I feel awkward about mentioning crime fiction titles so these will have to do.
What were some of the books you most enjoyed in 2011?
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May, 365
- Doctor Jack-o'-lantern" Richard Yates, ELEVEN KINDS OF LONELINESS
- Bulldozing the Baby, Jo Ann Beard, BOYS OF MY YOUTH
- Ray's People Have Always Been Soldiers by Barry Basden
- Symbols and Signs, Vladimir Nabokov, THE NEW YORKER 1948
- Referential, Lorrie Moore, THE NEW YORKER
- The Barber's Unhappiness, George Saunders, Pastornalia
- A Commercial Proposition, Richard Wheeler
- Thou Still Unravished Bride, Avram Davidson
- Car Crash While Hitchhiking, Denis Johnson, JESUS' SON
- Someone to Watch Over Me, Richard Bausch, THE COLLECTED STORIES OF
- Undead, Beniot Lelievre, FLASH FICTION OFFENSIVE
- A Freeway on Eartlh, Heath Lowrance, BURNING BRIDGES
- Recitatif, Toni Morrison
- We Dance, Jane Hammons, FICTIONAUT
- Sadie, Jack and Fluffy Go on a Trip, Dennis James, MOBIUS
- Health, Joy Williams, ESCAPES
- No Place for You, My Love, Eudora Welty
- The Sister's Tale, Castle Freeman, ROUND MOUNTAIN
- Sitting on Top of the World, Bill Crider
- Woman on the Dunes, Anais Nin
- Stars of Motown Shining Bright, Julie Orringer, HOW TO BREATHE UNDERWATER
- Words are Cheap, Ken Bruen, MURDALAND
- Kiss Me Again, Stranger, Daphne Du Maurier
- Molotov, Chris Le Tray, ALL DUE RESPECT
- Looking for Romance at a Writer's Convention, Richard Wheeler
- Young Goodman Brown Nathaniel Hawthorne
Friday's Forgotten Books
See Link Below
Beat to a Pulp-Round 2
PULP MODERN
NOW AVAILABLE in paperback at Lulu
My Stories on the Web
- A Game of Hide and Seek, YELLOW MAMA
- A Kid Like Billy-CROOKED
- A Saving Grace-The Thrilling Detective
- At the Cafe Sabarsky -Beat to a Pulp
- Bella, the Fortune Teller, Chick Lit Review
- Bit Players-Spinetingler
- Black and White and Red All Over-FFO
- Cooper's Dilemma -Nidus
- Dark Valentine
- Dark Valentine-Monkey Justice
- De Sfinx-A Twist of Noir
- Escapes-MystericalE
- Esther Meaney-Beat to a Pulp
- Eyes Open, Beat to a Pulp
- Georgie-Back Alley Webzine
- Hunting and Fishing in the Keys
- Imprint-Thuglit
- Instrument of Their Desire-Beat to a Pulp
- Killer, Thrillers and Chillers;What Fate Imposes
- Lambs of God-Spinetingler
- Last Rights, CORRIDORS
- Last Rites-Crimefactory
- Like a Hawk Rising -Plots with Guns
- ON PALADIN ROAD-A TWIST OF NOIR
- Portraits of Detroit: Wylie Edwards
- Powder Burn Flash (2 stories)
- Pox and The Leaving-Spinetingler
- Prudency's Rubyfruit Meadow-MystericalE
- Raising the Dead-Back Alley Webzine
- Ramir Obabie-A Twist of Noir
- Roundabout-Spinetingler
- Rounding Third--Storyglossia
- Shame-A Twist of Noir
- SOURIS-DARKEST BEFORE THE DAWN
- SPINETINGLER-Father's Day
- The Book of Lies, Crime Factory 10
- THE BRIDE, ROSE AND THORN
- THE GIRLS-MYSTERICAL-E
- The Perfect Day-ALL DUE RESPECT
- THE PROPER TRAINING
- The Proper Training-PLOTS WITH GUNS
- Things We Do For Love, Shotgun Honey
- Too Beautiful-Dark Valentine
- Trouble with Trolls-Thuglit
- University Protocol-Word Riot
- What Did Bagdad Do to Us: SHOTGUN HONEY
- What Fate Imposes-TKC
Blogs/Websites I Read
- Anne Frasier
- Barrie Summy
- Bill Crider
- Bill Selnes
- Brian Busby
- Capn Bob Napier
- Chad Eagleton
- Charles Gramlich
- Charlie Stella
- Chris La Tray
- Chris LaTray
- Chris Rhatigan
- Crimespot
- Cullen Gallagher
- Curt Evans
- Dana King
- Dave Zeltserman
- David Cranmer
- David Rachels
- Detectives Beyond Borders
- Do Some Damage
- Dorte
- Ed Gorman
- Eric Peterson
- Erik Donald France
- Evan Lewis
- Fires on the Plain
- Fleur Bradley
- Friday's Forgotten Books
- George Kelley
- Gerald So
- Gerard Saylor
- Hardboiled Partners
- Hardnose Sleuth
- Heath Lowrance
- http://margotkinberg.wordpress.com/
- IN REFERENCE TO MURDER
- J.F. Norris
- James Reasoner
- Jerry House
- Jim Winter
- Joe Barone
- John Kenyon
- John McFetridge
- Julia Madeleine
- Juri Nummelin
- K.A. Laity
- Katherine Tomlinson
- Keith Rawson
- Kerrie Smith
- Kevin Tipple
- Kieran Shea
- Laurie Powers Wildwest Blog
- Loren Eaton
- Martin Edwards
- Megan Abbott
- Michael Slind
- Mike Dennis
- Mulholland Books
- Naomi Johnson
- Nigel Bird
- Olivia Ambrogio
- Paul Brazill
- Prashant C. Trikannad
- Randy Johnson
- Richard Robinson
- Rob Kitchin
- Ron Scheer
- Sandra Scoppettone
- Sandra Seamans
- Sarah Weinman
- Scott Cupp
- Scott D. Parker
- Sergio Angelini
- Spinetingler
- Steve Lewis
- The Rap Sheet
- Thomas Pluck
- Todd Mason
- TomCat
- Women of Mystery
- Yvette Can Draw
- zybahn
Stories for 365-January
- Home, Gil Brewer from Hardboiled
- Someone, Alice McDermott, THE NEW YORKER
- What's the Worst Thing That Can Happen, Al Tucher, A TWIST OF NOIR
- The Good Doctor, Adam Haslett, YOU ARE NOT A STRANGER HERE
- Clouds in A Bunker, David Cranmer, PULP INK
- Burning End, Ruth Rendell, THE BEST OF THE BEST SHORT STORIES 1986-1995
- Something is Out There, Richard Bausch, MURDERLAND
- Uncle, Daniel Woodrell, A HELL OF A WOMAN
- Dark Adapted Eye, Katherine Tomlinson, SHOTGUN HONEY
- Whiteout on Van Buren, Don Winslow, PHOENIX NOIR
- An Invisble Minus Sign, Denise Mina, DEADLY HOUSEWIVES
- Everything I Want, Megan Abbott, SPEED CHRONICLES
- The Garage Sale of the Three Lindas, Marly Swick, THE SUMMER BEFORE THE SUMMER OF LOVE
- Everybody Loves Somebody, Sandra Scoppettone, A HELL OF A WOMAN
- Harpooned, Sandra Seamans, MYSTERICAL-E
- Burn Patterns, Michael C. White MARKED MEN
- World of Gas, Bonnie Jo Campbell AMERICAN SALVAGE
- Snakes in the Briar Patch, Chad Eagleton, Cathode Angel
- Sea of Grass, Jim Wilsky, ROSE AND THORN
- The Pool, Keith Taylor from LIFE SENTENCES
- Locked Out, Art Taylor, PLOTS WITH GUNS
- Giving Blood, John Updike from THE MAPLES
- Two and Half Miles, W.D. County, SPINETINGLER
- ReBecca, Vicki Hendricks, FLORIDA GOTHIC STORIES
- What is Your Emergency, Chris Rhatigan, GRIFT MAGAZINE
- Here We Are in Paradise, Tony Earley
- 2. 984, 000 Pounds of Pressure, Anonymous Nine. Crime Factory: The First Shift
- You Boys Be Good, Antonya Nelson
- A Blunderbuss for a Broken Heart, Chris LeTray Pulp Modern 2
- Spending Light, John Stickney, NEEDLE, Issue 2
365- February
- A New Life, Kyle Minor, DISCOUNT NOIR
- A Composer and His Parakeets, Ha Jin GOOD FALL
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been, Joyce Carol Oates
- Girls in Their Summer Dresses, Irwin Shaw
- The Last Spin, Evan Hunter
- The Birthday Party, Graham Greene
- Blue, Rachel Seiffert, FIELD STUDY
- Tonto Woman, Elmore Leonard, THE COMPLETE WESTERN STORIES
- Only Good Ones, Elmore Leonard, THE COMPLETE WESTERN STORIES OF ELMORE LEONARD
- Super Trooper, Nigel Bird, OFF THE RECORD
- The Incident at Owls' Creek Bridge, Ambrose Bierce
- Food Man, Lisa Tuttle, BEST OF CRANK
- The Babysitter's Code, Laura Lippman, PLOTS WITH GUNS
- Graveyard Shift, James Reasoner, Hard-Boiled
- Portrait of An American Family, Benoit Lelievre, SHOTGUN HONEY
- Thanks for the Ride, Alice Munro, Dance of the Happy Shades
- A MAtter of Principal, Max Allan Collins, FAVORITE KILLS
- Cold Snap, Thom Jones COLD SNAP
- Piano Man, Bill Crider, ON DANGEROUS GROUND
- The Ladder, Adrian McKinty, CRIME FACTORY: FIRST SHIFT
- THe Confessor, Lonni Lees, SHOTGUN HONEY
- Plaything, Daniel Hatadi, DEADLY TREATS
- Going to Shrewsbury, Sarah Orne Jewett, THE COUNTRY OF THE POINTED FIRS
- Sunlight Nocturne, Bill Cameron, DEADLY TREATS
- Escapes, Joy Williams, ESCAPES
- Ugly Pictures, Terrie Moran, THE AWARENESS
- Just Another Saturday Night, William Link, EQMM
- Pride, P.J. Parrish, DETROIT NOIR
- Bonus, Jim Ray Daniels, DETROIT TALES
- Casanova Succumbs to Two-Ton Tina, Rob Kitchin, A TWIST OF NOIR
- The Lost Child, Jean Thompson WHO DO YOU LOVE
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23 comments:
Stewart O'Nan, Last Night at the Lobster
Mordecai Richler, Barney's Version
Lewis Shiner, Collected Stories and Glimpses
Charles Portis, True Grit
Joe R. Lansdale, All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky
Stephen King, 11/22/63
Jeff M.
If we're talking mysteries it will be tougher to narrow it down. Here are a handful:
Wallace Stroby, Cold Shot to the Heart
Deon Meyer, Thirteen Hours
Brett Battles, The Cleaner
David Gordon, The Serialist
Frank Bill, Crimes in Southern Indiana (ss)
Jeff M.
Almost all my recreational reading was reported in FFB posts...hard to narrow it to five...
Interesting to see how Bill's novel Donnybrook is.
That means you read exclusively older books, Todd.
I liked EMILY ALONE a lot but RED LOBSTER was his best (IMHO).
Yes. And I came close to doing Jules Feiffer's autobiography (and did post about it and the first volume of the Complete POGO by Walt Kelly), and did do Carol Emshwiller's retrospective collection THE COLLECTED SHORT FICTION V. 1, among my FFB citations, among books issued in the last two years. I'm not quite as flexible as George with my insertions, but like him will bend that rule hard for small-press, particularly brilliant small-press items.
Reading the fiction magazines always gives me a few new folks to look out for...in the copious free time...Alice Sola Kim was one of last year's "discoveries" for me...
Diane read EMILY ALONE and loved it. I read THE MOVIEGOER years ago and loved it. My choices for FAVORITE BOOKS, MOVIES, etc. will be on my blog next week.
Non-crime? That narrows my list down to almost nothing.
One Soldier's War (2007) by Arkady Babchenko.
The Silent Men (2002) by Richard H Dickinson.
Chronicles of Prydain (1964-1968) by Lloyd Alexander.
Sarah Court (2010) by Craig Davidson.
These are all new titles for me. Will look into them.
I'll be waiting to see, George.
The Islanders by Christopher Priest
Devil Red by Joe Lansdale
A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block
The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock
Wyatt by Gary Disher
Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr
The Drop by Michael Connelly
Regicide by Nicholas Royle
Collected Stories by Carol, Emshwiller
I began blogging this year, which prevented me from looking at non-crime books, such as the Artemis Fowl series (stuck halfway through it), but allow me to make a recommendation for next year: Michael Ende's The Never-Ending Story. It's simply an amazing story and should be considered as a modern classic.
Note to self: bring back the variety in my reading habits and don't allow my blog/mystery addiction derail me from that. I will be strong, resolute and stalwart!
"A Rip through time!:"
Yes, Roth's Nemesis is a very good novel. Made my last year's top.
I am going to have a nice list when this is done.
just read WE THE ANIMALS...there's so many others...but that one is definitely in the top 5 along with EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE. so much crime and mystery...gah.
Kieran-how I have missed you!! Haven't heard of this book but I will check on it.
Can't wait to see the movie of EL&IC although Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock have me worried.
Since I subscribe to Jane Smiley's assertion that every novel is at heart a mystery in that something unknown is always being uncovered, I can't really separate my favorites by mystery v. non-mystery, but here are my favorite fictional reads of 2011 (most of them, indeed, "mysteries"):
Patrick Hamilton - 20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY (three interconnected short novels about London in the late 1920s).
Jessica Mann - A PRIVATE INQUIRY
Louise Penny - BURY YOUR DEAD
Georges Simenon - MAIGRET'S BOYHOOD FRIEND
Lynn Freed - THE MIRROR
Allison Pearson - I THINK I LOVE YOU (this is a great book for any woman born in the late 1950s/early 1960s who had a crush on David Cassidy of the Patridge Family).
Kate Atkinson - STARTED EARLY, TOOK MY DOG
Ben Elton - DEAD FAMOUS
Graham Joyce - THE SILENT LAND
Holly LeCraw - THE SWIMMING POOL
Favorite non-fiction:
Elizabeth Hess - NIM CHIMPSKY
Keith Richards - LIFE (although some would assert that all of Richards's life is a wild fiction).
Jeff Gunn - GO DOWN TOGETHER (about Bonnie & Clyde, the decidedly non-glamorous side).
Jessie Sholl - DIRTY SECRET (memoir of growing up with a hoarder mother).
Judy Collins - SWEET [sic] JUDY BLUE EYES
Have never read that Simenon. If I were to make a list of my favorite crime novels, the Atkinson book would be on it. Jackson Brody is swoon-worthy.
And I forgot about Judy's bio. Thanks for the reminder.
I left off one.
1Q84 by Murakami-probably my favorite non genre writer right now.
A friend just recommended that to us last night.
I read the first four Factory novels by Derek Raymond, and the first, HE DIED WITH HIS EYES OPEN, was my favorite and probably the best book I read this year.
Now I can't wait for the fifth "lost" novel, DEAD MAN UPRIGHT.
I have the first one. It waits.
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