Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Looking back at 2011 and The Best of the Year

Hey there, intrepid readers. Now is the time of year when we look back at our reading and blogging for the past 12 months. I am really happy that I started this blog in July. I'm starting this year off with a new look on this here blog and lots of excitement about all of the books that I will be reading in the next year.

During the month of December, I posted reviews of only 5 books - I have to chalk that up to some big books. Three of them clock in at 400+ pages. There was also the smallish vacation I took where I didn't post anything the last week of the year. So that brings my total for this year to 44, which is not too shabby since that's only six months of reviews.

Thanks a lot to each of you who stop by this blog, check out what I'm reading, and leave me comments. You are awesome.

So...without further ado, here are my favorite reads of 2011!

The Dovekeepers

This was the first book I have read by Alice Hoffman and I was swept away by four fascinating women living their lives with the knowledge that Roman troops will inevitably descend.

The Marriage Plot

I adored this book - it made my nerdy English major heart smile and is a timeless story of those crazy, awkward, confusing twenties.

Half the Sky

This book is not happy, but it is incredibly important. It will completely revolutionize the way you view power, poverty, and your own life.

The Hours

Michael Cunningham stunned me with this one. It weaves together the lives of three women in different time periods - Virginia Woolf and the women who are affected by her person and writing. I didn't pick up another book for a few days after this one, so I could just sit and savor.

The Submission

Ten years after 9/11, this book reminds us how intrinsically that event is a part of our lives. There are no easy answers in this book, and Ms. Waldman is a precise and powerful writer.

Pigeon English

The ending of this book floored me. I'm so glad I stuck with Harri, the eleven year old protagonist. His childish optimism in the face of the gang-governed ghetto in which he lives is beautiful.

Honorable Mentions: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, The Night Circus, A Good Hard Look

What was your favorite book of 2011? Use that comment box, people!

2 comments:

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