Year in Review: Book List 2011

Well, hello.  Welcome to my brief selection of books I really enjoyed this year.  Melissa asked me the other day what had I read that was any good lately and I completely had a brain flatliner.  Even simple-named Chester Brown slipped from memory, even though Paying for It really blew my mind.  I didn't include it in my run-down, however, since I Never Liked You had more of an emotional pull on me.

Brown's deliberate line drawings are executed so well; the silent moments resonate deeply in their frames.  I Never Liked You was originally published in 1994 and is based on Brown's teen youth years.  Rife with the awkwardness of these times, plus a troubling family dynamic, Brown captures the complexity of these moments of his memory with breathtaking poignancy.  For me, a heavy-sigher of a book.
Here's an interview with Brown on the AV Club HERE.  Read about Brown's bio on the Drawn and Quarterly site HERE.

Next up, Mountain Man Dance Moves: The McSweeny's Book of Lists.  I'm not terribly familiar with McSweeny's, but I like lists and who doesn't like majestic unicorns? When I spotted this at The Book Thing, a free book recycling center in Baltimore (see their site HERE), how could I not give it a try?  Well, it's pretty awesome.  A chuckle here, a laugh-out-loud there, it's pretty durn consistent with good humor.  Of course, I'm a nerd and have nerdy humor.  Nerds in general may, too, enjoy a titter with this book.

I have also been exploring the concept of happiness and how to achieve said state.  So I picked up some Alexandra Stoddard.  I find her books to be nicely laid out, often in short article form so you can pick a topic and ponder it, leaving the book and picking it up again easily another time.  She references a lot of early philosophy, which I appreciate since I am not well read in that background.  Stoddard:  highly recommended.

I also picked up several books by Hay House, a self-help publisher.  Ugh, doesn't that sound like a bunch of hooey?  Help Yourself!  Experience Your Good Now!  Learning to Use Affirmations: doesn't that sound like a load?  Well, dear readers, it's all about what you want to get out of something.  This little book was a quicky to get through, but it had thoughtful pieces of information I have to remind myself to consider.  And some of it is hard work!  Like to not judge others, and to not judge myself.  Try doing that consistently.  It is tough!  But it can be done.

And to end the list I have P.S. Comics by Minty Lewis.  Genius.  She also contributes to the animated show on Cartoon Network, Regular Show (check out clip on Cartoon Network HERE).  P.S. Comics features talking fruit and animals with flaws and humor like what us humans know.  Brilliant.

Oh, plus I read Patricia Bosworth's biography on Diane Arbus. That lady was crazy!  Interesting, fabulous, bohemian, morbid, thoughtful, sleuthing, and wild!  If you don't already know, she was a daring photographer from the 1940s to the 1970s, taking interest in subjects like folks at da beach, carnival workers, mental health wards, and Americana.  If you google some of her images there may be some you recognize from popular culture.

I hope you enjoyed my list!  What are some good reads you had this year?