Best Books I Read in 2011

Here's the "best of" list I've been threatening to produce for the past couple of weeks.   (I'm only counting books I actually reviewed since I started consistently writing in this blog in May.  And my sole criterion for inclusion of an item on this list is the vague recollection I have when looking over my list of reviews.  And these books may very well not have been published in 2011.)  So, in no particular order:

• Isles of the Forsaken by Carolyn Ives Gilman
• The Habitation of the Blessed and The Folded World by Catherynne M. Valente
• The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer
• The Dragon's Path and The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham
• Sailing to Sarantium and Lord of Emperors by Guy Gavriel Kay
• The Winds of Khalakovo by Bradley P. Beaulieu
• Song of the Beast by Carol Berg
• Return of the Crimson Guard by Ian C. Esslemont
• Stands a Shadow by Col Buchanan

I think that's 12.   I know it's a little biased in favor of some of my favorite authors (Abraham, Kay, Berg) and series (Esslemont) but there are a couple of new names on the list too.