Friday, June 24, 2011

fave reads of 2011 ~ the books



1. Favourite book read so far in 2011
regarding my faves ~ they aren't necessarily *the best* books i read. they are the ones i just love so much (despite their flaws) that i want to hug them, that make me smile whenever i think of them, that make me feel proud whenever i see them beaming at me from my bookshelves ...

i have TWO picks. one adult fiction and one YA:

WHAT ALICE FORGOT is adult and it's liane moriarty, and i love her so. it's whimsical and beautiful and sexy and quirky. <3 and, as i said, it's liane moriarty, so of course it's an absolute fave :)

PSYCH MAJOR SYNDROME is my YA pick. what can i say? i don't imagine it will be anyone elses fave ~ but somehow that makes me feel like it' even more special. i fiercely love it. fiercely.

(and my two runners-up ~ i have to shout-out their awesomeness):
  


these two were compulsively readable ~ PAST PERFECT so funny, cool and different. SAVING JUNE so sexy, ache-y and addictive <3

2. Most powerful book
SPLIT ahh, how i love you <3

3. The most brilliantly funny
all these three had many moments of hilarity and good good times <3


4. Best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read
oh, THE CHOSEN ONE made me ache, you guys :'( and for some reason i was crying heaps in WINTER OF FIRE although i think i was hormonal or something LOL (but i always always get snagged on books with the theme of redemption running through them) 
shout out to: WHERE SHE WENT. so, unlike the ones above, i didn;t actually cry but i felt that emo-pain, haha. very well done O.o
5. Most beautiful story
you guys (!)
6. Fave rainy day comfort read
okay, i had HEAPS for this one (ie a lot of angst in choosing, but moving on ...) EVERY LITTLE THING IN THE WORLD is just gorgeous. and THE GIRL WHO CHASED THE MOON was sweet and smiley and yummy.
7. Best tense, adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award
STILL MISSING was intense. INTENSE O.o (actually, i did have to put it down around page 50 just. to. breathe. for. a. moment). (the second half went a little bit wacky b-grade movie drama ~ however i still thought it was fun-crazy-intense times)


8. The beautiful prose award
SONG OF THE SPARROW <3 delicious book
and i also SO enjoyed FIXING DELILAH's writing. beautifully written

shout outs to: ALASKA by Sue Saliba & THE MIDNIGHT ZOO by Sonya Hartnett,
9. most atmospheric and vivid setting
BURN BRIGHT oh my gosh ~ it's like being in one of those crazy-intense dreams where everythign is hypercolour. fantastically done.
and shout out to DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS because, eww, my skin was literally CRAWLING at times (!) completely authentic (and very convincing book that made me want to OCD-style scrub my house)

Oh (!) and my fave aspect of WATER FOR ELEPHANTS was the setting <3

10. i-so-want-to-go-there award
so completely fun, you guys ~ and i don't think we have anything like it in Australia (?). plus ~ ice cream (!)
11. most original and imaginative
i cannot, in good faith, even consider another book for this, haha. <3
12. best under-appreciated, hidden gem book
loved these two books. a lot :) both 4.5 star reads for me

looking through my list of books read this year, i seem to have A LOT of hidden gem books that i so genuinely recommend (i don't often read the hyped/popular stuff) here's a few runners-up which may or may not be on your radar: 
  • NOTHING LIKE YOU lauren strasnick
  • NO AND ME delphine de vigan
are both books i love a lot (4 star reads)
13. i-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award
sleeper hit of the year! well, i had read no reviews and seen no buzz and then WHAM couldn't put it down. in my top three YA reads this year. (and SWOON). reading this reminded me of reading pre-blogging days and finding a random book and just falling in love with it ~ like crazy (i fan-girled a lot over this one over at goodreads. had a bit of a hyper-in-love moment ;)
14. most haunting story
O.o

O.o
15. outside of my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it
i know (!) me + an angel book (!) who knew? i really loved reading this and can't wait for the sequel (all of a sudden i have a series to follow ~ most books i read are stand-alones ...)
16. series that i'm loving

WATERFALL is just so refreshing and good times. And, well, i am a fan of Carrie Ryan. LOVED the final book in her trilogy ~ a really strong ending.
17.  most memorable voice award
first three i thought of: NOTHING LIKE YOU so sparse and achey. WHERE SHE WENT oh my gosh ~ the angst and heart break so truly compelling and authentically male. and ROOM, haha ~ it's wild and different and certainly memorable.

Shout out to: VIOLENCE 101 (Hamish is a sociopath), NO AND ME, and Georgia from ANGUS, THONGS

18. completely awesome premise award
it's like time-travel into the future/amnesia all rolled into one. BRILLIANT, liane, BRILLIANT
19.  would make the best movie
this just looked like a movie in my head the whole time i read it. and, wahey! it is going to be a movie ;)


20.  want to re-read already
oh ~ well the three books above i have read more than once this year (not going to say how many times i have read, ahh, certain parts, haha)


as for what i plan to re-read before the year is out (from books i have read this year):

Phew. Gosh ~ i had so much fun going through and reminiscing about all the good literary times i have had this year :) and there are still a bundle of books that didn't fall into any category yet (!)


* i didn't choose any books that i read as re-reads from previous years (seeing as they are already my faves and would qualify for lots of good things). i also didn't choose any books i read this year that i didn't particularly like ;)


ALSO: blogger is formatting weirdly ~ putting in funky spaces and squishing some bits up. ARGH (!) Sorry


i'll be back on Monday with my choices for 'the characters' and also 5 covers i love (from books i have read) (see this post for the categories)


and ~ for those of you who are joining in ~ here's the linky. you can link up today or any time during the last week of June :) hope you have fun nominating books for the categories :)

49 comments:

  1. Oh, you have lots of books listed here I want to read! Yay for Song of the Sparrow (thanks for commenting on my review of that one!) Also love the shout-out to Winter of Fire, that book does not get enough recognition. And I enjoyed Unearthly as well - the romance was so sweet!

    I'm wanting to read What Alice Forgot, Past Perfect (sounds so cute!) and Saving June. Also I haven't read Fixing Delilah yet but based on Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer I can definitely see it winning the beautiful prose award.

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  2. Wow so many great books and covers :)
    I love this post, you've given me so many books to add to my TBR list!
    I will have to join in on your fave reads
    Now that i'm on holidays i am going to have to read 'Saving June'
    - abbeys bookshelf

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  3. So many of the books on your list are on my wishlist. I am dying to read What Alice Forgot, Saving June and Psych Major Syndrome.

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  4. I think I need to read psych major syndrom ASAP! Fantastic list (I'll have mine up tomorrow!) Seeing all this Saving June stuff makes me anxious to read it :p Split! God is in the Pancakes! Hehe, you are an awesome book recommender-er, for read :P ANd yes yes yes, blood Red Road like the best of both worlds b/c on one hand it is pretty much a wicked movie and on the other, it has some freaking awesome prose! :)

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  5. THE CHOSEN ONE and FIXING DELILAH are both on my TBR list...I think I might just have to move them up a bit, huh? :) great list!

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  6. I've got copies of Psych Major Syndrome and Every Little Thing in the World to read - sounds like I should make it sooner rather than later :)

    Glad you thought Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging was funny - that entire series is absolutely hilarious.

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  7. I meant to comment earlier that I love this entire idea. I'm obsessed with lists and I think you make some of the best. :) It reminds me of all your Goodreads shelves and how I wish I was that clever. Seriously, I want to steal them you have such a witty and brilliant way of phrasing the categories. I think I will be joining in on a few of the days. I'll be at the lake all next week without internet access and these are the perfect kinds of posts to schedule since I don't have enough time to write up a bunch of reviews.

    And obviously since Saving June appears on the list several times I should bump it up to the top of the TBR, pronto!

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  8. Oh, I forgot to say I totally agree with you on Song of the Sparrow (beautiful!), Never Let Me Go (love the haunting-ness), and What Alice Forgot is coming with me to the lake next week along with my Kindle for Saving June and Burn Bright. :D

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  9. Great list! We have a couple of the same. Saving June for a few, Fixing Deliah and Past Perfect is mentioned a few times on my list too.

    I am also shocked that I haven't read quite a few books on your list (like half of them). Must tackle them immediately :)

    And did I say earlies but this is such an awesome idea!

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  10. I'm really appalled that I have not read MOST of the books on your list! I ordered Psych Major Syndrome at a shop, and then they said that it wasn't in stock anymore. :(( I've been dying to read that one for ages.

    This just goes to show ... there are too many good books out there and sadly I'll be missing out on a lot of them. I'll definitely read some of these in future...

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  11. Ahhhh mate! What a list!

    I can't believe I forgot about What Alice Forgot. I added it to my wishlist ages ago, but somehow it got shuffled back.

    And I've been desperate to read Saving June and Psych Major Syndrome since reading yours and Nic's reviews.

    Now I'm going to have to add Past Perfect to that must read list.

    I hadn't heard of The Midnight Zoo before, so now I'm curious about it. Will have to see what it is about on goodreads.

    I think I appreciate knowing your choices for most beautiful prose award because I've been looking to fill in the gap for myself.

    Most excellent choices, nomes. Thanks so much for hosting. Love, love, love the idea.

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  12. I loved your list! I still need to get my paws on the Midnight Zoo, because I remember your review of it and it sounded amazing. Past Perfect wasn't on my radar but it is now! :D

    Also, I'm so glad you liked Song of the Sparrow that much, because it's such an amazing book!

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  13. Ahh Nomes, what great picks! And such a fantastic idea of yours :)

    I couldn't cut my list down so I did heaps for each category. Yay for Saving June, Where She Went and Burn Bright which I also put on my list.

    Between you and Nic, I really must get a copy of Past Perfect. And actually start Psych Major Syndrome which I bought ages ago when you first reviewed it but haven't gotten to yet :(

    And I really want to read Blood Red Road.

    *sigh* too many!

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  14. Ah so many excellent books and so many books that are on my TBR list! Autumn is going to be a great reading season as they all seem to hit the UK then ;)

    I had so much fun making this list, although I have been a bit repetitive, thanks for the idea :D

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  15. This was fun, though Ive been a bit repetitive , some of your books Ive read previous years but I have Burn Bright on my TBR Pile :)

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  16. I totally have to agree! What Alice Forgot was my Book of the Year last year.
    It was so good! The story, the characters, the writing - it was funny and happy and sad and very memorable :)

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  17. the boyfriend list- man i loved this series like a crazy girl. it was funny and had so much heart and cute and just gah!

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  18. This was such a good idea! I had fun making my list :)

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  19. Nomes! You are awesome! I freaking love your blog!

    Sorry. Random. Don't have time to look over list right now but will return soon with more insightful comment.

    ♥ Trish

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  20. I'm soooo glad you loved Unearthly! It didn't make this list part of the lists, but it still is an awesome read because it has a cowboy! :)

    I loved some of the same books as you, but I read tons of paranormal and those stick in my head more than contemp...kinda sad :(

    Thanks sooooo much for hosting this! It took me forever just to come up with Day One, but worth it!

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  21. I really didn't think I was going to like Unearthly either, I've had bad luck with angel stories in the past, but I LOVED that one so much, so glad you did too! And I need to read Waterfall and Burn Bright, both of those sound amazing and have been getting rave reviews:) Awesome list!

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  22. Loved making my list and loovveedd reading yours... which is formatted way nicer than mine buuuttt I'm not feeling the coding love today. I will definitely be back for day two!

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  23. I love your choices! Some of these are sitting in my TBR pile and I can't wait to get to them.

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  24. lOVE your choices Nomes, there are only a handful here that I've read and you can bet that I'll be putting the others on my TBR list (if they're not there already). So many good books to choose from...

    And I really loved this whole idea. Bravo!

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  25. The Boyfriend List and Angus Thongs are so funny, I completely agree! :P. There are so many books here I want to read, especially Blood Red Road and Past Perfect! I've also got Unearthly on my tbr list (LOVE the Australian cover so much). Thanks for sharing this with us, it was great to see all the books you enjoyed!

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  26. What great books! Thanks for hosting this, it's so entertaining to see what everyone has chosen!

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  27. YAY for Where She Went and Never Let Me Go! :)

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  28. I'd LOVE to participate in this, but I am leaving for the ALA conference on Saturday morning. Can I make my list when I get back on Sunday night, or will that be too late?

    Thanks!

    Steph
    www.the-caffeinated-reader.blogspot.com

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  29. Oh Nomes, how I'm loving this so far! I had a ball trying to figure out what I loved about the books I'd read, and some of my answers surprised me!

    I totally need to read Blood Red Road, which looks epic and Saving June, which just looks gorgeous. :)

    I really want to read God Is In The Pancakes - with a title like that, why wouldn't I? ;)

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  30. Hello! New follower. :) Love your blog, and I love this idea. I enjoyed working on it for my own blog. :) Hope you have a great weekend!
    <3
    Pixie
    http://the-bookaholic.blogspot.com

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  31. Hi,
    Oh thank you Nomes! That's very kind! Thanks for doing the Q&A!
    Romi.

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  32. This is so much fun! I posted my list today.

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  33. We've read such different books from each other!

    I love the cover of Alice. It's gorgeous!

    I like the cover to Past Perfect, but I'm not sure it's one that I would have picked up... I think since you've mentioned it so much that maybe i should!

    This is a great idea by the way! :D

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  34. I love the idea, although I feel somewhat like I haven't read enough books. Only one way to fix that!

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  35. Great list Nomes! I haven't read that many books this year due to uni being so busy but I put together a list and linked it :) I'll def be putting some of yours on my to-read-right-now! list :p

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  36. Oh man this took me ages! But I'm so happy with my picks and compiling the list just reminded me of how great some of these books are. Thanks for thinking this up!

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  38. Wow! I'm thrilled that SPLIT, Jace, and Christian made your list!! Grateful, too. Thank you!

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  39. Darn, can't figure out how to add to Mr. Linky. My post is here:
    http://janicu.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/sharing-the-awesome-awards-day-1-the-books/

    I've really really got to read WHAT ALICE FORGOT.

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  40. Yes to What Alice Forgot! I hope you convince more people to pick it up because you listed it as a favorite this year.

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  41. I LOVE this. And I can't figure out how to add to the Linky since I'm late to the party, but here's a link to my post.

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  42. Looks like I have to read my copy of Psych Major Syndrome ASAP...I want a character to fall in love with! Saving June sounds wonderful too. HOORAY for Louise Rennison! Really great picks I'll definitely have to check them out. I love this List, great idea!

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  43. Youve listed some great books! I finally have my list up

    http://the-caffeinated-reader.blogspot.com/2011/06/faves-of-2011-so-far.html

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  44. This is awesome! I just found you (new follower!), is it too late to participate in this? If not (or if I can just unofficially participate), can I snag your title image for my post and link back to you? ~ Jen @ A Book and a Latte

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  45. This was so much fun to do! I'm late to the game but I did it anyway :). Here's my list:

    Here’s my list! ~ Jen @ A Book and a Latte

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  46. Wow...these all look amazing. you've given me some great ideas of what to read next. did you ever read 'delirium' by lauren oliver? I think if you like all of these then this one could be a favorite also. it's only her second book, her first was 'before i fall' which got a lot of hype, but i didn't understand why it'd gotten such rave reviews. link to it here; http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7686667-delirium. amazing idea, a future world, where love is forbidden, considered a disease to drive you mad, and a girl who wants it anyways....amazing novel really. romantic, addictive and heartbreaking.

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  47. And now I realize how many books I've missed this year. But there will be plenty of time next year to read them all :)
    Here's my list of awesome books read in 2011.

    Happy midnight reading!

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  48. What a great idea. I loved reading all your posts. I found out about qutie a few books I didn't know about before. For example, Saving June will now be added to my TBR. I too, LOVED Unearthly and can't wait to continue reading with Hallowed. Unfortunately, due to work, I don't think I'll be able to participate in all of the fun, but my post about "The Books - FAVS of 2011" will be up on my blog tomorrow. I'll continue on with more as time allows, I'd really like to do the covers and the characters at least.

    thecallawayfam.blogspot.com

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Thanks for the commenty love :)