It's the last day of Hanukkah, and the last day of our week of giveaways. WOO! Are you a little overwhelmed by the nonstop partay? I am!
The final gift I have for you is an 8GB black iPod Touch, suitable for reading many, many things, like books! Yay books!
To enter, just leave a comment and tell me the best book you read this year. Easy, huh? Just one book. Heh heh. If you're like me, this type of question makes your brain go all jittery.
No, it does not have to have been published in 2011. It could be from 1911 if you'd like, or earlier!
Standard disclaimers apply: I am not being compensated for this giveaway. In other words, I have not been paid (*snrk*) an 'insertion fee' (splutter) for this promotion. (Oh, gosh, few things make me snortlaugh like the term “insertion fee.”) Your mileage may vary. Void where prohibited. Open to those 18 years of age and older driving tractor trailers with the windows down. International entries welcome. Word hard at what you do and be kind.
So let's build an almighty best-of list, and share the good reading we've enjoyed. Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Holidays to everyone!
I read several, but I’ll pick What I Did For a Duke by Julie Anne Long.
A Lot Like Love by Julie James was one of my favorites this year
Shadowheart. Again…
I really enjoyed Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton series…I can’t believe it took me so long to discover them!
All Clear and Blackout. By Connie Willis, discovered through comments on this site. Thanks, sweeties! and now registered on my bookshelf on Goodreads, which I love and also found due to a mention on this site. Thanks. Also have two children who are fond of/terrified by that youtube Friday video of the “never interrupt me when I ‘m reading a book” guy. Thanks again.
The Next Best Thing by Kristin Higgins. Possibly Unveiled by Courtney Milan. Or maybe Joanna Bourne’s latest. Or maybe Julia Quinn’s Just Like Heaven. I had a good year for reading books!
I have to agree with a Kiss of Snow. I wanted the book to be good and it was!
Honorable mention: Immortal Rider Larrisa Ione I love her books
I loved Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison.
Happy new year!
After a HUUUGE debate within myself, I think I’ll go for Kushiel’s Avatar that would really top the chart. A wonderful ending to a trilogy and so dark that I couldn’t put the book down. Amazing amazing series.
One Day by David Nicholls. That book had me on a rollercoaster of emotions.
Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My favorite this year was Ain’t She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I’m sad it took me until this year to read it.
I’m going to start with the series that I buy as soon as they come out:
Lorelei James’ Rough Riders and Blacktop Cowboys
Jacqueline Carey’s Naamah’s series
Sabrina Jeffries Hellions
As stand alone books:
Brenda L. Baker Sisters of the Sari
Catherine Coulter Prince of Ravenscar (I know it’s part of a series but I have only read this one)
Isobel Carr Ripe for Scandal (see note above if you are wondering why it’s not listed as a series).
There are so many, many more!
Thanks Dwndrgn. I own the Dragon Prince Trilogy as well as the first two books in the Exiles Trilogy by Rawn…wish she would finish the third but I’m not holding my breath as it has been how many decades now.
Shadowfever. When a book gives you a hangover you know it was good.
Dianne Duvall’s Darkness Dawns (paranormal romance)
I strongly remember All Things Beautiful, by Cathy Maxwell, so I’ll go with memorable=best
Best book. . . wow, thats hard! I’m going to go with Soulless by Gail Carriger. Absolutely fantastic!
My best book was THE HELP… but the romance genre is what I read the most.
The Love Goddess’ Cooking School by Melissa Senate. I have like this author since the “Red Dress Ink” days. Great book! Food and love, what’s not to like?
Best book I’ve read this year, Winston Churchill: A Life by John Keegan.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins!
I love that book.
I’m on a Cruisie kick at the moment and it has fogged my brain. Books? There are other books? Just finished Agnes and the Hitman and loved it. I also inhaled Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series. There were others…
How can I pick only one! So many good books! I’m going to have to just go with favorite in the past week, and even then I’ll pick two 🙁 I’m not very good with rules…
To Play a Lady – Naomi Lane
The Wretched of Muirwood (series)- Jeff Wheeler
I’m very much enjoying the low priced ebooks 🙂
Wow, talk about hard, just picking one book is crazy difficult:) I guess I’ll go with Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison, a NTM author for 2011.
I’m going to go with Larissa Ione’s Immortal Rider because it’s such an epic (and epically good) series. It hurts to choose just one though! Hurts!
I’d have to say Unveiled by Courtney Milan. After reading hundreds of romance novels, it’s great to read something so original and well done. Thanks for introducing me to a great new author!
The Leftovers by Tom Perotta
So many books, so hard to choose- let’s go with: Lori Handeland’s ‘Marked by the Moon.’
One Was a Soldier by Julia Spencer Fleming. It was the best is the series, so far.
_Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela_ by Felicia Watson. A really, really, really good m/m romance set in, of course, Pittsburgh.
I hate to be a dick, but I’ve been working on Proust and there isn’t much better. I’m sorry, but it’s true.
On the romance front…just one might kill me…ok, I’m pretty sure I read Sarah MacLean for the first time this year, the first one in the series is, uh, bugger, it’s like 9 something or others to do something with or around a duke, or marquess, or what have you. Whatever, you know what I’m talking about. And if you don’t, it should be easy to find in spite of my title mangling – and rewarding when you do.
A tie between The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner and a reread of A Countess Below Stairs (aka The Secret Countess) by Eva Ibbotson just last week.
OK. I’m hard core, so kept a spreadsheet. So here I am sorting by ranking… Here are the top rankings for the second half of the year:
The Mischief of the Mistletoe
The Forbidden Rose
Cutting for Stone
Hark! A Vagrant!
I had more in the first half of the year, too, but that’s probably sufficient 😉
I started the “in Death” series by J.D. Robb this year. (I know, I know, I’m kinda late to the party…) I read the first 4 or 5 so far and they are my favorite read of the year.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline.
Looking over my LibraryThing I don’t think I read any new five star books this year, but I gave 4.5 to Suzanne Enoch’s A Beginner’s Guide to Rakes
Tie to Boy Toy by Barry Lyga/Blue Eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas. Both books stunned me for the same and different reasons.
Kiss of snow
I discovered the Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane pretty recently and quickly read the three out and can’t wait to read the fourth coming out in March. But if I had to pick my favorite of the 3 out, it would have to be City of Ghosts. Oh, Terrible, you awesome, wonderful, brutal man.