Of course, Janet Evanovich makes that list of favorites. She released two books in the Stephanie Plum series this year, Smokin' Seventeen and Explosive Eighteen. She also released Wicked Appetite, the first book in a new series featuring Diesel, a character from her "in between the numbers" Plum adventures. Ms. Evanovich's books are hilarious, her characters charming and lovable, and her plots outrageous. A true romp every time you open the cover of one of her books.
In our book club this year, we read five books. Three of those five make my favorites this year. The Kitchen House, a novel about a white immigrant girl who is brought up as an indentured servant on a plantation; The Help, a heartbreaking but at the same time funny and uplifting story about household maids in the South during the 1960s; and The Book Thief. The Book Thief is one of the most moving, incredible books I have ever read, and became one of my favorite books of all time. I believe that this book should be taught to high school students, and should be on every book club's reading list. This is a book that will become a classic. The author, Marcus Zusak, is an artist with the written word. I just cannot say enough about the power of this novel.
There were a few contemporary fiction novels that I read this year, recommended to me by friends that have also made my favorites of 2011. The Art of Racing in the Rain, a novel about a man and his dog that touches your soul; Artichoke's Heart, a novel about an overweight girl who has had enough, and finally decides that it is time to make a change, and learns that there was a really special person there all along; and, Garden Spells, a contemporary fiction novel with a little fantasy mixed in, that was sweet and satisfying. I also read the last of the Hunger Games series, Mocking Jay, which was just as captivating as the first two.
Finally, I started reading the Outlander series, epic novels about a woman from the 1960s who accidentally steps through mystical stones and is taken 200 years back in time. Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, and Voyager. Each book is over 1000 pages of adventure. I finished the fourth book in the series (The Drums of Autumn) in January 2012, and plan to start on the fifth soon.
Books Read in 2011:
- The Witching Hour
- Mocking Jay
- The Cat Who Said Cheese
- The Rose Labyrinth (book club)
- Used to be Lovers
- Wicked Appetite
- Outlander
- Listen
- Garden Spells
- The Weight of Water
- Last Voyage of the Valentina (book club)
- The Age of Innocence
- Artichoke's Heart
- Just Revenge
- Dead Reckoning
- Rage of Angels
- Dragonfly in Amber
- Cold Service
- Sizzling Sixteen
- Smokin' Seventeen
- The Book Thief (book club)
- Millie's Fling
- Missing Pieces
- Weddings Can Be Murder
- The Art of Racing in the Rain
- Life Expectancy
- My Best Friend's Girl
- Heart of a Witch
- White Hot
- The Kitchen House (book club)
- Voyager
- Cry Sanctuary
- Bright Young Things
- The Help (book club)
- Man Law
- Fatal Judgement
- The Last Juror
- Safe Harbor
- Live to Tell
- Explosive Eighteen
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