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’ve had so many books this year! Let’s say All Men of Genius, because it was written by a college friend of mine and it’s steampunk AND queer frendly!
One Magic Moment by Lynn Kurland
I love this author! She makes the characters so believable; I want to find the circles to get whisked away!
For some reason, this has been an off year for me regarding good books—there were a lot of books that I thought were good but none that, when I finished, I said to myself—“that was absolutely wonderful”.
So, I would have to say that my favorites for the year are 2 re-reads of series:
The Vorkosigan Series by Lois McMaster Bujold and The Thief of Attolia series by Megan Whalen Turner.
Hopefully, for 2012 I will have a number of “that was absolutely wonderful” books.
Wow… crazy hard question. I think I’ll go with A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness.
I loved Eloisa James’ When Beauty Tamed the Beast … her fairy-tale romances are amazing!
Best book i read wasn’t a romance novel, but The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. So touching and beautifully written.
I’m not a big paranormal girl (mainly b/c I am so tired of vampires and werewolves) but I started reading the Dirk & Steele series from Marjorie M. Liu and I am really liking it. On a side note, I have to read a lot of children’s books for my lit ed classes and I really enjoyed The Mostly True Adventures of Homer P. Figg. It was entertaining and funny and educational all at the same time. ( I really want the ipod- I was just saying how I was thinking of using some of my student loan pay-out to buy one to help keep me organized since I can’t afford to have a smart phone)
I finally read an oldie that I had been searching for for quite a while (after reading an excerpt when I was a teenager)! Summer’s Darkness, Winter’s Light by Sylvia Halliday. The book itself was okay but fulfilling that quest was awesome!
I was intrigued by “Alphas: Origins” by Ilona Andrews in the Angels of Darkness anthology. I would like to read more.
I read a lot of books this year, so picking just one is too hard. I would say that for fiction it was a tie between The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook and Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews. I also read a lot of nonfiction and there it’s a tie between This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust and 1861: The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart
Madame Secretary, Madeleine Albright’s memoir. 🙂
Karen Marie Moning’s Shadowfever!
Hmm… wow, that’s an incredibly difficult question. In terms of romance, I think it’s got to be “The Spymaster’s Lady” (but, really, there are so many possible answers here….)
Silk is for Seduction by Loretta Chase.
So very good!
A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz was the most enjoyable nonfiction book I read this year.
All Men of Genious- I loved it’
Thea Harrison’s “Dragon Bound”
There are several on my favorite reads of the year list, so here’s a randomly chosen one: Demon Marked by Meljean Brook.
So many great reads this year. I have to go with Ilona Andrews. I loved Bayou Moon and (finally) read the terrific Kate Daniels series.
Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie
Unveiled by Courtney Milan. I loved the whole series but this one was the best!
I won’t call them the “best” books I read this year, but the books I enjoyed the most were the Hunger Games trilogy.
I can’t pick just one! But I guess I’ll go with Red by Kait Nolan because it prompted the most discussion amongst my friends. Although Kiss of Snow is a close second just because I’d been waiting for Hawk/Sienna for *so long*
I think it would have to be Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt. Best series out there for me at the moment!!
I’ve already posted my favorite book of this year, but someone gave me this link to a free novella from Illona Andrews…most of you probably already know about this, but just in case some don’t…http://http://www.ilona-andrews.com/magic-gi…
Divide & Conquer by Madelaine Urban and Abigail Roux
Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying by Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley – seriously, it isn’t depressing! Give it a try.
Ok, I haven’t convinced you. (but read it anyway!!!) My fun choice for best this year is Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost, I powered through the series in about 2 weeks. Loved it.
Unveiled by Courtney Milan!
I read the Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. It was the perfect read for a cold and wet rainy day.
Thea Harrison’s first! Dragon (oh crap, I forgot it / but love the story!!)
I reread Persuasion this year! Love that book so much.
What I Did For A Duke by Julie Anne Long
Maybe I need to re-read Treachery in Death. *walks over to bookshelf*
The Faefever series!
Courtney Milan’s Unraveled. Totally worth the wait.
Probably highest on my list is Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal. But in close contention is One Con Glory by Sarah Kuhn, When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James, and the Royal Spyness series by Ryhs Bowen. I read over a hundred books a year, so this is really hard to choose!!!
The best book I read this year was “Hollowland” by Amanda Hocking. Zombie apocalypse dystopia with a badass lead character? Hell yeah.
(Choosing was so hard! Getting down to one felt impossible, and not adding a list of extras was so hard it was nearly painful.)
The Hunger Games
Not a huge romance reader, so my book choices will have to be from the general fiction category. That said, Best Laid Plans by Terry Fallis is my top pick. Canadian political humour at its finest. Picked it up knowing how it would turn out, and was pleasantly surprized to find the writing absolutely well-done (no comma splices, excellent in its grammar), and then to find out that it won the Canada Reads award as well as the Stephen Leacock for humour. Best book I’ve read in a long time, and was so thrilled to find a sequel!
I’m also loving the 2011 Giller winner, Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan. I’m a huge WWII fan, so to read fiction about American African-American jazz/blues musicians in Paris right around the German occupation was a gift. Not only is the feel to it authentic, but the romantic nostalgic tension good, too. So much better than last year’s Giller winner.
A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres is in no way a romance, but the story of Jim Jones and Jonestown will remain with me forever. Her use of survivor interviews and FBI files made the creepiest, most compulsively readable book. It’s not for everyone.