If you saw my 2011 statistics post, you’d know that I awarded the 5-star accolade to 10 books this year – which should make this award-giving ceremony a cinch. But that would be far too predictable – I like my awards to be spread across the spectrum of my reading, to recognise the best in the different categories read in a particular year.
Those who wish to know which were the 5-star books should pop over to my virtual library where I’ve rated all the books I read in 2011.
Now though let’s move to the Lizzy’s annual award-giving ceremony.
Catering is courtesy of The Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days which provided the dessert inspiration at this year’s dinner parties. Would you like a slice of Lemon Meringue Sponge or Summer Strawberry Cheesecake? The diet doesn’t start until tomorrow, after all!
Moving swiftly onto a less calorific baker’s dozen (though I suppose that depends on how you feed and water yourself while reading …..)
Audio Book of the Year/Short Story Collection of the Year: Talking Heads - Alan Bennett
Best Published in 2011: The Sense of An Ending – Julian Barnes
Biggest Surprise: Selected Writings - Heinrich von Kleist (Edited by David Constantine)
Comic Read of the Year: Baby Barista and the Art of War - Tim Kevan
Crime Read of the Year: Dark Matter – Juli Zeh
Discovery of the Year: The Foxes Come At Night – Cees Nooteboom
Historical Read of the Year: Wolf Hall – Hilary Mantel
Non-Fiction Read of the Year: Dead Sharp – Len Wanner
Novella of the Year: Down the Rabbit Hole – Juan Pablo Villabolos
So-Good-I-Read-It-Twice: Next World Novella – Matthias Politycki
The One That Got Under My Skin: Great House – Nicole Krauss
The One I’m Kicking Myself For Not Reading Earlier: Resistance – Owen Sheers
Twentieth-Century Classic of the Year: The Slaves of Solitude – Patrick Hamilton
Awarding the Book of the Year was actually a very tough call with the 2011 Booker winner battling it out with the 2009 Booker Winner. In the end though any fight between the respective protagonists, Tony Webster and Thomas Cromwell, would only have one winner. Hence -
Winner – 2009 Man Booker Prize
Winner – 2009 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction
Winner – 2010 Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction
Winner – 2010 Tournament of Books
Winner – 2011 Book of the Year (Lizzy’s Literary Life)
Effi Briest - Theodor Fontane (Readalong 
The Beauty Room - Regi Claire
My Mother's Lover - Urs Widmer
The Help - Kathryn Stockett
The Rule of Four - Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason
Noir - Robert Coover
The Taint of Midas - Anne Zouroudi
Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson
The Duel - Anton Chekhov
The Duel - Heinrich von Kleist
Gillespie and I - Jane Harris
State of Wonder - Ann Patchett
Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake
CIty of Dreadful Night - Peter Guttridge
Shadow Sister - Simone van der Vlugt
A Far Cry From Kensington - Muriel Spark
The Assault - Harry Mulisch
Next World Novella - Matthias Politycki
The Water Theatre - Lindsay Clark
Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen
The Liberation of Celia Kahn - J David Simons
Nocturnes - Kazuo Ishiguro
Hotel Du Lac - Anita Brookner
Ha, I like this approach Lizzie … I’ve done my AusLit round up, but am trying to decide whether to do a general best of round up too … I might do one following your category approach. Far more fun.
I love the category approach. I do it on my blog, too, as I think many more books deserve attention than could possibly be given on just a ten-book list.
I loved Wolf Hall, too! Excited it is becoming a trilogy
Very interesting categories. I’m glad I have most of them. I’ve only read The Next World Novella and am still looking forward to your winner and a few others.
Never heard of Dead Sharp though.
[...] to jump on the “Best of” bandwagon and, if I did it, how to do it. Then today I read Lizzy Siddal’s (love that name!) list and decided that I’d follow her lead and use categories rather than go for a simple Top Ten [...]
love your approach I may use it next year ,I ll disagree with wolf hall A book I really disliked when I read it ,all the best for 2012 stu
Opinions were very polarised in my book group, Stu. Those who got it, did so, like me, in a massive way. Those who didn’t were just as passionate (in their own way, of course.
Down the Rabbit Hole is calling my name after seeing it mentioned on a few lists today. I also think I’ll add Dark Matter to my wishlist. Thanks for writing such a wonderful book blog in 2011 and especially for hosting German lit month. Good luck with your teaching course and have a wonderful 2012!
Wolf Hall was the best of 2010. Read it with the bookclub and now we’re eagerly waiting for the sequel to come out this year.
Was it Alan Bennett himself that read your Talking Heads audiobook? I heard him read An Uncommon Reader and he did a great job.
Bennett only read one of the stories in the Talking Heads collection: A Chip In the Sugar Bowl.
Lovely to see Patrick Hamilton won one of your categories! It was my book of the year, I’m so pleased we read it together.