2011 book review

There was a lot less reading in the Nikiverse this year as there was distinctly a lot more doing.
I was shocked when i counted and had only read 68 books last year; 10 of those were rereads.
The genre breakdown is pretty much what you would expect from me:
Mystery/Action - 28
SF/F - 30
YA - 28
Non-fiction - 3
Short Story collections - 1
Graphic Novels - 3
new series started - 9
Here are 3 recommendations and 1 warning:
Totally Worth the Wait: The release of Jim Butcher's next Dresden File book was pushed back, twice. It felt like forever and ever and ever, but he said on his blog that he didn't want to release something half-assed when with a few more months of work it could be whole-assed. And he was so right. Ghost Story was not only worth the wait, but took Harry Dresden and his universe of unusual characters is a direction i could never, ever have anticipated. Well Done!
Totally NOT Worth the Wait: What happened Charlaine Harris? I've been enjoying the Sookie Stackhouse novels quite a bit, even as they go further and further afield, but Dead Reckoning was just painfully mediocre. I guess i can give you a pass on this one since the odds are in your favor. Better luck next time.
So Fun on So Many Levels: Jasper Fford's Thursday Next series has something for everybody: mystery, romance, literary allusions, puns, farce and fun with grammar.
Something Actually Different in YA: If you read enough books in any genre you start to feel like you've seen every theme, every outcome, every scenario; Garth Nix's Keys to the Kingdom series, starting with Mister Monday was a treat of variety. Yes, there is a parallel world and yes, only our hero can access it and yes, he has to find strength in himself that he didn't know he had, but the trappings of the world were really different, making use of color and time and the Seven Deadly Sins. Plus the ending was not what i expected, which is always a plus.