21st Century Literature discussion

It's that time of year (namely, the end) when the "best of" list are compiled. I know GR already had a poll to select the best of 2011. But, sadly, I haven't read anything in 2011 that was actually published in 2011. So this is a more personal "best of": the best book you read in 2011, regardless of when it was published.

I'm going to have to look over what I read & think about my own favorite. Given that I have a week off and I got a LOT of books for Christmas, there's the possibility that I might squeeze in another one or two before the year is over!

Hmm, I wasn't on GR a year ago, so no idea when I read these, but here's a couple books from the last year that I either loved or changed my life:

All Men are Mortal written by Simone de Beauvoir

This deeply effected my world: written by Barbara Kingsolver

And very much enjoyed:
by John Steinbeck
by James Howard Kunstler

I feel like my list is huge
My favorite was Skippy Dies
Then, in no order:
Paperboy: A Dysfunctional Novel
Matterhorn
City of thieves
The Garden of Last Days

Steve Earle's I'll Never Get Out of this World Alive
I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive

and John Sayle's A Moment in the Sun
A Moment in the Sun

were both excellent reads. Sayles' book is a monster and requires some commitment, but it is well worth the effort. The associated website and catalog of historical photographs grouped by chapter is pretty awesome compendium.

I think it is these four books that I loved reading the most this year and that somehow changed my perception of things, even if just a by a few millimeters.
To the End of the Land by David Grossman
The Radetzky March (Everyman's Library byJoseph Roth
The Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories byBruno Schulz and
Leviathan by Paul Auster

What an interesting collection of titles! My to-read list keeps growing...

I was surprised to see how few books I read this year. Of that handful, I gave 5 stars to these:

All the Names by José Saramago
Just Kids by Patti Smith
Unconquered Countries by Geoff Ryman

Of those, Just Kids is a memoir by my idol Patti Smith, so I'm not sure what anyone who's not a fan would think of it. And Unconquered Countries is by one of my favorite science/speculative fiction authors, Geoff Ryman.

Jenny, have you read anything else by Paul Auster? I have Oracle Night on my to-read list, but I wonder if Leviathan would be a better place to start?

There's a picture (I mean one exists, not that it appears in the above mentioned book) of Smith on a fire escape in the 70's that's one of my favorite photos in the world.

Logophile wrote: "Jenny, have you read anything else by Paul Auster? I have Oracle Night on my to-read list, but I wonder if Leviathan would be a better place to start?"

I liked Oracle Night and I think it is a good place to start, but I personally prefered The New York Trilogy especially City of Glass which is the first novel, Leviathan and The Invention of Solitude which is not a very typical Auster - a rather autobiographical meditation the death of his own father and fatherhood in general. I guess it would be safe to say that the quickest way of finding out whether you like Auster is by starting with the New York Trilogy. Or, put differently: if you end up not liking Oracle Night much, don't give up before you've tried the NY Trilogy or Leviathan :)

Mine in no particular order.
Pjongyang by Guy Delisle
The Woman who Dived into the Heart of the World by Sabina Berman
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows
Fame by Daniel Kehlmann

Paullina Simons

Greetings everyone! (Hey Adam ;)

I finally got around reading the classic, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, which ascended rapidly to my top ten favorite books of all time. Smith creates a girl, based off her own experience growing up, whom so many of us women can relate.

The Game of Kings was a brilliant historical fiction of 16th-century Scotland. Dunnett created one of the greatest rogue protagonist’s I have had the pleasure of reading about in a long time (Frances Crawford of Lymond!). I actually bought the companion to this book, as Lymond, a highly educated polygot, insists on leveling both friends and foes with clever quips in several languages.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
totally delivered throughout until the very, very end...(no spoilers here for those still reading it).

And The Children's Book, for me, is everything I love in a novel, informative and passionate; Byatt pushes the reader to consider a wide range of social and political phenomena but in an intimate setting. I am excited to pick up her award winning book Possession.

So many good books, so little time!

Thom: I read Outlander a few years ago, is the whole series as good?

Delores, I'm waiting impatiently for the next book. I have enjoyed the whole series and would recommend it to anyone.

Thom: I will definitely give it a go, thanks!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone

This is the book that took the prize for me this year. Yes, it's a YA, and no, a YA has NEVER gained the title of best book of the year for me! Not even when I was a YA (which admittedly was some time ago-lol), but I never expected this level of writing from the genre, and I was really blown away by Taylor's poetic prose, I also went on to read her collection of short stories, which is stunningly written as well as wholly original, and I highly recommend it as well!
But, if you just can't do a YA, then please don't pass up the best "Adult" fiction I read this year. Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada. This novel actually changed the way I perceived the German public during WWII and is literature of the highest order.

Every Man Dies Alone

Thanks for the recommendation! I must check out all the others, too of course. Time, time, time...

Best book fiction books I read in 2011

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett ,
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray ,
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers by Yiyun Li ,
So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell ,
Tinkers by Paul Harding ,
and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer .

Best Non-fiction
The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright ,
Stranger from Abroad by Daniel Maier ,
and What There Is to Say We Have Said by Suzanne Mars .

So Long, See You Tomorrow is one of the best books I've ever read!

Sophia wrote: "So Long, See You Tomorrow is one of the best books I've ever read!"

Then you'll love
What There Is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell

Right. I'll check this out. I'm crazy about Eudora Welty's writing too! Thank you for the recommendation.

My favorite book that I read in 2011 had to be Van Loon's Lives by Hendrik Willem van Loon. it's about inviting famous historical figures to dinner. I loved the characters, the atmosphere, and there's still the mystery of "Did it really happen?"

KJ wrote: "Sophia wrote: "So Long, See You Tomorrow is one of the best books I've ever read!"

Then you'll love
[book:What There Is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and Wi..."

I love both Welty and Maxwell-very different but both very precise.

Swerve and Elizabeth George's latest.

Rohn Federbush

No doubt: XY from Veronesi was my best.

The road by Cormac McCarthy and Cloudstreet by Tim Winton.
The Road will always be a favourite for me as I could not stop thinking about it for months after.

Oh, I agree 'The Road' was a very good book.

I loved McCarthy's The Road as well, I was haunted by that book for a long time after I finished it!

Hi Everyone,

I think my favorite book that I read in 2011 was A Visit from the Goon Squad.

I also really enjoyed Ten Thousand Saints

There's more from 2011 but those are the two that stand out in my memory.

I enjoyed reading Icy Sparks written by Gwyn Hyman Rubio last 2011. :)

Hi all. It seems as though most of the books mentioned so far have been fiction, so this might be the wrong place to post this, but one of the best books I read in 2011 was Laura Hillenbrand'sUnbroken: A World War II Story Of Survival, Resilience, And Redemption It reads much more like a novel than a memoir and is really uplifting considering the what this man went through.

BTW, I love this group and have already added way too many more books to my 'to-read' list, but I'm ok with that;)

Well, we like you too!

Layne wrote: It seems as though most of the books mentioned so far have been fiction, so this might be the wrong place to post this...

I see no reason why we should exclude non-fiction (unless someone tells me otherwise!) Your choice sounds very interesting. I'll check it out. Thank you.

My non-fiction choice is probably Now All Roads Lead To France

Sophia wrote: "Layne wrote: It seems as though most of the books mentioned so far have been fiction, so this might be the wrong place to post this...

I see no reason why we should exclude non-fiction (unless som..."

That sounds great. I'm definitely going to take a look at that book!

Layne wrote: "Hi all. It seems as though most of the books mentioned so far have been fiction, so this might be the wrong place to post this, but one of the best books I read in 2011 was Laura Hillenbrand's[boo..."

I will be making this my book club selection next month when it's my choice. I am so looking forward to reading it, and think it will make a great discussion book!

Hello, everyone! My first post in my first book club; how exciting.

By far the best book I read last year was The Antagonist by Lynn Coady. She uses a unique style in that the entire book is a collection of emails from the main character, 'Rank', to an old friend who has just written a book, using Rank as the antagonist.

Another amazing one was The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick deWitt. It was a western focusing on two guns-for-hire, Eli and Charlie Sisters.

Stacey wrote: "Layne wrote: "Hi all. It seems as though most of the books mentioned so far have been fiction, so this might be the wrong place to post this, but one of the best books I read in 2011 was Laura Hil..."
We read it in our book club and had a great discussion!

'Til We Have Faces' by C.S. Lewis is pretty good. So is the Hunger Games trio but that goes without saying :)

Chris Bohjalian's The Law of Similars

From one of the most gifted writers I know. This is a fairly short,slightly strange read! I thoroughly enjoyed this story which took me from a judgmental position to one of compassion while showing me the humorous side to desperation.
I loved it!

Linwood Barclay's The Accident

This was a Goodreads (free) book for me. I realized my good fortune from the first pages of this story. This book was as perfect a novel as I'd ever read.
Serious matters are approached with a keen eye for detail and a compassionate heart.
If you are interested in family dramas,mysteries and human studies in general, this if for you. Actually, if you want to read a great story,this book is for you!

This thread is discussing the best things we read in 2011, so non-fiction is definitely welcome in this discussion...if you thought the instructions to a new TV set were brilliant, you could talk about it. One of the books I listed near the start, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a non-fiction book.

Best for me were:Sunset Park by Paul Auster, The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale, Pym by Matt Johnson, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern, & The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. (I also enjoyed the Hunger Games Trilogy--guilty pleasure.)

Lisa wrote: "Best for me were:Sunset Park by Paul Auster, The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore by Benjamin Hale, Pym by Matt Johnson, The Paris Wife by Paula McLain, The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern, & The Sen..."

I don't think you have anything to feel guilty about re: The Hunger Games trilogy :)

The best fiction book by far: Under the Skin, non-fiction: Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason

Layne wrote: "Hi all. It seems as though most of the books mentioned so far have been fiction, so this might be the wrong place to post this, but one of the best books I read in 2011 was Laura Hillenbrand'sUnbr..."

Defenetly not a wrong decision I loved this book!!!! Even woke up at 3pm to keep reding a while hahaha

These are mi favorite so far...

welcome to the group! We actually read and discussed 11/22/63 a few months back, the folder for the book, as all our books, is still up.

I limited the best books read in 2011 to those written in the 21st century and these are some that I came up with.

Ellie wrote: ""

I was hoping to find someone who red 1Q84, and finally found you. ;-) Do you like the book?