I didn't have that great of a reading year in 2011. Way too much other stuff to do. But I had some good ones for sure.
5. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Who knew that Jane Austen was really writing about zombies? Because there's a solid chance that she was, and she just didn't know it; that's how awesome this book was. See the next entry for specifics.
4. Pride and Prejudice
Remember a few years ago when Persuasion was one of my top books in
this blog? And I said that I thought Persuasion only made it on because it was the first Austen I'd made it all the way through and that I don't think I like her? I may have lied. I understand now why women love Jane Austen; it is because of the female characters she creates. They are quietly rebellious, every last one of them. Elizabeth is, of course, recognized as rebellious, but the beauty lies in the minute differences in rebellion of all the women. None are quite the same, nor feel the same way about any two things. Women can't help but see themselves, or wish they could see themselves in one or more of the female characters. Austen was a genius in this manner; she wrote in the style of her time but broke free from the constraints of stock characterization and petty stories.
3. The Hunger Games
I read this book in about 6 hours, mostly because it is a young adult lit book and pretty easy to read, but also because I was really into it. The rest of the series was kind of a let down, but only because I'm probably a little too old to continue reading YA lit like I do. I always see through it now. But this first book didn't address much of the bigger story that's going (the dystopian future and Katniss's involvement in taking down the people oppressing everyone); it stuck with the Hunger Games themselves, the yearly fight to the death between 24 young "tributes," as an introduction to the bigger story. It's brutal and suspenseful, and you have no idea who to actually pull for. There's also a wide array of intriguing side characters to keep you on your toes.
2. The Help
This was one of my reads over the summer, and it was a pretty awesome choice. It's simply written and easy to read; in fact, as I was reading, I wanted to find a reason to work it into an 11th grade American Lit class. The characters are easy to love or hate as the author wants you to and, really, as you should morally. Also, having partially grown up in the south, I enjoyed the giggles I got out of the ridiculous southernness of some of the ladies. I haven't seen the movie, which is unfortunate because I'm sure it would be on my top list.
1. Storm of Swords
I started reading the Song of Ice and Fire (the name of this series), because HBO made a pretty nice TV series based on them, or at least the first book, called Game of Thrones. This is the third book in the series, and it was game changing. And. So. Awesome. I know I use the word awesome a lot, but this was. It was so emotionally satisfying. I cried circa page 700, cheered sometime after that, and then literally kicked my feet in excitement on the last page. If you enjoy fantasy novels at all, you should give this series a shot. I've enjoyed every book so far, including the 4th, which everyone else said was the worst, they just weren't enough for the top 5 of the year.
Honorable Mentions
The Great Gatsby
I've read this book twice before. I chose to re-read it this summer after finding out that they're making a new movie version with Leonardo Dicaprio. I read the whole thing with him in mind, and it was mind blowingly perfect. I'm excited about the film.