A retrospective
It's less than 36 hours till 2012, and I thought a fitting way for me to honor the past year would be to give a summary of the best and worst books I've read since January. Okay, it's not what you'd call an original idea, but I want to get in at least one more entry before the year ends.
Anyway, as I looked over the entries from the past year, I was surprised at the variety of books I've read: fiction, nonfiction, essay, adult and young adult, even one (1) Christian fiction novel. I've also read some real classics - including Les Miserables, which took me a few months to finish and unfortunately I've yet to get around writing up a review/reflection. All my other readings have been dutifully recorded, however, and why stall any longer? Here are the most memorable books I've read in 2011, for better or ill.
How They Met & Other Stories - a short story collection by David Levithan. Sweet, sappy, heartbreaking, and introspective, it made me giddy with admiration for Levithan's lovely prose and characters that feel like friends. A real treat for romantics, and a relaxing read for the rest of us.
Looks - featuring a straightfoward plot and complex characterization, to say that it's a story of two outsiders trying to find their place would be underselling it. The prose is so deft and lovely that it elevates the book into something truly special. Madeleine George creates scenes that are taut with tension and stir the reader's emotions. I took a chance on this book, and boy did it pay off.
Middlemarch - this was a reading assignment that I had, and a brick of a novel, but I ended up digging the story of idealistic young people and stodgy traditionalists who need to get with the times. George Eliot's epic centers around the denizens of an English town in the 1830s and the mistakes they make - marrying the wrong person, disrespecting social codes, covering up past scandals. Juicy, but also respectful of its flawed characters.
Almost Perfect - this unconventional love story may be the first of its kind to be available for a quote-unquote mainstream audience. Logan has a crush on the captivating new girl, but she's breaking her own rule by hanging out with him. Her secret could be the end of them ... or not, if Logan decides it doesn't matter. Unfortunately, it may not be up to him. From first-timer Brain Katcher, who's a bit rough around the edges but is nevertheless an effective writer.
Gods & Omens - this Terry Pratchett-Neil Gaiman creation boasts great characters, an epic plot, a message about free will and choice, and plenty of silliness. It posits the question, "What do you do when the Apocalypse is about to happen but no one can find the Antichrist?" which I didn't even think was a pressing question before reading. But it is when these two fantasy authors are answering it.
The Historian - well, it's a book about hunting down Dracula. That's the short version. A novel that blends horror, history, Eastern European politics, and folklore together, the fact that it's hard to pin down actually works greatly in its favor. It helps that there are also great, heroic, smart characters who sacrifice themselves to the chase. Elizabeth Kostova's mastery of plot and attention to detail is pretty damn impressive, too.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt faithfully recounts the murder trial of a popular antiques dealer in Savannah, Georgia. It's even better than it sounds. Filled with larger-than-life characters and slices of town life, this nonfiction book is endlessly fascinating. It has to be read to be believed.
Very LeFreak - a college student who's too tech savvy for her own good needs to get her life back on track - and everyone but her realizes it. Rachel Cohn's Very is flippant, annoying, daffy, and totally deserving of your time, if not your sympathy. A nice (and surprising) subplot about finding love makes this a keeper.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - two teens realize they have the same name, and their lives intersect in unexpecting ways. David Levithan (yes, again) and John Green weave two tales of love and redemption into one fucking sweet book. My vote for best book character of 2011: Tiny Cooper.
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland - Patton Oswalt writes about his childhood, creepy stand-up experiences, working in Hollywood, and the differences between a zombie personality, a spaceship personality, and a wasteland personality. Weirdness abounds. The book's only flaw? Too damn short.
And now, the worst of 2011:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel - by Jane Austen and someone named Seth added the stuff about the zombies. Believe me when I say that the title is the most interesting thing about this adaptation. I was underwhelmed by the original P&P&Z, and the ill-conceived sketches that populate the graphic novel offered little excitement. Maybe I shouldn't expect these kinds of parodies to have some bite to them.
Guitar Girl - Sarra Manning's conventional story about a conventional girl who becomes a famous punk musician. I'd add something about this book hitting all the wrong notes, but I'd like to think I'm better than that. Go read Lemonade Mouth instead.
Sweet Valley High #4: Out All Night [2008 Reissue] - weak and annoying, this retooling of a classic guilty pleasure just makes me want to go to sleep. Seriously, I'm done with this shit.
Made in the U.S.A. - it tried to be a hopeful story of two lost siblings struggling to find a place. I think. Its muddled, vague message about the importance of family is nice but bland beyond compare. Plus, a rape scene that is solely there for shock value. By Billie Letts.
The Secret Desires of a Governess - Tiffany Clare's tepid romance of a young governess and a scruffy but completely jacked English lord. Don't know why I read it. Go watch Superbad instead.
Ten Things I Hate About Me - a Lebenese-Muslim-Australian with an identity crisis navigates high school. I wish I could have like this, but it failed to say anything new about the need to break through barriers to find oneself. Not terribly bad - probably the best book on this list - but not anything to crow about. By Randa Abdel-Fattah.
A Good Woman - a perfect woman suffers some minor setbacks, and we're supposed to feel sorry for her. I had no patience for this limp Danielle Steel book, especially when the only really interesting character disappears after Act 1. Despite mild drama that arises from snooty society pals and an unwarranted rape scene (wow, could there be a pattern here?), it fails even as a guilty pleasure.
The Phantom of the Opera - this apparently classic novel purports that it's what inside that counts - and what's inside is a homocidal maniac with a raging ego. Opera singer Christine has been receiving singing lessons from a mysterious figure, and her boyfriend is jealous. An unnamed Arabic man ends up saving the day. Let me repeat that: a heroic man of Middle Eastern descent is the only one who stands up to the crazy kill-happy opera loving monster, and we don't even get to know his name. And we're meant to feel sorry for the Phantom. Bwah. By Gaston LeRoux, who was probably just pissed that he lost to the Beast.
Most surprising read of the year: Movers and Fakers: An Alphas Novel by Lisi Harrison, whose name had to be designed by a committee. Sure, the title's kind of stupid, but the characters are sweet and just the right amount of sassy. The sci-fi aspect to the setting - an all-girls school for elite inventors and artists - provides some, dare I say, quirkiness to the occasionally superficial storyline.
Best example of an "average" book: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. It offered a slightly new twist on an old story - the love triangle. Sometimes cute, sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, but it never strays out of anybody's comfort zone. I'm neither a fan nor a hater, because its blandness didn't inspire me one way or the other.
That's it for 2011. Of course, there were plenty of other choice books that I've read over the months. I hope there will be plenty more in the coming year.
Anyway, as I looked over the entries from the past year, I was surprised at the variety of books I've read: fiction, nonfiction, essay, adult and young adult, even one (1) Christian fiction novel. I've also read some real classics - including Les Miserables, which took me a few months to finish and unfortunately I've yet to get around writing up a review/reflection. All my other readings have been dutifully recorded, however, and why stall any longer? Here are the most memorable books I've read in 2011, for better or ill.
How They Met & Other Stories - a short story collection by David Levithan. Sweet, sappy, heartbreaking, and introspective, it made me giddy with admiration for Levithan's lovely prose and characters that feel like friends. A real treat for romantics, and a relaxing read for the rest of us.
Looks - featuring a straightfoward plot and complex characterization, to say that it's a story of two outsiders trying to find their place would be underselling it. The prose is so deft and lovely that it elevates the book into something truly special. Madeleine George creates scenes that are taut with tension and stir the reader's emotions. I took a chance on this book, and boy did it pay off.
Middlemarch - this was a reading assignment that I had, and a brick of a novel, but I ended up digging the story of idealistic young people and stodgy traditionalists who need to get with the times. George Eliot's epic centers around the denizens of an English town in the 1830s and the mistakes they make - marrying the wrong person, disrespecting social codes, covering up past scandals. Juicy, but also respectful of its flawed characters.
Almost Perfect - this unconventional love story may be the first of its kind to be available for a quote-unquote mainstream audience. Logan has a crush on the captivating new girl, but she's breaking her own rule by hanging out with him. Her secret could be the end of them ... or not, if Logan decides it doesn't matter. Unfortunately, it may not be up to him. From first-timer Brain Katcher, who's a bit rough around the edges but is nevertheless an effective writer.
Gods & Omens - this Terry Pratchett-Neil Gaiman creation boasts great characters, an epic plot, a message about free will and choice, and plenty of silliness. It posits the question, "What do you do when the Apocalypse is about to happen but no one can find the Antichrist?" which I didn't even think was a pressing question before reading. But it is when these two fantasy authors are answering it.
The Historian - well, it's a book about hunting down Dracula. That's the short version. A novel that blends horror, history, Eastern European politics, and folklore together, the fact that it's hard to pin down actually works greatly in its favor. It helps that there are also great, heroic, smart characters who sacrifice themselves to the chase. Elizabeth Kostova's mastery of plot and attention to detail is pretty damn impressive, too.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt faithfully recounts the murder trial of a popular antiques dealer in Savannah, Georgia. It's even better than it sounds. Filled with larger-than-life characters and slices of town life, this nonfiction book is endlessly fascinating. It has to be read to be believed.
Very LeFreak - a college student who's too tech savvy for her own good needs to get her life back on track - and everyone but her realizes it. Rachel Cohn's Very is flippant, annoying, daffy, and totally deserving of your time, if not your sympathy. A nice (and surprising) subplot about finding love makes this a keeper.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - two teens realize they have the same name, and their lives intersect in unexpecting ways. David Levithan (yes, again) and John Green weave two tales of love and redemption into one fucking sweet book. My vote for best book character of 2011: Tiny Cooper.
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland - Patton Oswalt writes about his childhood, creepy stand-up experiences, working in Hollywood, and the differences between a zombie personality, a spaceship personality, and a wasteland personality. Weirdness abounds. The book's only flaw? Too damn short.
And now, the worst of 2011:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel - by Jane Austen and someone named Seth added the stuff about the zombies. Believe me when I say that the title is the most interesting thing about this adaptation. I was underwhelmed by the original P&P&Z, and the ill-conceived sketches that populate the graphic novel offered little excitement. Maybe I shouldn't expect these kinds of parodies to have some bite to them.
Guitar Girl - Sarra Manning's conventional story about a conventional girl who becomes a famous punk musician. I'd add something about this book hitting all the wrong notes, but I'd like to think I'm better than that. Go read Lemonade Mouth instead.
Sweet Valley High #4: Out All Night [2008 Reissue] - weak and annoying, this retooling of a classic guilty pleasure just makes me want to go to sleep. Seriously, I'm done with this shit.
Made in the U.S.A. - it tried to be a hopeful story of two lost siblings struggling to find a place. I think. Its muddled, vague message about the importance of family is nice but bland beyond compare. Plus, a rape scene that is solely there for shock value. By Billie Letts.
The Secret Desires of a Governess - Tiffany Clare's tepid romance of a young governess and a scruffy but completely jacked English lord. Don't know why I read it. Go watch Superbad instead.
Ten Things I Hate About Me - a Lebenese-Muslim-Australian with an identity crisis navigates high school. I wish I could have like this, but it failed to say anything new about the need to break through barriers to find oneself. Not terribly bad - probably the best book on this list - but not anything to crow about. By Randa Abdel-Fattah.
A Good Woman - a perfect woman suffers some minor setbacks, and we're supposed to feel sorry for her. I had no patience for this limp Danielle Steel book, especially when the only really interesting character disappears after Act 1. Despite mild drama that arises from snooty society pals and an unwarranted rape scene (wow, could there be a pattern here?), it fails even as a guilty pleasure.
The Phantom of the Opera - this apparently classic novel purports that it's what inside that counts - and what's inside is a homocidal maniac with a raging ego. Opera singer Christine has been receiving singing lessons from a mysterious figure, and her boyfriend is jealous. An unnamed Arabic man ends up saving the day. Let me repeat that: a heroic man of Middle Eastern descent is the only one who stands up to the crazy kill-happy opera loving monster, and we don't even get to know his name. And we're meant to feel sorry for the Phantom. Bwah. By Gaston LeRoux, who was probably just pissed that he lost to the Beast.
Most surprising read of the year: Movers and Fakers: An Alphas Novel by Lisi Harrison, whose name had to be designed by a committee. Sure, the title's kind of stupid, but the characters are sweet and just the right amount of sassy. The sci-fi aspect to the setting - an all-girls school for elite inventors and artists - provides some, dare I say, quirkiness to the occasionally superficial storyline.
Best example of an "average" book: Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin. It offered a slightly new twist on an old story - the love triangle. Sometimes cute, sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, but it never strays out of anybody's comfort zone. I'm neither a fan nor a hater, because its blandness didn't inspire me one way or the other.
That's it for 2011. Of course, there were plenty of other choice books that I've read over the months. I hope there will be plenty more in the coming year.
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