This Fall was my first season of book blogging, and while I'm still settling in and finding my "blogging rythym" I had a fun time reading, writing and sharing with the community.

Favorite Reads of Fall 2011 (Plus The Books I Un-Friended)

Favorite Books

The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. This book is on many "Best Books of 2011" lists, and deservedly so in my opinion. The writing is beautiful and although the story moves along at a leisurely pace, I felt connected to the characters and invested in the outcome.

A Monster Calls, Patrick Ness. This book should be given to every young person dealing with loss of a friend or family member and should be in every school library. It's well written and very moving.

Warm Bodies, Isaac Marion. Loved how the author took me into the story and made me feel for a creepy zombie.

Zone One, Colson Whitehead. When did zombie books start getting so deep and with meaningful undertones?! I dunno - but mama likes!

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, Lola Shoneyin. I loved being able to take a peek into how Baba Segi handled having 4 wives - from what he thought was going on and what was actually going on from the point of view of each of the 4 wives, plus how the story unfolds - a fantastic book!

Before I Go to Sleep, S.J. Watson. Gripping story - Watson finessed the story so I wasn't thinking about how believable or not believable the theory was (waking up everyday not remembering the past), and I wasn't looking for holes. Instead he made me connect with the main character and want to follow her journey ... and I liked where it took me.

Frostbite, Shadow Kiss & Blood Promise (Vampire Academy books 2, 3 & 4), Richelle Mead. Each book in the series gets better and better.

Good

Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3), Maggie Stiefvater. I liked this book, but didn't think it was as good as the first 2 books in the trilogy, sadly. Feels like characters were created in order just to tie up loose ends.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Ransom Riggs. There were many things I liked about this story, but there were a few things I wish had been explained a bit more fully, and some things which just didn't compute. Plus, I don't like when a book leaves off in a "to be continued" manner.

The Outlaw Album, Daniel Woodrell. There were 1 or 2 short stories from this collection that I didn't get into, but most of them were raw, gritty and powerful.

The Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan. Somehow I really disliked the main character and that has unfairly biased me against this book at times. But it was brilliantly written.

Imaginary Girls, Rena Nova Suma. If I wasn't left with a few unanswered questions after the book was finished, this would have been one of my favorite books of the year.

Just Okay

Triptych, J.M. Frey. I had a hard time getting into this book at first - something about the jerky transitions at the beginning - but once Kalp (the alien) starts telling his story (which involves a 3 way marriage with 2 humans) - I was hooked until the end.

The Magicians & The Magician King, Lev Grossman. The books in this series were entertaining, but for me, it fell flat because of too many "convenient circumstances" that happened to help the magicians along.

Wish I Hadn't Read

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan Bradley. I learned that a book with a pre-teen sleuth is not for me. I can't wrap my head around any kid investigating a murder, coming into contact with criminals and living to tell the tale. Not unless it's a fantasy novel.

Someday This Will Be Funny, Lynne Tillmann. Nope - never, ever ... ever, evah evah (said in a Chris Tucker voice-over).

Embassytown, China Miéville. Mieville is obviously a scary good writer and inside his brain MUST be like a wonderland, but that translated into a book with too much sh@! going on - a shit-show if you will - with way too much happening to keep up with. Sad to say, another book of his, Kraken, was on my Spring reads shit-list, so I'm off Mieville for a while - maybe his style of writing is just not for me.