End of 2011 Book Survey

I typically don't do surveys, but this one appealed to me for some reason. This one comes from Jamie at The Perpetual Page-Turner.

1. Best Book You Read In 2011?
I very rarely pick a favorite. My reading is too diverse to truly compare books to each other. I will say though that The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis and A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin really stand out as awesome reads this year.

2. Most Disappointing Book/Book You Wish You Loved More Than You Did?
A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson: I enjoyed Bryson's voice, intellectual with humor thrown in and a rather down-to-earth honesty about the experience. I thought I would be bored, hearing nothing but blah blah blah about walking walking walking, and I did hear a lot of that, but I liked the blah blah blah about the walking. But the constant 'save the trail from our pollution and destruction' hullabaloo drove me crazy. Perhaps it's because I was much more interested in the trail and the cultural/historical information than I was in this giant reminder that we, as humans, totally are sucking it up in taking care of the planet.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?
Still Magic by Brandon Pyle: Brandon started as my student way back in January 2005, and since then we have become friends. Finding out he published a collection of fables and poetry surprised me (not that he could do it but that he did do it).

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?  
This is probably a tie between The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne and Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series quite a bit: Soulless, Changeless, and Blameless. Oddly enough, I recommended these to all the same people: the true readers in my life, and of course, I would name drop while teaching.

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?
The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare - City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass - is definitely my favorite series of the year. I read the whole first book plus over half of the second book in one night. I read for like five hours straight. It was awesome. The world building drew me in and the characters kept me coming back for more.

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?
Cassandra Clare (see above) because she's downright entertaining and a great world builder, Joshua Foer (Moonwalking with Einstein) because he's clever and witty, and Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Midnight Palace) because his use of language and descriptions is just gorgeous.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
Not many books are out of my comfort zone - in part because I'm an eclectic reader and in part because I read what I like - but I did read Missed Her by Ivan Coyote, a short, but moving, collection of personal stories focused on Coyote's experiences as a queer, butch, storyteller living on Canada's west coast. This is outside my comfort zone in two ways: first, I'm a straight woman living in America's midwest; second, I'm not much of a short story reader even when it's nonfiction. But Coyote set up each tale the way I like: sort of a blend between a short story and a personal essay. I think Amy from Amy Reads said it best: "Missed her is a collection of short stories that aren’t really, in my mind, short stories the way I think of them. They are more quick memories. A collection of stories about memories, perhaps."

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?
Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness gets my vote for this one. Every moment in the book is rife with possibilities, questions, and excitement. I could not stop reading; every turn of the page brought on a deep desire to see the next. That feeling of urgency followed me throughout the entire series, every page, every shift in the plot, every revelation of character, pressed me to keep reading. These are truly books I do not want to put down.

9. Book you most anticipated in 2011?
This is a hard question for me to answer as I'm not much in to new releases. I don't keep track of what's coming when, no list of upcoming releases anywhere to be found. I was very much looking forward to reading Heartless by Gail Carriger since I luurrrvvee the Parasol Protectorate series. And that's the book I'm reading right now. :)

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?

11. Most memorable character in 2011?
Tyrion from A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin really sticks out as a memorable character. He went from my least favorite character to the most intriguing to quite possibly my favorite (although Arya is still up there as well). He is definitely a character to watch as I keep reading the series.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?
Missed Her by Ivan Coyote, The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen, and The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis all make the list for this one. I feel like choosing one would not suffice as the books I read are so very different in how they should be written, but these definitely stand out as Well Written.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011? 
Nylon Road: Coming of Age in Iran by Parsua Bashi certainly affected the way I teach. Not only do my students read the graphic memoir, but they also develop their own personal reflection project based on the set-up in the memoir: specifically, Bashi's reflection on her life through encountering versions of herself at different ages. This turned out to be my students' favorite project of the year, and honestly mine as well.

14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?
John Adams by David McCullough definitely takes the prize for this one. I have had that stinking book on my shelf forever, and my grandfather had nothing but high praise for it, but I still kept putting it off. And putting it off. Thank heavens that Wallace at Unputdownables hosted a readalong to motivate me!

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?
Answering this question would just take too much time, and honestly there's no way I could pick just one.

16. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012? 
I will probably read Ashfall by Mike Mullin again when the second book comes out. I really liked the story, and I'll want it fresh in my head. I'll probably do the same with Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare.

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers! 

In my first post on A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, I wrote:  

My Holy Shit Moment: Bran
Oh my beejeesus Bran. I will not say anymore for those who haven't read the story.

I still feel that WTF Moment quite clearly.

THE END of THE SURVEY

I have to admit I feel a bit strange completing a survey like this before the end of the year. After all, I will read at least one and probably more like 5 more books before the year is up. C'est la vie.