Top Ten Favourite Books I Read in 2011
1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky- I read this alllll the way back in March, but it's still resonating with me and I still love it as much as I did them. It's pretty wonderful.
2. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides- So amazing it made me forgive Eugenides for The Virgin Suicides, and for me, that was forgiving him for A LOT. Almost indescribable, but you just have to read it to appreciate it (which you will).
3. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy- It's the kind of book that you should read, just because it's a classic, but also, you should read it because it's so great. Like, slightly life alteringly great.
4. Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates- Probably my favourite fictional biography of a real person ever (ok, it's the only one I've read...) but honestly, I read it over a week, and for that week I could barely think about anything else. Seriously.
5. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith- Ever so lovely, and probably the heroine I could most relate to in any book this year.
6. How To Be A Woman by Caitlin Moran- I can't even tell you how much I love this, or how sad I am to have to give this back to Frances sometime (I can probably buy my own copy... maybe). Should be required reading for every feminist, and basically everyone, ever.
7. Hood by Emma Donoghue- I literally enjoyed all of the Donoghue books I read this year, but this was probably my favourite- about the death of a partner, without sentimentality, but still with a great deal of emotion. Very very well done.
8. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss- The memory of this book is a little bit blurry in my head, but what I do remember is that it was beautiful. So we should all probably read this one!
9. Julie and Julia by Julie Powell- I seriously fucking love this book. And Julie would love me for that kind of language. For reals.
10. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides- So, I was going to just include one book by each author, but, thinking about it, I really can't think of another book that deserves a place on this list as much as The Marriage Plot. So, here it shall stay!
I've obviously omitted books I've re-read in 2011, otherwise this list would look a whole lot different and To Kill A Mockingbird would take up the top three spaces, probably. But, all of the books on this list are now firm favourites, and I'm so glad that I read them instead of reading the same old stuff I always do! So yay! It's been a good year for reading.
I love, love, love Middlesex, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Which I need to reread!) Wonderful list.
ReplyDeletePlease take a look at my new challenge to read the ALA YA Book Award winners for 2012.
Anne@HeadFullofBooks.
Lots of books I've read on your list. Makes me think I should add all the ones I haven't to my wishlist!
ReplyDeleteSo I'm off to visit every blog with a Top Ten of 2011 list and add all the intriguing titles to my (already very lengthy) wishlist at Amazon. Thanks for your list!
Here's my Top Ten Favorite Books I Read in 2011.
okay, okay, 2012 will be the year I finally read Anna Karenina!
ReplyDeleteI'll be adding a couple of these books to my TBR list for sures.
I read Anna Karenina this year too, and I was really surprised by how much I liked it. Like you, I felt it was a must read, but it was much different than expected. I also read War and Peace this year. You should give it a try if you haven't already. I actually liked it more than Anna Karenina.
ReplyDeleteI read Perks this year too and I was blown away by it. I really should have added it to my list...
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten Favorites
Ooh awesome list - a lot of these books are new to me - and The Marriage Plot is on my list of books to be read soon!
ReplyDeleteA Tree Grows in Brooklyn would make my list of favorite reads of all time...one of the first classics I read and could relate to growing up. I'm going to tackle Eugenides this year...interesting to see everyone's opinions about his best before The Marriage Plot. I think Middlesex will be my choice though since it is actually already on my shelf. :)
ReplyDelete@Deb- Yay! They are literally all awesome, so I hope you love any ones you read :)
ReplyDelete@Kayleigh- DO IT! It's so so good, seriously. Even if it is super long and Russian...
@Kristi- I know right! I definitely thought it was going to be a lot more difficult to read than it actually was, but in the end it was just excellent! And you read War and Peace and Anna Karenina in one year?! I am in awe of you! When I finished Anna, I was pretty much like 'well, that's me done for Russian lit this year!' I think I'm reading Crime and Punishment next year, but maybe War and Peace in 2013! Although I am very excited for something even better than Anna Karenina!
@Tanya- It's so good. Even with all the hype, it's still great :)
@Peppermint PhD- I LOVED A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and the only slightly negative thing about it was that I wished I'd read it when I was younger because I would have just been OBSESSED! As it was, I'm still kind of obsessed :). And Middlesex is a great choice to start Eugenides with! It's probably my favourite, but I don't really want to choose... I just know The Virgin Suicides is NOT it.
2012 is the year I give Anna Karenina a second try! I also loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and the entire Nolan family.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to hold you to the additional awesomeness I have to look forward to in the Dark Tower series!!!
Must read Blonde. And The Marriage Plot. And How to Be a Woman.
ReplyDeleteAlso I'm impressed you can come up with 10! Whenever I try to look over the past year I can only come up with the books I read in the last couple months.
@Two Bibliomaniacs- Oh do give Anna Karenina a second try! I gave up after about 50 pages once, but when I did finally read it, it. was. awesome!
ReplyDelete@Red- You must! They're so fab. I feel like I will have the problem of remembering what books I've read in the year next year- at the moment, in my books section I've only got books I've read this year, so it was really easy to pick the best ones! Next year I might have to put more effort in/not bother hehe
I very much enjoyed Anna Karenina but it didn't make my list. Still a good classic though. I also liked the Caitlin Moran book. So funny! I need to read Blonde!
ReplyDeleteRead Blonde! It's so great. And yay for loving Ana Karenina and How to be a Wan :D
ReplyDeleteWow we've got similar reading tastes! The Marriage Plot and Middlesex made my favorites list as well. I really enjoyed The History of Love when I read it last year.
ReplyDeleteI'm dying to get my hands on Blonde and I should probably read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn at some point. I feel like it's one of those classics that everyone else has read besides me.
The only one I've read on your list is Middlesex, and my memory is a little fuzzy on it. I just remember liking it and, as a result, I recommend it all the time. Isn't it funny how quickly we forget? I had to look back at my old reviews to construct my post this week, a couple of times.
ReplyDelete@Brenna- I loved A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, but I only really heard about it this year... I think it might be one of those American classics that no one over here really knows about because they're too busy thinking that Dickens is good (he is not. I've tried. I can't do it.) Bonus with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn- it's a classic, but it's also a classic that's extremely easy to read, therefore you feel totally smart when you've finished :)
ReplyDelete@LBC- Oh my gosh, trust me, I can barely remember the plots of most of these books, I just remember the warm fuzzy things I felt about them- which is probably the best thing to remember :)