My Top 5 Reads for 2011
November 23, 2011 at 9:27 am 9 comments
1. THE TIGER’S WIFE by Téa Obreht
I made a big call in January when I suggested this would be my book of the year. A few books came very close but this remains the best book I read in 2011. It is about the power of stories. A young doctor remembers the passing of her Grandfather by recalling the fables he told her growing up. read more
2. THE MARRIAGE PLOT by Jeffrey Eugenides
“She may have looked normal on the outside, but once you’d seen her handwriting you knew she was deliciously complicated inside.” read more
3. THE STREET SWEEPER by Elliot Perlman
Perlman manages to combine the horrors of what happened during The Holocaust with the civil rights movement in America during the 50s and 60s in such a profound way that you find yourself totally absorbed, outraged and horrified. read more
4. SATORI by Don Winslow
SATORI is the book Winslow fans have all been waiting for and the book non-fans need to read to become one! read more
5. PAST THE SHALLOWS by Favel Parrett
Favel deftly captures the harshness and beauty of life at the edge of Australia and her writing will stay with you long after you put the book down. read more
Honorable mentions for THE SISTERS BROTHERS by Patrick DeWitt, CROOKED LETTER, CROOKED LETTER by Tom Franklin, THE CUT by George Pelecanos and WHAT IT IS LIKE TO GO TO WAR by Karl Marlantes,
What are your Top reads of 2011?
see also My Top 5 Reads for 2010
Entry filed under: Book Bites (Video Blog), Book Reviews. Tags: 2011, best-books-2011, best-of-2011, books.
1.
Becky (Page Turners) | November 23, 2011 at 11:14 am
Of those I have only read The Tigers Wife and sadly I didn’t connect to it. I recognised great writing, but there was nothing that really effected me emotionally, which is what I like in a book.
My top picks in order would be:
1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
2. Swords and Crowns and Rings by Ruth Park
3. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
4. The Messenger by Markus Zusak
5. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2.
Jon Page | November 23, 2011 at 12:30 pm
I am envious that you have time for classics and backlist books. Wish I had more reading time!!
3.
Becky (Page Turners) | November 23, 2011 at 2:13 pm
Don’t be too jealous! I mostly only read on the train to and from work, but because most of books are purchased second hand I do get to read a lot of older books
4.
Stephanie @ Read in a Single Sitting | November 23, 2011 at 12:53 pm
Oh, I loved Past the Shallows. Just brilliant. I do have The Tiger’s Wife in my stack, so I’ll probably read that one soon.
(And in response to Becky: John Wyndham is one of my favourites. I love his work.)
5.
Jon Page | November 23, 2011 at 12:56 pm
The Tiger’s Wife is fantastic
6.
Becky (Page Turners) | November 23, 2011 at 2:12 pm
I’m with you Stephanie, he’s one of my favourites too and I think the Chrysalids might be my favourite of his works
7. Best books of 2011 « Fancy Goods | December 7, 2011 at 1:59 pm
[...] titled ‘best overlooked books of 2011’; Pages & Pages’ Jon Page has nominated his top five reads for 2011 (if you follow him on Twitter these should be self-evident); and Gleebooks’ David Gaunt has also [...]
8.
thundergoes | December 13, 2011 at 12:38 pm
Interesting list! I’ll have to look into them.
9.
Maddie | January 21, 2012 at 5:34 pm
I haven’t read any of these books, but after watching your videos I think I definitely should track them down! I love the way you create videos that tell about the books instead of just writing several paragraphs about each. Not only is that rather irksome, it’s quite intimidating. And some people surely prefer listening to a summary over having to read a page of summary. And in response to Becky’s comment above: those are some of my favorite books, too! Zusak’s “I Am The Messenger” definitely made this year’s Top 5. Khaled Hosseini’s “A Thousand Splendid Suns” is also on that list. If you haven’t read it, you’re missing out!