Worst Books Read in 2011
6. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
1. Airships do not seep upward.
2. Characters should be relatable, if not necessarily likeable
3. Books should have actual endings
7. Stolen World by Jennie Erin Smith
8. The Black Company by Glen Cook
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
The Dickens With Love by Josh Lanyon
The Dickens With Love was first brought to my attention by the illustrious karen whose review of it is far, far funnier than mine. Seriously. Her review is here. Go read it. Then come back to mine.
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Best Books Read in 2011
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
I neglected Raymond Chandler for far too long. The Long Goodbye hit that home with a vengeance. What a beautiful, heartbreaking book. I love Los Angeles, but the setting was mere backdrop to the complex, dark, and brilliant story which unfolded. It is rare that I immediately put a book on my favorites list, but this deserved it.
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Worst Books Read in 2011
7. Stolen World: A Tale of Reptiles, Smugglers, and Skulduggery by Jennie Erin Smith
All stories of abused animals. Awful. I couldn’t even finish it, I was so upset.
8. The Black Company by Glen Cook
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
Best Books Read in 2011
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
Leviathan Wakes is an absolutely fantastic science fiction novel. I was skeptical when I read the description, but emerged a true believer. Without doubt the best scifi of many I read this year, and one of the best out of 200 books overall.
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
Worst Books Read in 2011
8. The Black Company by Glen Cook
As I suspected at the time, The Black Company proved utterly forgettable. I also hated the naming convention and it felt like I was reading an idea for a book rather than the book itself.
Also, the big, bad wizard people had flying carpets. Seriously. Shame on you, Glen Cook. Shame on you.
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
Best Books Read in 2011
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
A Great & Terrible Beauty earned its place on this list by showing me that young adult paranormal fantasy can be enjoyable. I remain surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. It’s genuinely good. Unfortunately, the second is kind of awful, but the third is also great.
Worst Books Read in 2011
9. A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
I didn’t give a damn what happened to any of the characters and there was a PowerPoint chapter. Bleh.
Best Books Read in 2011
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
In this case, The Color of Magic stands in for the Discworld series as a whole. For Christmas last year, my boyfriend gave me the first two and I was hooked. The series is not as consistently good, but I have enjoyed the majority of the books I have read to date. It also has the benefit of each book being able to stand alone or mixed & matched by its dominant characters.
Worst Books Read in 2011
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale
I first encountered The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher in a review a few years ago and loved the idea. Unfortunately, came nowhere near living up to its potential. While the underlying story was fascinating, its telling was dull, had polemic tendencies, and overall fell far short of the English fiction it is said to have inspired.