Category Archives: Best Books Read in 2011
Best Books Read in 2011
1. Room by Emma Donoghue
Not many authors can write well from a child’s point of view, especially when writing for an adult audience. In Room, Emma Donoghue does precisely that. She conveys a haunting tale with beauty and wonder and terror. I was skeptical when I picked up this book. After putting it down seven months ago, I still think of it regularly. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Original Review
2. The Christ-Haunted Landscape by Susan Ketchin
3. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
4. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins
5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
1 comment | tags: 5 stars, best books read in 2011, bloody spiders, book review, books, contemporary fiction, emma donoghue, heartwrenching, intriguing review, review, room, too stubborn for their own good, you think your family has issues | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
2. The Christ-Haunted Landscape: Faith and Doubt in Southern Fiction by Susan Ketchin
The Christ-Haunted Landscape takes its name from a quote by Flannery O’Connor: “I think it is safe to say that while the South is hardly Christ-centered, it is most certainly Christ-haunted.” Having grown up in the South, this rang true. Rarely do I spend so much time thinking about a book while reading it or take 5 months to do so. Comprised of interviews with and excerpts from the works of 12 authors, this book reminded me of where I am from. I recommend it to anyone interested in writing or in the interaction between beliefs and reality.
Original Review
3. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
4. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins
5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
2 comments | tags: 5 stars, appalachia, best books read in 2011, bibliophilia, book review, books, christ-haunted, christ-haunted landscape, culture, down south, essays, favorites, heard about on public radio, non-fiction, racial tension, re-read potential, recommended by a friend, religion, review, short story, south, susan ketchin, writing & literature | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
3 comments | tags: 5 stars, best books read in 2011, book review, books, country, fiction, great frontier, re-read potential, recommended by a friend, review, rural, sherwood anderson, short story, winesburg ohio | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
4. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins
With wars as complicated as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is natural that many of the books published dwell heavily on the hows, whys, blame, and credit. The Forever War did none of that. Written by Dexter Filkins, a reporter who spent long stretches of time in both countries and was embedded with troops on multiple occasions, it reads more like oral history than your typical history. It is a story about the people living and fighting in those countries. For that, it receives every bit of praise I can give.
Original Review
5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
4 comments | tags: 5 stars, Afghanistan, araaaaabian niiiiiights, best books read in 2011, book review, books, current affairs, dexter filkins, history, Iraq, journalism, mission still not accomplished, non-fiction, oral history, re-read potential, review, the forever war, war, world affairs | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
For the first hundred or so pages of this book, I did a lot of complaining about the amount of math and the detail into which Stephenson goes about mathematical theory. Somewhere along the way, I managed to be drawn into this many layered story that is at times, humorous, at times tragic, and at times WTF. I ended up loving it.
Original Review
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
5 comments | tags: 5 stars, alternate history or perception, best books read in 2011, book review, books, cryptonomicon, cyberpunk, fiction, nazis, neal stephenson, review, science fiction, so much math | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
6 comments | tags: 4.5 stars, best books read in 2011, bibliophilia, book review, books, bosnia, contemporary fiction, fiction, geraldine brooks, haggadah, historical fiction, holocaust, i hear you like books in your books, libraries are awesome, museum, nazis, people of the book, pleasant surprise, racial tension, review, sarajevo, sarajevo haggadah | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
I neglected Raymond Chandler for far too long. The Long Goodbye hit that home with a vengeance. What a beautiful, heartbreaking book. I love Los Angeles, but the setting was mere backdrop to the complex, dark, and brilliant story which unfolded. It is rare that I immediately put a book on my favorites list, but this deserved it.
Original Review
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
12 comments | tags: 5 stars, beautiful people, best books read in 2011, book review, books, boozy, bourbon coffee & smokes, city of angels, copious coffee consumption, crime, fiction, los angeles, murder, mystery, noir, raymond chandler, re-read potential, review, the long goodbye | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Leviathan Wakes is an absolutely fantastic science fiction novel. I was skeptical when I read the description, but emerged a true believer. Without doubt the best scifi of many I read this year, and one of the best out of 200 books overall.
Original Review
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Leave a comment | tags: 5 stars, best books read in 2011, book review, books, braaaains, fiction, james sa corey, leviathan wakes, other worlds, review, science fiction, science gone wrong, space, space opera, spaceships, the fuck is this the fuck was that, vomit zombies, we're all going to die, zombies | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
A Great & Terrible Beauty earned its place on this list by showing me that young adult paranormal fantasy can be enjoyable. I remain surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It’s genuinely good. Unfortunately, the second is kind of awful, but the third is also great.
Original Review
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
9 comments | tags: 4.5 stars, a great and terrible beauty, best books read in 2011, book review, books, fantasy, fiction, gemma doyle, libba bray, magical creatures, re-read potential, review, witches & wizards, you think your family has issues, young adult | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
Best Books Read in 2011
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
In this case, The Color of Magic stands in for the Discworld series as a whole. For Christmas last year, my boyfriend gave me the first two and I was hooked. The series is not as consistently good, but I have enjoyed the majority of the books I have read to date. It also has the benefit of each book being able to stand alone or mixed & matched by its dominant characters.
Original Review
10 comments | tags: 5 stars, best books read in 2011, book review, books, discworld, fantasy, luggage, other worlds, re-read potential, recommended by a friend, review, rincewind, terry pratchett, the color of magic, too stubborn for their own good, turtles, witches & wizards | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words