Highlights of 2011

I thought to start off my 2012 reading blog I would include an overview of my top three from 2011.

The Passage by Justin Cronin was a book I highly recommended to family and friends. My mom said she loved it and had a hard time putting it down. My dad said just the opposite, that he could not get into it at all. It reminded me of The Stand by Stephen King in that it was rather long and had several characters with whom I fell in love. I found myself thinking about the story long after I read the last page. I can give a high rating to a book if I find it difficult to start another one right away. I like to let the satisfied feeling linger for a few days. The disappointing part was realizing I had to wait until the following year for the next book in the trilogy. This will be one that I would like to reread before spring.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness was hands down my favorite book of 2011. In fact, I did something I have never done before. Two days after I finished it, I still wasn't in the mood to start anything new. So I picked it up and read it again! I also friended the main characters Diana and Matthew on Facebook just to keep in touch with my favorite witch and vampire. The romance between Matthew and Diana definitely appealed to me. Neither character is perfect, both somewhat stubborn and independent, but they learn to compromise and it's as if the sum of their parts is bound to prevail. And my maternal side strongly responded to the dynamic between Diana and her parents. I enjoyed the unveiling of her mysterious abilities and the flashbacks to how her parents protected their only daughter. This is also the first of a trilogy and you can bet I will be purchasing the second book the day it hits the shelves.

The classic book The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas also made my top three. Another long book, I read this one on my e-reader. One of the odd sensations of reading a book through this medium is that you can't immediately tell how far along you are in the story. On the Kobo, it will tell you what percent of the book you have finished reading when you start reading or shut down. Perhaps this was a good thing, as I wasn't feeling any pressure to take on such a volume. I was oblivious to the time commitment I was making, and the story was engrossing enough to keep me coming back for more. I tried watching the movie, but was soooo disappointed I couldn't finish it. For me, books usually ARE much better than the movie and I did take that into account, but this strayed too far from the story line for my comfort.

As I begin my quest for the new year, I will most likely be comparing what I read against these top choices. Please feel free to comment if you have read, or would like to read, any of these. I hope to post a short list of my To-Reads for the near future. If you have any suggestions based on these favs, please share!