Here we are, approaching the end of another leisurely orbit around the sun. What have you done with the time? I hope, like me, you spent much of it reading many wonderful books and not too many clunkers. Confession: I turned my back on my TBR pile, with the exception of only one book in the list that appears on the next page. Why?
Three reasons for this and in correct order:
Because this time last year, I bought myself a Kindle e-reader.
Because of the requirements of the e-Readers & Book Lovers Club demand that I find new selections that meet our criteria.
And because of my watershed discovery of Lendle, where I can lend and -- more to the point -- borrow e-books for free.
So, I hope I can be forgiven for another year's layer of dust accumulating on my TBR pile of personally owned tree books. But I've shown that my reading lifestyle wasn't neglected, it's that it underwent several seismic shifts in 2011. I've been busy doing things differently! Still reading, though, as you'll see. What follows is the list of books I read or am currently reading this year.
Please turn the page.
But before you do. . .Announcement! R&BLers now has 747 Followers, making it the Jumbo Jet of all groups on Daily Kos. A very BIG thank-you to all the Admins who keep us going in the right direction; to all the Editors who create and manage the wonderful series; to all the Contributors who are the life's blood of the Group; and to the Followers who read, comment, and stimulate us to provide the best writing available on DK.
I think all of the producers on this group should receive a lifetime subscription to DK from a Secret Santa. Don't you? Two already have: cfk and Ellid. Well deserved! A subscription is especially appreciated by folks who are dial-uppers. So, if you're feeling "gifty," why not give a subscription to your fav R&BLer writer? That would be nifty!
Now, please turn the page.
The Greatest Knight by Elizabeth Chadwick (Kindle -- historical fiction)
The Third Translation by Matt Bondurant (audio fiction)
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (literary fiction)
Plainsong by Kent Haruf (literary fiction)
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West (Kindle fiction)
The Eye of Jade by Diane Wei Liang (audio fiction)
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope (Kindle classic fiction)
Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic (Kindle fantasy for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards (literary fiction)
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (literary fiction)
A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman (contemporary fiction)
Tinkers by Paul Harding (Kindle fiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
The End of War by David L. Robbins (audio historical fiction)
The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory (historical fiction)
Silk by Alessandro Barrico (international literary fiction)
The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi (mystery)
Falconer’s Trial by Ian Morson (historical fiction)
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D H Lawrence (Kindle classic fiction)
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (Kindle classic fiction)
The Terrible Privacy of Maxwell Sim by Jonathan Coe (speculative fiction)
Long for This World by Sonya Chung (audio fiction)
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Kindle contemporary fiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (historical fiction)
I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson (international literary fiction)
Island of the Swans by Ciji Ware (Kindle -- historical fiction)
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (historical fiction)
A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee (literary fiction)
The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss (historical fiction)
Vanity Fair by William Makepiece Thackery (audio – classic fiction)
Longitude by Dava Sobel (Kindle nonfiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
The Coffee Trader by David Liss (historical fiction)
The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon by Tom Spanbauer (contemporary fiction)
The Light Horseman’s Daughter by David Brookes (Kindle historical fiction)
The Unthinkable Thoughts of Jacob Green by Joshua Braff (Kindle contemporary fiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
Green Mountain, White Cloud by François Cheng (international fiction)
The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim (Kindle classic fiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
The Last Bookstore in America by Amy Stewart (Lendle contemporary fiction)
In the Company of Angels by Thomas E. Kennedy (Lendle international fiction)
Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes (literary fiction)
Waiting for the Taliban by Anna Badkhen (Kindle nonfiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell (Lendle classic fiction)
The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bernett (contemporary fiction)
The Blind Contessa’s New Machine by Carey Wallace (contemporary fiction)
The Shakespeare Manuscript by Stewart Buettner (Kindle fiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
Second Honeymoon by Joanne Trollope (Lendle contemporary fiction)
The Visible World by Mark Slouka (literary fiction)
My Splendid Concubine by Lloyd Lofthouse (Lendle contemporary fiction)
Water Like a Stone by Deborah Crombie (audio mystery)
Spirit Falls by Robert Townsend (Kindle literary fiction for e-Readers & Book Lovers Club)
The Ambassador by Bragi Olafsson (Lendle international fiction)
Point Omega by Don DeLillo (literary fiction)
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Spy by Eric Metaxas (Kindle biography)
Archimedes to Hawking: Laws of Science and the Great Minds Behind Them by Clifford Pickover (Lendle nonfiction)
Did you see any selections that made it into your reading pile, other than the shared
e-R&BLers Club ones? Every time someone makes a list, I think it's
pro forma that they pick the best, worst, and some other titular category from it. Here goes.
Absolute Best Read of 2011 goes to Wolf Hall.
Without a Doubt Worst Read of 2011 goes to The Third Translation
(Thank god I read it early in the year and the trauma is now healed.)
Book I'd Read Again goes to The Man Who Fell in Love with the Moon
Book I'd Most Highly Recommend to a Fellow Bibliophile goes to The Enchanted April
Book I Wish I'd Never Opened but Curiosity Got the Better of Me goes to My Splendid Concubine
Surprise Best Read of the Year goes to The Coffee Trader (I didn't like The Whiskey Rebels, but thought it had literary merit enough that the author deserved another try.)
Best Discovered New Author goes to Sonya Chung for Long for This World
Hardest Slog goes to The Ambassador by Bragi Olafsson
Best International Read goes to Silk by Alessandro Barrico (An international book is one I read in English translation.)
And there you have my reading year at a glance. I can hardly wait to see what 2012 will bring. Making New Year's Resolution now. . . I will reduce my owned tree book TBR pile significantly. Check back with me this time next year and see how I did!
Please share those special books from your reading year that are your nominations for the best/worst/other categories for 2011 in the comments below.
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Other than that, nothing's happening.