Top Ten Reads of 2011

Though my number of completed books for 2011 is pathetically low, I have to say that the majority of what I read could have ended up on my "Best Of" list for the year, which is something in itself an accomplishment. I read some outstanding books (as well as some chunksters--hello Dance With Dragons!) but overall most of them rated a good 9/10. And though I focus on the amount read, I really did enjoy most of what I read.

In looking over the list, however, it was fairly easy to see which rose to the top for my own favorites, so below, in no particular order, is a listing of the Taminator's 2011 Best Books:

• Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick (superior historical fiction always...I cannot recommend her highly enough!)
• To Defy a King by Elizabeth Chadwick (see above)
• The Watch That Ends the Night by Alan Fox (truly superior verse novel about 24 passengers aboard the ill-fated Titanic...I slowed down my reading purposely in order to savor this one!)
• Last Breath by Rachel Caine (I'm an unabashed Young Adult reader and this series {The Morganville Vampires} is one of the rare ones that only gets better and better.  As an aside, Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series hit an absolute high with me as well with its latest entry, If I Die, which only barely barely barely missed this list).
• Wherever You Go by Heather Davis (so pleasantly surprised at this novel--a dead boyfriend refuses to move on as he follows his girlfriend as she tries to make a life without him)
• Lionheart by Sharon Kay Penman (Penman is the master of historical fiction and this one is a doozy! After you get used to the author's nightmare of names and the set up, it truly becomes one of the best HF books out there today).
• Unearthly by Cynthia Hand (Again, a very surprising YA novel that gives us angels trying to figure out their purposes in life...quite well written and engaging!)
• The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly (A fitting ending to a wonderful trilogy)
• The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy (Another great novel set on the British island of Guernsey--very different in tone but so intriguing)
• Matched by Ally Condie (A terrific beginning to a series, though I'm less than enthralled with its sequel, Crossed; fingers crossed that the next in the series recaptures much of the subterfuge and mystery of the first)

All of these books were either ones I personally bought or were ARCs supplied by HNS or Amazon Vine.  Not all of the reviews for these have been posted on this blog as I was waiting for them to be published in the HNS quarterly review mag, but I can safely post them now and will do so in a day or so. 

So there you have my Top Ten for 2011. I'm already looking forward to what's ahead in 2012 and am promising to read more of my own books this year (and want you guys to keep me to my word).  I vow to make reading more of a priority than playing on my iPad this year. And who knows? Maybe this is the year I finally get busy on those ideas that have percolated in my own head for years. So watch out, 2012...here I come!

~taminator40

I Think I Love You...

well...not YOU, exactly, or not in that way (not that there's anything wrong with that!). More like Allison Pearson's delightful new novel, I Think I Love You, which chronicles the story of thirteen year old Petra's obsession with the ever delicious David Cassidy in 1974. I, too, confess that while I was not 13 in 1974 (more like eleven if you must know), I had a crush on the gorgeousy Mr. Cassidy and was a faithful viewer of The Partridge Family. It was this shared love of all things David that inspired me to read this novel, and a thoroughly enjoyable read it was. So enjoyable, in fact, that I pulled out my Partridge Family's Greatest Hits CD (yes, I have it, and no, I'm not ashamed, damnit!) and put some of my faves on my iPod. And I still know all the words! I may not know where my keys are, but somewhere in my cluttered brain, the lyrics to all those songs live and come spilling forth with the first notes.

Below is my review of I Think I Love You: I must hand it to Ms. Pearson, as she got all the details correct that my eleven year old brain held most dear. Even after I moved on to Dave's younger brother Shaun, I still held a soft spot for those first pangs of idolatry. Apparently Ms. Pearson realizes this as well.
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We first meet Petra Williams in 1974 when she's an awkward thirteen year old trying to fit into her social group, much like any thirteen year old might be today. Though it's set in Wales, it could be anywhere; it's one of those identifiable tales that doesn't take you long to have your heading nodding along with recognition.


Petra's so ordinary it's painful, and she knows it. And even though she feels like an interloper into her group of friends, her common ground comes in the form of idolatry of teen heartthrob David Cassidy. She and her friends read all the mags and hang on every word and song of the idol, and when a concert is announced in London, they scheme for a way to finally meet their guy. Petra's determined to meet David; she enters a contest for that purpose but she doesn't win...or so she thinks until she discovers a letter among her mother's things many years later.

Divided in two parts, we follow Petra and buddy Sharon through their desperation to meet David Cassidy as young teens and then we see them many years later after Petra's mother has passed away and life has handed out its usual assortments of good and evil. While I adored the young Petra (and knew the author got those David facts *perfect*...how on earth did I remember his birthday is April 12? Oh yeah, it's on the cover of the album Up To Date!)I was eager for the story to progress to the point of the concert/contest. But that's only a minor quibble in a story that's fun and a perfect echo of a time I remember fondly. Quite a good deal of fun, actually; it evokes feelings and memories in me that still has me smiling.
~taminator40

Top Ten Reads of 2009

First, I have to say I'm psyched because I read 90 books this year, the most ever for me. Yeah! I hope I can duplicate that for 2010, but even if I don't, I'm pleased with my reading for this year.

Now, in no particular order, my Top Ten Reads for 2009 (all rated at least a 9 on my 10 point scale):

• The Endless Forest by Sara Donati
• An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
• Fade Out by Rachel Caine
• Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison
• Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs
• The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
• Forever Princess by Meg Cabot
• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

There were plenty more which *almost* made the list but these were definitely in my Top Ten.

Big sadnesses: A few of my favorite series came to an end, including Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries, Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson, Sara Donati's Into the Forest, and Anna Godbersen's Luxe series.

My biggest book resolution for 2010 is to read more of my own books (which now threaten to take over the house and form a mutiny if left unread) rather than continuing to request so many ARCs and review books. I've got to remind myself that I purchased these books for a reason and I really do want to read them.

Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

~taminator40