Best of 2011: Book Edition

I may actually finish reading some 2011 releases during January 2012 and may redo this list to reflect the newer choices. Otherwise, here it is as of this time...



(Quite a few of these have already been reviewed, so I won't rehash much...)

Number 10- Swamplandia! by Karen Russell

• This took me a long time to finish (that's why you should only read a few books at a time, children), but it was worthwhile. It is a sad story of a family falling apart, traditions changing and fading, how one girl's hopes must either adapt or be erased regarding the situation. It fails tremendously at the final chapter, but I do look forward to Russell's future works and the eventual HBO series on this book.

Number 9- The Filter Bubble: What the Internet Is Hiding From You by Eli Pariser

• Another book that will make you scared of the Internet. Moveon.org board member Pariser gives you a pretty damn good reason to fear the Google. It may be giving you biased search results, even when you want the other side of the story. And no, clearing your history won't do much (trust me, I wondered that too). Instead of taking it, read this book and learn how to fight it.

Number 8- The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson

• A fascinating and humorous look on the world of psychology, especially on the focus of sociopaths. Ronson is sent on an adventure to figure out a strange puzzle that was sent to him, leading to meeting a falsely-imprisoned(?) sociopath, which goes down the rabbit hole further into psychology and testings and meeting professors that may know as much about sociopaths as the layman does.

Number 7- Nanjing Requiem by Ha Jin

• A wonderful, though a tad rushed, novel from the POV of Minnie Vautrin's fictional assistant during the Nanjing Massacre. The atrocity's worst parts are covered, though not as explicitly as I expected. The horror is still there in the accounts from the victims they take in. None of the experiences are glossed over here. A historical event that must never be forgotten.

Number 6- Fantastic Women: 18 Tales of the Surreal and Sublime from Tin House edited by Rob Spillman

• I have already reviewed this book in extent, so I can only reiterate that you must buy this book as soon as possible. The stories are amazing and haunting. Give these awesome lady writers some of your time and money.

Number 5- Retromania: Pop Culture's Addiction To Its Own Past by Simon Reynolds

• Once more, I have talked about this book a couple of times and only will reiterate its eventual purchase and addition to your library. If anything, read it for the first half.

Number 4- Outdated: Why Dating Is Ruining Your Love Life by Samhita Mukhopadhyay

• A last-minute addition, this feminist approach to the wild world of dating is a breath of life-saving air. For those confused and happy alone or just having casual sex, or whatever you're into, this book will make you feel welcome. While it doesn't offer hardcore tips, it is a basics manual for the new and the seasoned.

Number 3- In Other Worlds: SF and the Human Imagination by Margaret Atwood

• Atwood schools you good in her extended love letter to the long-suffering genre of science fiction. She does more than praise it, she covers the shining examples and tries to solve the age-old puzzle of how to keep refreshing the genre.

Number 2- The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

• A hauntingly beautiful book that should've won the National Book Award (despite this, Salvage the Bones looks to be a wonderful book), Otsuka's story of a group of Japanese picture brides and their trip to America, in search of marriage and new lives. It is a gut-puncher, but it must be read. The stories must no longer be limited to the few. How else can we learn?

Number 1- Out of the Vinyl Deeps: Ellen Willis on Rock Music edited by Nona Willis Aronowitz

• Ellen Willis' legacy continues today, thanks to lady writers in the music business and renewed interest in her writings. My tribute (and review) can be found here. Let us continue by giving this book the time of day and a permanent place on our bookshelves. Long live the lady music writer. 

Here is a small list of other books I read this year that deserve special mention:
Feminism Is For Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks
Rip It Up and Start Again by Simon Reynolds 
Rose: Love in Violent Times by Inga Muscio
Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen by Larry McMurtry
A Year in Japan by Kate T. Williamson
Harley, Like A Person by Cat Bauer 
Wilderness Tips by Margaret Atwood
Another Green World (33 1/3) by Geeta Dayal
Talking to Girls About Duran Duran by Rob Sheffield
Hiroshima by John Hersey
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Hamlet’s BlackBerry by William Powers