Best of 2011

I know I'm cutting it real close, making this Best of 2011 post now, but I had to honor this year someway somehow. So I decided to make a short yet meaningful post on the things that I have to be thankful for and to enjoy this year, books obviously. :D

Paranormal Romance (in no particular order)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

This book has been out for a while now, and I heard about the book one day, and decided to give it a try. It was actually pretty good, so I read the entire series, and it turned out to be one of my favorite books. The drama in this book was non-stop, and the entire trilogy played out really well, actually. The only problem I had was the fourth book, because that felt a little like a prologue to the fifth book, but the first three were definitely awesome.

Dystopian (there are a lot more of these, since I recently found this genre and absolutely love it)

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I heard so many great ratings about this book that I decided to read it, and I had wanted to for such a long time. This book definitely didn't disappoint me. (Also, forgive me that I haven't had many reviews put up. I've read a bunch of books and have about five reviews waiting to be done, so just be patient for a while.) This book wasn't like regular dystopian, in my opinion, and it definitely delivered and was just really well written.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I'm pretty sure everyone agrees with me on this one and that it's definitely an awesome book. When I first picked it up, I was really hesitant because I hadn't heard much about this book. But after I went through the first few chapters, I found that I instantly loved the entire thing. This book was definitely something that I would read again and again. I loved Tris's bravery and how she survived the ranks of the Dauntless.

Matched by Ally Condie

This book was something that I had heard a few things about, but I never actually thought that I was going to read it. But then, I decided to give it a try, to read it, because this cover is actually super-pretty. And it turns out that I was right. This book was really good, and even though it was a tiny bit slow, I still loved everything else about it, including Ky and Xander. (Did you know that Cassia is pronounced Casha? I thought that it was pronounced Cassea, but it turns out I was wrong. Xander is also pronounced Zander, but I've never been good with Xs)

Middle Grade (there are barely any, but I had to do it, because I know some of you out there like Middle Grade. And to be honest? I kind of like it, too.)

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney

Come on. Tell me that you didn't used to like this series. I know you can't. Because deep down, we all have that immature, childish person inside of us. We all have some type of Greg Heffley in us. I know I do. And this is such a classic for the kids in middle-school. 

Okay, so that's all. I know—short is what I said right? Such an understatement. But I've read a lot of books this year, and only a few stood out to me like these did. And half the books I read I don't even remember. The others were so early in the year or so insignificant that I can't bother to conjure up the pictures in my mind. So, this is my small little list. Only six measly books. Pitiful, for someone who's probably read 100+ books this year, but it is what it is.

Have a great new year, everybody! Oh, and don't you like my new blog design? In the Follow Friday post below this one, I said that I wanted a new blog design, and everybody was encouraging me, and a very kind blogger (thank you, Priscilla TheGreat!) referred me to this website (silversdesigns.blogspot.com) who does free blog designs, and they're really fabulous, so I searched through them and found the one I currently have, which really stood out to me.