2011 in Review: Books I Wish I'd Read

Last week, I posted my favorite 2011 reads (of books published in 2011). This week, I'm still working on some older titles that I've been eying for far too long (American Gods, I'm talking about you), but I'm close enough to the end of the year to catalog those precious 2011 releases that I wish I'd read... but haven't. Yet. Consider this a rough guideline of must-reads for 2012. Of course, that doesn't include all the backlist titles I want to read, the classics, and the assigned books that I will review for Shelf Awareness. But it's a start:


Hemingway's Boat, by Paul Hendrickson: One of the goals on my 26 by 26 list is to read everything that Hemingway has ever written. I'm beginning to sense that I might fail in that regard (he's written a lot of books, and I have less than 2 years on this clock), but I'm still hoping to read this recent biography.

The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach: I've heard from every corner of the blogosphere that this book is amazing. Greg at New Dork Review of Books loved it, and cheered when Rachel at a home between pages read it. Brenna at Literary Musings raved, and Michael listed it as one of his best of 2011 on the year-end podcast for Books on the Nightstand. I have a copy on my shelf. How have I not read this yet!?

Skippy Dies, by Paul Murray: This is a bit of a cop-out, as Skippy Dies technically came out in 2010. But the paperback released in 2011, so I'm counting it. I've had my eye on this for two years now. Come on, self. Get on it.

Bossypants, by Tina Fey: I've heard that the only way to read this one is to listen to the audio. That way I can laugh while driving to work, and hope that I can still see the road ahead of me as I do so.

 ---
There are lots, lots more that I could add to this list, but at least it's a start. What were your favorites of 2011 that I haven't read? And what 2011 reads are you wishing you'd had time for this year?



loading..

5 comments

  1. Michael KindnessDecember 27, 2011 at 7:53 PM

    Make THE ART OF FIELDING your first book of 2012. You won't regret it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kerry MDecember 27, 2011 at 8:07 PM

    Michael - I might have to do that! I just listened to your podcast today and now I want to read it even more than I did before. Just have to finish a few review commitments first... or find more hours in a day :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AndiDecember 28, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    I want to read Skippy Dies and The Art of Fielding as well. I was really REALLY unsure about The Art of Fielding until I read Brenna's review. I'm convinced!

    ReplyDelete
  4. BethDecember 28, 2011 at 9:43 AM

    I abandoned Skippy Dies after after about 35 or so pages. Perhaps a future review will persuade me to pick it up again. I'm thinking I should check out The Art of Fielding as well since everyone is talking about it. Plus, I happen to really enjoy baseball. Looks like you've got your work cut out for you at the beginning of 2012!

    ReplyDelete
  5. StephDecember 28, 2011 at 7:23 PM

    Og gosh, there are countless ones I wish I'd read this year. I mean, I can still read them, but the ones that feel most pressing are The Sisters Brothers, The Art of Fielding, The Antagonist, 1Q84, Winter (Gopnik)...etc., etc....

    I'm reading the Night Circus, but not ravenously.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by!

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)