11 in 11 Category Challenge COMPLETED

Top and bottom books of the challenge:

I gave out quite a few 4 1/2 stars, none of the books I felt merited the elusive 5, but I thought they were very good. Understandably most were 1001 books, but there were some lighter, more fantastical reads in there.

Here are my top 1001 reads:
Day of the Triffids
The Story of Lucy Gault
All Quiet on the Western Front
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Cold Comfort Farm
The French Lieutenant's Woman
Effi Briest
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

If I had to chose the crème de la crème, I would go for The Story of Lucy Gault, which affected me so much, I couldn't put it down and it went around my head for days afterwards. The same goes for The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which was removed from the latest version of the 1001 list, wrongly as far as I can see. Lastly I would pick The French Lieutenant's Woman, I think the combination of characters and a meddling narrator gives it that extra inch.

As for the rest, I would single out these 5:

Stardust
Inkheart
The Good Earth
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The North China Lover

I enjoyed being transported to others worlds with Stardust and Inkheart. The Good Earth was so interesting, so well characterised. The Diving Bell is another of those slim volumes which catches you unawares, making you think and evaluate your own life and relationships. As for The North China Lover, an excellent revisiting of The Lover, from a different point in the author's life.

At the other end, there were few books I didn't really like, but here they are:
Bleak House
Sundays at Tiffanys'
Malinche
Lost Innocence
An Unequal Marriage
West of the Wall

Bleak House just bored me to tears and Lost Innocence was not my kind of book. West of the Wall annoyed me for the plot twist, though it had very good ideas in it. Malinche was a disappointment as I have enjoyed other books by the author. An Unequal Marriage was a horrible revisiting of Pride and Prejudice and I think James Patterson should stick to crime, as shown in Sunday at Tiffany's!