Which has got me thinking…what DO I love in a book? And I think I’ve narrowed it down to three factors: the “Ooo!,” the “Awww…,” and the “Ohhh!”

The “Oooo!”

I love an exciting hook/premise. (Okay, so I’m not that much different than the kids I work with.) I like books that make me laugh, that make me go “huh?,” that make me say, “WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?” But the “Oooo!” factor alone does not make a great read for me. I’ve abandoned many, many a book because once I began it, there wasn’t any follow-through. That’s because I also need…

The “Awww…”

Books with characters I care about–ones that are flawed and have to make hard decisions. Books about themes that are deep and resonant. You know, books with HEART. If the “Awww,” is particularly strong, it can overcome a weak “Oooo!”

The “Ohhh!”

And the best of the best: books that surprise me. Maybe it’s with a clever turn of phrase, maybe it’s a character who is not who I expect them to be, maybe it’s with a plot twist I didn’t see coming. I read a lot, and I LOVE it when books surprise me.

So, if they were asking me tomorrow morning what books I loved in 2011*, here’s what I would say:

Best of 2011
(yes, I know some came out earlier than 2011, but this is when I read them, so humor me)

W.H. Beck’s favorite books »

* 2011 was not a great reading year for me. There are many, many books–some on everyone else’s best books lists–that for whatever reason, I haven’t gotten to yet. Also, I kind of flopped on listing everything I read, like I usually do. May 2012 be better!

}

Things to be excited about: She’s chosen my Dr. Kate: Angel on Snowshoes as her January 2011 pick!

And finally, my illustrious company:

Book Selections

September
Preschool: My Garden by Kevin Henkes
Primary: Shark vs. Train by Chris Barton & Tom Lichtenheld
Intermediate: Justin Case: School, Drool and Other Daily Disasters by Rachel Vail
Middle School: One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
High School: Hate List by Jennifer Brown
The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir by Kao Kalia Yang

October
Preschool: Boo to You! By Lois Ehlert
Primary: Z is for Zombie by Merrily Ruther
Intermediate: American Chillers: Wisconsin Werewolves by Johnathan Rand
Middle School: Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth
High School: Stitches by David Small
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

November
Preschool: What can you do with a Paleta?/ Que puedes hacer con una paleta?by Carmen Tafolla
Primary: The Village Garage by G. Brian Karas; Horse Song by Betsy and Ted Lewin
Intermediate: Going Home, Coming Home by Truong Tran
Middle School: Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper; Red Glass by Laura Resau
High School: Rush by Jonathan Friesen

December
Preschool: What Will You Be Sara Mee? By Kate Aver Avraham
Primary: Tiger and Turtle by James Rumford
Intermediate: Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
Middle School: The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman
High School: Funny in Farsi: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America by Firoozeh Dumas

January
Preschool: Yes Day! By Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Tom Lichtenheld
Primary: Beautiful Moon/ Bella Luna by Dawn Jeffers
Intermediate: Dream: A Tale of Wonder, Wisdom & Wishes by Susan V. Bosak; Dr. Kate: Angel on Snowshoes by Rebecca Hogue Wojahn
Middle School: My Life with the Lincolns by Gayle Brandeis
High School: Bruiser by Neal Shusterman

February
Preschool: I Can Help by David Hyde Costello
Primary: My People by Langston Hughes
Intermediate: Looking Like Me by Walter Dean Myers
Dyamonde Daniel by Nikki Grimes
Middle School: Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick
High School: Shooting Star by Fredrick McKissack Jr.

March
Preschool: Pouch! By David Ezra Stein
Primary: Book Fiesta! By Pat Mora
Intermediate: Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection by Matt Dembicki
Middle School: Shooting the Moon by Frances O’Roark Dowell
High School: Liar by Justine Larbalestier

April
Preschool: Never Smile at a Monkey by Steve Jenkins
Primary: A Whiff of Pine, a Hint of Skunk: A Forest of Poems by Deborah Ruddell & Joan Rankin
Intermediate: Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat by Nikki Giovanni
Middle School: All the Broken Pieces by Ann. E. Burg
High School: Partly Cloudy: Poems of Love and Longing by Gary Soto; Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

May
Preschool: A Beach Tail by Karen Lynn Williams
Primary: What if? By Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Intermediate: Top of the Order by John Coy
Middle School: More About Boy by Roald Dahl
High School: Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork

Summer
Preschool: Dog’s Colorful Day by Emma Dodd
Primary: Pigs to the Rescue by John Himmelman
Intermediate: Volcano Wakes Up! By Lisa Westberg Peters
Middle School: Albert Einstein: Giants of Science by Kathleen Krull
High School: Candor by Pam Bachorz; Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Image from BarelyFitz's Flickr Creative Commons

So, it was Father’s Day last Sunday. Per usual, I’m approximately 4 days behind the rest of the world’s calendar. That’s not to say I didn’t give my dad a hug on Sunday (we had him over for a cookout), but I didn’t exactly get his gift to him that day. I delivered it last night.

What do you give a dad who has everything? Who is retired and financially comfortable enough that he has the time and money to get and do whatever he’d like, when he’d like it*? Well, I’ve been giving him booklists. A few years ago, desperate for a gift, I gave him a bookmark with a list of books that sounded “like him.” He carried it around for a year and when he’d come in to volunteer at my school library (yes, he’s that great of a dad), he’d often have one of the books on the list under his arm. He wondered out loud to me once how I had compiled a list of so many great books that tickled his interest.

Ha! Finding books for readers is kinda what I do for a living, Dad. Probably my favorite part.

So, this year, it was time for a new list. And here it is: The Super-Long Father’s Day List of Books. It IS long, in no particular order, a strange mix of nonfiction, mystery, and science fiction/fantasy, and it includes some series halfway through because that’s where my dad is in them. I don’t know why I’m posting it here, except it’s books and it’s a list and I’m a librarian, so pass it on I must in the hopes that someone else somewhere might find their “just right” book.

Enjoy! (And please, I’m always looking for suggestions for next year’s list. Send them my way!)

* Not that he necessarily does. He’s pretty frugal, my dad. Which only makes gift-giving harder because if you give something too extravagant, it might be construed as, well…extravagant.

* I’ve already waxed on about my dad and reading here.

You can see their full list of 2009 winners here: http://societyofschoollibrarians.webs.com/2009bookawards.htm.