books of 2011

[aphrodite_mine]

Considering how much TV I watched this year, I guess it's not surprising that I didn't read very much. 31 books all told, including ones I only finished in 2011 and the ones I only started as well. Sigh.

1. Best book of 2011?
Best Graphic Novel: Alias by Brian Michael Bendis
Best Fiction: The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan, Rebecca by Daphne Dumaurer, Room by Emma Donoghue, The Likeness by Tana French, The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell
Best YA: The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler

2. Worst book of 2011?
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I wish I knew for sure if this is just a case of the worst translation ever (not that that would change the plot or the characters) or just terribly written.

3. Most Disappointing Book of 2011?
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. I was really excited to read it, and holy god the style is amazing, but god DAMN if I wasn't triggered to all fuck in the first few pages and had to sell it. Which is to say that the book wasn't disappointing, necessarily (though I struggle to figure out who the audience is if it isn't girls who deal with ED, and therefore would be triggered to all fuck) it was my reaction that disappointed me.

4. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?
Nothing really surprised me? There were a few books I was delaying finishing or starting, and was surprised (sort of) to find that I really enjoyed them, but that's all. The Comfort of Strangers, and The Basic Eight were shocking at points, but not really surprising, if there's a difference.

5. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?
Probably Tana French.

6. Best series you discovered in 2011?
A Series of Unfortunate Events, but that's only because I refuse to say The Hunger Games when I'm only on book two and hear that the third book is kind of a catastrophe.

7. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?
Maggie O'Farrell, Brian Michael Bendis.

8. Most hilarious read of 2011?
Daniel Handler has a way of mixing comedy with tragedy, so you laugh and then a page later your heart is ripped out.

9. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?
Probably The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox. It wasn't an easy read and yet I finished in a few days. Oh, or Room. Man, I read that in like two sittings and READ IT AT HOME which is how you know I love it. (I did that for Alias too...)

10. Book you most anticipated in 2011?
I guess either Alias or Rebecca, since prozacpark has been begging me to read them for years.

11. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?


12. Most memorable character in 2011?
Cassie of The Likeness, Jessica Jones of Alias, Flan of The Basic Eight.

13. Most beautifully written book in 2011?
Kissed By, by Alexandria Chasin, which I haven't finished but godDAMN.

14. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?
Alias. It shook me up.

15. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?
Alias and Rebecca, lol. Also the start of the new Carey series.

Comments

[olivia-j.livejournal.com]

Was Esme Lennox not easy because of the subject matter or the style? (It's in my 'to be read' pile right now, so I'm curious.)

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

A bit of both. O'Farrell does this thing where she jumps in time and character and style on almost every page. And the subject matter is definitely worth reading about while being a bit (and more than that at times) upsetting.

[beforeskylines.livejournal.com]

Was GWTDT really that bad? I was going to try and cram it in these last few weeks to get it on my reading list but now I'm wary to bother? I liked the Sweden version of the film.

I read the first few pages of Wintergirls and just got the feeling of 'I want to put this down' from the moment I picked it up. I agree, I feel like the target audience would be turned off by it and otherwise it seems like it's going to get read by person who don't understand and can't relate or are just trying to learn more about the subject point.

AHH this post makes me want to read. I think I maybe read less than you did this year? But still two weeks left. I'm hoping to power-read and get through 5+ books this week, if not at least by the end of the year.

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

A lot of people really love the book, so I don't pretend that my thoughts on it are the be-all-end-all. I found the narration to be very distant from the action and from the other characters so much to be off-putting for me. The book also bothers me from a feminist perspective, because we have a very semi-autobiographical novel about a man who very frequently inserts his white male privilege into Lisbeth's life and circumstance and thinks that makes him a feminist as well.

As for Wintergirls, I am glad I wasn't the only one!

READ READ READ DO IT

[immortality.livejournal.com]

I am intrigued by Kissed By. And YES, The Basic Eight is amazing.

[aphrodite-mine.livejournal.com]

Kissed By is a Fiction Collective 2 book, which means that it is just about as off-the-wall in terms of style and substance as you can get. I'm only halfway through it, and the last story I read was literally written in code, and I spent about three hours cracking it.

[immortality.livejournal.com]

Lol. I think that's a little too off-the-wall for me, tbh.