While She Knits - Farewell, 2011

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Happy New Year, Reprobates! 

What are the best books you read in 2011?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Okay so I read that title super fast and for a second I thought it was "While She Knits, Farewell" As in mwt had just finished the next book and my heart stopped for like five seconds when I skimed it though. Thanks Chex. I almost had a heart attack from pure joy!

Just finished: Bridge to Light. Its about a western women's spiritual journey! Really great.(:

The friends are forcing me to read the Hunger Games. So I shall be on that for the first book of 2012!

Elle

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Considering her track record, I wouldn't get your hopes up for news of book number five until 2014, at the very least. :) Only three more years! XD

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

And I thought Checkers wan't going to post WSK anymore...I beleive this is what's called a comedy of errors!

[empmai.livejournal.com]

I thought it meant Sounis, Eddis, Attolia page was shutting down!

There are times that I like being wrong.

Don't read the last Hunger Games book Elle. It's better without the ending. Like how the Dead Like Me series is better without the movie.

[ninedaysaqueen.livejournal.com]

Prisoners in the Palace by Michaela MacColl

The Good, the Bad, and the Barbie: A Doll's History and Her Impact on Us by Tanya Lee Stone

The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brain Selznick

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

Chime by Franny Billingsley

The Hotel Under the Sand by Kage Baker

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

My writing instructor recommended Rebecca Stead to me. What did you think of "When You Reach Me"?

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

Hey Lady Jane, I don't know if you got my PM, but I wanted to tell you that I started reading 'The Squire's Tale'! I'm really enjoying it...Terence is so cute! Thanks for the rec!

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Best of my 2011 reading list:

The World of Downton Abbey – Jessica Fellowes (Because I'm just a little bit obsessed with the TV show)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

A Curse Dark as Gold - Elizabeth C. Bunce (I do love a good old school fairy tale retelling! And this one is top notch!)

The Hunger Games trilogy - Suzanne Collins (Frustrated by the ending though.)

Incarceron, and Sapphique - Catherine Fisher (Again, the end really lacked something, but I enjoyed the world Fisher created and the character Jared just stole my heart.)

Kiki Strike: Inside the Shadow City, and The Empress’s Tomb - Kirsten Miller (Plain good fun!)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell – Susanna Clarke (OH MY GOODNESS.)

Sorcery & Cecelia, The Grand Tour, and The Mislaid Magician - Patricia C. Wrede & Caroline Stevermer

Inheritance – Christopher Paolini (Because I wasn't going to quit after dragging myself through the previous 3 books, and because I *had* to know what happened to Murtagh. The end.)

The Hound of the Baskervilles – Arthur Conan Doyle (Reread, because it's always that good, and because I'm excited about the new BBC Sherlock adaption!)

Tales of a Traveller - Washington Irving (Found an antique edition of it on my mom's bookshelf, read the first couple chapters on the spot, and fell in love.)

And if I remember aright, there are some fellow Lord Peter Wimsey fans hereabouts... I highly, highly recommend Conundrums for the Long Week-End by Robert Kuhn McGregor & Ethan Lewis... about the life, times and writings of Dorothy Sayers. It's fantastic.

[readingisgoodforyou.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

I haven't yet read A Curse Dark as Gold, but I quite enjoyed both books in Elizabeth C. Bunce's Thief Errant trilogy (StarCrossed and Liar's Moon).

I requested Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell ages ago through Paperback Swap and I have yet to read it. The fact that it is roughly the size of a doorstop and I'm trying to read as many books in a year as I possibly can has done much to deter me from picking it up, but I keep hearing how good it is. Someday I will give it a go.

I had forgotten all about Sorcery & Cecilia and The Grand Tour, but I remember quite enjoying both of them. They were fun little romps into the Georgian period, if I recall correctly.

And yes, Kiki Strike is plain good fun!

[coyul.livejournal.com]

Considering I didn't get to do much reading, at least in this second half of the year (memory bad and can't separate anything earlier...) I think the most readable textbook was Modern Japan by Duus.

Oh yeah, before the semester from hell, I read The Hunger Games trilogy. Towers of Midnight may or may not have been early this year. So I vote for that one. :D

[kaeyko.livejournal.com]

Ray Bradbury scared the hell out of me with his short stories, but I just love Fahrenheit 451 - it's been one of my favourites ever since I finished reading it.

[readingisgoodforyou.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

Funny, I just wrote about this on my blog. Here are my favorites from 2011:

Chime by Franny Billingsley
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta
The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride
Feed and Deadline by Mira Grant (who knew that someone who doesn't like horror could enjoy zombie books)
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

Honorable Mentions:
The Apothecary by Maile Meloy
Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore
Everybody Sees the Ants by A.S. King

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

OoohOoohOooh--how was Froi of the Exiles???

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

"A Matter of Magic" by Patricia C. Wrede
"Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom
"The Healing Wars" Trilogy by Janice Hardy (though I've only read the first 2)
"The Perilous Gard" by Elizabeth Marie Pope
"East" by Edith Pattou
"Heroes of the Valley" by Jonathan Stroud
"Eagle of the Ninth" by Rosemary Sutcliff
"City of Masks" by Mary Hoffman

That's about it, in no particular order. But I think "A Matter of Magic" really *is* the best book I read last year.

Wow... I just noticed, "Chime" is in a lot of people's list. I must say though, it was quite a disappointment for me. =( I guess it's just one of those books that people either really like or don't like. Oh well. ^^

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

The Perilous Gard and The Eagle of the Ninth are two of my all time favorites!

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

I think the best books I read this year was "The Glassmaker's Daughter" by V. Briceland...I got it on the reccomendation of one of you nice people...
Some other good books:

The False Princess by...by...ummm...somebody..oops! *edited to correct memory lapse* by Eilis O'Neal
The Shield, Sword, and Crown series by Hilari Bell
A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth Bunce
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (Though I think I'm probably the last person on Sounis to have read that on!)

[theorangethief.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, I didn't read Howl's Moving Castle 'til this year either! And it was only because people on Sounis kept talking about it!

[theorangethief.livejournal.com]

Ummmmm... gosh darn it I can barely remember any books I read!

A Reluctant Queen by Joan Wolf(I think) was really good
Do rereads count? I finally made it all the way through The Dark Is Rising series by Susan Cooper, usually I just read the third and last ones.(Even though they are like on my very favourite book list) I have never before read all of Over Sea, Under Stone.

I read a lot of the Ender's Game books

Annnnnnnnd... I really can't remember anything else...*facepalm*

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

I read the entire Vlad Taltos series in 2011, and it's by far the best thing from the entire year, individually as well as collectively. I also read The Black Prism by Brent Weeks, wayyy back in February or March or something like that. It was very good, too. And the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver, a series of books beginning with Wolf Brother and set in prehistoric Scandinavia, are just about my favorite middle-grade chapter books EVER now.

[kaeyko.livejournal.com]

There were many worthy candidates. However, among them include the following.

The Thief (Megan Whalen Turner)
The Queen of Attolia (Megan Whalen Turner)
The King of Attolia (Megan Whalen Turner)
A Conspiracy of Kings (Megan Whalen Turner)

XD

Lavinia (Ursula Le Guin)

The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas) - Which is awesome, even though the book is hideously thick even as a paperback.

The Twelve Kingdoms: Skies of Dawn (Fuyumi Ono)

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (Nahoko Uehashi)

Moribito II: Guardian of the Darkness (Nahoko Uehashi)

The Glass Maker's Daughter (V. Briceland) - I'm really surprised to see someone else has read too!

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

My response whenever I hear somebody say they're reading The Count of Monte Cristo is, "It's worth it!" Because you're right, the sheer size of it is daunting.

[1221bookworm.livejournal.com]

My best book of the year is definetly The Glassmaker's daughter. Would have loved to read the sequels, but our library doesn't have them ...

Other good books included The Shield Sword and Crown Series by Hilari Bell ...

Have to say this was an underwhelming year in books ... Books I had waited for weren't as good as I anticipated.

Now Re-reads are a different matter ...

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

Okay, I guess I need to bump The Glassmaker's Daughter up the TBR. So many people are loving it. I also need to read Bell's other series since I liked the Farsala trilogy so much.

[empmai.livejournal.com]

I finally got around to reading Kim Harrison/Dawn Cook's books. They were recommended by someone here and sat on my shelf forever. And I loved them, but found the endings a bit unfinished.

I read the hunger games. Loved the first book. Liked the second. But the third was terrible - anytime it starts to get good the storyteller passes out and the scenes happen "off-stage". Actually the "off-stage" scenes is a problem with in the above mentioned Kim Harrison's books as well.

Hmm, I think it's time that I read Howl's Moving Castle.

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

So....you read the Truth Series? Did you read all four? I love them! (I think it was me who recced them) You know, I'm trying to start a comm to discuss them and if you're interested, I can send you an invite.:)

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

I cannott believe you all thought WSK posts were ending, or sounis was closing up shop, or whatever. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE, Sounis will go on foreveh.

Here are some of my best reads of the year:

Ring of Solomon by Stroud
Legend of the King by Morris
Return of the Dapper Men by McCann & Lee
The Spirit Thief by Aaron
Girl of Fire and Thorns by Carson
Pathfinder by Card (LOVED this one)
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Simonson
A Monster Calls by Ness
The Scorpio Races by Stiefvater
Chime by Billingsley

[chachic.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

Yes to both A Monster Calls and The Scorpio Races! <3 Loved both of those books and they're included in my best of 2011 list. I'm looking forward to reading Girl of Fire and Thorns, I remember that one was blurbed by MWT.

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale (is it just my imagination, or have I seen this recced on Sounis before? Methinks that's why I picked it up.)
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxas
Miles Vorkosigan books
Persuasion by Jane Austen

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

Shannon Hale!! Love, love, Shannon Hale and all her books. If I hadn't found out about Megan Whalen Turner, she'd still be my favourite author till today. =)

[brandy-painter.livejournal.com]

My favorites of the year:
The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
Arrow by R.J. Anderson
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Chime by Frannie Billingsley
Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt
The Dragon's Tooth by N.D. Wilson
The Inquisitor's Apprentice by Chris Moriarty (If you like DWJ's Chrestomanci books you may want to give this one a try!)

Others I really enjoyed and thought of just now:
The Farsala books by Hilari Bell
The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynne Jones
Kat Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
The Magic Thief books by Sarah Prinneas
Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson

[chachic.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

LOL so I already know that we have A Monster Calls and The Piper's Son in common. I also really liked Ultraviolet. Need to bump up Rebel and Arrow in the TBR pile! Swift is coming out this year.

[doreenahk.livejournal.com]

If you have a lot of time on your hands, a summary of the Goodreads brouhaha (some YA books and negative reviews)


http://tinyurl.com/7294pfq

[chachic.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

I actually did a best of 2011 post on my blog, which can be found here: http://chachic.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/best-of-2011/ In no particular order, the books that I loved in 2011 are:

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
Lips Touch by Laini Taylor
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Saving June by Hannah Harrington
Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer
Unsticky by Sarra Manning
Love Your Frenemies by Mina V. Esguerra
Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Clockwork Heart by Dru Pagliassotti

[readingisgoodforyou.wordpress.com (from livejournal.com)]

Song of the Sparrow -- is that the novel in verse having to do with the Arthur legend? I remember reading that ages ago and really liking it.

I checked out Saving June from the library and started it, but I having got around to finishing it up. I need to do that -- I've heard so many good things about it.

I want to read Graffiti Moon, but it doesn't come out in the States until later this year. I'm glad to hear that you liked it so much.

I liked but didn't love Daughter of Smoke and Bone (the prose is gorgeous). I think it was the almost insta-love between the two main characters that threw me off. A bit too Twilight for my tastes in that respect. I'll probably read the sequel when it comes out, though.

[deirdrej.livejournal.com]

Oh, Man!!

I can't believe I left out "A Monster Calls." I think Siobhan Dowd was an awesome author, and Patrick Ness is a hero for finishing her last book so beautifully!

Unlike almost everybody else, I did not enjoy Chime very much. The style was (to me) too disorienting. I had to keep forcibly reminding myself that the story took place in quasi 20th century not-far-from-London England, and not quasi 18th or 19th century someplace-more-rural. Besides, I found the plot a tad predictable -- but that's just me, obviously ;-D

So, my faves

I reread all the Queen's Thief books and LOVED them. Of course ;-D
Also, Rosemary Sutcliffe's Eagle of the 9th and ff
Plus Carlos Eire's 2 vol. autobiography, and his "Very Brief History of Eternity." (I love him so much! Great writer!)
Also G. K. Chesterton's "The Man Who Was Thursday." It's been one of my favorite books since I was 13, and I still love it.

I'm going to a meeting this afternoon, where we are supposed to decide on the best books of 2011 for different age groups, and I've been reading like crazy and agonizing about stuff (because I had to come up with a short Here are a few things for YA and MG that made my list.

The Returning, by Christine Hinwood
The Shattering, by Karen Healy
Ultraviolet, by R.J. Anderson
The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater
What You Wish For, by Alexander McCall Smith et al.
Small as an Elephant, by Jennifer Richard Jacobsen
Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu
Frost, by Wendy Delsol
A Girl Named Faithful Plum, by Richard Bernstein
Mousenet, by Prudence Breitrose
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place (MG series) and The Poison Diaries (YA Series), by Maryrose Wood.

And here I will admit that I was actually afraid to read the second volume of The Poison Diaries, because I had read reviews that made it seem too gruesome. Actually, it is excellent.

Thanks for the excellent book recommendations, everyone! I can see that there's a lot more I need to be reading. And Happy New Year!

(PS How long do you think we'll have to wait for vol. 5? Really? Oh, well, while I'm waiting, Kristin Cashore's Bitterblue is going to come out this spring. Plus R. J. Anderson has promised us a sequel....

As you see,

[deirdrej.livejournal.com]

Argh! sorry that got mangled and ungrammatical -- hope you can read it, anyway.

[(Anonymous)]

I'm a bit late to the party, but for what it's worth, here are mine:

~Enchantress from the Stars, by Sylvia Louise Engdahl (Is the difference between sci-fi and fantasy really only dependent on your perspective?)

~At Home in Mitford, by Jan Karon (A cozy read)

~The Goose Girl; ~Enna Burning; ~River Secrets; ~Forest Born, by Shannon Hale (Hale has developed a believable magic, within a distinct world, with well-developed characters)

~Cosmic, by Frank Cottrell Boyce (YA, contemporary; both funny and insightful)

~To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee (Truly classic)

~Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit, by Nahoko Uehashi (Japanese fantasy; also loved the anime based on this book)

~Flipped, by Wendelin Van Draanen (YA, contemporary romance; I love how the characters change, believably, over the course of the book)

~The Hollow Kingdom, by Clare B. Dunkle (I suppose it's a sort of take on the Beauty and the Beast theme, but it feels completely fresh)

~Lady of Milkweed Manor, by Julie Klassen (Set in Regency times, but far from being your typical "Regency romance"; thoroughly researched, offers insight into what life was like at a hospital for unwed mothers, as well as the life of a wet nurse/nanny [though the story is not only about this])

~Airborn, by Kenneth Oppel (Steampunk adventure set in early 20th century on airships)

~Out of Control, by Mary Connealy (Historical fiction: romance, a bit of adventure, and funny too; Christian fiction, but the religious aspect is barely there)

~Waterfall, and ~Cascade, by Lisa Tawn Bergren (Fast-paced, fun time-travel adventure/romance; both have cliffhanger endings, so be warned--though book 3 is out, I just haven't read it yet)

~To Win Her Heart, by Karen Witemeyer (Historical romance; Christian fiction, but I thought it avoided many of the clichés one can encounter in that genre)

~Summers at Castle Auburn, by Sharon Shinn (Fantasy, but more down-to-earth/not epic)

~Archer's Goon, by Diana Wynne Jones (The ending is what really raised this book a level)

--Handmaiden

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS I LOVE 'AT HOME IN MITFORD'!! It is such a sweet series...you really feel like the characters are friends by the time you finish the book.