Favorite Books of 2011

I love to read.  I read really fast.  And I read a lot of books.  So far this year I've read 70, not counting several books I re-read and a few that were so stupid I didn't want to admit that I'd read them.  I also love to tell other people what to read!  So here is a rather extensive list of my favorite books of the year.  These are not listed in any particular order (that would require more effort than I'm willing to put into this post!)  I would appreciate any suggestions of books to read, so leave me a comment with your favorite books!  Warning:  This post could probably qualify to be a novel itself!


Fiction:  
1) These is My Words by Nancy Turner.  This is really great for historical fiction lovers!

2) Matched by Ally Condie.  This is the first of a dystopian trilogy and the last book isn't out yet, so if you hate to wait you should not read this yet!  The second book is Crossed, which I also enjoyed, but not quite as much as Matched.

3)  Room by Emma Donoghue.  This one is interesting because it's told from the perspective of a 5 year old boy who's never left "the room."  It is a rather dark subject (a woman being held against her will for years) but was really well done.

4)  Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is another book with a dark subject matter but I think it's an incredibly important book.  It's about a girl who has been raped and won't tell anyone about it.  I personally think it should be required reading for teenage girls just so they know how to avoid that situation and what to do if it does ever happen to them.  Even though the subject matter is rape, the book is really clean and not explicit.

5) Divergent by Veronica Roth.  Can I just shout out an "I Told You So!" about this book.  I got it right when it first came and told everyone they should read it.  It just won Goodreads Best Book of 2011 award.  So there! Ha!  It's also the first book of a dystopian trilogy.  Probably my favorite book of the year (even though I said I would not be ranking them!)

6) The Princess Bride by William Goldman.  You know you loved the movie, but the book is incredible and has this really awesome twist unlike anything I've ever seen in a book.  It's so sneaky that I don't think some people even get what's going on!  (If you read it and don't know what I'm talking about please call me because you have to get it!  It's cool!) Just a few pointers 1) do not skip the super incredibly long introduction, 2) do some research on who is S. Morgenstern anyway?

7)  The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson.  This is a somewhat futuristic novel (maybe 50 years into the future?) It is a wee bit High School in nature but still really good.  Brings up some great questions about medical ethics and parenting.  I want to do this one as a book club choice.

8) Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson.  This is another historical fiction and I couldn't put it down.

 9) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (and the other Flavia de Luce novels).  This is just a light, fun read with a really cute main character who I'm very grateful is not my daughter!

 10)  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  I just finished this one last night.  It's very magical and the writing is beautiful.  It does have one really naughty word right at the beginning, but everything else is really clean. I hope to see more by Erin Morgenstern in the future.


Nonfiction: 

I promise I really did read some nonfiction this year but didn't really like most of it.  I did read Flags of our Fathers by James Bradley and even though it's more graphic than I wanted it to be, I learned a TON about what went on at Iwo Jima during World War II.


Classics:


1) 1984 by George Orwell.  Not everyone will like this one, but I thought it had some really interesting concepts to think about, especially if you're interesting in politics. Tyson read this one too and really enjoyed it.

2) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.  I've never read Tom Sawyer and felt like I should correct that oversight.  I loved it!  Hmmm....if Tom Sawyer married Flavia de Luce....wow, too scary to even consider!

3) Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - it's a classic for a reason!

4)  Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.  Probably too descriptive (unless you're really into flowers) but an excellent book anyway with a bit of a mystery to it.

5) Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. This is probably the least appreciated of the Austen novels but could very well be my favorite.  I think I fell a little bit in love with Mr. Tilney myself and Catherine is the spunkiest of any of Austen's female characters.


Books to read to your Kids:
We do family book club (I read the kids a chapter book, one chapter a night, and then we have a party to discuss it and eat treats)  These are some of our favorites this year.

1) Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.  This was my favorite.

2) The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch.  This is the one we're currently reading.  It's really cute.

3) The BFG by Roald Dahl.  The kids loved this one though I found it really hard to read aloud because the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) uses lots of made up words.  Be prepared for an entire chapter on farting (whizzpopping) that will make you wonder if you should skip ahead, but the kids are laughing so hard you just keep reading anyway.


I know that seems like a lot of books but I really did try to narrow it down to the ones I liked the very best this year.  I hope you find something new to read that you really love!