Top Reads of 2011

December 30, 2011 by Ashley 2 Comments

It’s the end of the year; a time for reflection, planning, and making lists. Since I’m such a bookworm, I thought I’d write down my favorite page turners of the year.

Fiction:

• Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. The style of writing, the imagery, the characters – I loved it all. You can read my review of it here.
• Absent in the Spring, by Agatha Christie. Having established herself as the creator of detective Hercule Poirot, the Queen of Crime took the pen name Mary Westmacott to write this psychological reflection.
• Forbidden, by Ted Dekker. Teamed up with Tosca Lee, Dekker created an intriguing story that competes with his Circle Trilogy.
• The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde. High comedy at its best.
• Fossil Hunter, by John B. Olson. A good action-adventure novel with lots of science and a nearly-tolerable romance thread.

Non-Fiction:

• Sun Stand Still, by Steven Furtick. This challenge to live with audacious faith came right when I needed it. Read and share.
• Quitter, by Jon Acuff. I greatly enjoyed the humor and challenge of Acuff’s take on employment.
• The Coldest War, by James Brady. I was assigned this memoir as part of a history class, and I was struck by what I didn’t know about the Korean War.
• Horseradish, by Lemony Snicket. How could I not add this to my list?
• The Book of Awesome, by Neil Pasricha. A book of the little things that make life awesome.

Top Read of the Year:

• The Opposite of Art, by Athol Dickson. This is hands-down the best book I read all year. The characters are realistic and vivid, the story is intriguing, and the author’s writing style is completely unique. I’m not sure what genre this falls into, but I’ll be looking for more like it. Reading this novel was like finally finding that word that’s been on the tip of my tongue for a while.

Fellow bookworms, speak up! What were your favorite reads of 2011?