2011 in books
I'm not going to go month-by-month this year, because my reading was drastically reduced from April on (can't imagine why...) and there were some months when I only read one book. Funny how babies rearrange your priorities :) But I certainly didn't stop reading altogether - that's NEVER gonna happen! I read 39 books in 2011 (assuming I don't start and finish another one by midnight tomorrow - yeah right), way down from my usual 70-75 per year. Unless it counts that I've read "Moo Baa La La La" at least 50 times?
Anyway, I'm just going to do best of the year/worst of the year.
Favorite books of 2011:
Gemini, by Dorothy Dunnett - historical fiction, last in the Niccolo series. Fantastic ending and neat to finally learn how Niccolo is connected to Francis Crawford of Lymond!
The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls by Lois Bujold. Her fantasy is as much fun as her SF!
and speaking of Bujold's SF: also CryoBurn, which I actually finished just yesterday. The latest installment in the Miles Vorkosigan saga. I love me some Miles!
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin. I have to get my hands on the rest of the trilogy.
Grand Conspiracy and Peril's Gate, by Janny Wurts, books 5 and 6 of her Wars of Light & Shadow series, which I've been slowly working my way through.
Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science & Sex, by Mary Roach. Fascinating :)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. As a biology major, I read about so much research that came from this poor woman's cells, it was interesting (and very sad) to learn her story.
In The Woods, by Tana French. I'm usually not a big mystery reader but for some reason this one caught my eye and I loved it.
Foreigner, by C.J. Cherryh. There is no one better at writing sf where it's the human who's the alien. I just bought the second and third books in this series to continue with it.
Little, Big, by John Crowley. This one took me a month and a half to finish but I loved every word. Gorgeously written.
Least favorite books of 2011:
The Kingdom, by John Mabry. This was a FirstReads win over on GoodReads, and though it was mildly entertaining the dialogue was irritating as hell.
My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. A memoir that could have been absolutely fascinating - by a neuroscientist who had a stroke, writing about the experience as informed by her training in brain science. But the actual memoir part was too brief, and then the book devolved into new agey rubbish (evidently the experience was quite enlightening. or something like that).
Graveminder, by Melissa Marr. Just meh.
And just for kicks, a few of my favorite books to read to Leo:
the aforementioned Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton
A bunch of others by Boynton: Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs, Hey, Wake Up!, The Going to Bed Book, and Hippos Go Berserk (that one's my favorite!)
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox & Helen Oxbury
There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch by Clare Beaton
Of course, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Anyway, I'm just going to do best of the year/worst of the year.
Favorite books of 2011:
Gemini, by Dorothy Dunnett - historical fiction, last in the Niccolo series. Fantastic ending and neat to finally learn how Niccolo is connected to Francis Crawford of Lymond!
The Curse of Chalion and Paladin of Souls by Lois Bujold. Her fantasy is as much fun as her SF!
and speaking of Bujold's SF: also CryoBurn, which I actually finished just yesterday. The latest installment in the Miles Vorkosigan saga. I love me some Miles!
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N.K. Jemisin. I have to get my hands on the rest of the trilogy.
Grand Conspiracy and Peril's Gate, by Janny Wurts, books 5 and 6 of her Wars of Light & Shadow series, which I've been slowly working my way through.
Bonk: the Curious Coupling of Science & Sex, by Mary Roach. Fascinating :)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. As a biology major, I read about so much research that came from this poor woman's cells, it was interesting (and very sad) to learn her story.
In The Woods, by Tana French. I'm usually not a big mystery reader but for some reason this one caught my eye and I loved it.
Foreigner, by C.J. Cherryh. There is no one better at writing sf where it's the human who's the alien. I just bought the second and third books in this series to continue with it.
Little, Big, by John Crowley. This one took me a month and a half to finish but I loved every word. Gorgeously written.
Least favorite books of 2011:
The Kingdom, by John Mabry. This was a FirstReads win over on GoodReads, and though it was mildly entertaining the dialogue was irritating as hell.
My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. A memoir that could have been absolutely fascinating - by a neuroscientist who had a stroke, writing about the experience as informed by her training in brain science. But the actual memoir part was too brief, and then the book devolved into new agey rubbish (evidently the experience was quite enlightening. or something like that).
Graveminder, by Melissa Marr. Just meh.
And just for kicks, a few of my favorite books to read to Leo:
the aforementioned Moo Baa La La La by Sandra Boynton
A bunch of others by Boynton: Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs, Hey, Wake Up!, The Going to Bed Book, and Hippos Go Berserk (that one's my favorite!)
Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes by Mem Fox & Helen Oxbury
There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch by Clare Beaton
Of course, Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown