When I first made the decision to read 100 books in 365 days, I really didn't think it would be that difficult. I hadn't done the math -- it meant reading an average of two books a week -- and I had overestimated my reading ability. Until 2011, I was largely a "re-reader". I had a bookshelf of books that I knew I liked, that I had read, some of them to tatters, hundreds of times. I'm fairly certain I could recite To Kill a Mockingbird and most of Gone With the Wind. Most often, if I felt like reading, I would reach out, grab a book that I was familiar with, open it up to a random passage that I liked, and start reading. I didn't branch out into new books, I didn't read things from cover-to-cover most of the time.
And then I set out to read 100 books in a year, and I realized that my old methods weren't going to cut it. First off, I didn't own 100 books. Second, most of the books I did have? Nonfiction history, and all over 300 pages long. There was no way that I was going to read 100 of those books in a year without some serious warping of the space-time continuum. Such a vast quantity of books meant fiction, or at least, shorter nonfiction, and I was going to have to branch out a bit.
I started dipping into genres I hadn't read in years. I realized that my previous prejudice for Young Adult literature was keeping me from some really enjoyable books. I re-read some old favorites from my youth, and discovered that I didn't like them quite so much at almost-30 as I did as a teenager. I discovered books that absolutely made my spirit soar. I realized how much I truly love reading. I realized how difficult it was, reading 100 books in a year.
But how incredibly rewarding it has been.
Goal: 100 books.
Achievement: 100 books.
Pages Read: 35,573 (holy crap)
Best Book of 2011: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
I'm not going to lie and say that this decision was easy. I read SO MANY amazing books this year. But of all of these, Pillars stands out, head and shoulders above the rest. This is the book to read. It is phenomenal.
Most Disappointing Book of 2011: Abandon by Meg Cabot
I wanted to like this book. Meg Cabot was one of my favorite authors when I was younger -- I loved her "Princess Diaries" series. But Abandon was awful from the get-go. Trite plot, simpering Bella Swan-esque female character, brooding and unrelateable male character, zero story arch, boring cliffhanger ending. There was nothing good about this book except the cover. It did have a good cover.
Most Surprising (in a good way!) Book of 2011: The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
I had all but given up on Philippa Gregory's "historical fiction" after reading The Other Boleyn Girl and its abysmal "sequel", The Boleyn Inheritance. But The White Queen was really good! I enjoyed it more than I ever expected, although I was once again brought back to earth with its boring sequel, The Red Queen. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.
Book You Recommended Most To People in 2011: The Pillars of the Earth and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.
This is a toss-up. Depending on if the person liked long books and historical fiction, I would recommend Pillars. I would recommend Hunger Games to anyone (my husband, a non-reader, is reading it right now!).
Best Series You Discovered in 2011: The Hunger Games
Close second (thus far): Divergent by Veronica Roth. I'm reading The Bronze Horseman right now though, which will probably qualify as a discovery in 2011, and it's definitely giving Divergent a run for the money.
Favorite New Authors You Discovered in 2011: John Krakauer, Antonia Frasier, Suzanne Collins.
Best Book That Was Out Of Your Comfort Zone or Genre: Divergent
After the debacle that was Twilight, I swore off YA lit. I'm glad I re-thought that.
Most Thrilling, Can't-Put-It-Down Book of 2011: Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Such a sad book, but so amazing. I read it in one day.
Book You Most Anticipated in 2011: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Everyone talked this book up to me. Once I read it, I understood why. It was awesome.
Favorite Cover of a Book: Shine by Lauren Myracle.
Most Memorable Character(s): Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, Jack Jackson from The Pillars of the Earth.
I divided it into male and female. Those were by far my two favorite.
Most Beautifully-Written Book of 2011: Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
This book reads like poetry. It is just beautiful.
Book That Had the Greatest Impact On You In 2011: Into Thin Air by John Krakauer
This book haunted me long after I put it down. It was just amazing.
Book You Can't Believe You Waited Until 2011 To Read: The Pillars of the Earth
My parents have had this book knocking about their house for as long as I can remember.
Favorite Passage/Quote From a Book in 2011: The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
"The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself, and die singing. At the very instant the thorn enters, there is no awareness of the dying to come: it simply sings and sings until there is not the life left to utter another note. But we, when we put the thorns in our breast, we know. We understand. And still we do it. Still, we do it."
Book Read in 2011 That You're Likely to Read in 2012: The Hunger Games, The Pillars of the Earth, Sarah's Key, The Help
All of the above.
Book Scene That Left You Reeling and Wanting to Talk About It: To nobody's surprise, The Pillars of the Earth
The end is astounding. Especially to someone who is into English history. I saw the ending coming as I reached the last few pages and it blew. My. Mind. Absolutely amazing. Can't recommend it enough.
...So where does this leave me?
I won't be setting a goal of 100 books in 2012. For one thing, I'm going back to school in January, and I'm not going to have as much free time to read. My goal for 2012 is to read 50 "new-to-me" books, and however many others I can do after that. I have a lot of re-reading that I want to do...so we'll see.
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