Favorite reads of 2011

2011 is almost over, which means it's time for "The Best/Top/Favorite _____ of 2011" lists! Here's my contribution: the best books I read in 2011.

1. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
   
2. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
   
3. Feed - Mira Grant
   
4. Unwind - Neal Shusterman
   
5. MockingJay - Suzanne Collins
   
6. Ready Player One - Ernest Cline
   
7. John Dies at the End - David Wong
   
8. Smoke and Mirrors - Neil Gaiman
   
9. Severance Package - Duane Swierczynski
   
10. The Scorch Trials - James Dashner

Given how much I've raved about The Hunger Games, it's no surprise that the trilogy took three of the top five positions, including #1. The Hunger Games was the best book I've read in a few years.

Thanks to The Hunger Games trilogy, I also discovered the Young Adult Dystopian genre this year. Unwind and The Scorch Trials are both YA Dystopian stories, and Feed could be considered one too, although it's more of a zombie novel.

Absent from my Top 10 list are any books by indie authors. Indie books made up less than ten of the 70 or so books I read in 2011. While I did read a couple of good ones, none were among the ten best. I expect to read more indie books in 2012, and perhaps one or more will make my list next year.