Favorite Reads of 2011

This year I challenged  myself to read at least 200 books. Now for some bibliophiles this is a paltry number but I thought it be realistic. I have always been an avid reader but I never thought about how to track the many books that I'd read in any given year. I have become quite active with Goodreads.com and also with sharing my thought about books with others here on this page (not that too many people care about what I have to say). Since beginning the challenge, I have read books by some of my favorite authors, people I have never heard of and some that I haven't read in a long time. Part of the reason that I have been exposed to so many different authors is the Kindle. In November 2010, I gave one to myself as an early  birthday present and it was one of the best gifts I have even received.  I have access to books on my wish list and books by authors unknown to me; some of which I have become fans of.   even with the Kindle, however, the best books I have read this year have been in  print form:  The Shack, Jane Eyre,  One Day and The Help.  Funny how these books were ones that I had been putting off  reading because of their popularity and mass appeal.  Most of the books that I read are of the many romance genres, so it no surpirse about why I loved all of these books.   Each book was based on a different romacntic principle but it was the powerful emotions, truth of words, and beuty of language that have kept thse books in mind throughout this year.

 

I read The Shack after seeing a co-worker reading it and hearing her praise the message that could be found there. Ironically, this was a person whom I had had a few tense words with on more than one occasion.  I don't think I will ever stop talking about who I met in this book.  

When I was in high school, I looked at the tome that was Jane Eyre and decided that I would take a shorter route to reading this book.  Even in college and after, I tried again to attack this book. No go.  Finally,  I relented when I found out that there was a new movie adaptation of the novel coming out (Spring 2011) I relented and downloaded a copy to my Kindle. What I found was one of the most romantic novels ever written and I wanted to kick my high school self in the toukas for not reading it back then.  

I saw the trailers for One Day, I knew I had to see this movie. And then to my dismay, I recalled that this was also a book that I refused to read (I don't even know why).  But since I have a serious girl crush on Anne Hathaway, I knew that I would have to read the book before being able to see the film version. I have real issue with seeing a move based on a book that I haven't read ; another symptom of being a bibliophile.  Such beauty of language, humor and one of the best love stories I have read.  One review I read on the book remarked that it wasn't that romantic because there wasn't the expected HEA. Oh, what fools these mortals be.

Truth be told, I had no real desire to read a book, written by a white woman,  about  Black servants living in Mississippi during the Civil Rights era. My phantom memories of the period have kept me guarded and wary of what the other side thinks.  I read this book after getting the recommendation from  one of my high school teachers. The Help has been elevated, for me, to the level of The Color Purple in terms of womanist fiction.  I can't really say if that was Stockett's intention but that the way I read it.   Often our exposure to the discussion of race in fiction is focused on the male or family experience; The Help is a unique look at how it affects woman in particular.  Another book that shall have permanent shelf space.

As the  new year comes, I already have an eye out for books that will be coming out by my favorite authors but I am also awaiting what I will find in the stacks. Books that I have looked over and forgotten or maybe never even discovered.  Already I have The Read Tent, A Reliable Wife, Things Fall Apart collecting friendly dust in my bedroom. And since books don't expire, no doubt I will find some others just as deserving of a  new reader.