Worst Books Read in 2011
7. Stolen World: A Tale of Reptiles, Smugglers, and Skulduggery by Jennie Erin Smith
All stories of abused animals. Awful. I couldn’t even finish it, I was so upset.
8. The Black Company by Glen Cook
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
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.
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Worst Books Read in 2011
8. The Black Company by Glen Cook
As I suspected at the time, The Black Company proved utterly forgettable. I also hated the naming convention and it felt like I was reading an idea for a book rather than the book itself.
Also, the big, bad wizard people had flying carpets. Seriously. Shame on you, Glen Cook. Shame on you.
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
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.
Worst Books Read in 2011
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
I didn’t give a damn what happened to any of the characters and there was a PowerPoint chapter. Bleh.
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.
Worst Books Read in 2011
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale
I first encountered The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher in a review a few years ago and loved the idea. Unfortunately, came nowhere near living up to its potential. While the underlying story was fascinating, its telling was dull, had polemic tendencies, and overall fell far short of the English fiction it is said to have inspired.
Armchair / Shotgun No 2 by Marvin Shackelford
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
“The Kill Sign” by Marvin Shackelford is excellent in a way that is somewhat uncomfortable to read. It’s gritty, which is overused as a descriptor, but I am going to leave it here. It has that dark sort of griminess the South and any other rural, neglected area filled with neglected people has. The kind where you see it or read about it and it strikes you as reality on some deep level, but you don’t want to feel like you’re a part of it. The kind of place where incredible beauty or incredible ugliness can erupt from nowhere. The uncomfortable comes from realizing how like this sort of desperate broken person we all are on some level. Kind of a reminder of something largely forgotten which is also uncomfortable to admit. This and his other stories remind me of what the South is really like outside of the cities.
Disclaimer: Marvin Shackelford has been one of my closest friends for nigh 15 years. I don’t give the rating or review for that reason, but seemed like something I should mention.
John Dies at the End by David Wong
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Warning: This Book Contains Multiple Scenes With Disgusting Huge Spiders
*ahem*
I had avoided adding John Dies at the End until a friend roped me into it through a challenge. I have to say, it was a pleasant surprise. Well, maybe not pleasant. That’s not a word that describes, well, anything in this book.
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The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror is good stuff. I’ve always been a bit skeptical of Christopher Moore, but I may look into some of his other books. There are zombies, evil Santas, they make fun of those horrible bell ringers, there’s a crazy Zena-type, and a remarkably mentally challenged angel. Oh, and the fruit bat. What’s not to love? I’m not coming up with anything. If you take the holidays seriously, you might disagree and should probably steer clear. There isn’t a lot of Christmas cheer and you’d be horrified by some of the things done to Santa and the Nativity story. If you revel in the irreverent, well, this is the Christmas book for you.