Top Reads of 2011

My Favorite Books of 2011

I’ve always been a regular reader, but in late February of this year I realized the pace of my reading was no match for the ever-growing pile of books on my nightstand. Frankly, reading one book a week isn’t making a significant dent in the aforementioned pile, but I’m consistently chipping away at it, and that feels good. I’ve read over 40 books since February 25th.

I can’t overstate it enough—IT FEELS GOOD TO READ A BOOK A WEEK. The book-a-week challenge is the one area in my life where I haven’t fallen short of my goals. (See my attempts at writing two pages a day and my hope of eliminating sugar from my diet. Good times.)

While I enjoy announcing my book-of-the-week choices on the blog, I do not review those books in any formal way other than putting an asterisk by my favorites. I have no talent whatsoever for writing reviews, nor do I particularly enjoy reading reviews of a novel before I’ve read it for fear that the reviewers will give too much away, which they almost always do.

I do, however, LOVE making lists. And yes, I realize 2011 is still going strong. But if the New York Times can publish their “100 Notable Books of 2011” list on November 21st and their “Top Reads of 2011” today, then I feel justified announcing my favorites. Please note, I enjoyed all of the books on my reading log, otherwise I would not have read each one to the end. The books listed below, (mostly fiction, one memoir, and one book of essays) made it my top ten because I’ve found myself thinking about them long after turning the last page.

I would have written a summary for each of my choices; instead I linked to the good people at Barnes and Noble since they already provide excellent information on their website. And I had a baby three weeks ago. I can only do so much.

MY FAVORITE READS OF 2011 (in alphabetical order by author)

NOT THAT YOU ASKED: RANTS, EXPLOITS, AND OBSESSIONS by Steve Almond

THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

BELONG TO ME by Marisa do los  Santos

THE KITCHEN DAUGHTER by Jael McHenry

THE BIRD SISTERS by Rebecca Rasmussen

SLOW MOTION by Dani Shapiro

THE LITTLE BRIDE by Anna Solomon

THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU by Jonathan Tropper

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Nina Badzin hosts the podcast Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship. She's been writing about friendship since 2014, co-leads the writing groups at ModernWell in Minneapolis, and reviews 30+ books a year on her website.

53 Responses

  1. Thanks for the great list! I will add the ones I haven’t read yet to my “to read” pile.

    I definitely don’t write my “books in review” post until January 1 because I am fiercely opposed to holiday creep 😉

    1. I feel a little guilty for writing it so early, but I’m probably going to take a blogging “maturity leave” at the end of December and beginning of January so I decided to go for it. Looking forward to seeing your list!

  2. Nina, LOVE your list. I am proud to say I have actually read 4 of them. And if you haven’t yet, you MUST read “The Invisible Bridge.”

    Dana

  3. Nina, great choices for your top 10 books. I’ve read several of them and have Bird Sisters in my TBR pile. Also, I’ve been inspired and attempted the one a week. Being the neurotic I am, some weeks I read more than one, then three weeks go by and well … The list began in October and I’m already two short of my goal. Three to five times each year I do “reviews” and I think I do fall into the trap of “telling” far too much of the plot. Oh well, my intentions were good. I think I am better with my writing goals, but will continue to keep up with my “Read to Write” series. Reading is a great quiet time for a new mom, so enjoy 🙂

  4. Great list, Nina. I’ve read some of them and there are some new ones I’ll have to pick up. I love reading! I have a huge stack of books on my nightstand I really need to read. But I just love them!

  5. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see Jennifer Weiner on your list. She is so real and not commercial-crap and yet everybody dismisses her as “chick lit.” She writes “women’s fiction” at its best. Great list.

    1. Oh! I’ve read every one of her books. I read FLY AWAY HOME this year as well, which I liked, but I loved THEN CAME YOU. I read everything she writes . . . blog posts, tweets, etc! I’m an uber-fan.

  6. I recently read ‘The Help’ and loved it. Some of the others in your list are on my TBR pile. I look forward to reading those soon!

  7. Great list Neen! I am currently reading The Paris Wife (so good) but will definitely check out a couple of these when I’m done.

  8. Just got THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy yesterday — am looking forward to reading it on your and other blogging friends’ recommendations! I’ll also look forward to checking out the other books on your list that I haven’t read — can’t wait!! (p.s. still can’t make the book a week, you are a reading & writing machine! IMPRESSIVE!!)

  9. Wow–what a great list! I have a lot of favorites in common with you. 🙂

    I’ll have to add Dani Shapiro’s SLOW MOTION to my list. I’ve only read DEVOTION, which I loved.

    Thanks for the recommendations.

    1. I read DEVOTION this year as well. I liked it, but I really loved SLOW MOTION. I thought I read somewhere that SLOW MOTION was in movie development. Did I imagine that? Will have to Google later . . .

  10. Excellent! More books for my “to read” list. I’ve loved all the books that you’ve recommended so I’m excited for to take a stab at your top 10.
    I must confess that when you started your challenge to read a book a week I decided to do the same. Then I was flying through my reading list so I bumped it up to 100 books for the year and I was right on track to accomplish that goal when I started to read A Game of Thrones. While I love the series, the books are LONG and not the easiest read. At the same time I burnt myself out on reading books for my book club – books that were good but not my preferred style and there for not always enjoyable. I think I over did it because I ended up at 75 books read for a month and a half and I couldn’t finish a book to save my life. I’m now at 78 books and I won’t be reaching my goal of 100, but that’s ok, I gave it an honorable try. If I cheat and count the books I’ve listened to on tape then I think I’ll make it but I haven’t decided if I’m going to go that route or not.
    Are you going to continue to do a book a week next year?

    1. Seriously–78 is AMAZING. Get rid of that mindset that you’re short of your goal. That’s a crazy amount of books!

      YES–I’m for sure going to continue the book a week schedule. I love it!

    1. Well, as you know, I devoured the trilogy, but the first in the series was by far my favorite. It was so original . . . so unlike ANYTHING I’d ever read. Therefore #2 and #3 couldn’t have the same impact on me since I’d by then read #1 and wasn’t as shocked by certain elements.

  11. Great list, Nina! Many of these are already on my TBR list (a growing pile). I’ve just done a similar blog list. When I find a book I love, I just want everyone to know about it.

  12. Congrats on your baby!

    I loved The Bird Sisters as well. I def want to check out some of the others you’ve read. 🙂

    (Suggest added “The Other Life” and “32 Candles” to the mix.)

    1. Great! I love hearing recommendations. I read THE OTHER LIFE this year and liked it, but didn’t love enough for the top-ten. I’ve heard great things about 32 CANDLES!

  13. Many of these are new to me (I get swamped in MG and YA) but look so intriguing! I’ll do a list in late December or early January. It’s been a good reading year for me, too. And I haven’t wished you ALL WONDERFUL THINGS on the arrival of your new baby. Welcome to the world, baby Badzin!

  14. I love book lists! The only problem is I’ve already finalized my picks for the 2012 To Be Read Challenge, and now after reading yours, I’m having second thoughts. LOL. The Bird Sisters immediately caught my eye, added it to my goodreads queue, and The Kitchen Daughter is already in a TBR pile. The only ones I’ve also read so far are The Help and Hunger Games. Loved both of them!

    Thanks for sharing the recommendations, off to see what the NYT suggested. Out of curiosity, did you ever read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender? It was on all the top lists last year, and I didn’t care for that one. I loved the beginning and for me, it fizzled by the end. Curious if I’m alone in that one or if anyone else thought so? Hmm

    1. Okay, that is HARD to pre-pick your 2012 reads. Wow! It would drive me crazy to keep hearing about great books I couldn’t read until the next year. At the same time, I respect the organization and goal setting.

      I really like Bender’s short stories. I agree on the novel. I’m ashamed to say after about three chapters I put it down.

  15. I am going to add your list to my list! Some of these novels look extremely interesting. Thank you for helping stack up the pile next to my bedside 🙂

  16. Great list, Nina. I love Devotion and now on your rec will pick up Slow Motion. Anna Solomon is from my home town and her book has been on my TBR list. Love seeing her book doing so well.
    And you! CONGRATULATIONS! a new baby! Enjoy every minute and don’t worry about anything else.

    1. Thanks Laura! I mentioned to Erika above that I’ve read both memoirs. Really like DEVOTION but loved SLOW MOTION. And yes, Anna is on fire! Thanks for the baby congrats. 🙂

  17. Love every book on your list! I know people who read THE HELP and that was their book for the year! You are a voracious reader, aren’t you? Yes you are!

    Anyway, then I went back to your other list and was happy to see some titles I did not recognize. I will write them down and place them in my **most special place. If you haven’t read LITTLE BEE yet, I really recommend it. I just finished it, and I’m still processing. I don’t know how he did that. Seriously.

    NOTE: **Stuck inside my kitchen door where I keep the stapler and the tape and the ibuprofen and my random ideas for future blogs. It’s not a great system, but it works. Maybe.

    1. LITTLE BEE is for sure on the list. I keep seeing the title everywhere. And nobody seems to be able to describe it. I guess I’ll have to see for myself.

      Love your system–you crack me up!

  18. This is a ROCKIN list, Nina. I’ve read 7 books on it and now can get to the other 3. Btw, I told you THE HUNGER GAMES would get you! (Or maybe that wasn’t you. Maybe it was one of 17,000 other people I confessed my addiction to.)

    Love THE BIRD SISTERS and THE LITTLE BRIDE especially. xxx

    1. I talk about THE HUNGER GAMES all the time too. It’s sort of embarrassing at this point. Cannot wait to see the movie. Thank goodness I had the baby now so I can get out without him by March!

  19. Agreed with all above. Trust your recs! On my list this year was Little Bee (Cleave), Mudbound (Jordan), I am the Messenger (Zusak) — if you liked The Book Thief this is a very different read but spiritual and engaging, The Art of Racing in the Rain (Stein) and my surprise favorite, City of Thieves (Benioff).

    1. Thanks Rob! I remember you being a big reader. I’ll check out your recommendations too. I actually put down THE BOOK THIEF after a few chapters. But every serious reader and writer out there has admonished me for it. I suppose I ought to read through to the end.

  20. Ah, I love end-of-the-year lists! I’m happy for them to start early, especially when they give me ideas for what to read next. The only book on this list that I’ve read is The Hunger Games (which rocked). Ok, how do you manage to read a book a week with four children? (I realize you’ve only had four children for a short time this year, but I still don’t understand how you read all those books with three children.) You give me hope that I’ll still have time to read when I’m a mother (of human babies and not just my pups–though they do distract me from reading sometimes).

    1. Hi Andrea! I get that question a lot. The answer isn’t pretty–I don’t sleep that much. I’m not saying that I don’t need the sleep. I wish that were the case. I’m just one of those people who puts her head on the pillow and is suddenly wide awake. I’d say I read for about an hour a night. Not too bad in terms of keeping myself up. I’m usually asleep by midnight. Now I’m reading a bit when I nurse . . . but I’m tweeting then too sometimes I must admit!

  21. Thanks for sharing this list! I’ve only read two but will explore some of the others. BTW, one of my teenage daughter’s favorite novels is The Hunger Games.

    I just finished Stephen Greenblatt’s Swerve (the 2011 National Book Award nonfiction winner) and loved it. Now my favorite genre is historical biography, but as with the best of narrative nonfiction, parts read like a novel.

  22. This is a great list Nina! I happened to stumble upon your blog, and I’m really glad I did. Generally I always ask people what their favorite books are before I take their advice on what to read next, and seeing that you like several of the books I’ve read this year, I might have to go out and buy the books that you’ve recommended that I’ve not yet read!

  23. I loved Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand so much that I might read it again. (for a taste, BBC 4 is in the midst of an adaptation of it for the Books at Bedtime Series this very week. Moonwalking with Einstein is a fantastic journey into the world of mnemonics.

    My two shekels…

  24. I wish I could read a book a week! I’ve had several books on my to-read list for quite a while and I’m hoping to get to them over Christmas… but I’ve also realized that I spend time blogging and Facebooking when I could be reading instead, so maybe it’s just a matter of priorities! 🙂 I saw the movie for The Help and LOVED it, so maybe someday I’ll read the book (as the book is usually better than the movie). My mother-in-law read one of Maria do los Santos’ books and I tried to start it, but couldn’t get into it. Maybe I should give it a second try, as someone else recently recommended it very highly. I’ll post my top reads in early January. 🙂

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Hi, I'm Nina

HI, I’M NINA BADZIN. I’m a writer fascinated by the dynamics of friendship, and I’ve been answering anonymous advice questions on the topic since 2014. I now also answer them on my podcast, Dear Nina! I’m a creative writing instructor at ModernWell in Minneapolis, a freelance writer and editor, and an avid reader who reviews 50 books a year. Welcome to my site! 

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Hi, I'm Nina

HI, I’M NINA BADZIN. I’m a writer fascinated by the dynamics of friendship, and I’ve been answering anonymous advice questions on the topic since 2014. I now also answer them on my podcast, Dear Nina! I’m a creative writing instructor at ModernWell in Minneapolis, a freelance writer and editor, and an avid reader who reviews 50 books a year. Welcome to my site! 

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I send an email once or twice a month with the latest friendship letters, podcast episodes, book reviews, recipes, and more.

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