The Books of 2011

I don’t know how I managed it all, but I read 75 books in 2011. That’s more than I have in quite some time. Admittedly, some of the reading was for school and some of it was also done at school when I had time on my hands early in my internship at Darien High School. Also, once I began commuting to school, I began “reading” via audio book, using CDs from the library to either read books being taught in school or the occasional personal choice. And with 75 books read, it’s interesting to note how there were long stretches where everything I read was not necessarily what I wanted to read.Still, I managed to sample more than a few new authors, honoring my annual commitment to reach out. So, what stood out in my mind as worthy of recommendation? The full list is behind the cut but I should mention Colonel Roosevelt, Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand, The White Tiger, Juliet, Naked, Baseball in the Garden of Eden, The Magicians, and In the Garden of Beasts. I truly enjoyed Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games trilogy although felt the final chapters of book three fell apart and needed serious reconsideration. It did not dampen, though, my anticipation of the movie in April. I also enjoyed the final book in my friend Laura Anne Gilman’s Vineart War trilogy and wish she would write some more.I continued to read my usual assortment of newspapers, magazines, and comic books although I always felt behind. Starting in the fall, my local weeklies and weekly magazines began showing up later and later. I called and complained to the post office and got a “we’ll look into it” but my local carrier told me that a new sorting system was screwing everything up and no one cared enough to fix it despite the complaints. So, Time, Entertainment Weekly and The Week – which normally showed up on Fridays – began arriving anywhere from Monday to Wednesday making them dated.I’ve begun using the iPad for some reading and this week have begun downloading the magazines on their scheduled release date so I can remain contemporary. Earlier this year, I experimented with reading a text book via the Kindle app for my phone, laptop, and tablet and decided this was a useful step forward and suspect in the coming year, will switch more of my reading to an electronic device.Here’s my reading list. What do you recommend I try in 2012?

#Tags: reading