2011 Reading Wrap-up

Overall Reading Stats:
Total Books = 112
Total Pages = 35748
Avg Books Per Day = 0.3
Avg Pages Per Day = 98

Best Book of 2011 – I’m going to limit this to books actually published in 2011, rather than all the books I read this year. I choose The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. Runners-up are The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan and Deadline by Mira Grant.

Worst Book of 2011 – I’m going to have to say Wither by Lauren DeStefano, because that’s the only book that I finished that’s been published in 2011 that I really loathed.

Most Disappointing Book of 2011 – Easily The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa. I loved her first book, The Iron King, because it was a fairy story that really played with iron as a weapon for the good guys and bad guys. The second one, though, fell into the pitfalls of melodrama, love triangles, and lots of feelings rather than anything more interesting or deep, storywise.

Most Surprising Book of 2011 – Every You, Every Me by David Levithan. I was NOT expecting that ending—total blindside.

Best Series Discovered in 2011 - The Demon's Lexicon series by Sarah Rees Brennan. I had heard about it previously but managed to finally pick it up and it gave me ALL THE FEELS constantly. I haven’t yet read The Demon’s Surrender. I’m starting to think it’s because I don’t want to the series to be over.

Series That Went Off the Rails For You in 2011 – Again, The Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. I’ll still finish it but I’m not excited. Runner-up is Aaron Allston’s Star Wars Wraith Squadron novels. The first one was lovely but the second made me shrug my shoulders.

Favorite New Author You Discovered in 2011 – DAVID LEVITHAN EASY. I want to eat all of his books. I read most of his books this year and am already looking forward to his next, to be published in 2012. My favorites by him are probably The Realm of Possibility, The Lover’s Dictionary, and Naomi and Ely’s No-Kiss List.

Most Hilarious Read of 2011 – Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis or In The Forests of the Night by Kersten Hamilton. I couldn’t stop laughing out loud and scaring other people.

Book That Made You Cry the Hardest in 2011 – Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (all-around great contemporary with heart and humor and musics) and Supernaturally by Kiersten White (fantastic follow-up to her debut, Paranormalcy). The books that make me cry usually aren’t the epics or the tragedies but the ones that most remind me of myself or someone I know.

Most Thrilling, Unputdownable Book in 2011 – Deadline by Mira Grant. I hate the zombie genre/sub-culture and yet somehow I love her Newsflesh trilogy (maybe it’s the bloggers-as-journalists? Idk). I am counting the minutes until Blackout.

Book You Most Anticipated in 2011 - Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. Her books are like legal addictive stimulants; not very healthy, but you can’t stop consuming or wanting another one. This is probably her best book so far (although I enjoy her Infernal Devices trilogy much more than her Mortal Instruments so maybe I’m biased?).

Favorite Cover of a Book You Read in 2011 – Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan. I drooled over it as soon as it was revealed and I still do. Percy has never been hotter and Roman eagles have never been more gorgeous.

Most Memorable Character in 2011 – This is way too hard. I just finished In The Forests of the Night and I was struck again by Teagan, who is the kind of girl I want to be (as opposed to a lot of heroines I read), as well as Finn, who is hilarious and brave and loyal, both the person I want to be and the person I want to be with. So I’ll go with these two. A runner-up would be Bagoas in The Persian Boy by Mary Renault; his voice was so strong and stuck with me for days after I read that book.

Most Beautifully Written Book in 2011 – Deathless by Catherynne Valente. That book was so dark and yet so delicious with every word on the page. R.M. Liuzza’s translation of Beowulf was also a beautiful read this year.

Book That Had the Greatest Impact on You in 2011 – I’m going to list as a group all the Romany books that I read early on in the year, specifically The Aeneid by Virgil, The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, and The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. Rome was IN this year, and influenced me to mix history and modern-day both in my writing, in my brain, and at school.

Book You Can’t Believe You Waited until 2011 to Read - The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan. So good why did I not read this as soon as it came out. Although, I probably would have read this book very differently in 2009 than now.

Book of 2011 You Wish You Had Written – The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan. I have a crush, okay. Don’t judge me. YOU’RE JUDGING ME AREN’T YOU.