Summary: The books Michael encountered on his vacation; Our picks for the Overlooked Books of 2011; and two books we can't wait for you to read: Batman: Noel by Lee Bermejo and Divergent by Veronica Roth. Sometime last week Books on the Nightstand podcast passed 500,000 downloads. It's an astonishing number. True, heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported us for past 4+ years! Next week, we'll be bringing you our Favorite Books of 2011. We'd love to hear what your favorites were this year! In the comments section below, please tell us up to five of your top books. Feel free to leave a simple list, or tell us a little about the books and why you loved them. The Books on the Nightstand Retreat Author Reading Challenge (http://booksonthenightstand.com/retreat-author-reading-challenge) is coming to an end! You have until January 15 to report (https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHBEVnJYNFpHeTJoVVJhcEtYV2VIa1E6MQ) the reading that you've done. Then we'll pick three winners who will each receive a book, or two, plus a set of BOTNS Bookmarks, hand letterpress printed by Ann. The Books Michael Saw on Vacation (http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/books-at-disney-300x225.jpg) While at Disney's Hollywood Studios, I was amused (and a little horrified) to see books used entirely as props. So much so that they were actually glued to the bookshelves. I'm guessing we all love to "decorate" our homes with the books we've read and loved, but I think books strictly as decoration, especially in a way that prevents using them as intended, is going a little far! A Cry for Attention (9:34) We'll be covering our favorites of 2011 next episode, this time around we're discussing the books we feel deserve more readers. Some of them may have sold well, or made some Best of lists themselves, but in our own opinions, they should have been even bigger. Similar lists were put out by Flavorwire (http://flavorwire.com/237850/the-most-criminally-overlooked-books-of-2011) and Book Riot (http://bookriot.com/2011/12/06/top-5-most-overlooked-books-of-2011/). (Titles below link to original BOTNS podcast where the book was mentioned) Ann: * We the Animals (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/09/botns-148-your-literary-mount-rushmore.html) by Justin Torres * The Devil All the Time (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/07/botns-138.html) by Donald Ray Pollock * The Curfew (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/06/botns-podcast-133-we-have-opinions.html) by Jesse Ball * The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/02/botns-117-who-will-buy-margaret-atwoods-cheese-sandwich.html) by Elizabeth Stuckey-French * The Upright Piano Player (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/06/botns-podcast-132-books-for-gay-pride-month.html) by David Abbott Michael: * Domestic Violets (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/09/botns-episode-146-in-honor-of-grandparents-week.html) by Matthew Norman * After the Apocalypse (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/11/botns-157-books-as-security-blankets.html) by Maureen McHugh * Bright's Passage (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/06/botns-book-podcast-135-writing-so-good-it-will-scare-you.html) by Josh Ritter * The Tragedy of Arthur (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/04/botns-podcast-125-because-you-asked-for-it.html) by Arthur Phillips * Vietnamerica (http://booksonthenightstand.com/2011/01/botns-podcast-113-these-novels-are-a-work-of-art.html) by GB Tran Two Books We Can't Wait For You to Read (20:20) (http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/batman-noel-202x300.jpg) (http://booksonthenightstand.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/divergent-199x300.jpg) Batman: Noel (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11186443-batman), a graphic novel written and beautifully painted by Lee Bermejo is a Gotham City retelling of A Christmas Carol. I loved Bermejo's unexpected choice of who stood in for Scrooge.
