*Embassytown by China Miéville (2011, UK author, intriguing science fiction)
*The Last Brother by Nathacha Appanah (2007, T 2010 Mauritius, a powerful little book of an unlikely, very brief friendship between two young boys)
*The Last Patriarch by Najat El Hachmi (2010, Morocco, T, powerful, rough story told with black humor of one woman's coming into her own)
*Five Bells by Gail Jones (2011, Australian)(Lyrical tale of love and loss, set near the Sydney opera house)
*Isle of Dreams by Keizo Hino (T. 2010, Japan) Intriguing magical realist story about a middle-aged man seeing another side of the city he loves.
*The House of Mist by Mariá Luisa Bombal (1937, Ecuador) Magical realist tale that's a cross between the Gothic and a fairy tale.
*The Blue Fox by Sjon (T 2008, Icelandic) Fable set in wintry Iceland.
*Living with Complexity by Donald Norman (2011, nonfiction, about design)
*The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone (2011, graphic nonfiction, the history of the American media)
*Bossypants by Tina Fey (2011, US, audio, wet-your-pants funny memoir)
*The Impossible Dead by Ian Rankin (crime novel, 2011, Scottish, 2nd book in series about cops who investigate other cops)
*The Pyramid by Henning Mankell (crime novel, T 2008, Swedish, early tales of Wallander)
*1222 by Anne Holt (crime novel, T 2011, Norwegian, clear homage to Agatha Christie. Belongs to series but easily read as a stand alone)
Anything by Garry Disher (crime novels, Australian. Fabulous, character-driven crime novels set on the coast near Mebourne, I read all 5 or so this year)
No real stand out poetry collections or anthologies read this year; nor can I list a short fiction collection or anthology as I dipped in and out of many of these this year (but did not read any from cover to cover)
15DMO
My favorites in no particular order:
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach : a marvelous novel with characters I still miss even months after finishing the book. I have recommended this one to everyone I know.
Raceball by Rob Ruck: a great history book about baseball.
Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin; Just discovered this series this year. I was totally absorbed by this other world.
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien: another author I discovered this year. I can't believe it took me so long. This book sucks you in. You dread what's happening, but you can't put it down.
Furious Love by Sam Kashner: I didn't expect to like so much this book about the relationship of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It was fascinating reading.
Faithful Place by Tana French: This is an author who gets better with every book.
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown: Nonfiction science books are never, ever something I read. But the title of this one appealed to me, and the author's sense of humor and passion kept me reading.
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella: I read a lot of baseball books for a class I taught, and I decided to finally read this one, the book that Field of Dreams is based on. Again, I can't believe it took me so long.
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach : a marvelous novel with characters I still miss even months after finishing the book. I have recommended this one to everyone I know.
Raceball by Rob Ruck: a great history book about baseball.
Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin; Just discovered this series this year. I was totally absorbed by this other world.
In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien: another author I discovered this year. I can't believe it took me so long. This book sucks you in. You dread what's happening, but you can't put it down.
Furious Love by Sam Kashner: I didn't expect to like so much this book about the relationship of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It was fascinating reading.
Faithful Place by Tana French: This is an author who gets better with every book.
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown: Nonfiction science books are never, ever something I read. But the title of this one appealed to me, and the author's sense of humor and passion kept me reading.
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella: I read a lot of baseball books for a class I taught, and I decided to finally read this one, the book that Field of Dreams is based on. Again, I can't believe it took me so long.
16abealy
Let the Great World Spin - Colum McCann : my single favorite book of the year.
Mason & Dixon - Thomas Pynchon : read everything this man publishes!
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf : I hadn't read Woolf — plan to read more next year.
Swamplandia! - Karen Russell : wonderful first novel!
The Art of Fielding: A Novel - Chad Harbach : Another great first novel, looking forward to more.
The Sense of An Ending - Julian Barnes : Barnes finally wins the Booker.
1Q84 - Haruki Murakami : Even middling Murakami is better than most!
The Egyptologist - Arthur Phillips : a comic masterpiece!
Boxer, Beetle: A Novel - Ned Beauman : why Early Reviewers is such a great program!
A Long and Happy Life - Reynolds Price : just discover Price and will read more.
Mason & Dixon - Thomas Pynchon : read everything this man publishes!
Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Woolf : I hadn't read Woolf — plan to read more next year.
Swamplandia! - Karen Russell : wonderful first novel!
The Art of Fielding: A Novel - Chad Harbach : Another great first novel, looking forward to more.
The Sense of An Ending - Julian Barnes : Barnes finally wins the Booker.
1Q84 - Haruki Murakami : Even middling Murakami is better than most!
The Egyptologist - Arthur Phillips : a comic masterpiece!
Boxer, Beetle: A Novel - Ned Beauman : why Early Reviewers is such a great program!
A Long and Happy Life - Reynolds Price : just discover Price and will read more.
17jfetting
Not including re-reads (because I re-read some old favorites this year, including all of Jane Austen, all of the Brontes' work, and the Harry Potter books):
Smiley's People by John le Carre - a fitting end to a wonderful trilogy. Smiley is one of my all-time favorite characters now.
The Hunger Games trilogy - incredible world-building, and I can't wait for the movie. I read both of the first two books in one sitting; just couldn't put them down. The last book was not the best, but the first two are amazing.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne - hilarious.
Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson - he really made the Civil War fascinating.
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - she's just such a wonderful writer.
Runners up:
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman - really absorbing historical fiction about the Lancaster/York wars. A very different Richard III than Shakespeare gives us.
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda - swoon.
Smiley's People by John le Carre - a fitting end to a wonderful trilogy. Smiley is one of my all-time favorite characters now.
The Hunger Games trilogy - incredible world-building, and I can't wait for the movie. I read both of the first two books in one sitting; just couldn't put them down. The last book was not the best, but the first two are amazing.
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman by Laurence Sterne - hilarious.
Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson - he really made the Civil War fascinating.
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison - she's just such a wonderful writer.
Runners up:
The Sunne in Splendour by Sharon Kay Penman - really absorbing historical fiction about the Lancaster/York wars. A very different Richard III than Shakespeare gives us.
Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair by Pablo Neruda - swoon.
18Bjace
In no particular order:
Murder with peacocks--Very funny and charming, a new mystery series for me
Lady's life in the Rocky Mountains--Good execution, superb story. What Bird did just wasn't done by ladies in the 1870s & 1880s
Path to the nest of spiders--Italo Calvino's first novel about a boy who blunders into the Italian partisans during WWII. Grotesque, but not played for laughs (like an American author would have)
Great expectations--Wonderfully storytelling from one of the greatest novelists who ever lived
Gone-away lake--I read a lot of children's books and what surprised me was that this was my favorite this year. Charming tale of an almost-enchanted summer
Q is for Quarry--Sue Grafton's books are mostly about the ongoing relation with the character now, but this one, based on a real case, is a reminder of why she's so good
Out of the woods--Esther Kellner is mostly a local Indiana author, but this story about the adoption of three wild baby squirrels is delightful and is a good source of Midwestern folk wisdom
Destiny of the Republic--Well-written history about an almost-forgotten event, the assassination of James Garfield
Soldier's art--Having read 11 of the 12 Dance to the Music of Time volumes, this is my favorite so far. The Soldier's Art is petty military politics and no one does it better than Widmerpool, with Nick Jenkins looking on
Handful of dust--Evelyn Waugh's chronicle of life among the U, with one of the most bizarre endings of a novel ever
Madame Wu--Chinese historical novel based on a notorious historical character. Has kind of the air of I, Claudius; both novels are written by family observers
Major Barbara--Is Barbara a true believer or does she want to remake the world in her own image. Her father, cast in the role of the Devil, makes her an offer she can't refuse.
I might add the my discovery of the year was Joan Hess' Maggody series. I read several of them but couldn't single any one book out.
Murder with peacocks--Very funny and charming, a new mystery series for me
Lady's life in the Rocky Mountains--Good execution, superb story. What Bird did just wasn't done by ladies in the 1870s & 1880s
Path to the nest of spiders--Italo Calvino's first novel about a boy who blunders into the Italian partisans during WWII. Grotesque, but not played for laughs (like an American author would have)
Great expectations--Wonderfully storytelling from one of the greatest novelists who ever lived
Gone-away lake--I read a lot of children's books and what surprised me was that this was my favorite this year. Charming tale of an almost-enchanted summer
Q is for Quarry--Sue Grafton's books are mostly about the ongoing relation with the character now, but this one, based on a real case, is a reminder of why she's so good
Out of the woods--Esther Kellner is mostly a local Indiana author, but this story about the adoption of three wild baby squirrels is delightful and is a good source of Midwestern folk wisdom
Destiny of the Republic--Well-written history about an almost-forgotten event, the assassination of James Garfield
Soldier's art--Having read 11 of the 12 Dance to the Music of Time volumes, this is my favorite so far. The Soldier's Art is petty military politics and no one does it better than Widmerpool, with Nick Jenkins looking on
Handful of dust--Evelyn Waugh's chronicle of life among the U, with one of the most bizarre endings of a novel ever
Madame Wu--Chinese historical novel based on a notorious historical character. Has kind of the air of I, Claudius; both novels are written by family observers
Major Barbara--Is Barbara a true believer or does she want to remake the world in her own image. Her father, cast in the role of the Devil, makes her an offer she can't refuse.
I might add the my discovery of the year was Joan Hess' Maggody series. I read several of them but couldn't single any one book out.
19socialpages
Here are my favourite reads of 2011:-
1. The Makioka Sisters - Junichiro Tanizaki
2. Last Chronicle of Barset - Anthony Trollope
3. The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James
4. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
5. Return of the Native- Thomas Hardy
6. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
1. The Makioka Sisters - Junichiro Tanizaki
2. Last Chronicle of Barset - Anthony Trollope
3. The Portrait of a Lady - Henry James
4. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
5. Return of the Native- Thomas Hardy
6. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
20grkmwk
My best reads of 2011, in chronological order:
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss*
Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
*Best book of the year
The House at Riverton by Kate Morton
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss*
Becoming Odyssa by Jennifer Pharr Davis
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
*Best book of the year
21DeltaQueen50
My Top Ten Reads for 2011:
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Complete Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Guards by Ken Bruen
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Complete Essex County by Jeff Lemire
Dances With Wolves by Michael Blake
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
The Guards by Ken Bruen
The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
22Princetonbookreview
I really enjoyed the following last year:
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian
Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Emily and Einstein by Linda Francis Lee
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton
Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay
Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian
Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson
23PaperbackPirate
In the order I read them, my favorite books (fiction and non-fiction) in 2011 were:
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor -young vs. old, tradition vs. progress, all the old battles fought in a collection of crazy, unique, graphic short stories
Sweetie by Kathryn Magendie - a good friendship story with skillful descriptions of the outdoors
The Help by Kathryn Stockett - feminism, racism, and friendship in 1960s Mississippi
The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson - non-fiction, the story of Rupert, his wife Kristin, and their son Rowan, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 1/2 years old. The bulk of the story is about the family's journey (when Rowan is 7) through Mongolia on horseback and in a van as they visit various healers.
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall - maybe my favorite book I read last year...a Navajo boy gets run over by the mailman and struggles from there. Funny, moving, and touching. I cried at the end. Twice.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Death tells us the story of an orphan girl living with a foster family that quietly opposes Hitler
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King - Dolores Claiborne has a very bad husband who needs to be punished. I read this in 3 days because it was so awesome.
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - historical fiction story based on Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, two fossil hunting women. Feminism, friendship, while bucking religion & society, all rolled into one by one of my favorite authors.
Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow - this is an almost completely fictionalized story about the Collyer brothers. They were real people, known because they inherited a bunch of money from their parents and became reclusive hoarders.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - an old man covets his dead brother's gun
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - lives up to the hype! Super mystery, very twisted indeed.
Thank you everyone for sharing! Happy reading in 2012!
Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor -young vs. old, tradition vs. progress, all the old battles fought in a collection of crazy, unique, graphic short stories
Sweetie by Kathryn Magendie - a good friendship story with skillful descriptions of the outdoors
The Help by Kathryn Stockett - feminism, racism, and friendship in 1960s Mississippi
The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson - non-fiction, the story of Rupert, his wife Kristin, and their son Rowan, who was diagnosed with autism when he was 2 1/2 years old. The bulk of the story is about the family's journey (when Rowan is 7) through Mongolia on horseback and in a van as they visit various healers.
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall - maybe my favorite book I read last year...a Navajo boy gets run over by the mailman and struggles from there. Funny, moving, and touching. I cried at the end. Twice.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Death tells us the story of an orphan girl living with a foster family that quietly opposes Hitler
Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King - Dolores Claiborne has a very bad husband who needs to be punished. I read this in 3 days because it was so awesome.
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier - historical fiction story based on Mary Anning and Elizabeth Philpot, two fossil hunting women. Feminism, friendship, while bucking religion & society, all rolled into one by one of my favorite authors.
Homer and Langley by E. L. Doctorow - this is an almost completely fictionalized story about the Collyer brothers. They were real people, known because they inherited a bunch of money from their parents and became reclusive hoarders.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson - an old man covets his dead brother's gun
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - lives up to the hype! Super mystery, very twisted indeed.
Thank you everyone for sharing! Happy reading in 2012!
24hemlokgang
Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
Beautiful use of language, thought provoking plot, and characters never to be forgotton!
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
Beautiful use of language, thought provoking plot, and characters never to be forgotton!
25usnmm2
My top five are as follows;
The Mule by Juan Eslava Galan, Lisa Dillman (Translator)
Juan Castro Pérez, is quiet simple man and a muleteer , caught up in the Spanish Civil War. His closest companion is a mule named Valentina who Juan intends on keeping after the war is over to help his family on the farm.
Juan and Valentina's adventures are a pleasure to read .
True Grit by Charles Portis (Western)
Many of you may know this from the John Wayne movie of the same title, so there will be no major surprises in the story (the end is different and better if sadder). The pleasure in reading this was in the way it is told, with a subtle humor and from the point of view of an "elderly" Mattie telling the story of her youthful adventures.
The Unincorporated Man (Science Fiction) by Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin
A wealthy dying man has himself frozen. He is found and revived 300 years later to a world where everything has changed. The economic system is based on one where every person is incorporated at age 18. These shares are bought, sold and and used as collateral for there lives. The goal of most people is the attain that elusive 51 percent in ones self and not end up a penny stock.
But what happens when one man refuses to incorporate?
Satan in St. Mary's by P.C. Doherty (medieval mystery)
The first in Doherty's Hugh Corbett's mystery series.
A London goldsmith Lawrence Duket kills Ralph Crepyn in London's cheapside in 1285 the flees to the church of St. Mary Le Bow to take sanitary. The next morning he is found hanged and it is ruled suicide. But was it?. Hugh Corbett is given a commission by the King to investigate the death.
What makes this one different is that it is based on a real murder in 1285 the rein of Edward II. I plan on reading a few more books from this series.
The Blooding of the Guns by Alexander Fullerton (Naval Fiction)
First book in " The Everard Naval Series", following the career of a young Naval Officer. This one takes us to the Battle of Jutland the battle between the English Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet in WW1. Enjoyable read, has a Hornblower feel to it.
The Mule by Juan Eslava Galan, Lisa Dillman (Translator)
Juan Castro Pérez, is quiet simple man and a muleteer , caught up in the Spanish Civil War. His closest companion is a mule named Valentina who Juan intends on keeping after the war is over to help his family on the farm.
Juan and Valentina's adventures are a pleasure to read .
True Grit by Charles Portis (Western)
Many of you may know this from the John Wayne movie of the same title, so there will be no major surprises in the story (the end is different and better if sadder). The pleasure in reading this was in the way it is told, with a subtle humor and from the point of view of an "elderly" Mattie telling the story of her youthful adventures.
The Unincorporated Man (Science Fiction) by Dani Kollin, Eytan Kollin
A wealthy dying man has himself frozen. He is found and revived 300 years later to a world where everything has changed. The economic system is based on one where every person is incorporated at age 18. These shares are bought, sold and and used as collateral for there lives. The goal of most people is the attain that elusive 51 percent in ones self and not end up a penny stock.
But what happens when one man refuses to incorporate?
Satan in St. Mary's by P.C. Doherty (medieval mystery)
The first in Doherty's Hugh Corbett's mystery series.
A London goldsmith Lawrence Duket kills Ralph Crepyn in London's cheapside in 1285 the flees to the church of St. Mary Le Bow to take sanitary. The next morning he is found hanged and it is ruled suicide. But was it?. Hugh Corbett is given a commission by the King to investigate the death.
What makes this one different is that it is based on a real murder in 1285 the rein of Edward II. I plan on reading a few more books from this series.
The Blooding of the Guns by Alexander Fullerton (Naval Fiction)
First book in " The Everard Naval Series", following the career of a young Naval Officer. This one takes us to the Battle of Jutland the battle between the English Royal Navy and the German High Seas Fleet in WW1. Enjoyable read, has a Hornblower feel to it.
27thorold
If I simply take the best books I read in 2011, I end up with a rather predictable list of things that I was pretty sure I would like before I ever took them off the shelf - Trollope, Scott, Iris Murdoch, Jane Austen, Angela Carter, W.G. Sebald, etc. So I've listed my ten most exciting "discoveries" of 2011 — books I was either scared of picking up or rather so-so about before I started them.
Fiction:
Van oude mensen, de dingen die voorbijgaan (Old people and the things that pass) by Louis Couperus
The busconductor Hines by James Kelman
Baltasar and Blimunda by José Saramago
Joe Wilson's mates by Henry Lawson
Jacques le fataliste et son maitre by Denis Diderot
Ein Kind by Thomas Bernhard
Non-fiction:
The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1845-1846
God's Playground by Norman Davies
Arabian sands by Wilfred Thesiger
Railroads in the African American experience : a photographic journey by Theodore Kornweibel
Fiction:
Van oude mensen, de dingen die voorbijgaan (Old people and the things that pass) by Louis Couperus
The busconductor Hines by James Kelman
Baltasar and Blimunda by José Saramago
Joe Wilson's mates by Henry Lawson
Jacques le fataliste et son maitre by Denis Diderot
Ein Kind by Thomas Bernhard
Non-fiction:
The letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1845-1846
God's Playground by Norman Davies
Arabian sands by Wilfred Thesiger
Railroads in the African American experience : a photographic journey by Theodore Kornweibel
28Pedrolina
In no Particular order, my 10 favourite reads of last year are:
A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
Rococo by Adriana Trigiani
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
An Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The War of Don Emanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernieres
Bit of a mixed bag, but i think it reflects my 2011 pretty well!
A Time of Gifts by Patrick Leigh Fermor
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue
Rococo by Adriana Trigiani
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets' Nest by Stieg Larsson
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Ill Wind by Rachel Caine
An Absolute Scandal by Penny Vincenzi
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The War of Don Emanuel's Nether Parts by Louis de Bernieres
Bit of a mixed bag, but i think it reflects my 2011 pretty well!
29Grammath
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen - Franzen doesn't do anything especially innovative, he simply does the basic things novelists should do incredibly well.
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black - my first expousre to John Banville in either of his guises, but after this, it won't be my last.
In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut - noone does unease better than this fine South African writer.
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas - yes, it was soapy, and a little bit fruity, but hell, it was readable!
Great House by Nicole Krauss - sombre but beautifully written.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters - her first male narrator, she now seems more comfortable in the 20th century than she did with her first attempt, plus Waters is naturally at home with the ghost story.
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome - seems rather unfairly overshadowed by Three Men in a Boat.
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - my first Dickens since leaving school. Why did I leave it so long?
The Prestige by Christopher Priest - I love an unreliable narrator, so a novel with two in was delicious.
The City and the City by China Mieville - ingenious meshing of police procedural and the surreal.
Christine Falls by Benjamin Black - my first expousre to John Banville in either of his guises, but after this, it won't be my last.
In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut - noone does unease better than this fine South African writer.
The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas - yes, it was soapy, and a little bit fruity, but hell, it was readable!
Great House by Nicole Krauss - sombre but beautifully written.
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters - her first male narrator, she now seems more comfortable in the 20th century than she did with her first attempt, plus Waters is naturally at home with the ghost story.
Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fellow by Jerome K. Jerome - seems rather unfairly overshadowed by Three Men in a Boat.
Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - my first Dickens since leaving school. Why did I leave it so long?
The Prestige by Christopher Priest - I love an unreliable narrator, so a novel with two in was delicious.
The City and the City by China Mieville - ingenious meshing of police procedural and the surreal.
30Porua
Here are my Top Ten books from what has been a whirlwind of a year,
1. Detective Stories. Philip Pullman.
2. Very Good, Jeeves. P.G. Wodehouse.
3. Rebecca. Daphne Du Maurier.
4. The Diary of a Nobody. George Grossmith.
5. A Short History of Nearly Everything. Bill Bryson.
6. The Ninth Life of Louis Drax. Liz Jensen.
7. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Haruki Murakami.
8. The Inimitable Jeeves. P. G. Wodehouse.
9. Mrs Lirriper’s Lodgings and Mrs Lirriper’s Legacy. Charles Dickens.
10. It’s Only a Movie: Alfred Hitchcock. Charlotte Chandler.
1. Detective Stories. Philip Pullman.
2. Very Good, Jeeves. P.G. Wodehouse.
3. Rebecca. Daphne Du Maurier.
4. The Diary of a Nobody. George Grossmith.
5. A Short History of Nearly Everything. Bill Bryson.
6. The Ninth Life of Louis Drax. Liz Jensen.
7. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Haruki Murakami.
8. The Inimitable Jeeves. P. G. Wodehouse.
9. Mrs Lirriper’s Lodgings and Mrs Lirriper’s Legacy. Charles Dickens.
10. It’s Only a Movie: Alfred Hitchcock. Charlotte Chandler.
