Favorite & Most Disappointing Reads of 2011

[Melodie]

Since we did this last year, I thought I'd start a thread for the same thing for this year! We do this on another group that I've been part of for years now, and it's a lot of fun to see everyone's lists! You can find some good things you hadn't thought of before and also maybe skip some not-so-good ones!

[Susie]

You know I will be happy to add my list Melodie! I read more cozies than M/T books ;)

[Kaye]

My favorite book in 2011 was by Alyson Richman and the most disappointing was a cozy mystery by Debbie Viguie

[Tricia]

I don't think I really HATED any book, but I'll have to look at my library and check it out! I loved The Language of Flowers. The story was different than most and the characters were wonderful.

[Kate]

Favorites: The Gray Whale Inn series (I read the whole series this year, starting with: ) and , , and all the Joanne Fluke's I read this year.

Most disappointing: , and which I just couldn't get through.

[Heidi]

None of my books for this are cozies. My favorite books of 2011 were all YA books The Piper's Son, A Monster Calls, and Froi of the Exiles

My most disappointing books were Beautiful Disaster, A Discovery of Witches .

As far as cozies go I plowed through all the audiobooks for the Agatha Raisin series this year and still really love it.

[Heidi]

None of my books for this are cozies. My favorite books of 2011 were all YA books The Piper's Son, A Monster Calls, and Froi of the Exiles

My most disappointing books were Beautiful Disaster, A Discovery of Witches .

As far as cozies go I plowed through all the audiobooks for the Agatha Raisin series this year and still really love it.

[Heidi]

Kate wrote: "Favorites: The Gray Whale Inn series (I read the whole series this year, starting with: ) and , [bookcover:The Diva Haunts t..."

I am reading the Gray Whale series now and really like it.

[❂ Murder by Death]

I'd say my biggest waste of time this year was .

[Sandra J]

My favorites this year were Thread Reckoning: An Embroidery Mystery and Sleight of Paw. I have a whole bunch of cozies bought this year that were okay, but not interesting enough for me to actually finish. I'll try to get them done sometime this year, but I'm not exactly leaving skid marks to get to them.
The book I was most disappointed in was Buttercream Bump Off.

[Susie]

Some of my favorites were Buttercream Bump Off, Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini, Books Can Be Deceiving and Haunting Jordan.

A few disappointments were Take the Monkeys and Run, Crunch Time and English Tea Murder.

[Diane]

One of my favorites was the relatively new series by Alan Bradley starting with "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". I am also really enjoying the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. I've been trying to get into the classic "Rebecca", but so far I just can't seem to get hooked. I'll probably have to save that one for later.

[❂ Murder by Death]

A couple of nice surprises this year - the Bennie Harper series by Earlene Fowler and (not quite a cozy) the 1st/2nd/3rd Grave series by Darynda Jones.

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

It's difficult to narrow it down to favorites, but I'd say most disappointing was In the Woods by Tana French. It was actually a pretty good mystery right up until about the last quarter of the novel. I think the big thing for me is that the author made a promise to readers in the beginning of the book that she did not follow through on.

[Sandra J]

D wrote: "One of my favorites was the relatively new series by Alan Bradley starting with "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". I am also really enjoying the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. ..."

Have you listened to the audio book versions of Bradley's books? They're terrific.

[Heidi]

Susie in KS wrote: "Some of my favorites were Buttercream Bump Off, Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini, Books Can Be Deceiving and Haunting Jordan.

A few disap..."

Ohhh I liked Buttercream Bump off, Haunting Jordan, and Books Can Be Deceiving too -- I will need to check out your other favorite!

[Melodie]

Jennifer E. wrote: "A couple of nice surprises this year - the Bennie Harper series by Earlene Fowler and (not quite a cozy) the 1st/2nd/3rd Grave series by Darynda Jones."

I'm really glad you liked the Benni Harper books so much, since they're one of my absolute favorites!

[Susie]

Heidi wrote: "Susie in KS wrote: "Some of my favorites were Buttercream Bump Off, Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini, Books Can Be Deceiving and [book:Haunting Jordan|6757..."

Heidi...start with Ghost a la Mode by Sue Ann Jaffarian. I'll bet you like it ;)

[❂ Murder by Death]

Oh! I have to add the Haunting Jordan series as well. Really excellent find for last year!

[Melodie]

I had 20 books in 2011 that I rated 5 stars. Of those 13 were mysteries. 7 were cozies and 6 were hardboiled or thrillers:
, ,

, , , , , , , , , and .

[Melodie]

The most disappointing mysteries I read this year, meaning they got one star only because I couldn't give them any less, were: , , , and . Of all these, SHOE DONE IT was by far the biggest waste of time!

[Heidi]

Susie in KS wrote: "Heidi wrote: "Susie in KS wrote: "Some of my favorites were Buttercream Bump Off, Ghost in the Polka Dot Bikini, Books Can Be Deceiving and [book:Haunt..."

Okey dokey!

[Diane]

Sandra J wrote: "D wrote: "One of my favorites was the relatively new series by Alan Bradley starting with "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". I am also really enjoying the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth..."

No I haven't... but now I will be sure to check it out! Thanks!

[Kate]

Melodie wrote: "The most disappointing mysteries I read this year, meaning they got one star only because I couldn't give them any less, were: , [bookcover:Satan's Lambs|..."

Oh no, I just got Ghouls, Ghouls, Ghouls out of the library lol!

[Nell]

My favorite mystery read was Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. I read it twice (something I almost never do) and liked it even better the second time. The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly was an excellent read - better than the movie. I also really liked Fool's Puzzle by Earlene Fowler.

My most disappointing mystery read was Invisible by Lorena McCourtney. It was free on my Kindle and a complete waste of time.

[Mary (Biblophile)]

One of the worst books I read so far this year was . Couldn't even finish it.

I read the first in the Magical Cat series but found all the talking, etc. with the cats annoying. Liked the mystery but hated the cats.

[Mike]

Melodie wrote: "The most disappointing mysteries I read this year, meaning they got one star only because I couldn't give them any less, were: , [bookcover:Satan's Lambs|..."

Weren't the titles a clue?

[❂ Murder by Death]

Actually, Mike, silly titles are part of the appeal to me with cozy mysteries. The sillier the better, sometimes.

[Melodie]

Jennifer E. wrote: "Actually, Mike, silly titles are part of the appeal to me with cozy mysteries. The sillier the better, sometimes."

Actually, SATAN'S LAMBS and SOULTOWN weren't cozies. But, like Jennifer, I find that the silly titles sometimes pique my interest!

[Elizabeth]

Diane wrote: "One of my favorites was the relatively new series by Alan Bradley starting with "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". I am also really enjoying the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. ..."
Rebecca by Du Maurier?? Stick with it!! I'll admit to foundering a bit at the beginning, but the end is worth it!

[☯Emily]

Worst book is Cutting for Stone and the best is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Best cozies were by Donna Andrews.

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Diane: Like Elizabeth, I hope you have stuck with Rebecca. There's a reaon it's become a classic. The old movie is almost as good as the book, too. But then, they were so much better at adapting novels into films back in the 40s, IMO anyway.

[Stephen]

Heather L wrote: "Diane: Like Elizabeth, I hope you have stuck with Rebecca. The old movie is almost as good as the book, too. But then, they were so much better a..."
I have to agree on Rebecca and the old movie versions, I reread Jamaica Inn not long ago.

[Christine US]

I disliked State of the Onion and I'm disappointed by that. It seemed right up the alley of what I'd like. I'm slowly slogging through Farm Fresh Murder, originally started in 2011 -- and I'm barely able to get through it. Really frustrating b/c (once again) it sounded great and enjoyable and I was excited to read it. Now, I'm feeling sorry I wasted my $$

[Melodie]

Christine US wrote: "I disliked State of the Onion and I'm disappointed by that. It seemed right up the alley of what I'd like. I'm slowly slogging through Farm Fresh Murder, originally ..."

I like the White House Chef series, but TOTALLY agree with you on the FARM FRESH MURDER book! Didn't like a single character in the book, didn't like the storyline...nothing!

[Hannah]

Ones I really liked were:


Christine US wrote: "I disliked State of the Onion and I'm disappointed by that. It seemed right up the alley of what I'd like. I'm slowly slogging through Farm Fresh Murder, originally ..."

I agree with you on State of the Onion. From everything I'd heard about it, I expected to like it but simply couldn't finish the book because Ollie annoyed me so much. Honestly, she seems so well-versed in White House rules and protocol in general (plus she has a Secret Service boyfriend!) that I find it hard to believe she could be THAT stupid. It isn't just nosiness; it's a plain lack of common sense.

Other disappointing reads:

[Melodie]

Hannah wrote: "Ones I really liked were:
[bookcover:Scared Stiff|1027972..."

I never liked the Carol Higgins Clark books either, or Michele Scott's Wine Lover books. I only read one in each series and never bothered with anymore. I kind of like the Mystery Shopper books, tho. I also really like the Mattie Winston books by Annelise Ryan!

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Now you guys have me worried, as State of the Onion is in the short stack on my nightstand. I picked it up on recommendation of others here, for the "state" challenge. Hope I'm not as disappointed as some of you have been!

[Melodie]

Heather L wrote: "Now you guys have me worried, as State of the Onion is in the short stack on my nightstand. I picked it up on recommendation of others here, for the "state" challenge. Hope I'm not a..."

I like the series, so hope you will, too!

[Hannah]

Heather L wrote: "Now you guys have me worried, as State of the Onion is in the short stack on my nightstand. I picked it up on recommendation of others here, for the "state" challenge. Hope I'm not a..."

I think you'll find it an enjoyable read as long as you don't care about the protagonists in books as much as I do. :D I simply can't read a book where the main character annoys me which is why I put down State of the Onion, but I liked everything else about it (and liked Julie Hyzy's other books). It's just Ollie that I have a problem with.

[Dee]

Diane wrote: "One of my favorites was the relatively new series by Alan Bradley starting with "The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie". I am also really enjoying the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters. ..."

I have read all of Alan Bradley's, find them to be easy to read and fun. I am a Huge fan of Amelia Peabody, read them all over the years, wish we could have more!

[Heather L , Cozy Mysteries Moderator]

Thanks for the input, Melodie and Hannah!

[Sandie]

Not necessarily cozys but here are my favs and my "don't waste your time" choices.

FAVS: A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
I am Half Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Emily & Einstein by Linda Francis Lee
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

DWYT: Nightfall by Michael Cunningham
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake