Tuesday, January 03, 2012

Best Books Read in 2011

Well, I finally tallied up my reading for last year...(drumroll)...

I read 68 books in 2011 (that's 13 less than I read in 2010).  Thirty-six of those were grown-up books and 32 of them were kids' or teen/YA books (check out Great Books for Kids and Teens for a summary of the kids' and teen/YA books).  Of the 36 adult books:
  • 23 were fiction
  • 7 were memoir
  • 6 were non-fiction but not memoir
  • 7 of the adult books I read were audios
That's fewer books than the previous year, but that's OK - I think I read a little less because I was a bit less sick this year, so that's a fair trade.  Now, comes the tough part..which books did I like best?  I read a lot of really good books this year.  Here are my Top Ten Books Read in 2011 (in no particular order):
How was your reading year?  What were your favorite books read in 2011?

I'm ready for a new year and more great books!
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

14 comments:

  1. Heidi’sbooks7:01 PM

    Talk to me about The Passage. I read 60 pages and stopped because I'm thinking it is really going to be creepy. I haven't decided whether to keep going. I did like the beginning! Just when they went to get the little girl......

    ReplyDelete
  2. (Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea8:26 PM

    I've read 6 from this list and liked them a lot. A few more are ones I must try.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sue Jackson8:40 PM

    Oh, Heidi - definitely keep reading! I really loved The Passage and found it hard to put down. Yes, it's definitely creepy, but it's also intriguing and engaging with elements of suspense, romance, post-apocalyptic...all rolled into one. Read my review at the link.

    ...and don't worry - the little girl will be OK :)

    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  4. Tanya Patrice9:33 PM

    Ooh interesting list - I've only read The Lovely Bones and Henrietta Lacks - both of which I loved. I'll have to save a few of the others to be read later this year.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ryan10:21 PM

    Pillars of the Earth was a huge surprise for me. I loved it. Didn't make my top five, but it was probably close. Fahrenheit 451 is sublime. I'd be curious to see what the "Worst of the Year" included. I always love those lists.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sue Jackson9:18 AM

    Ryan -

    Actually, I don't read many books that I don't like. I know that sounds strange, but there are so many amazing books that I want to read that I choose what I read very, very carefully. I read books that have been recommended by friends and family who share my tastes, by bloggers who tend to like the same sorts of books I like, or selections from my book groups (which we vote on, so those are usually good, too).

    I don't rate my books in my reviews, but I can only think of 1 book read this year that I didn't like enough to review. That was the memoir Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut, an audio I had requested for review. I don't even write reviews unless I liked a book - I decided when I started my blog it would be for recommending books I like.

    So, no list of worst books of 2011 for me!

    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sue Jackson9:27 AM

    P.S. As a friend in my old book group used to say, "Life is too short to read bad books!"

    ReplyDelete
  8. Teacher/Learner10:16 AM

    Congrats on your stats :D I also loved Fahrenheit 451 and The Lovely Bones. And I agree, life is too short for reading bad books! Here's to another great year of reading.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ann Summerville1:08 PM

    68 books is an impressive number, but including Pillars of the Earth is amazing.
    Ann

    ReplyDelete
  10. Baffled5:12 PM

    I read Fahrenheit in high school when I was on a Bradbury streak. Your list reminded me to revisit his work. He and Azimov were my introduction into SF lit when I was a teenager with Lewis and Clark close on their heels.

    As you know, I'm a painfully slow reader so my book list is short for this year:

    The Help
    A Discovery of Witches
    Water for Elephants
    Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society

    ReplyDelete
  11. Sue Jackson6:07 PM

    Cozy -

    I read several huge books this summer, and they all made it to my Best of 2011 list!

    Baffled -

    Yes, but they were really great books! Quality over quantity :)

    I was on a Bradbury streak in HS, too - read just about every book he wrote (at least all the books in our public library by him)!

    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  12. Kate6:31 PM

    Sue- You amaze me! I love reading your lists/recommendations--as well as the comments/lists/recommendations of the people reading yours!
    I didn't read ant of the books you listed for this year. I read The Lovely Bones a number of years ago and enjoyed it. I didn't read-but watched (Netflix?) Pillars and really liked that story. The prospect of reading the book was a bit overwhelming though.
    I read 4 books on Judaism, 2 on Buddhism, 2 by Ann Patchett. There are more, but I don't have my list handy.
    Keep us reading fans in the know for 2012!
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete
  13. Sue Jackson6:50 PM

    Kate -

    Thanks for the kind words! Pillars of the Earth WAS intimidating - it had sat on my shelf for a long time! But this was well worth the time commitment. I decided to read big books this summer when my two book groups take a break. The other was The Passage and that was amazing, too.

    Sounds like you did some spiritual reading this year - I'm very impressed. As for Ann Patchett, I loved Bel Canto and have State of Wonder waiting on my iPod.

    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  14. Julie9:39 AM

    You did great last year! I've only read four of the books on your list so I'm definitely adding a few of these to my TBR list!

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)