Best of 2011

A giant chunk of this year's reading was actually RE-reading, but I wanted this list to reflect my favorite new reads. Oddly enough, this does make the creation of a "best of" list much easier - less books to choose from. :) Without further ado, here are my top ten new reads of 2011:

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis
Abounding with monks, nuns, secret passageways, cold corridors, nasty weather, soul-selling witches, prurient interests, superstition, and the occasional dead body, The Monk is perfectly eerie. The gothic qualities set up that wonderful atmosphere readers of this type of lit love so much, but the actions which take place move well beyond the scary ghost or foreboding breeze. Some truly evil crimes are committed. There are specific, likeable victims. And happily ever after comes at a great price.

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Winter is Coming. So rings the words of the Starks of Winterfell, the family central to the epic tale contained in this novel. The motto reflects the harshness and strength of the family as well as resounding a prophetic truth for the whole of Westeros, a land about to be torn by a vicious political upheaval, a game of thrones. This story completely captured my imagination.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes by Loren D. Estleman
Sherlock Holmes returns in this brilliantly conceived and written novel, and to make it even better, he is tackling the case of Jekyll and Hyde. Despite knowing the outcome, I was engaged throughout, the journey to the truth being so much more exciting than the denouement. Following Holmes and Watson as they meticulously ferret out the truth was fascinating, in no small part because their investigation alternates between periods of intense excitement (girly shows, barroom brawls, carriage chases) and quiet contemplation (exactly how I picture Sherlock).

Lost Voices by Sarah Porter
In this lyrical and haunting tale, Porter explores a world in which girls, cruelly abused in life, transform into mermaids and find themselves wielding a great power over humankind. The story is haunting and painful and atmospheric, but I don't want to give the impression that the darkness is pure sensation without purpose; readers are treated to a story both horrifying and beautiful. Like a traditional fairy tale (instead of the Disney version) the world Porter has created feels infused with shades of gray. Black and white, right and wrong, are secondary to the complexity of personal growth and understanding.

Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer
Foer chronicles his foray into the world of memory in this intelligent and fun book. The perfect combination of the personal and the academic, Moonwalking with Einstein had me completely hooked. Intelligent. Fun. Insightful. Funny. Inventive. Fabulous. And a host of other adjectives that start with I and F. This, in my opinion, is narrative nonfiction at its best: personal, informative, and entertaining.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
When a young girl goes missing, fingers start pointing at "Scary Larry" Ott, who 25 years before was suspected in the disappearance of another girl. Soon, Larry winds up shot, and Silas, once Larry's friend, now the town constable, finds himself investigating. But why was Larry shot? Attempted murder? Suicide? What really happened 25 years ago? Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter is a perfectly atmospheric literary suspense. 

Ashfall by Mike Mullin
What I most appreciated about the book was that sense of realness without spectacle. Truly bad things happen in the story, but the events are not overblown or dwelt upon for effect; they are simply related as events which occurred. The devastation wrought by the volcanic eruption was not just geological or meteorological; it was social, cultural, ideological. I have absolutely no problem believing the loss of humanity exhibited by some of the characters.  While the book is not particularly happy - it is reasonably grim actually - I never felt that all hope was lost. Some communities, some people, were still friendly, caring, and humane. Actually the diversity of post-volcano experience is one part of the book I really enjoyed.

Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen
Ghosts takes place over one night at a mansion in Norway. The majority of the story is unveiled in a conversation between the protagonist, Mrs. Alving, and a pastor from a nearby town, Manders. The two are building an orphanage to honor the late Captain Alving, a man Manders believed to have been an honorable man, but who in fact was a scoundrel and a drunk. Alving's actions in the past are influencing the present through his son, Oswald.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
The Mortal Instruments trilogy, City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass, rocked my world when I read them, and I was thrilled to receive this novel, a prequel to the MI trilogy for Christmas. Clockwork Angel includes everything I loved from Mortal Instruments - passion, mythology, kickassery - and then it puts two cherries on top: Victorian London and steampunk. Purrrfffect. The layers of depth Clare injects in her work really adds to the world building. the world created within the pages of the text refers to and develops its own past and promises a future. If you have not read Clare yet, you are really missing out.

The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mills
In a rather accessible extended essay, Mill argues for the emancipation of women both for the betterment of society and the personal benefit of women. What struck me most about Mill's essay is his clarity and conciseness. I really enjoy it when authors of SERIOUS tomes with IMPORTANT topics inject a bit of the snarky into their texts, and Mills does a fantastic job of this.