Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Favorite Books of 2011 - Part Two

Here we are at the favorite fiction reads of 2011! 

First, The Coolest Book Cover of the Year Award goes to....



I just thought this was marketing genius - a blank white cover with this colorful crayon - I mean, you couldn't help but pick it up and try to figure out what in the world this room was all about!  The room is a small shed, actually, where a little boy and his mom are being held captive.  He was born in "room" and he doesn't know anything else - no trees, no lakes, no sky - it's creepy and fascinating at the same time.

 One of my surprise finds this past year - Sky Blue by Travis Thrasher.  A great mystery about a man trying to find his wife when she disappears during their honeymoon.  Thrasher has written many Christian fiction books in his career -- check out his new ones for teenagers as well, like Solitary and Gravestone.

Have I mentioned T. Greenwood lately?  I would read her grocery list if I could.  Her next book Grace comes out at the end of March this year.  Check out her website for cool book trailers of these two books I have above.
Favorite new author?   Tom McNeal.
 This book consumed me for awhile.  You can view the book trailer here at the bottom of the page.  I hope to read more of his work this year.  It's a love story, but more a story about figuring out who you are and the tiny choices that create a life.
Other fiction I devoured this year:
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
When She Woke by Hilary Jordan (a modern take on The Scarlet Letter!)
Rescue by Anita Shreve
I Gave My Heart to Know This by Ellen Baker
Lots of books by Kristen Hannah - She's like potato chips, you can't read just one...
Stay tuned!  The third and final installment of Favorite Books 2011 is next and it's full of great non-fiction.  It's a doozy!

2 comments:

Susan said...

You suggested "Room" for my new Kindle. I downloaded it and could not stop reading it!! It took me two days and I was mesmerized from the first page! I purposely didn't read anything about it before I started so the whole time I was like, "What is going on?" It was great so thanks for the suggestion. I would love a teen list. My niece is 11 and got a Kindle and is an avid reader and writer. She is a mature 11 year old too so a lot of the books that typical 10 year olds love bore her. :) Sue

Jeannie said...

Hi Susan,

I'm so glad you liked that book! As for teen books, I wish I had a better handle on that genre, but I'm just now getting into it. I would DEFINITELY recommend the 100 Cupboard series by N.D. Wilson and the other 2 books in that series.

I will keep my eyes open for any other teen books that look promising!