Saturday, December 31, 2011

SPECIAL thanks to our Sponsors of this Challenge:  Edifying and Edgy!

HBRC - Today's Challenge:
Day 16
Choose our TOP '11' books of the year!

"My" TOP 11 books of 2011

Wow! There were SO many GREAT books this year, it was 
SUPER hard to choose!
Okay, I DID stretch it out a little, with Honorable Mentions, Christmas Reads, and a Humorous MUST-READ!  Hope that's okay!
If you look at the Academy Awards, The People's Choice
Awards, and others, they ALL have these Sub-Categories! 
Here they are!

  MY BEST BOOKS 0F 2011:

1. "THE HELP, A Novel" by Marilyn Stockett!

This book, by FAR, was the BEST BOOK OF 2011!  I have it on my Kindle, and every now and then, as I pass it by, I will open it back up, and read a page or two, three, four . . .  this book is a Classic in it's own right! What a book!  Wow!  The relationship between these women is amazing!  The difficult times of the 1960's in the deep South have pulled ALL of these women together to write this book about "The Help".  I cried, I laughed, I felt the emotions theses women felt.  I cannot describe in words exactly the feeling I got as I devoured this book!  If you have NOT read this book, I HIGHLY suggest it!  Teenagers should read this book as well, and learn what history really was all about back then.  The good, the bad, the happy, the sad, and the PROGRESS WE HAVE MADE THROUGH TIME!  Where we are now is where we ALWAYS should have been!  NEVER should we have gone through the history we did.  I am thankful that history can teach us to NEVER repeat something.  We celebrate with these women!  I cannot say enough about this book!  I will NEVER stop singing the praises for this book!  A MUST-READ!
I have also seen this movie, and NO OTHER MOVIE HAS 'EVER' FOLLOWED A BOOK LIKE THIS ONE DID!  To a "T"!  At least no movie "I" have EVER seen has followed the book like this one did!  I read the book BEFORE I saw this movie, and am VERY HAPPY I did!  It brought the book MORE to life for me!  Although, I still have to say that the intimacy of reading this book was very special.  The emotions this book stirred up were many.  I think EVERYONE should get the wonderful opportunity to read this book!
Isn't it AMAZING this book was the FIRST book this author has written!  It was her DEBUT NOVEL!  AMAZING!  There is information about how hard of a time the author had getting a Publisher to publish this book, and how HARD SHE WORKED to keep revising it to try again, and again, and again.  Persistence DOES pay off!  Look what we now have!
For Christmas this year, I bought myself a present! The Blu Ray/DVD/Digital Copy of this movie!
I am saving the movie to watch one wintry day this January!  Looking very much forward to it!
Today's Holiday Break Reading Challenge was to make a Book Trailer of your #1 book.  I could NOT do it!  I felt I could NOT do this book the justice it deserves!  It already has trailers, it has been made into a movie, and I could NOT 'take away' from this book/movie.  I forewent the challenge today on this book.

2.  Come Back to Me by Melissa Foster

3.  The Story of Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon

4.  Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens 

  
5.  Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

6.  After the Party by Lisa Jewel

7.  Megan's Way by Melissa Foster

8.  Yours to Keep by Stacey Shannon

9.  The Amish Nanny, The Women of Lancaster
County #2 by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould

10.  Anything by Michael Baron

11.  Room by Emma Donaghue


Honorable, Honorable Mention

You Don't Need a Prince, A Letter to My Daughter by Cheryl Shireman


Honorable Mentions

Altamont Augie by Richard Barager

The Bone Garden by Tess Gerittsen

Chasing Amanda by Melissa Foster


Christmas Reads

The Man in the Cinder Clouds


Christmas at Harrington's by Melody Carlson

A Lancaster County Christmas by Suzanne Woods Fisher
Twas the Night Before Christmas, A Visit from St Nicholas (The Classic) by Clement Clarke Moore and Illustrator (beautiful illustrations) Jesse Wilcox Smith
Copyright 1912
A Project Gutenberg Edition
www.gutenberg.net




Absolutely Humorous Must-Read:

Flat Out Love by Jessica Park


CONGRATULATIONS BOOKS AND AUTHORS!!!



  
    

4 comments:

  1. Wow I haven't even heard of most of these! Cool picks though, getting out my TBR list!

    Ana @ BookSpark: http://book-spark.blogspot.com/

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  2. I just started The Help today and before I'd even seen your post wrote on my blog how my daughter "devoured" this book. I'm through chapter five and hating that I have to go to bed and start work tomorrow. ARRGH! Your review makes me want to get right back to it. (and by the way, my daughter finished and immediately rented the movie and said the same as you - well done.)

    ReplyDelete
  3. anaavu,
    Yes! ALL those books are EXCELLENT! It was hard to put them in order!
    I hope you find enjoyment in some of them when you finally get to read them off of your TBR list! Enjoy!
    Laurie

    ReplyDelete
  4. Christine,
    Regarding my Top 11 of 2011, where you said your daughter devoured the book and then rented the movie, and now YOU are reading the book, ENJOY! Heck, you are probably finished with it! Plus, you already probably rented the video, too! Where I live we have NO video stores LEFT!! Can you believe it? I can't!
    I bought the Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital Copy trio! I have not yet watched it because I spend all of my time reading! I DID see it at the Movies! I LOVED the movie!! It was the ONLY movie I have EVER seen that followed the book to a "T"! The package of the DVD's says the length is 146 minutes! It went SO fast at the Theatre, it was unbelievable! It felt like it went by in a blink! You know when you go to see some movies, you'll get up to run to the bathroom, grab another pop, refill your popcorn, NOT THIS MOVIE!! It was just like the book! "IF" I happen to catch a movie coming out based upon a book, I will hurry up and grab the book to read it first. I compare the two. The ONLY difference I can say about the book and this movie is while reading the book, it is a MUCH MORE 'personal' experience while reading it. That is it! That says a LOT! Yes, I think this book WILL become a classic one day in the future! I can't WAIT to see the Awards coming up soon! I voted for it in the People's Choice awards!! I 'think' those MIGHT be coming up around the 11th, or somewhere around there?? I can't WAIT to see who wins!
    One thing about the movie awards. The movies they 'sneak in' at the END of the year, such as on Dec 25th, or Dec 31st, ALWAYS TICKS ME OFF! They ONLY win because they are FRESH in the people's minds, that's it!
    Here's to HOPING The Help will win the awards!
    Laurie

    ReplyDelete

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