Smugglivus 2011 Guest Author: Veronica Roth

Welcome to Smugglivus 2011! Throughout this month, we will have daily guests – authors and bloggers alike – looking back at their favorite reads of 2011, and looking forward to events and upcoming books in 2012.

Who: Veronica Roth, author of the fantastically fun Dystopian YA Divergent.

Recent Work: Divergent which Thea read, loved and reviewed HERE.

Give it up for Veronica, folks!

Favorite Books of 2011:

I read a lot of good books this year, but I’m cutting myself off at two, otherwise the babbling could last all day and there would be no time left over for the feats of strength. (And the airing of grievances could be rather pointed.) So the first of my favorite books from 2011:

It was creepy. It was unique. I thought about it for days after I read it — days! It’s about two sisters, one of whom has a mysterious kind of magnetism, and the apparent resurrection of a once-dead girl. I loved how it moved into fantasy without compromising its realistic tone, and the dynamic between the sisters, which was so well realized and fascinating. Suffice it to say that this is one of those books I would foist on innocent bystanders in a bookstore. And I do not usually foist in public.

Speaking of foisting, I have already shoved THIS book into people’s hands (though they were friends, so far) several times. I didn’t really think I was a fan of fantasy, so I let the book sit on my kitchen table for a long time before I ever picked it up—but I was so glad I did. I loved watching this character grow throughout the story, and learning more about the world she lived in. It was so rich and interesting. Can’t wait for the sequel.

Favorite Movies of 2011:

My sister, my best friend from high school, and I staked out seats two hours in advance. This involved me laughing hysterically as said high school friend BOLTED across the movie theater and up a flight of stairs to claim our seats in the middle, close to the back, before the crowd of high schoolers got to them. She deserves some kind of medal for that, I think.

It was a huge moment for us, the culmination of a decade of fanhood. We laughed, we cried, we whooped when Molly called Bellatrix a bitch. We left feeling sad and listless. Post-Potter depression. The movie itself? Ah, I’m incapable of objectivity. I freaking loved it. TEAM SNAPE.

I have a theory…based on nothing but a narrow scope of observations, so feel free to discard it…that you are either a Pride and Prejudice person, a Jane Eyre person, or a Wuthering Heights person. You may like all three, but if someone were to say “I’M GOING TO BURN TWO OF THESE BOOKS AND LEAVE YOU ONE. CHOOSE NOW,” you would totally snatch one by instinct, and I think you know in your heart of hearts which one. (Or maybe you don’t like any of them, so you would say “heck, burn them all”—I don’t know your life.) Anyway, I am a Jane Eyre girl, so obviously I saw this.

I know there are many opinions about what the best television/movie adaptation of Jane Eyre is, and I’m not sure I would call this one IT, but it was definitely good. Mia Wasikowska was very convincing, and Michael Fassbender…well, let’s just say he’s not bad to look at.

Books I’m Looking Forward to in 2012:

Insignia, by S.J. Kincaid: about a gamer boy named Tom whose skillz are put to the test when the military recruits him to become a superhuman war machine in World War III. The world in this future is run more by companies than countries– which I find a little scary.

Shadow and Bone (cover not final), by Leigh Bardugo: a fantasy inspired by Tsarist Russia, in which a girl leaves her old life as a mapmaker for the military behind, and has to find a place for herself among the kingdom’s magical elite, known as the Grisha.

Other books I’m looking forward to are TOUCHED by Corrine Jackson, MILA 2.0 by Debra Driza, HEMLOCK by Kathleen Peacock & WANDERLOVE by Kirsten Hubbard, 17 & GONE by Nova Ren Suma, THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS by Claire LeGrand…okay,I’m cutting myself off.

Movies I’m Looking Forward to in 2012:

THE HUNGER GAMES: I did in fact watch the trailer several times, trying to suck in every last detail.

TWILIGHT BREAKING DAWN PART 2: Don’t lie. You totally want to see that creepy CGI baby rapidly develop into a creepy CGI child.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES: Oh, Christopher Nolan. You rescued this movie franchise from Arnold Schwarzenegger in sparkly body paint, and for that, I thank you.

Yes, it’s going to be quite a year.

Thanks, Veronica!