I read one hundred eight published books in 2011. Okay, I had a little help -- I was on the jury for the Chocolate Lily Awards (where I got to read tons of fantastic YA fiction) -- but I still am rather pleased and grateful at being exposed to so many different stories.

My favourites this year are: Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips (how can you not like a book that opens with Apollo and Aphrodite getting caught screwing in a London bathroom by a three-thousand year old virgin?), Beat the Band by Don Calame (it's fast-paced, irreverent, and very, very funny), and The Solitude of Prime Numbers by Paolo Giordano (I bought the book to prep for a trip to Rome and was thoroughly impressed with the craftsmanship of the text). While there were several works I read this year which were outstandingly good, it's these three which surprised me the most and made me sit back and go "wow."

1. Acheson, Alison. Molly's Cue.
2. Afolabi, Segun. A Life Elsewhere.
3. Afolabi, Segun. Goodbye Lucille.
4. Ammaniti, Niccolò. I'm Not Scared.
5. Asimov, Isaac. I, Robot.
6. Atwood, Margaret. Negotiating with the Dead.
7. Bailey, Linda. Stanley's Little Sister.
8. Baricco, Alessandro. Without Blood.
9. Bouchard, David. The Secret of Your Name.
10. Calame, Don. Beat the Band.
11. Cassidy, Sara. Slick.
12. Chandler, Ann. Kootenay Silver.
13. Christie, Michael. The Beggar's Garden.
14. Citra, Becky. After the Fire.
15. Coetzee, J.M. In the Heart of the Country.
16. Cook, Eileen. Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood.
17. Coupland, Douglas. Player One.
18. Darbyshire, Peter. The Warhol Gang.
19. Delaney, Rachelle. The Lost Souls of Island X.
20. de Vries, Maggie. Fraser Bear: A Cub's Life.
21. de Vries, Maggie. Hunger Journeys.
22. Diersch, Sandra and Gerri London. Skin Deep.
23. Dozois, Gardner et al. Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy.
24. dyer, kc. Facing Fire.
25. Eisner, Michael Alexander. The Crusader.
26. Flett, Julie. Owls See Clearly at Night: A Michif Alphabet.
27. Gaiman, Neil. American Gods.
28. Gartner, Zsuzsi. Better Living Through Plastic Explosives.
29. Gartner, Zsuzsi. Darwin's Bastards.
30. George, Kallie. The Melancholic Mermaid.
31. Giordano, Paolo. The Solitude of Prime Numbers.
32. Givner, Joan. A Girl Called Tennyson.
33. Grahame, Kenneth. The Wind in the Willows.
34. Gudgeon, Chris. Ghost Trackers: The Unreal World of Ghosts, Ghost-Hunting, and the Paranormal.
35. Hart, Christine. Stalked.
36. Harvey, Sarah N. and Leslie Buffam. Great Lakes & Rugged Ground: Imagining Ontario.
37. Heinlein, Robert A. Stranger in a Strange Land.
38. Hodge, Deborah. Up We Grow! A Year in the Lilfe of a Small, Local Farm.
39. Hughes, Vi. Once Upon a Bathtime.
40. Jackson, Melanie. Fast Slide.
41. Jackson, Melanie. No Way Out.
42. Jaden, Denise. Losing Faith.
43. Jordan, Rosa. Wild Spirits.
44. Juby, Susan. Nice Recovery.
45. Kao, Sleepless. Monchan's Bag.
46. Karaplis, Joanna. Fractured: Happily Never After?
47. Kew, Trevor. Sidelined.
48. Killian, Crawford. Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy.
49. Kinney, Jeff. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth.
50. La Fave, Kim and Gary Kent. Fishing with Gubby.
51. Lawson, Julie. Emily.
52. Lazar, Carole. Lucy Unstrung.
53. Leckie, Ross. Hannibal.
54. LeGuin, Ursula K. Orsinian Tales.
55. Maguire, Gregory. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
56. Malla, Pasha, Joan Thomas, and Alissa York (jury). The Journey Prize Stories 22.
57. McAllister, Ian and Nicholas Read. The Salmon Bears: Giants of the Great Bear Rainforest.
58. McAllister, Ian and Nicholas Read. The Sea Wolves: Living Wild in the Great Bear Rainforest.
59. McCann, James. Flying Feet.
60. McCarthy, Cormac. The Road.
61. McMurchy-Barber, Gina. Free as a Bird.
62. McTighe, Carolyn. How to Ruin Your Life and Other Lessons School Doesn't Teach You.
63. Mortimer, John. Rumpole and the Reign of Terror.
64. Mullock, Emily. Go Away, Unicorn!
65. Newhouse, Maxwell. Counting on Snow.
66. Newhouse, Maxwell. The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew.
67. Nielsen, Susin. Dear George Clooney, Please Marry My Mom.
68. O'Donnell, Liam. Food Fight: A Graphic Guide Adventure.
69. Olsen, Sylvia. A Different Game.
70. Page, P.K. Uirapurú.
71. Patchett, Ann. Bel Canto.
72. Peterson, Lois. The Ballad of Knuckles McGraw.
73. Peterson, Lois. Silver Rain.
74. Phillips, Marie. Gods Behaving Badly.
75. Powell, Martin and Eva Cabrera. Shakespeare: Romeo & Juliet.
76. Powell, Martin and F. Daniel. Shakespeare: Macbeth.
77. Priest, Cherie. Boneshaker.
78. Reid, Charles. Ghost of Heroes Past.
79. Reid-Stevens, Amanda. The Canoe He Called Loo Taas.
80. Ricci, Nino. The Origin of Species.
81. Riggs, Strafford. The Story of Beowulf.
82. Sauder, B.L. Year of the Golden Dragon.
83. Sawer, Johanna. Emily's Incorrigible Taste Buds.
84. Sawyer, Don. The Lunch Bag Chronicles.
85. Schwartz, Ellen. Avalanche Dance.
86. Schwartz, Ellen. Cellular.
87. Shaw, Carol Anne. Hannan & the Spindle Whorl.
88. Siddals, Mary McKenna. Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth.
89. Simpson, Caroll. The First Mosquito.
90. Stevenson, Robin. Ben's Robot.
91. Stevenson, Robin. Liars and Fools.
92. Superle, Michelle. Black Dog Dream Dog.
93. Suzuki, David and Kathy Vanderlinden. You Are The Earth: Know Your World So You Can Help Make It Better.
94. Niven, Larry. The Integral Trees.
95. Raymo, Chet. The Dork of Cork.
96. Tullson, Diane. Sea Change.
97. Turner, Sarah E. The Littlest Monkey.
98. Van Lente, Fred and Andrew Foley. Cowboys & Aliens.
99. Watts, Irene N. No Moon.
100. Watts, Irene N. No Pets Allowed.
101. Williams, Megan K. Saving Rome.
102. Winters, Kari-Lynn. Runaway Alphabet.
103. Wishinsky, Frieda. Where are you, Bear?
104. Woodward, Caroline. Singing Away the Dark.
105. Wyndham, John. Chocky.
106. Wyndham, John. Stowaway to Mars.
107. Yahgulanass, Michael Nicoll. The Little Hummingbird.
108. Young, Beryl. Follow the Elephant.