2011 - the books

Well, I was a little too ambitious this year, setting my GoodReads goal for 11 books. I got to about 60. Lesson learned. Perhaps I'll shoot for 70 in 2012.

Anyway, here are a few highlights from my bookshelf this year (very heavy on graphic novels):

Habibi by Craig Thompson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Beautiful artwork and story, the kind of book you want to buy so you can take a closer look at Thompson's drawings and appreciate the different levels of the stories being told. I am actually rereading Blankets right now and I can see the stylistic ideas he had while writing that and how they matured into something so amazing with Habibi. This is definitely the best graphic novel I read all year...and it might be my favorite work of fiction for 2011.




Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Selznick's follow up to 'Hugo Cabret' is just as magical, with that same great mix of historical elements. Make no mistakes, this is a story for children, but the two parallel stories, one told through text, the other through Selznick's beautiful artwork, is worth looking through no matter what age you are. This would make a great book for a adult/child book club.




( in the order I copy and pasted them... )