My Favorite Books Read in 2011

2011 was a good reading year for me. My goal was to read 60 books and at this moment I've got 58 down. I think I can manage two books in 9 days if I choose short books kick it into gear. With that said, below are my favorite books I read this year. Some are new releases others were published before I was born.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami: At it's root this is a love story, but it involves so much more. Murakami examines loneliness and sorrow in this coming of age story. The characters are memorable and the writing is incredible. (1987)

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: I didn't think I would ever read a book about baseball that I couldn't put down, but Harbach did it. His novel focuses on relationships; those we have with others and more importantly, the the one we have with ourselves. (2011)

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides: This Pulitzer Prize winner follows three generations of a Greek-American family living in Detroit and the genetic secret and later identity crisis of Calliope. (2002)

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri: The Namesake examines the immigration experience of a Bengali family and speaks to the physiological disjuncture and cultural displacement that results from belonging to two very different culture. This book is captivating, heartwarming and depressing, all at once. (2003)

The Submission by Amy Waldman: This novel challenges the fears of post 9/11 America and forces us to consider to what extent those fears are sensible and to face how much we are hurting Muslim-Americans. (2011)

Cat's Eye by Margaret Atwood: A book about growing up and going back home, Cat's Eye examines women's relationships and the repression we inflict on one another. (1988)

them by Joyce Carol Oates: Part of the Wonderland Quartet series, them follows two generations of the Wendall family and explores the forces that keep them in poverty and struggling to achieve happiness. (1969)

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides: Among other things, this novel examines the confusions and angst of recent college graduates and how we get where we do in life, without really knowing where we want to go. (2011)

The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster: My favorite Auster to date, this story is abotu redemption and second chances and the power of human connections. (2005)

The Thieves of Manhattan by Adam Langer: A riff on the publishing industry's literary fakes, this book follows a down and out writer and the web of lies in which he gets tangled. I could not put this book down and read it in one sitting. (2010)

Honorable Mentions: On Beauty by Zadie Smith, The Painted Veil by M. Somerset Maugham, How I Became A Famous Novelist by Steve Hely