Monday, December 26, 2011

Top 10 of 2011 (Day 1): Top Books I've Read in 2011


I'm excited to give everyone a peek into a event that is coming at the end of December...

Top 10: A Week of Looking Back…. 
 ………and Looking Forward.

Last year Jessica from Confessions of a Bookaholic and Lisa from A Life Bound By Books posted some Top 10 lists the last week of 2010. For five days they recapped some of their favorite books, covers and characters. They also listed some books they were looking forward to in 2011. This year they have invited some friends to help them co-host things and make an event out of it! Jessica and Lisa, Jaime & Patricia from Two Chicks on Books and Rachel from Fiktshun came together to make the Top 10 of 2011 event.

Today's Topic:  Top 10 Books I've Read in 2011.

I've read lots of great books this year but there are a few that really stick out in my mind.  In no particular order:

1.  Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen.
I kicked myself over and over for waiting so long to read this one.

2.  Truly Madly by Heather Webber.  This was so cute and sweet.
I couldn't help but love this new series.

3.  Exposure by Therese Fowler.
 I loved how realistic the situation was presented.  This was also one of the most capitivating stories I read this year.  I still remember that feeling of finishing this one.

4.  Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys.
LOVES it!  I was touched in 5000 ways.

5.  The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.
 I cannot believe how good these books are.  Some people were disappointed with Mockingjay.  Though I am scarred for life, I appreciate that Ms. Collins didn't hold anything back or make it easy.  But it hurt kind of bad.  I'll never forget it. Yes. I know that I cheated by grouping three books in one.  I do what I want.

6.  The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen.
Oh the magic.  Oh the writing.  I am a fan of Ms. Sarah Addison Allen.

7.  The Violets of March by Sarah Jio.
This is such a great beach read.  I really enjoyed this one and the cover is gorgeous.

8.  32 Candles by Ernessa Carter.
This was such a fun read.  Ms. Ernessa Carter really did something unique with this and it really worked.  I felt like I was in a movie and it was awesome.

9.  The Girl in the Garden by Kamala Nair.
This was such a beautiful book.  This is adult fiction though it focuses on an important summer of a child.

10.  Heart of Glass by Christy Hayes.
This is such an awesome romance.  I wouldn't have changed a thing. Oh and that cover...so lovely.






Here are the Top 10 lists for categories for the week (borrowed from Rachel from Fiktshun):
Monday 12/26 – Top 10 Books I’ve read in 2011
Tuesday 12/27 – Top 10 Book Covers of 2011
Wednesday 12/28 – Top 10 Book Boyfriends in 2011
 Thursday 12/29 – Top 10 Characters in 2011
(This can be anything you’d like to make it for characters. You can post your favorite Villains, etc. Just be sure that this post is character based.)
 Friday 12/30 – Top 10 Books I’m looking forward to in 2012
(Also on this day, we’ll each be adding some kind of a recap of the total number of books read, pages read, etc. This part of the post is optional. Feel free to add any stats you’d like to share with everyone. So, if you’d like to also include some end of year stats, feel free to join us!)
Which books made your top books of the year? 
Tune in tomorrow for Top 10 Book Covers of 2011.
Blog Widget by LinkWithin

23 comments:

  1. I am currently reading Water For Elephants! Sooooo good! Thanks for the giveaway!

    Dawn
    http://www.cheapisthenewclassy.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh I'm glad we agree about Mockingjay. I thought I was the only one.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh you have to move them up your list. So worth it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't wait for the movie. I hope they get it right.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Between Shades of Gray can break your heart but it is truly a good read.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Awesome list! I've been wanting to read Exposure. Water for Elephants, Between Shades of Gray and Violets of March on are on my tbr shelf. The other sound interesting as well.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I was really close to putting up Heart of Glass myself on my top 10, you know? But then it might have turned into top 20, you know how bad I am with picking from my favs, lol.
    Awesome top 10, a few of them I SO wanna read, and I will, somehow, sometime, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm a huge fan of Sarah Addison Allen as well. I've loved every single one of her books. :) And I'm so glad to see that The Hunger Games trilogy made your list! Most people didn't like Mockingjay, but it was actually by favorite book in the series for the exact reason you stated; nothing is held back, and although it kills me every time I read it, all I can think is: "this is what it would be like in a real war."

    Exposure is on my list to be read next year!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Juju at Tales of Whimsy.comJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:07 AM

    This reminds me, I neeeed Peach Keeper.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I'm laughing. I haven't really read any of those books! LOL
    ANyway, I'm glad you liked them though!

    Come check out my Top 10 Lists. I created two seperate lists. One for adult/UF books and the other for YA books.

    Best of 2011: Young Adult
    Best of 2011: Urban Fantasy

    Hope you'll have time to check out my lists.
    Mystifying Paranormal Reviews

    ReplyDelete
  11. Nice, I got to read some of those. I do want to read a book by Addison :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. The Hunger Games is indeed a really great serie! I loved it too! :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jennifer MesserschmidtJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:07 AM

    Water for Elephants and The Hunger Games are fantastic. I haven't read your other picks but a lot of interesting ones like Between Shades of Gray.
    My Top 10 of 2011

    ReplyDelete
  14. There is one right here: http://www.fiktshun.com/fiktshun/2011/12/26/top-10-books-ive-read-in-2011/

    ReplyDelete
  15. I remember you had mentioned Heart of Glass before and it does sound like a good read.
    I'm going to try to read Between Shades of Gray soon! As I do have it in my shelf.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great list and great idea for posts for the week! Happy New Year!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. reading rendezvous reviewzJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:07 AM

    #4 and 6 are on my list. I also loved 32 candles. is there a linky for this meme?

    ReplyDelete

I absolutely LOVE all comments! So please feel free to chime in with your thoughts, questions, opinions, or whatever else you have to say.

Don't forget to check back as I reply to comments. Dialogue is good right?

09 10