My 2011 in Books

We’ve established that I am a prolific reader. This blog is mostly about the books I’ve read, so my plan was to write a year-end post about the very best books I experienced in 2011. In reviewing my on-line library, however, I realized that I wanted to comment on more than just the great books, I wanted to share my thoughts on the books that weren’t so great, too. 

I read 76 books in 2011. That’s not including the books I reread because I love them. I can’t go a year without reading The Hunger Games Trilogy, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Wuthering Heights, Graceling and Fire, selected books from the Harry Potter series, and of course the Twilight Saga.

I know. That’s a lot of books. I am a sucker for a free or $99 Kindle ebook and I get sucked into series even if the books are not that great. I’ll be the first to admit my booklist in 2011 was not the most discerning, but there was some fiction that blew my mind, elevated my love of reading, and inspired me to continue to write.

Here is a simple synopsis of books that I loved, books that were okay, and books I wish I had never read.

Books that blew my mind:

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater
The Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Chime by Franny Billingsley
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
Shine by Lauren Myracle
Divergent by Veronica Roth

Books I loved:

Leviathan, Behemoth, and Goliath by Scott Westerfeld
13 Little Blue Envelopes, The Last Little Blue Envelope and The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Sweethearts by Sarah Zarr
Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James
Forever by Maggie Steifvater
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
The Winter Sea by Susan Kearsley

Books I liked a lot:

How to Be Bad by Lauren Myracle, Sarah Mlynowski, and E. Lockart
Austenland by Shannon Hale
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
City of Bones, City of Ashes, and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Queen of Babble by Meg Cabot
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal
The House at Riverton and The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson
Between the Lines, Where You Are, and Good For You by Tammara Webber
A Great and Terrible Beauty, The Sweet Far Thing, and Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

Books that were okay:

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park
Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick
The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen
The Girl Who Was On Fire by various authors
Evermore by Alyson Noel
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
The Chosen Soul and The Game by Heather Kilough-Walden
Ashes by Ilsa Bick
Eternal Eden by Nicole Williams
So Over You by Gwen Hayes
Breathless by Heather C. Hudak
The Trouble with Kings and A Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith
Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward
Camille by Tess Oliver
The Hangman's Daughter by Oliver Potzsch
Incarceron by Katherine Fisher

Books that I wish I hadn’t read:

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Immortal by Lauren Burd
Sam I Am by Heather Killough-Walden
The entire House of Night Series by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast
Passion by Lauren Kate
The Wicked Woods by Kailin Gow

So there you have it. My 2011 reading list. There are several books I’m excited to read in 2012. I’ll do a post on that soon.

Until then, happy reading!

The Breaking Dawn Soundtrack Preview - My predictions on when we'll hear the songs in the movie

Okay, so I’m a total SWIMFAN when it comes to Twilight. I love the books and the movies of course, but the soundtracks are on constant repeat in my house. With the release of each Twilight soundtrack, we are treated to a preview of the tone of the movie, and the Breaking Dawn soundtrack gives us an exciting glimpse at what we can expect.  

Before New Moon came out, I listened to the soundtrack and my heart almost exploded when I heard “Possibility” by Lykke Li. I knew we would hear this tune when Bella was devastated. It was perfect. My favorite song on that soundtrack, though, is “All I Believe In,” by The Magic Numbers & Amadou & Mariam. It’s a Jacob love song, and I hoped to hear that song when he and Bella became friends. I got my wish. The New Moon soundtrack is diverse, and it’s mostly a blend between rock and roll and ethereal alternative. It gave us a preview of the tone of the movie, which was a blend between hard core heartbreak, building friendship, and unimaginable danger.

The Eclipse soundtrack is also a mix, blending upbeat rock music that works for the struggles in the movie and romantic tunes for more intimate scenes. One of my favorites on this album is “My Love” by Sia, which is perfect for the proposal scene.  The best aspect of the music in Eclipse though, is how the musical director used the song “All Yours” by Metric as the instrumental score for the movie. It made the last scene in the meadow so poignant.

Now I’m listening to the Breaking Dawn Part I soundtrack and it’s beautiful, just like the movie will be. We know that we are going to see the wedding, the honeymoon, the pregnancy, and the birth. It’s going to be crazy, emotional, and beautiful, and the soundtrack sets the tone for that ride. There are few rock and roll songs on the soundtrack because there will be few rock and roll moments in the movie.

I always hope for some Muse, Paramore, and of course, R. Pattz!, but there’s always BD2. Still, the music on this soundtrack is by far my favorite of any of the movies.

So, here are my predictions for when we will hear the songs in the movie.  

1. The Joy Formidable, "Endtapes" – This feels like a Jacob song. We’ll hear this song either when he runs away after getting the invitation, or when he’s about to kill Edward because Bella’s pregnant and dying.

2. Angus & Julia Stone, "Love Will Take You"- This could be honeymoon, but I’m thinking we’ll hear it when Bella’s dying from the pregnancy and Edward is worried.

3. Bruno Mars, "It Will Rain"- I don’t think this will be in the movie. I bet it’s the first song we hear when the credits roll.

4. Sleeping At Last, "Turning Page"- Yay! There’s an instrumental to this one, too, so I hope the music director uses this as the score throughout the movie. If they use this song like they used “All Yours” in Eclipse, it will be the last song we hear before the credits roll, but I bet we first hear this song on Isle Esme wedding, you know, “after.”

5. The Features, "From Now On"­- Fun song. This could be the song they use on the boat on the way to Isle Esme.

6. Christina Perri, "A Thousand Years"­- Bella walking down the aisle. OMG I’m crying already.

7. Theophilus London, "Neighbors"- No clue about this one. End credits maybe?

8. The Belle Brigade, "I Didn't Mean It"- This one feels Jacob-y, too. It’s either Jacob angry at Bella for keeping the baby or dealing with Sam’s pack.

9. Noisettes, "Sister Rosetta (2011 Version)" – This is a tough one. I’m thinking the Cullen’s protecting their land or something with the wolves.

10. Cider Sky, "Northern Lights" – Picture Bella wrapping herself in a towel and running out on the beach on Isle Esme. It works right?

11. Iron & Wine, "Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Wedding Version)" – Bella and Edward’s first dance at the wedding. I love that they reworked this song for this movie!

12. Imperial Mammoth, "Requiem On Water" – Maybe it’s the title, but this could be the swim on Isle Esme? I’m thinking it’s Bella sick when she’s sure she’s going to make it.

13. Aqualung & Lucy Schwartz, "Cold" – Birth scene. Creepy.

14. Mia Maestro, "Llovera" – This song is sung by the actress who plays Carmen, but I don’t think they’ll have this as part of the wedding. I’m thinking honeymoon because it’s in Spanish. Maybe when they’re swimming or dancing in Rio?

15. Carter Burwell, "Love Death Birth" – OMG, again, I love that they bring back the score from the first movie. Yay! This will be used as a musical score throughout the movie, obviously. Wolves running, tender moments, etc.

16. Hard-Fi, “Like a Drug” – Poor Jacob. This will be him frustrated at Bella and not being able to stay away. Also, can I say I almost had a Footloose moment when I heard this song?!

17. Turning Page (Instrumental), Sleeping at Last – Like I said before, I hope this is the musical score throughout the movie.

18. Eclipse (All Yours), Kevin Teasley – I love that they are bringing back the score from Eclipse. I have no idea how this will be used, but I’m guessing some part of the wedding scene.

What do you think?

I can’t wait until November 8^th when I can own all of these songs!