Best Books Read in 2011
1. Room by Emma Donoghue
Not many authors can write well from a child’s point of view, especially when writing for an adult audience. In Room, Emma Donoghue does precisely that. She conveys a haunting tale with beauty and wonder and terror. I was skeptical when I picked up this book. After putting it down seven months ago, I still think of it regularly. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Original Review
2. The Christ-Haunted Landscape by Susan Ketchin
3. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
4. The Forever War by Dexter Filkins
5. Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson
6. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler
8. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
9. A Great & Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10. The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
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6 comments | tags: 4.5 stars, best books read in 2011, bibliophilia, book review, books, bosnia, contemporary fiction, fiction, geraldine brooks, haggadah, historical fiction, holocaust, i hear you like books in your books, libraries are awesome, museum, nazis, people of the book, pleasant surprise, racial tension, review, sarajevo, sarajevo haggadah | posted in Best Books Read in 2011, Lists, Words
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.
Original Review
10. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
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People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
People of the Book is a stunningly beautiful book about another stunningly beautiful book. It fictionalizes the true story of the Sarajevo Haggadah, a unique, 500-year old version of a book read at Jewish Passover Seders. It illustrates the story of how and why Passover came to be. People of the Book looks at the fascinating story of the Haggadah’s travels through the years and creates a story from them. All of the characters are fictional and some of the chapters are admittedly entirely fiction while others contain more factual information. While reading I did not care at all which was which and I am not certain I do now. Geraldine Brooks.ostensibly tells the story of a book, but as the title hints, what she really tells is the story of a people.
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