MediumBrow's 2011 Reading List

I may think it's silly to dwell on arbitrary markers of the passage of time, but everyone's doing it, and that's a good enough reason to get me back on the blog (with a vengeance - this post turned out long) with a look back at 2011. 

Alright.

The most popular new years' resolutions have to be exercise/weight loss, travel or reading.  (Hmmm, it appears I missed saving money and spending time with family.)  For the bibliophiles, now is the time to assess how much of their ambitious goals were met in 2011.  Based on my own lists and notes, my tally worked out to more than one book a month, which came as a pleasant surprise.  Sure, there were a couple page-turners and even some that were mostly pictures...  But some weighty stuff too.  To wit:

The Corrections, Jonathan Franzen:  I heard it was better than his newer Freedom.  I enjoyed the depiction of family dysfunction more than I expected, but it didn't inspire me to follow up with more. 

American Gods, Neil Gaiman:  Awesome.  An incredible fusion of fantasy and mythology that kept me fully immersed, both trying to follow the plot and understand how this world worked.  "I dedicate this battle to Odin!"  Thanks, Uncle Joe!

The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman:  Do graphic novels count?  I think the good ones do...  I just wanted to get a sample of the original, since I enjoyed the show (and am still enjoying Season 2!).  The source material is pretty good too, although AMC made some big changes in the plot...  The introduction also shows that Kirkman has the right philosophy of zombies.

Mistborn, Brandon Sanderson:  The friend who recommended it and I have debated whether painstaking explanations of how fantasy magic works add to or detract from the reading experience.  My stance?  I've already suspended my disbelief; why explain something that ultimately doesn't make sense any further?

The Sandman, Neil Gaiman:  Another graphic novel.  I have a ton of respect for Gaiman for coming up with another engrossing world, and pulling off the story and artwork very well.

The Road to Serfdom, Friedrich Hayek:  I owed it to SS10 to actually read some Hayek.  Given the book's rejuvenation today, I guess I'm happy that it raised some questions for me more than it made me feel like it gave me answers.  I want to know more about the mini-feud with H.G. Wells he alluded to...
 

Portfolios of the Poor:  I appreciated that it was a data-driven approach to international aid, rather than just tugging on heartstrings.  I think that's necessary to draw in more than the usual philanthropic types.

A Dance with Dragons, George R.R. Martin: Not sure how to count re-reading the earlier four books in anticipation of the latest book release...  I was disappointed that it was (predictably) just another middle act of the whole epic, and that it spent so much time on storylines that weren't my favorites, but I'm still excited for the next books.

Moby Dick, Herman Melville:  A definite classic.  I was very surprised not to actually see the white whale until the last 20 or so pages of over 300.

A Canticle for Leibowitz, Walter Miller, Jr.:  The earlier, post-apocalyptic eras were much more interesting to me than the sci-fi later ones.  It's a powerful, thought-provoking tragedy.

Snow Crash, Neal Stephenson:  Very entertaining caricature of where our society might be headed.  Kept me interested while I was trying to grasp what was actually going on.  Came together nicely, even though hacker pride isn't really for me.

Siddartha, Hermann Hesse:  A parable?  I don't think anyone is supposed to gain enlightenment from just reading the book's final meditation on unity.  Which makes me wonder why you read it at all?  Not to say that it's worthless, just not sure who it's written for, I guess.

The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump:  Heh.  First some explanation is in order - it was a cheap e-book for me to try out the nook app.  The best I can say for it is that I was surprised to hear about how down-and-out NYC was back in the '80s.  Otherwise, it was just a vanity project for the guy.  I felt kind of dirty.

Zone One, Colson Whitehead: Definitely a much more intellectual take on the zombie outbreak, making it a much slower read than, say, World War Z even though the present storyline is just three days.  Worthwhile, I'd say even for non-zombie-aficionados.

So, what's ahead for 2012?  I'm not sure a number is the right goal... but how to judge quality (and make that a SMART goal)?  In any case, I have probably about a hundred books on my ever-growing list (to be published sometime?).  I think I can - and will - do better this year.