Since all these publishers have come out with their “BEST OF THIS YEAR’S READING” lists and I have been offended by their shameless self-promotion of their own books, I decided to review my reading list from 2011 and share MY favorites with YOU! Granted I’m no publisher, but I am opinionated, especially on the subject of “favorite books”, and also I’m not good about just picking books that came out this year. Who cares when the books came out if I never read them before and they are awesome good, right? I figure I can pretty much do what I want since I’m not getting paid for it.
Here goes (in no particular order, I might add):
1. Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie. I have recently discovered the great Agatha Christie’s mystery novels. They are short and sweet and rock on. I still want to roll the r’s like a Scottsman in “murrrrrdeerrrr.” I can’t quit, they are addictive!!
2. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. I got hooked on the HBO series, and then I totally got sucked in to this written series, and boy was it a time commitment, but who cares…the books are totally awesome great stories and I really enjoyed comparing the different ethnic groups/peoples to the ancient Asians and Europeans I learned about in my Western Civ class. My favorite character is Arya. She is one cool little chick. Does anyone else think Mongols = Dothraki?
3. I, Claudius by Robert Graves. This was a wickedly awesome look at Ancient Rome. I loved the satirical attitude of the narrator and learned a lot about Roman civilization. I was totally there, in the story, and could smell the smells and taste the foods (and of course the wine…)
4. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. YA Lit? Yeah, I loved it. The story captured me from the get go and I was pissed that I bought the first volume in soft cover and then had to go and buy the rest in hard back because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. I’m looking forward to the movie and hope to God they don’t blow it.
5. Little Bee by Chris Cleve. OMG! This novel has some hard situations and it made me cry, cry, cry. Little Bee overcame extreme odds, and her voice and the language used in this book were absolutely beautiful. I listened on audio book, and the book actress who performed it was OUTSTANDING.
6. Dark Lover by J.R. Ward. Naughty, naughty, naughty…but I loved it. Oh Wrath, where are you now???? (Thanks, Danice for turning me, ugh, um, ohhh... "on to it.")
7. The Magicians by Lev Grossman. I hate saying this, but it’s the best way I can describe this story…. The Magicians is like Harry Pottery’s older, meaner, more serious older cousin. There’s a magic school (college), and the characters are actually flawed and realistic (not like Harry and the gang who seem all goody-goody and squeaky clean. I mean, there’s no sex there at all for heaven’s sake…) Some of the characters aren’t even likeable, but the magic is fantastic and I enjoyed the story very much. I’m up for reading the Magician King soon, Grossman’s recently published sequel. It’s on my “to read” list.
8. Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman. Wow. Just Wow. This book is like a really dark Alice in Wonderland. I loved it. I can’t wait to read more of Gaiman’s stuff. American Gods is on my list.
9. Cleopatra by Stacy Shiff. This is the only non-fiction book in my Top 10 and it was an awesome biography. I wish someone would do an historically factual fiction movie acting all this out. It would rock on. Cleopatra was an amazing character and I totally loved learning more about her. Get Elizabeth Taylor’s Cleo outta my head, will ya??
10. The Last Werewolf by Glenn Duncan. I know, I only gave this book 3 stars on my list, but I just can’t seem to get it out of my head, so here it is on my Top 10 list for just that reason. I still think about it and that guy’s voice who performed the audio book…he must have been HOT!!
So, there you go. Katie’s Top 10 of the books I read in 2011. Go read the ones that interest you and let me know what you think. Send me some of your favorite book recommendations and I’ll add them to next year’s reading list. Maybe you’re recommendation will make the Top 10 for 2012…if so, I’ll share the credit with you. ( I know, smashing, right???)
No comments:
Post a Comment