My Top 9 Books for 2011
Last week, our How I Write series laid out our writer’s toolkit and resources. This week we were asked, “Which books that you’ve read this year would you put into a time capsule for 2011?” It’s funny how you can almost tell who picked the questions each week by how whimsical or practical they are. This week’s question was put on the list by Alexia, but I picked it.
I read a wide variety of books. Our house is filled with Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance, Non-fiction, and even numerous collections of poems and literary short stories. Oh and comic books. I don’t just mean graphic novels, I mean individual issues as well as collected editions. Yes, many of those are not mine, but I’m often just looking for something different to read.
I wish I had kept up with keeping my reading list current in GoodReads, but I’m going to make an effort to do so again this coming year.
In reverse amazon purchase order, here’s my top 9 books for 2011:
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The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne I love the way Joanna Bourne uses language. That shouldn’t be a secret by now. Adrian’s story was one I eagerly awaited and while it wasn’t what I was expecting at all, in no way did it disappoint. In addition to her command of language in general, she also uses it in such a way that her characters are expertly drawn and brought to life with their very own voices. |
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Pure Red by Danielle Joseph I read a lot of YA, mostly to know what my daughter’s reading, but also to scout out great books for her to read. This one caught my eye because it tackles the topic of searching for your passion. An excellent read for anyone on this journey of self-discovery, I can only wish it’d been around when I was my daughter’s age. |
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A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare This is the first book in The Spindle Cove series and it packs a wonderful sense of humor and also addresses some serious topics at the same time. I fell in love with the main characters, but also several of the secondary characters. If you haven’t read the companion novella for this series: Once Upon a Winter’s Eve  , You’ll want to go grab a copy and settle in for a cozy winter’s night read. |
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We Are Not Alone by Kristen Lamb This book is a must read for the person who isn’t technically savvy or is new to social media. I sent a copy to my father-in-law, it was so useful. I’m still working on fixing a couple of mistakes Lamb pointed out from learning the hard way, first hand experience. Great advice, very personably and entertaining voice, and a great sense of cheering you on in your efforts. Lamb also encourages people to use the #MYWANA hashtag on twitter for additional conversations with others in the same boat. |
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Thief of Hope by Cindy Young-Turner One of my friends from college published her first book this year. She had me at “thief”. But you add in a fantasy world with an interesting magic and political atmopshere, and you’ve got a fantastic read. |
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Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore Yep, more YA. I know want to go read more about the other Goodnight witches. Paranormal with lots of wit and real life dilemmas for the characters. I have yet to read a book by Clement-Moore that I didn’t love. |
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Too Hot to Touch by Louisa Edwards If you love food and you love steamy romances, you need to indulge yourself with the richness of Louisa Edwards’ culinary explorations. She’s earned her kitchen credentials and is a bona fide foodie and it shows in her books. |
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Story Engineering by Larry Brooks I love Larry Brook’s website Story Fix Lots of practical information for this theoretical plotter. I’m not sure I’d recommend it for pantsers, but if you’re interested in what makes a story work, this is a great read. |
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The War of Art by Steven Pressfield I was on a big kick last year with Sun Tzu’s The Art of War and The Art of War for Writers: Fiction Writing Strategies, Tactics, and Exercises  by James Scott Bell, so this one by Pressfield was a natural follow-up. Learning to be an artist is definitely a lot different than strictly practical professions such as business and economics. You may need some of those skills, as well as many more today, as artists are no longer relegated to garrets or ivory towers. |
YOUR TURN: What books would you put in a time capsule for this year?
If you’d like to see what’s in my friends’ time capsules, you can find their blogs here:
* Alexia Reed * Kimberly Farris *
* Danie Ford * Emma G. Delaney * Angeleque Ford *
Interesting list. I like the Thief of Hope especially, sounds cool!
Thanks, Kaitlin. If you pick it up, I hope you enjoy it!
Came across my copy of The War of Art this evening. Thinking of reading it along with Art and Fear. 🙂
I’m not familiar with that title. DH may disown me but I’ll probably check it out.
Any time capsule I loaded up this year would have to include my debut SF novel, Twin-Bred, released in October 2011. . . .
Congrats on your release, Karen. What other books that you’ve read in 2011 would you include in the time capsule?
(I have to admit, I debated over approving this comment. However, because it didn’t include a link, I choose to believe it was made in an honest attempt to answer the question posed and not just because a link was posted on a forum as a place to promote 2011 releases. At least get together with a buddy and cross promote, please?)
I also wasn’t sure if my comment was appropriate, but I figured if it wasn’t, you’d nix it. Nor was I sure what qualified a book for time-capsule status. Must it be a book that particularly captures some aspect of 2011, or of the early 21st century? A book that made 2011 significant for the one commenting (my case)? Or could it just be a terrific book I read this year (as your response suggests)?
In the latter category, I’d include Mary Doria Russell’s wonderful historical novel Doc; Elizabeth Moon’s Remnant Population (which, like The Novel That Must Not Be Named, deals with human-alien communication); Kelley Eskridge’s Solitaire (also SF); and These Is My Words, historical fiction by Nancy E. Turner.
No problem, Karen. I just didn’t want the comment thread to become a “Hey! Buy mine too: <link>” kinda thing.
My group also had some confusion over the intent of the question as well. The original question was “Which books that you’ve read this year would you put into a time capsule for 2011?” But I agree, I think ones that made 2011 significant in some way are also fair game, which is why I ended up approving your comment about the book you released. That’s a SIGNIFICANT milestone for you and I hope I didn’t take away from the celebration of it for you in any way as that was not my intent at all.
I know we have the Elizabeth Moon book, but I’m so far behind in my SF/F reading it’s not funny. I haven’t heard of the others, but the historical ones have piqued my interest.