2012 Reading Recap

I usually do not write end-of-the-year posts. This is mainly because I am lazy and also because I am never sure what to write. But reading almost everyone else's posts I thought I'd throw something together.

So here it goes:

I read 96 books this past year, excluding books related to school. It feels like I read a lot more so this was a bit surprising. Not surprising, 85 of those 96 were fiction. I am a fiction whore.

The ratio of authors was better than in past years, with 57 female authors to 39 males. This is a pretty darn good ratio for me, as I do gravitate toward female authors more than males. This may have to do with my aversion to certain genres. *shrug*

Interestingly though (or maybe not), the books I remember most from this past year are primarily from male authors. And by most, I mean I talked about and recommended these books to others and I hardly ever do this.

Highlights

Colin Meloy - Wildwood

Chad Harbach - The Art of Fielding

Patrick DeWitt - The Sisters Brothers

Markus Zusak - The Book Thief

Dave Cullen - Columbine

Marc Fitten - Elza's Kitchen

A.M. Homes - May We Be Forgiven

John Green - The Fault in Our Stars

William M. Kuhn - Mrs. Queen Takes the Train

Ann Patchett - State of Wonder

Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson - Kicking & Dreaming: A Story of Heart, Soul and Rock and Roll

Cristina Alger - The Darlings

My favorite read overall was A.M. Homes' May We Be Forgiven. I don't really know if I got everything packed in its pages but I do know I've been thinking about the book every day since I finished it. And that is a monumental feat.






My second favorite read was The Book Thief. Just...wow.

One other highlight of the year was the resurrection of a local book club with former colleagues. You can find us on Good Reads as the "Sunday Brunch Club."

Side note: Patchett showing up on my list is a bit of surprise as her books are soooooo slow for me. I feel like I'm in quicksand whenever I pick one up, which is why I'm still slogging through Run and Bel Canto four years after first starting them. But I forced myself one afternoon to read State of Wonder from cover to cover; after 200 pages I finally got sucked in and sucked in good. The ending was poor but I choose to ignore it. :-)

Disappointments

I try not to be too disappointed by books but there were a couple which were so based on the social hype:

Emma Donoghue - Room

Ami McKay - The Virgin Cure

Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl

Alison Espach - The Adults

I Wanted To Like These More Than I Did

These are the books you wish were just the tiniest bit better so they could be on the highlight list:

Jasper Fforde - Shades of Grey

Ernest Cline - Ready Player One

Greg Oleaer - Fathermucker

Kris D'Agostino - The Sleepy Hollow Family Almanac

Anouk Markvotiz - I Am Forbidden

I debated having a category for books I didn't like but this seemed unproductive. Even if I dislike a book I still appreciate the effort the author and everyone involved in the publication put into its being. Well, unless it seriously offends then appreciate is hardly the word for my reaction.

Here's to lots of great reads in 2013!