armchair bea: best of 2011

Here I am rocking out to the new Lady Gaga album and watching my cats play around with a hairband. This is a fantastic distraction from watching my Twitter update itself every 5 seconds about all the BEA updates. Today's topic at Armchair BEA is:

What books are your favorite so far this year and what books are you looking forward to?

Well well. I will seriously try to limit myself to a sensible list, although my definition of sensible may be extreme.

Books I've read and loved:

1. Divergent by Veronica Roth

I loved this book. I know. I still haven't posted a review about it and it's still sitting on my desk. This book is my favorite release of the year as of yet. I loved everything about it: the pacing, the characters, the setting, the idea of it. If you haven't read this please do. It's worth your time.

2. The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal

Hopefully I'll write this review tonight to go up tomorrow but this was a book that I really enjoyed. It's Eilis' debut and is a YA fantasy about a girl who has been raised for 16 years thinking that she is a princess until one day she finds that she is merely a false princess. I won't tell you why or any more than that and this is a book best left unspoiled by the synopsis or even the book flap. A great debut!

3. Entwined by Heather Dixon

This book is a a retelling of Grimm's tale of the 12 Dancing Princesses. It is sweet and clever with vibrant characters and some unexpected twists. I wrote a review of it here. Don't blame me if you want to dance your heart out afterward. 


4. Blood Red Road by Moira Young

The more I think about this book the more I like it. This book is a completely refreshing read after everything I've read lately. The characters and setting are vivid and this a book you can easily imagine in your head as you read. It is written in dialect but don't let that throw you off because it's so well done. A review of this went up yesterday.

5. Stay by Deb Caletti

This is a powerful read that left me shivering at the end. This is a contemporary YA about a girl, Clara, in her senior year of high school who gets involved in a fast and troubling relationship. The writing is gorgeous and only helps to illustrate what happens after Clara realises what she's gotten herself into. Here's the review from a few weeks ago.

Books I'm waiting to read and love:

1. A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin: Need I say any more? I've been waiting years for this book and it's finally here. I need more Tyrion Lannister in my life.

2. Crossed by Aly Condie: After I saw a copy of this appear on Twitter from BEA I had to close the tab. I really enjoyed Matched and so to know what happened to Ky and if Cassia stayed in the fields is going to be very exciting. 

3. The Pledge by Kimberly Derting: A book about society being separated by language. Are you serious? It's not even a question that I'd love this book. I am really looking forward to this release. And the cover is gorgeous!

4. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan: I think I'm one of a handful that didn't really love Across the Universe and so I was a little wary of another story with the same idea but it really sounds interesting and it's a different take on it and so here I am, waiting for its release.

There's so many more that I know I'm forgetting but still adore. And I apologise for not having any covers to go with the choices, I was having issues with the formatting and so gave up on them entirely.

I'm excited to see what you're excited about. Is that redundant? But I am! Happy non-rainy Tuesday, guys!