Best books of 2011

The Great or Very good:

1. A Monster Calls
2. Ender’s Game
3. Ship Breaker
4. Chime
5. Between Shades of Gray

A Monster Calls was a moving book that was more affecting than anything else I read this year. The tale of a boy struggling to deal with the impending death of his mother by calling on a fantastical monster to save her was on the top of my list.  Ender’s Game was as good as its been billed and I was glad to finally get to it.  There were so many issues raised like the best scifi always does: can our future be predetermined? at what point is it unethical to follow orders? are child soldiers better because they are easier to control and manipulate? and on and on.  Hopefully, they get the movie right.  Ship Breaker was a great dystopian novel to read at a time when I’ve been tiring of the genre.  It showed me that as long as the focus stays on character and not just plot, even an overused genre can breathe new life.  Chime mixed witches, dystopias, a Victorian/Steampunk setting with remarkable language to create a fully realized world that felt unlike any other world I read about last year.  Finally, Between Shades of Gray illuminated WWII era Lithuania when I thought I knew all I needed or wanted to know about the War and Eastern Europe.  I was wrong.  The incredible and disturbing heartbreak of WW2 certainly was felt in Lithuania as well and I’m glad that I am more aware of it now.

Songs of the Year 2011

Took a look at ‘ye ole ipod’ at the end of the year to see what songs we have played the most as a family(admittedly this is mostly from my daughter and myself).  Not surprisingly, the albums that came out early in 2011 by Adele and the Decemberists are well represented.  I’ve left out any songs made before 2010, so this is a pretty recent list.  Clearly we like folky, mellow Americana around here for the most part with a British powerhouse thrown in for good measure.  Lots of great music this year, so take a listen to some of these if you have the chance.

1. Rox in the Box – Decemberists (played 224 times this past year – hard to believe)
2. Set Fire to the Rain – Adele
3. New Morning – Alpha Rev
4. Rolling in the Deep – Adele
5. This is Why We Fight – Decemberists
6. Cough Syrup – Young the Giant
7. Under Control – Cary Brothers
8. That’s Some Dream – Good Old War (saw this band open for Joshua Radin AND Fleet Foxes)
9. Give Me Something – Scars on 45
10. Down by the Water – Decemberists
11. Dead American Writers – Tired Pony
12. Grown Ocean – Fleet Foxes
13. Winter Winds – Mumford and Sons
14. My Love Follows Where You Go – Alison Krauss and Union Station
15. Barton Hollow – Civil Wars
16. Lost in My Mind – Head and the Heart
17. Raise Your Glass – P!nk
18. Whataya Want from Me – Adam Lambert
19. 20 Years – Civil Wars
20. Chains – Abigail Washburn
21. People Say – Portugal the Man
22. Paper Airplane – Alison Krauss & Union Station
23. Perth – Bon Iver
24. High Road – Broken Bells
25. Only Girl in the World – Rihanna