Thursday, November 10, 2011

Best books of 2011?

On Tuesday, Amazon.com released its top picks for the best 100 books of 2011.  Does anyone else think that early November might be a wee bit early for releasing a list like this?  I mean, we've got nearly two months before the end of the year--so many books are slated for release between now and then!  Ah well, what can you do? 

What did I do?  I took a browse through the titles, of course!  I had to see what made their list, and of those, what I'd read or is on my "to read" list.  Color me delighted to see some of my recent favorites on their roster, including Before I Go To Sleep by S.J. Watson; Bossypants by Tina Fey; Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton (I was inspired to pick this up upon seeing Anthony Bourdain's endorsement of it).  I was also happy to see Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks made the list--I loved it, and am an avid reader of Brooks' work.  And it was no surprise at all to see Ann Patchett's State of Wonder make the list.

And on my list of things to read?  Recent release Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie has generated some great buzz and is currently sitting on the corner of my desk (waiting for me to power my way through the new Stephen King, 11/22/63, which is no hardship--I want to drop everything else in my life and just read this to completion.  It is also on the list!).  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is becoming a favorite among the library staff, and has been pressed on me by several of them--I'll read it if I know what's good for me!  Alice Hoffman's newest, The Dovekeepers, is also on my radar--these are the days that I want to either add more hours, or quit sleeping, as there is so much to read and never enough hours to read it all (even with the help of audiobooks in the car!). 

What have you read from the list?  And what's there that you're hoping to read soon?

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