What was your favorite book of 2011? Did you read something that you just had to tell others about? Was there a book you found that you couldn’t put down? We would like to know what your favorite book of 2011 was. Use the “Contact Us” link at the top of this page to tell us more about a book or books you love. Feel free to provide a brief summary and/or review telling us why you chose this title. We will post some of your feedback on the library website.
My favorite book of 2011 had to be Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. This is a perfect example of a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. Here is a summary of the book from the author’s website:
“On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.
The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.
Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.
In her long-awaited new book, seven years in the making, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in her blockbuster bestseller, Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.”
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is available through the library in your favorite formats, including large print and audio. Search the catalog or ask the librarian to request a copy for you. Happy reading in 2012!
-Library Director Kris McNamer
