Here we are, I finally begin my year end round up articles. In February. Sorry about that. I wanted to do it earlier but I wanted to give myself a little bit more time to finish off some movies and books that are eligible for this list. But, apologies aside, my lists are here.
As you know, back in 2009 I started keeping a book log with everything I read. It makes looking at this list easier. I keep it in a Google Spreadsheet so I can access it from any computer.
Here it is.
You can click the image to view it or just click here. So I perused this list and made my selections. Below are the best books I read last year (not including re-reads).
Unlike last year, I’ve split this list into books and comics/trade paperbacks. I read enough of both of them to create their own lists and it was hard to weed out stuff just because it was a comic in order to make room for a book. So, last year I only read three books that were actually released during the 2011 calendar year. Did they make the list? Read on to find out.
So without further ado, here are my favorite books I read in 2011.
Heroes of Olympus series – Rick Riordan – This is the sequel series to Riordan’s Percy Jackson series which made my inaugural best of list in 2009. It is currently up to book 2. Son of Neptune is one of the three books that was released in 2011 that I read. I loved the first book in this series, The Lost Hero and Son of Neptune is almost as good. Riordan has created a fascinating world and I long to return to it when book 3 comes out. And despite what Riodan had said earlier, Percy Jackson is all over this series. Especially Son of Neptune.
The Magicians – Lev Grossman – Wow, this book is really good. It’s billed as sort of a Harry Potter in high school, and I see the parallels, but this story is tonally a 180 from Harry Potter. From the friendships to even how magic is actually executed, it’s just completely different. And great. This book is great. I look forward to checking out the sequel, The Magician King. I’ll probably check out a few of Grossman’s other books, too.
Star Wars: Darth Bane trilogy – Drew Karpyshyn – This series was recommended to me years ago by my friend Dr Mike, but I was reluctant to read it because it was about a bunch of Star Wars characters I didn’t know in a time period I knew nothing about. Boy was I wrong. It’s amazing. This series needs to be the template for all the Star Wars books that want to focus on a specific character. Interesting origins, cool bits of Sith history. It’s just great. If you read Star Wars (or science fiction) at all, read this series.
