A Bookish Year

To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company." ~ Andre Gide

With 2012 upon us, I thought I’d pass along an excerpt of my 2011 book list.  I am continually drawn in by the tempting “free” Kindle books – several of which made the below favorites list, and many of which were so terrible it seemed criminal to give them even bad publicity by mentioning them here. Being interested in sparing my readers, the below are primarily the cream of the 2011 crop.

In alphabetical order by title:

 An Arranged Marriage (Jan Hahn): Recommended for Austenites only, this alteration of Pride & Prejudice assumes Mr. Bennett dies soon after Elizabeth visits Hunsford; the family’s poverty forces Elizabeth into an arranged marriage with Darcy. What has ample potential to be a terribly-written disaster turned out to be a surprisingly enjoyable read for Victorian lit-heads.

The Art of Choosing (Sheena Iyengar): An interesting glimpse into our psychological biases in decision making. You will never trust your brain again!

Death Comes to Pemberly (P.D. James): While I’m usually a sucker for Jane Austen re-tellings, I found this murder mystery set at Pemberly to be well-written but bogged down by a v-e-r-y slow plot line.

Elizabeth Street (Laurie Fabiano): A gripping tale of the Italian immigrant experience in New York during the early 1900s. Be prepared to alternately laugh, cry, and want to throttle someone.

For Time and Eternity – Sister Wife trilogy (Allison Pittman): Story of a young girl who marries a Mormon, travels west with him to Zion in the 1800s, and eventually struggles with adapting to Mormon beliefs. I found the tale interesting, though it is written by an evangelical Christian writer, so true LDS readers may not be so keen on her take.

Frontiersman’s Daughter: One of the few Christian fiction authors I have ever read that I actually found to be thoughtful and suspenseful without being schmaltzy or Bible-beating. A historical fiction retelling of Lael Click and her family’s struggles in the Kentucky frontier settlements. She has two other books, also very good – Courting Morrow Little and The Colonel’s Lady.

Griffin’s Daughter (Leslie Ann Moore): Young Adult trilogy that falls somewhere between sci-fi and fantasy, describing a girl’s coming-of-age with her mixed human/elven heritage. I’m not a big sci-fi fan, but I found this trilogy to be quite original/creative while avoiding the sappiness of many other YA series. 2008 IBPA Ben Franklin Award for Best First Fiction.

Jane (April Lindner): A Young Adult retelling of Jane Eyre in modern day. Since I wrote my thesis on the Bronte sisters, I had a soft spot for this tale, but I think most YA’s would enjoy as well.

The Oak Leaves (Maureen Lang): A mix of historical fiction/love story, this tale is particularly poignant for those with special needs/autistic children in their lives.

The Rising Tide – WWII historical trilogy (Jeff Shaara): Son of well-known author Michael Shaara (Killer Angels), Jeff writes a variety of non-fiction historical novels. This series about WW II manages to interestingly tie a variety of narratives together. I’m usually not a non-fiction war lit fan, but this one kept my interest. They are long books though – in all honesty, not sure if I will make it through the full trilogy!

Sentence of Marriage - Promises to Keep (Shayne Parkinson): Warning: this is not an easy trilogy to read. It’s an extremely well-written, engaging story – but one of almost continual heartbreak and struggle for the protagonist, a young farm girl in 19^th century New Zealand.

The Swan House (Elizabeth Musser):A fantastic, often heart-rending tale of a young white girl trying to reconcile 1960s societal views with her own close ties with black friends and a dead mother.

Unbroken (Laura Hildenbrand): Takes the cake as my favorite book this year. The story of a WW II pilot’s journey as he is shot down and focuses on survival as a POW in Japan. This has been a massive NYT bestseller, so you’ve probably already heard of this one!

The Widow’s War (Sally Gunning): Historical fiction focusing on Lyddie, a widow of a Cape Cod whaler in 1761. Focuses on her struggle against social and economic poverty and her war for personal independence. Not light/fluffy/happy, but thought-provoking and engrossing.