Of the Reading of Many Books There is No End
I'd been planning to do a end of year reading summary post thing, so, without further ado...
from a book_memes post
The first book you read in 2011:
Mike: A School Story by P. G. Wodehouse
The last book you finished in 2011:
At the moment it is Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators: The Mystery of the Invisible Dog by M. V. Carey but I have two days so...
The first book you will finish (or did finish!) in 2012:
I'm working on Inside Prince Caspian by Devin Brown, so it's a contender but we'll see...
Your favorite "classic" you read in 2011:
Let's say it's a toss-up between The Good Master and The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy and The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
The book series you read the most volumes of in 2011:
I read 25 volumes of the Tom Swift Invention Adventures, a modern re-writing of the series that updates the setting to 'now' while retaining the plots of the original. It manages to keep the stuff I love about the originals while giving a more coherent feel to the series as a whole. On the whole, it's a really neat example of the best kind of fan-fic. Also, it beat out Otoyomegatari, a manga series by Kaoru Mori, which only has 20 volumes so far.
The genre you read the most in 2011:
It seems likely that the answer is fantasy fiction... though young adult would serve equally well
The book(s) that disappointed you:
The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi and The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson both made me sad (though for different reasons) but I think I'm going to give the prize to Courageous by Randy Alcorn. It had a 'big name' author one would have expected to at least not fail in the technical details of telling the story, but no..... AND The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows which was utterly gorgeous and loveable for the first half and then when the heroine arrives on the island it lost everything that made it charming. If it'd ended before she got there it'd be one of my favourite books of the year.
The book you liked better than you expected to:
The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath. I forgave all the writing issues to the extent that I don't remember any, though I'm sure it's chock full of coincidences and so on, but it's a fairy tale retelling that can sit happily next to The Prisoner of Zenda and so I love it.
The hardest book you read in 2011 (topic or writing style):
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas; fascinating topic and a comparatively slim book, but it seemed quite dry
The funniest book you read in 2011:
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer or Celeborn's Club by Erestor -- because the "squopping winks" scene never fails to amuse. Actually, just about everything written by Erestor is hilarious...
The saddest book you read in 2011:
I try not to read really sad books, so The Legend of the King by Gerald Morris, last of the Squire's Tales, will fit here nicely, although he somehow managed to make a book where (almost) everyone dies not quite a total downer.
The shortest book you read in 2011:
I read fan-fiction drabbles, but the closest in length in physical book form seems to be board books so... Puppy in the Garden by Dennis Kyte
The longest book you read in 2011:
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas or one of the three Monster Blood Tattoo books by D. M. Cornish
A book that you discovered in 2011 that you will definitely read again:
Entwined by Heather Dixon and Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
A book that you never want to read again:
Expect a Miracle - Make Miracles Happen by Norman Vincent Peale
from ladyadeone
Expect some duplication where appropriate, though I'll try not to be too redundant.
General:
Best books you read (for the first time) in 2011?
Angel and Dragon: the Letzenstein Chronicles, book 3 by Meriol Trevor
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas non-fiction
Digger by Ursula Vernon
Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine by Dorothy Sayers
Most disappointing book/Book you wished you loved more than you did?
Paul: A Novel by Walter Wangerin Jr. is a book I would have liked to love, but I really ought to have known that Wangerin and I would not see eye to eye; it seemed meticulously researched but he cut out verses of Paul's letters to further his own weepy characterization of several characters...
Most surprising (in a good way) book of the year?
Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor -- I had no idea what I was getting into, if you'd asked I would have said I thought it had something to do with either mysteries in a novel of manners, or the mystery of manners, but I was not expecting essays on writing and the Church and the connections between the two
Book you recommended most to others in 2011?
Possibly Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson? It seems to me that I know for sure I influenced the most people to read it...
Best series you discovered in 2011?
FullMetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Favorite new author you discovered this year?
Harold MacGrath or Kersten Hamilton
Best book that was outside your comfort zone/a new genre for you?
The Design of Design by Fredrick Brooks; I don't (usually) read horror so other than that I think I'm just about running out of genres to call 'new'. Design of Design is non-fiction and it's a collection of essays written with computer programmers in mind but most of it is applicable to other disciplines.
Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2011?
I think I lost the most sleep over Monster Blood Tattoo: Lamplighter by D. M. Cornish
Book you most anticipated this year?
Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson
Details:
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?
Most memorable character?
Shadowchild from Digger. Really, the entire cast is amazing, from Digger to Ed to the oracular snail... and the vampire squash. XD
Most beautifully written book in 2011?
One of the only two McKillip's I read this year: Alphabet of Thorn or The Bards of Bone Plain
Book that had the greatest impact on you this year?
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
Book you can't believe you waited till 2011 to finally read?
The FullMetal Alchemist series by Hiromu Arakawa
Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2011?
I'm waiting until 2012 to reread Tyger, Tyger because then it can be conveniently marked on my list as a reread; rereading something in the same month messes up my counting of books read, though maybe that's only because I think it looks silly to have the same book listed twice in the same month.
Book that had a scene that left you reeling and dying to talk to someone about it?
The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques, mostly because I want to complain about it. I still wonder what is up with 'rabbet'.
Looking Ahead:
One book you didn't read this year that will be your #1 priority in 2012?
Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien -- I suppose I should hurry up and reserve a copy at the library before I forget again...
New book you are most anticipating for 2012?
I'm going to guess that the third Goblin Wars book will come out fall 2012, and Swift by R. J. Anderson is supposed to come out in March... and there should be another Brotherband book out too. But other than that, not too much that I know of. :p
from a book_memes post
The first book you read in 2011:
Mike: A School Story by P. G. Wodehouse
The last book you finished in 2011:
At the moment it is Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators: The Mystery of the Invisible Dog by M. V. Carey but I have two days so...
The first book you will finish (or did finish!) in 2012:
I'm working on Inside Prince Caspian by Devin Brown, so it's a contender but we'll see...
Your favorite "classic" you read in 2011:
Let's say it's a toss-up between The Good Master and The Singing Tree by Kate Seredy and The Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope
The book series you read the most volumes of in 2011:
I read 25 volumes of the Tom Swift Invention Adventures, a modern re-writing of the series that updates the setting to 'now' while retaining the plots of the original. It manages to keep the stuff I love about the originals while giving a more coherent feel to the series as a whole. On the whole, it's a really neat example of the best kind of fan-fic. Also, it beat out Otoyomegatari, a manga series by Kaoru Mori, which only has 20 volumes so far.
The genre you read the most in 2011:
It seems likely that the answer is fantasy fiction... though young adult would serve equally well
The book(s) that disappointed you:
The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi and The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson both made me sad (though for different reasons) but I think I'm going to give the prize to Courageous by Randy Alcorn. It had a 'big name' author one would have expected to at least not fail in the technical details of telling the story, but no..... AND The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows which was utterly gorgeous and loveable for the first half and then when the heroine arrives on the island it lost everything that made it charming. If it'd ended before she got there it'd be one of my favourite books of the year.
The book you liked better than you expected to:
The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath. I forgave all the writing issues to the extent that I don't remember any, though I'm sure it's chock full of coincidences and so on, but it's a fairy tale retelling that can sit happily next to The Prisoner of Zenda and so I love it.
The hardest book you read in 2011 (topic or writing style):
Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery by Eric Metaxas; fascinating topic and a comparatively slim book, but it seemed quite dry
The funniest book you read in 2011:
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer or Celeborn's Club by Erestor -- because the "squopping winks" scene never fails to amuse. Actually, just about everything written by Erestor is hilarious...
The saddest book you read in 2011:
I try not to read really sad books, so The Legend of the King by Gerald Morris, last of the Squire's Tales, will fit here nicely, although he somehow managed to make a book where (almost) everyone dies not quite a total downer.
The shortest book you read in 2011:
I read fan-fiction drabbles, but the closest in length in physical book form seems to be board books so... Puppy in the Garden by Dennis Kyte
The longest book you read in 2011:
Dombey and Son by Charles Dickens, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas or one of the three Monster Blood Tattoo books by D. M. Cornish
A book that you discovered in 2011 that you will definitely read again:
Entwined by Heather Dixon and Tyger, Tyger by Kersten Hamilton
A book that you never want to read again:
Expect a Miracle - Make Miracles Happen by Norman Vincent Peale
from ladyadeone
Expect some duplication where appropriate, though I'll try not to be too redundant.
General:
Best books you read (for the first time) in 2011?
Angel and Dragon: the Letzenstein Chronicles, book 3 by Meriol Trevor
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas non-fiction
Digger by Ursula Vernon
Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine by Dorothy Sayers
Most disappointing book/Book you wished you loved more than you did?
Paul: A Novel by Walter Wangerin Jr. is a book I would have liked to love, but I really ought to have known that Wangerin and I would not see eye to eye; it seemed meticulously researched but he cut out verses of Paul's letters to further his own weepy characterization of several characters...
Most surprising (in a good way) book of the year?
Mystery and Manners by Flannery O'Connor -- I had no idea what I was getting into, if you'd asked I would have said I thought it had something to do with either mysteries in a novel of manners, or the mystery of manners, but I was not expecting essays on writing and the Church and the connections between the two
Book you recommended most to others in 2011?
Possibly Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson? It seems to me that I know for sure I influenced the most people to read it...
Best series you discovered in 2011?
FullMetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa
Favorite new author you discovered this year?
Harold MacGrath or Kersten Hamilton
Best book that was outside your comfort zone/a new genre for you?
The Design of Design by Fredrick Brooks; I don't (usually) read horror so other than that I think I'm just about running out of genres to call 'new'. Design of Design is non-fiction and it's a collection of essays written with computer programmers in mind but most of it is applicable to other disciplines.
Most thrilling, unputdownable book of 2011?
I think I lost the most sleep over Monster Blood Tattoo: Lamplighter by D. M. Cornish
Book you most anticipated this year?
Ultraviolet by R. J. Anderson
Details:
Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?
Most memorable character?
Shadowchild from Digger. Really, the entire cast is amazing, from Digger to Ed to the oracular snail... and the vampire squash. XD
Most beautifully written book in 2011?
One of the only two McKillip's I read this year: Alphabet of Thorn or The Bards of Bone Plain
Book that had the greatest impact on you this year?
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
Book you can't believe you waited till 2011 to finally read?
The FullMetal Alchemist series by Hiromu Arakawa
Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2011?
- This was how Bonhoeffer saw what he was doing. He had theologically redefined the Christian life as something active, not reactive. It had nothing to do with avoiding sin or with merely talking or teaching or believing theological notions or principles or rules or tenets. It had everything to do with living one's whole life in obedience to God's call through action. It did not merely require a mind, but a body too. It was God's call to be fully human, to live as human beings obedient to the one who had made us, which was the fulfilment of our destiny. It was not a cramped, compromised, circumspect life, but a life lived in a kind of wild, joyful, full-throated freedom - that was what it was to obey God -- Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxes
I'm waiting until 2012 to reread Tyger, Tyger because then it can be conveniently marked on my list as a reread; rereading something in the same month messes up my counting of books read, though maybe that's only because I think it looks silly to have the same book listed twice in the same month.
Book that had a scene that left you reeling and dying to talk to someone about it?
The Sable Quean by Brian Jacques, mostly because I want to complain about it. I still wonder what is up with 'rabbet'.
Looking Ahead:
One book you didn't read this year that will be your #1 priority in 2012?
Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien -- I suppose I should hurry up and reserve a copy at the library before I forget again...
New book you are most anticipating for 2012?
I'm going to guess that the third Goblin Wars book will come out fall 2012, and Swift by R. J. Anderson is supposed to come out in March... and there should be another Brotherband book out too. But other than that, not too much that I know of. :p