Nomes of inkcrush is hosting the Sharing the Awesome awards – which is a series of posts about people’s favorite books for 2011 (so far) are. Looks like she’s doing this until the end of June and everyone is welcome to jump in whenever they want. Day 1 is about your favorite books, Day 2 focuses on your favorite characters and Day 3 is about the scenes and randomness!

Looks like fun to me! There are 20 categories at inkcrush, but I don’t think I have answers for all of them, so I’ll just wing it. Here are my choices out of the 38 (and a half) books I’ve read so far in 2011.

favourite book read so far in 2011:

Unsticky… oh how do I love thee. This book left me obsessed with Grace and Vaughn after I finished it. I would ponder the ending for weeks afterward. Part of the reason I bought So You Think You Can Love Me, (Manning’s second adult novel) halfway through reading Unsticky was because I read Grace and Vaughn would make cameos, and I wanted to check to see how they were doing. I didn’t move this book from my bedside table for about a month after reading it because I “may need to reread my favorite parts before I go to bed”. Yeah.

Brilliantly funny:

I’m actually halfway through this book right now. I didn’t expect this, because  this is an urban fantasy, but it’s got a lot of amusing moments. There’s a doggy sidekick (an Irish wolfhound), who makes me smile like crazy (yes, magically talking dog trope = one of my weaknesses). I’m constantly chuckling over this one.

Delicious rainy day comfort read:

Sugar Queen surprised me with its charm and magic. This is a definite comfort read. I felt like I trusted the author to make everything all right in the end, even though I’d NEVER read anything by Sarah Addison Allen before. And she did. Yes, I know, I need to go and find Garden Spells.

Adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award:

Oh. My. God. Freaking.. ahhh. Part of the adrenalin here comes from Toby and one of her love interests and what happens in this book. One of those books that has you looking for someone else who has read it so you can basically scream “OMG!” “RIGHT?! RIGHT?” “AND THEN THAT PART WHERE… ” “I KNOW!!!”  and both of you will know exactly what the other is saying. There’s a lot going on in this series to mull over and try to guess what it means. Which I love.

Most original and imaginative:

Chime wins most original/imaginative hands down. It’s WEIRD, and I’ve said this in my review, the weird takes some getting used to, but I think if  you’re a reader where the weird works for you, it works very well. I would also put this down for the most atmospheric and vivid setting award for the strange swamp and the creatures that live there. I have images of lush vegetation, water, and mist.

I-so-want-to-go-there award

Because of The Thief, going to Greece and seeing the Sea of Olives is up there on my List of Things I’d Like To Do.

Outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it:

I loved a ZOMBIE BOOK. A zombie won me over as a romantic lead. Did not expect that at all. Did not expect to love this one as much as I did. And I find myself trying to convince other zombie-no-love people to try it (which is – sigh, kind of difficult).

Series that i’m loving:

If you’ve been following this blog, you knew I would choose this. I tried The Thief, and then I just couldn’t help it – I had to read the rest. And now I must wait for book 5. Darn lack of self control, I should have paced myself.

I’ve also been blown away with Carolyn Crane’s Disillusionists trilogy. The ending of Double Cross? Amazing. A very well thought out series that has the reader guessing about who the real villain is. Love the anti-hero angle here.

I believe I’ve already talked about this one. Quite addicted, thank you.

I-had-no-idea-I-would-love this-so award:

You know, I didn’t think this would do it for me, but after one review I decided I had to read it, and I’m so glad I did. I found Bianca’s casual use of expletives so refreshing, and although I didn’t agree with her using a guy she hardly likes for sex, the unapologetic messiness of her life appealed to me. I wanted her to figure things out, and she does. I was dithering whether I should put this book down for the most memorable voice award. I guess it goes there too.