Second Look: My 2012 Reading List (part 2/2)
Continued from part 1:
(This is a queued post, but I will link to part 1 after I get back.)
August
89. From Baghdad, With Love [NF] - Jay Kopelman w/ Melinda Roth. 191 pg/2006. [8/1]
You could make a whole career out of reading memoirs re: dogs rescued/adopted from war zones, often by soldiers. I made a conscious decision not to (because at some point I knew I would simply be overwhelmed by the thought of how many dogs there must not have happy endings), but I'm glad I read this one, even though I never got to the follow-up.
90. The Story of Us - Deb Caletti. 389 pg/2012. [8/2]
I love that this title makes me think of the Taylor Swift song every time, but this is not one I would reread.
91. Blue Smoke - Dorothy Lyons. 244 pg/1953. [8/5]
Another Interlibrary Loan score, PERFECTION.
92. Quad - C.G. Watson. 296/2007. [8/8]
Mehhh. The "school shooting" story that was mostly about how bullying makes people sad. I am not particularly sad to see this author found limited publishing success -- one more book in 2016 and nothing else showing.
93. Silver Birch - Dorothy Lyons. 308 pg/1939. [8/9]
The victory scream I let out when I realized that I could get this stupid-rare-and-expensive title via ILL...first book in the quartet that included my childhood favorite Golden Soverign. I have since purchased a slightly less expensive copy that I should reread. The pages were in worse/dirtier condition than I expected from the pics online, but I cherish the fact that it's unique for having been rebound and stamped/embossed on the spine as (former) property of a Wisconsin library.
94. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be [NF] - Farley Mowat. 211 pg/1957. [8/9]
I remember very little of this, but I know I had a blast and that it was everything I dreamed of in a kid-friendly vintage memoir of a simpler time. I picked up a copy at some point, I think...
95. Dream of Night - Heather Henson. 218 pg/2010. [8/10]
This one's kinda weird with the parts where you hear the horse's thoughts, but...this was early in my journey back to reading middle grade, and honestly I was just really excited to find a good standalone horse book set in the modern day. I have this too.
96. Lifting The Sky - Mackie d'Arge. 311 pg/2009. [8/19]
Book twins! If only because they were both new middle grade horse books I read back to back. :) Got it at the dollar store originally, still remember it very fondly and so have kept it.
97. Close Friends [NF] - Peter Jenkins. 319 pg/1989. [8/25]
Forever fond of this one that I remember reading way back when I was a kid (probably 10-13), because i was reading everything I could manage from the nonfiction pet section in the library. It was nice to revisit it as an adult when I could understand everything better (and had a better sense of him after reading A Walk Across America!); I still have my copy.
98. I Brake For Yard Sales [NF] - Lara Spencer. 179 pg/2011. [8/26]
I wasn't expecting this to be as much about repurposing furniture and interior design as it was (I also didn't realize the author was famous at the time), but it was a fun and glossy magazine-like read. I might enjoy it more on a revisit, now that I know what it's about (and am way more into interior design).
99. The Queen Geek Social Club - Laura Preble. 319 pg/2006. [8/29]
I don't remember the content at ALL (except I think there's a...robot nanny/housekeeper? not futuristic, just an inventor for a father) In a very rare turn of events, I swear my positive memory of its vibes/interest in rereading this just grows stronger over time.
100. The Girl With The Mermaid Hair - Delia Ephron. 312 pg/2010. [8/30]
Oh yeah, the one I found super confusing about whether it was real or not. 2 stars, do not recommend.
101. Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) - Sarah Mlynowski. 357 pg/2011. [8/30]
Remember what I was saying about Mlynowski above?
My strongest memory is long and full of spoilers, so buckle up:
[spoilers]
I'm pretty sure this is the book where they get a kitten, and something happens to the kitten where they rush it to an emergency vet who informs them the bill will be like, a thousand dollars on the spot...or they can just have it put to sleep, and while I don't remember what choice they made, I do remember that:
--
a) I'm pissed I can't forget this scene,
b) I bawled thinking about what I would do in this situation (hint: probably not go into debt),
c) I definitely flung this scenario into my Klaine Fanfic document, imagining their future life in New York, and made myself cry harder Method-Writing as a Kurt who hates saying they can't afford that, but they can't, and a Blaine who knows that but is devastated anyway, and so after she's gone he privately vows never to suggest something as stupid as possibly owning a pet again.
-----------
102. Oink: My Life With Mini-Pigs [NF] - Matt Whyman. 336 pg/2011. [8/30]
I don't remember ANYTHING from this, to the point that I almost decided to donate my copy on the assumption I wouldn't miss it, but...I also am certain that if I read a chapter, I would be drawn under its hilarious spell of a frazzled family man in a minute. Also, guess we're really coming up on a decade of wanting to read his not-published-in-the-U.S. follow-up memoir Walking with Sausage Dogs, huh.
September
103. Instructions For a Broken Heart - Kim Culbertson. 304 pg/2011. [9/1]
Another of the rare outstanding YA's, one that put Culbertson on my list as an auto-read author. Also I had such a blast casting it with Glee characters because of the reasons shown below, and I would do so again.
caption: "Well this looks familiar..."
104. Ordinary Beauty - Laura Weiss. 320 pg/2011. [9/5]
This book has STAYED with me, and not just in the literal sense. I have it on my shelf in easy reach and I page through it all the time. I upgraded it to 5 stars after a partial reread a couple years ago, even.
105. The Summer of Firsts and Lasts - Terra Elan McVoy. 423 pg/2011. [9/14]
I'm pretty sure this book has sexcapades (I can't believe I missed the innuendo in the title), because I can't imagine what else would have made me...not blacklist the author, exactly, but also feel Zero desire to ever pick up another book of hers.
106. Memory Boy - Will Weaver. 230 pg/2001. [9/15]
A book I had also read in college (but didn't remember reading, lol), I'm still not sure I'd call it a favorite, but it was a good take on survival in an environmental-disaster apocalypse.
107. Badd - Tim Tharp. 308 pg/2011. [9/15]
Goose egg of memory here. Something about a young veteran (not the main character) returning home after an injury, possibly a mental one?
108. Shine - Lauren Myracle. 359 pg/2011. [9/16]
I'm not mad I read this; it's better than a lot of her books if not the best, but I'm glad I read it when I did. I don't think it would interest me as much now.
109. The Survivors - Will Weaver. 356 pg/2012. [9/20]
The sequel to Memory Boy but focused on his sister this time. Also good but I don't remember as much from this one.
110. Wanderlove - Kirsten Hubbard. 338 pg/2012. [9/21]
ETERNAL FAVE. So fave that it's actually on my bookshelf, the one next to my desk! One day I'll reread it. Meanwhile, I remain in despair that she wrote two perfect YA novels but has only published two middle grade novels otherwise (which don't particularly excite me so I haven't read them).
111. What Happened To Goodbye - Sarah Dessen. 402 pg/2011. [9/24]
The book that made me officially LOVE Sarah Dessen again. Still not perfect, but I loved the main character and her love interest in equal measure, so damned if it hasn't stayed in my top 5 since then. I own a copy and I still think so fondly of this reading experience.
112. Playing Hurt - Holly Schindler. 303 pg/2011. [9/25]
Raaaage. Second book from her, and the one that got her blacklisted. Which won't be changing anytime soon; the anger is so fresh it feels like I just read this yesterday. Thankfully I followed up this rage-read with...
October
113. Songs For A Teenage Nomad - Kim Culbertson. 245 pg/2007. [10/10]
LOVE. I, in fact, remembered this book so fondly that I later went out of my way to buy it on ThriftBooks instead of waiting to randomly run across it in person. I paid double my usual price for used books (FOUR DOLLARS! for an edition I couldn't even see!), that's how badly I needed it and its whole cute playlist in my hands. I still haven't seen a used copy in person, so I regret nothing! Except for the fact that I don't know where it is at the moment.
114. Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV [NF] - Warren Littlefield w/ T.R. Pearson. 326 pg/2012. [10/12]
The business talk went over my head, but I'm so glad I read this.
115. Hooked - Catherine Greenman. 288 pg/2011. [10/19]
Aww, this book. The one I didn't love at the time, but reread a couple of years ago because my memory of the writing style being above-average stayed with me. It got better the 2nd time, upped to 4 stars. Please publish another book someday??
116. Kings of Colorado - David E. Hilton. 288 pg/2011. [10/21]
This was a brutal read, so unlike my typical fare, but it impressed me even then, when (as you can see) my adult-fiction reading was minimal. And I'm glad I read it/very surprised that he never published anything else (it really seemed like the kind of Literary Dude Fiction people would flock to read), because I've solved it for multiple people on lost-book forums, so strongly did some of the imagery stick with me.
117. Frozen Heat - "Richard Castle". 313 pg/2012. [10/27]
This was my favorite Nikki Heat book, but damned if I can remember why or what happened (did it use the waking-up-handcuffed-together bit from the show, or nearly dying in a freezer? or maybe both?).
118. The Fault In Our Stars - John Green. 318 pg/2012. [10/27]
I never did get around to buying a copy of this*, because as much as it dominated Tumblr back in the day and as fun as it was to be swept up in that fandom rush (i.e. I'm so glad I read it when I did), a few years later I realized I didn't feel any pull to revisit it. I didn't even have any interest in seeing the movie. Unless West Side Story manages to change my opinion of Ansel Potatoface, damn you.
*I actually found the collector's edition at the library sale earlier this month! But after browsing through it and discovering the only special content was an extended interview, I realized I did not care about John Green's thoughts or extra insight into this story that much, and left it for someone who will be more excited to get it for a song.
119. Pure Gold: Adventures with Six Rescued Golden Retrievers [NF] - Holli Pfau. 263 pg/2012. [10/30]
A nice pet memoir, but of course all I remember are the weird parts I mentioned in my review, "when she wrote from her dogs' point of view or described their spirits coming back to talk to her." Except, I think maybe, was this the book where she brought a therapy dog to the hospital for a teenage boy with cancer or something similar, and he was able to open up to the dog when left alone? That scene made an impact on me. For Blaine Anderson fanfic-scribbling reasons. (Did you think I was done mentioning him? nah)
120. The Sharp Time - Mary O'Connell. 228 pg/2011. [10/31]
Even though I don't remember the content or the plot, every so often I still think about how strangely beautiful the writing in this one was.
121. Leap - Jodi Lundgren. 217 pg/2011. [10/31]
I remember reading this on the bench outside the library right after I'd checked it out -- but at the same time, it's like I genuinely don't remember reading the content. That's how 2-star nothing it was to me.
November
(side note: oh my god I read SO MUCH this month. Look at November 4th; four in one day! A work-free Sunday, but still)
122. The Perfect Distance - Kim Ablon Whitney. 246 pg/2005. [11/1]
I was just so TICKLED to find a modern-day horse book in YA, let alone one from an author I'd read and enjoyed previously, in a book that had nothing to do with horses (See You Down the Road). I'm glad to see most of her subsequent work has stuck to horses, albeit a fair number of them looking to be self-published New Adult.
123. Tales of an African Vet [NF] - Dr. Roy Aronson. 224 pg/2011. [11/1]
I don't remember anything from this! Seems like a fun diversion though; I can see why I read it.
124. Lost in the River of Grass - Ginny Rorby. 255 pg/2011. [11/3]
My least favorite of her books, but a good survival story -- and the first one where I learned what the Everglades are really like, aside from what I'd seen on CSI: Miami. Looking it up just now, very cool to learn it's based on something that really happened to her husband, and which she originally published as a short article in a magazine, then adapted as YA fiction.
125. Cleo: The Cat Who Mended A Family [NF] - Helen Brown. 295 pg/2009. [11/3]
O yeah, that one that made me sob for twenty years. But it was good, as evidenced by the fact that I've since read the second memoir and a novel from her.
126. Zen & Xander Undone - Amy Kathleen Ryan. 212 pg/2010. [11/4]
It's weird that I have such a general feeling of fondness toward this, yet can't remember it at all. Possibly it was not actually as good as I remember; they both kinda sound like brats in the description.
127. Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers. 246 pg/2009. [11/4]
My first CS book (or 2nd, if you count that I quit Cracked Up to Be after 40 pages); it was fine but nothing special.
128. Sophie: The Incredible True Story of the Castaway Dog [NF] - Emma Pearse. 307 pg/2012. [11/4]
My patience for news-stories-turned-into-full-books is low these days, but I had a good time with them back then.
129. Two Girls of Gettysburg - Lisa Klein. 393 pg/2008. [11/4]
This is so "eh" in my memory compared to her stories reimagining girls in Shakespeare, but I do remember it being just as well written.
130. Let's Pretend This Never Happened [NF] - Jenny Lawson. 319 pg/2012. [11/6]
THE MOST HILARIOUS BOOK OF ALL TIME?? Still love it, own a paperback copy, just realized I still haven't read the bonus chapter in said copy!
131. Sharks & Boys - Kristen Tracy. 246 pg/2011. [11/6]
I wanted to read about a shark attack and by god, I did. (I otherwise remember nothing, except that someone dies. This book deserves a new edition with a better title.) (also, omg, why do like...all of her books look better than the two I managed to read??) (this + 'Lost It")
132. Sign Language - Amy Ackley. 392 pg/2011. [11/8]
Awww, my little Second Chance Summer book-twin, I love you! Still sad Ackley never published anything else.
133. Glee: The Beginning - Sophia Lowell. 216 pg/2010. [11/10]
134. Glee: Foreign Exchange - Sophia Lowell. 245 pg/2011. [11/10]
135. Glee: Summer Break - Sophia Lowell. 213 pg/2011. [11/11]
I'm so glad I got my hands on these books at the peak of my Glee fannishness, and I still own them all AND can tell them apart without even looking them up! They're none of them oustanding, but they are a novelty.
136. Psych Major Syndrome - Alicia Thompson. 330 pg/2009. [11/17]
Another of the standouts of the year -- unique and also the one I recommend errrreywhere whenever someone asks for a YA novel with a college-age protagonist "that isn't NA," because I genuinely think it's one of the best representations of the typical freshman experience out there. Or was; I guess it's getting on in years now. Not a single smart phone to be found.
137. Breathless - Jessica Warman. 311 pg/2009. [11/8]
I remember only my hatred of the main character and her brother, so much that I'm surprised to see I liked her roommate/their friendship enough to give this 3 stars. Didn't even realize I've read 2 others by this author (both much better - Beautiful Lies and Where the Truth Lies).
138. Without Tess - Marcella Pixley. 281 pg/2011. [11/18]
Yeah I regret reading this. Annoying and boring! Yet somehow I remembered enough to solve it on a lost-book forum, go figure. (I assure you, I have seen other queries where it turned out to be a book I liked, but I didn't recognize it enough to solve myself)
139. Thumped - Megan McCafferty. 290 pg/2012. [11/18]
I'm pretty sure I didn't like the conclusion to this duology as much because it had the characters doing the annoying thing where they question the establishment, and I kinda liked this particular establishment.
140. Lock and Key - Sarah Dessen. 422 pg/2008. [11/22]
If What Happened to Goodbye was a delight, this one was a touchdown. I think all the time about how much I liked these characters and still have my copy on display.
141. Dear Readers and Riders [NF] - Marguerite Henry. 220 pg/1969. [11/23]
I didn't evn know this EXISTED until 2012, imagine my delight in being able to get it near instantly via ILL (and now I have my own copy). ...still haven't reread any of her novels though, whoops.
142. Izzy & Lenore [NF] - Jon Katz. 199 pg/2008. [11/23]
And just like that... my Jon Katz era (finally) ended.
143. Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone - Kat Rosenfield. 279 pg/2012. [11/24]
Boring boring boring boring boring boring dull!
144. Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson. 468 pg/2012. [11/24]
Aw, my second Matson. I remember the general scope of this, but of the four of hers I've read, I remember specific parts of this the least/am least excited to reread it, even though I rated Since You've Been Gone lower. But I still would reread it, theoretically, and I think I'd enjoy it.
145. Returnable Girl - Pamela Lowell. 229 pg/2006. [11/25]
This one was so sweet. It's hard to make a foster girl bratty and still make me love her, but here we are.
146. You Against Me - Jenny Downham. 413 pg/2010. [11/26]
Honestly can't believe I finished this. This was so annoying it got her on my author blacklist, having already DNFed Before I Die.
December
147. Wolf: The Journey Home - 'Asta Bowen. 276 pg/2006. [12/1]
I know I was really impressed by the realistic writing style when I read it, like the best of the animal books I read as a kid, but I don't remember much now.
148. Pregnant Pause - Han Nolan. 340 pg/2011. [12/1]
Nolan's books are interesting to me because they're beautifully written, and they're smart and have meaningful things to say, but they never seem to personally connect that well with me. Nevertheless, they're also memorable, and in this one's case I actually bumped it up to 4 stars on Goodreads just for having a more unusual outcome of a teen pregnancy.
[spoiler for what that is]
(planning to give the baby up for adoption, but deciding to keep it after the baby's born with Down Syndrome and the potential adoptive parents back out. Unplanned pregnancies carried to term rarely yield anything less than perfectly healthy newborns in fiction, unless the baby's health is the main plot -- and certainly not in teen lit)
149. They're Only Human - James Grieve. 231 pg/2001. [12/3]
The first line of my review, and also my first reaction every time I look this one up and decide I'm gonna reread it: Animal rights + student/teacher relationship = how could it go wrong?
The second line of my review, and the answer I need to remind myself why I shouldn't bother: Well, the animal rights activists could be a perfect cliche of crazy vigilante-justice, the relationship could involve a girl way too young and naive for this to be anything but gross and predatory (even if the text wasn't obvious about his past indiscretions), and the whole thing could be boring as sin, like it was just pasted together from a variety of standard-issue talking points about the above two things.
I wish I didn't go through this cycle every single time, but I do.
150. Skinny - Donna Cooner. 260 pg/2012. [12/9]
Big ball o' meh!
151. Long Live The Queen - Ellen Emerson White. 311 pg/2008 (updated version). [12/18]
This was such a fun dollar store find at the time that I kept it, but damned if I still haven't read the last book in the quartet.
152. Double Vision - Diana Hendry. 272 pg/1990. [12/25]
I wish I remembered more about this because I'm surprised it still has like NO Goodreads presence (and my former copy's cover still isn't on there!). All I remember is that I persistently think this is set during WWII when actually it's during the 1950s.
153. A Beautiful Friendship - David Weber. 352 pg/2011. [12/25]
That time janusfiles convinced me to read a sci-fi book because treecats! I remember it decently, but have no desire to revisit it or continue past the 2 books I read.
154. No Promises In The Wind - Irene Hunt. 247 pg/1970. [12/27]
On the other hand, this lovely little historical -- one of Hunt's many knockouts -- retains a fond place in my memory, if not on my bookshelves (I still have it! It's just in a box under the bed. But the fact taht I know which box is an honor on its own)
155. Between Expectatons: Lessons from a Pediatric Residency [NF] - Meghan MacLean Weir. 272 pg/2011. [12/28]
I'm really glad I read it when I did (in the thick of my Scrubs obsession), but also don't regret that I eventually donated it.
156. Where You Are - J.H. Trumble. 320 pg/2012. [12/29]
Oh, prized one-and-only win from Goodreads Giveaways*, you retain a beloved spot on my shelf. It was the perfect Christmas present that year; at no other time in my life could I possibly have loved this new adult m/m student/teacher romance as much. I still like it a lot and have kept it at 5 stars, it's just maybe no longer my absolute favorite read of 2012.
(*to be fair, I don't enter that many -- only ones where I genuinely want to own the book or can't get them at the local library. on the other hand, shouldn't my discerning taste combined with my extensive review record and 59 whole followers be rewarded already?? I know these drawings are least slightly weighted and not entirely random!)
=====================
P.S. New This Year
You know how it's always so hard to pick your favorite reads of the year in December? I'm going to try that for 2012 now that I've had 9-10 years of perspective. Here are my top 10 that have stood the test of time (first-time reads only). In alphabetical order because Real Order was too hard:
(This is a queued post, but I will link to part 1 after I get back.)
August
89. From Baghdad, With Love [NF] - Jay Kopelman w/ Melinda Roth. 191 pg/2006. [8/1]
You could make a whole career out of reading memoirs re: dogs rescued/adopted from war zones, often by soldiers. I made a conscious decision not to (because at some point I knew I would simply be overwhelmed by the thought of how many dogs there must not have happy endings), but I'm glad I read this one, even though I never got to the follow-up.
90. The Story of Us - Deb Caletti. 389 pg/2012. [8/2]
I love that this title makes me think of the Taylor Swift song every time, but this is not one I would reread.
91. Blue Smoke - Dorothy Lyons. 244 pg/1953. [8/5]
Another Interlibrary Loan score, PERFECTION.
92. Quad - C.G. Watson. 296/2007. [8/8]
Mehhh. The "school shooting" story that was mostly about how bullying makes people sad. I am not particularly sad to see this author found limited publishing success -- one more book in 2016 and nothing else showing.
93. Silver Birch - Dorothy Lyons. 308 pg/1939. [8/9]
The victory scream I let out when I realized that I could get this stupid-rare-and-expensive title via ILL...first book in the quartet that included my childhood favorite Golden Soverign. I have since purchased a slightly less expensive copy that I should reread. The pages were in worse/dirtier condition than I expected from the pics online, but I cherish the fact that it's unique for having been rebound and stamped/embossed on the spine as (former) property of a Wisconsin library.
94. The Dog Who Wouldn't Be [NF] - Farley Mowat. 211 pg/1957. [8/9]
I remember very little of this, but I know I had a blast and that it was everything I dreamed of in a kid-friendly vintage memoir of a simpler time. I picked up a copy at some point, I think...
95. Dream of Night - Heather Henson. 218 pg/2010. [8/10]
This one's kinda weird with the parts where you hear the horse's thoughts, but...this was early in my journey back to reading middle grade, and honestly I was just really excited to find a good standalone horse book set in the modern day. I have this too.
96. Lifting The Sky - Mackie d'Arge. 311 pg/2009. [8/19]
Book twins! If only because they were both new middle grade horse books I read back to back. :) Got it at the dollar store originally, still remember it very fondly and so have kept it.
97. Close Friends [NF] - Peter Jenkins. 319 pg/1989. [8/25]
Forever fond of this one that I remember reading way back when I was a kid (probably 10-13), because i was reading everything I could manage from the nonfiction pet section in the library. It was nice to revisit it as an adult when I could understand everything better (and had a better sense of him after reading A Walk Across America!); I still have my copy.
98. I Brake For Yard Sales [NF] - Lara Spencer. 179 pg/2011. [8/26]
I wasn't expecting this to be as much about repurposing furniture and interior design as it was (I also didn't realize the author was famous at the time), but it was a fun and glossy magazine-like read. I might enjoy it more on a revisit, now that I know what it's about (and am way more into interior design).
99. The Queen Geek Social Club - Laura Preble. 319 pg/2006. [8/29]
I don't remember the content at ALL (except I think there's a...robot nanny/housekeeper? not futuristic, just an inventor for a father) In a very rare turn of events, I swear my positive memory of its vibes/interest in rereading this just grows stronger over time.
100. The Girl With The Mermaid Hair - Delia Ephron. 312 pg/2010. [8/30]
Oh yeah, the one I found super confusing about whether it was real or not. 2 stars, do not recommend.
101. Ten Things We Did (And Probably Shouldn't Have) - Sarah Mlynowski. 357 pg/2011. [8/30]
Remember what I was saying about Mlynowski above?
My strongest memory is long and full of spoilers, so buckle up:
[spoilers]
I'm pretty sure this is the book where they get a kitten, and something happens to the kitten where they rush it to an emergency vet who informs them the bill will be like, a thousand dollars on the spot...or they can just have it put to sleep, and while I don't remember what choice they made, I do remember that:
--
a) I'm pissed I can't forget this scene,
b) I bawled thinking about what I would do in this situation (hint: probably not go into debt),
c) I definitely flung this scenario into my Klaine Fanfic document, imagining their future life in New York, and made myself cry harder Method-Writing as a Kurt who hates saying they can't afford that, but they can't, and a Blaine who knows that but is devastated anyway, and so after she's gone he privately vows never to suggest something as stupid as possibly owning a pet again.
-----------
102. Oink: My Life With Mini-Pigs [NF] - Matt Whyman. 336 pg/2011. [8/30]
I don't remember ANYTHING from this, to the point that I almost decided to donate my copy on the assumption I wouldn't miss it, but...I also am certain that if I read a chapter, I would be drawn under its hilarious spell of a frazzled family man in a minute. Also, guess we're really coming up on a decade of wanting to read his not-published-in-the-U.S. follow-up memoir Walking with Sausage Dogs, huh.
September
103. Instructions For a Broken Heart - Kim Culbertson. 304 pg/2011. [9/1]
Another of the rare outstanding YA's, one that put Culbertson on my list as an auto-read author. Also I had such a blast casting it with Glee characters because of the reasons shown below, and I would do so again.
caption: "Well this looks familiar..."
104. Ordinary Beauty - Laura Weiss. 320 pg/2011. [9/5]
This book has STAYED with me, and not just in the literal sense. I have it on my shelf in easy reach and I page through it all the time. I upgraded it to 5 stars after a partial reread a couple years ago, even.
105. The Summer of Firsts and Lasts - Terra Elan McVoy. 423 pg/2011. [9/14]
I'm pretty sure this book has sexcapades (I can't believe I missed the innuendo in the title), because I can't imagine what else would have made me...not blacklist the author, exactly, but also feel Zero desire to ever pick up another book of hers.
106. Memory Boy - Will Weaver. 230 pg/2001. [9/15]
A book I had also read in college (but didn't remember reading, lol), I'm still not sure I'd call it a favorite, but it was a good take on survival in an environmental-disaster apocalypse.
107. Badd - Tim Tharp. 308 pg/2011. [9/15]
Goose egg of memory here. Something about a young veteran (not the main character) returning home after an injury, possibly a mental one?
108. Shine - Lauren Myracle. 359 pg/2011. [9/16]
I'm not mad I read this; it's better than a lot of her books if not the best, but I'm glad I read it when I did. I don't think it would interest me as much now.
109. The Survivors - Will Weaver. 356 pg/2012. [9/20]
The sequel to Memory Boy but focused on his sister this time. Also good but I don't remember as much from this one.
110. Wanderlove - Kirsten Hubbard. 338 pg/2012. [9/21]
ETERNAL FAVE. So fave that it's actually on my bookshelf, the one next to my desk! One day I'll reread it. Meanwhile, I remain in despair that she wrote two perfect YA novels but has only published two middle grade novels otherwise (which don't particularly excite me so I haven't read them).
111. What Happened To Goodbye - Sarah Dessen. 402 pg/2011. [9/24]
The book that made me officially LOVE Sarah Dessen again. Still not perfect, but I loved the main character and her love interest in equal measure, so damned if it hasn't stayed in my top 5 since then. I own a copy and I still think so fondly of this reading experience.
112. Playing Hurt - Holly Schindler. 303 pg/2011. [9/25]
Raaaage. Second book from her, and the one that got her blacklisted. Which won't be changing anytime soon; the anger is so fresh it feels like I just read this yesterday. Thankfully I followed up this rage-read with...
October
113. Songs For A Teenage Nomad - Kim Culbertson. 245 pg/2007. [10/10]
LOVE. I, in fact, remembered this book so fondly that I later went out of my way to buy it on ThriftBooks instead of waiting to randomly run across it in person. I paid double my usual price for used books (FOUR DOLLARS! for an edition I couldn't even see!), that's how badly I needed it and its whole cute playlist in my hands. I still haven't seen a used copy in person, so I regret nothing! Except for the fact that I don't know where it is at the moment.
114. Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV [NF] - Warren Littlefield w/ T.R. Pearson. 326 pg/2012. [10/12]
The business talk went over my head, but I'm so glad I read this.
115. Hooked - Catherine Greenman. 288 pg/2011. [10/19]
Aww, this book. The one I didn't love at the time, but reread a couple of years ago because my memory of the writing style being above-average stayed with me. It got better the 2nd time, upped to 4 stars. Please publish another book someday??
116. Kings of Colorado - David E. Hilton. 288 pg/2011. [10/21]
This was a brutal read, so unlike my typical fare, but it impressed me even then, when (as you can see) my adult-fiction reading was minimal. And I'm glad I read it/very surprised that he never published anything else (it really seemed like the kind of Literary Dude Fiction people would flock to read), because I've solved it for multiple people on lost-book forums, so strongly did some of the imagery stick with me.
117. Frozen Heat - "Richard Castle". 313 pg/2012. [10/27]
This was my favorite Nikki Heat book, but damned if I can remember why or what happened (did it use the waking-up-handcuffed-together bit from the show, or nearly dying in a freezer? or maybe both?).
118. The Fault In Our Stars - John Green. 318 pg/2012. [10/27]
I never did get around to buying a copy of this*, because as much as it dominated Tumblr back in the day and as fun as it was to be swept up in that fandom rush (i.e. I'm so glad I read it when I did), a few years later I realized I didn't feel any pull to revisit it. I didn't even have any interest in seeing the movie. Unless West Side Story manages to change my opinion of Ansel Potatoface, damn you.
*I actually found the collector's edition at the library sale earlier this month! But after browsing through it and discovering the only special content was an extended interview, I realized I did not care about John Green's thoughts or extra insight into this story that much, and left it for someone who will be more excited to get it for a song.
119. Pure Gold: Adventures with Six Rescued Golden Retrievers [NF] - Holli Pfau. 263 pg/2012. [10/30]
A nice pet memoir, but of course all I remember are the weird parts I mentioned in my review, "when she wrote from her dogs' point of view or described their spirits coming back to talk to her." Except, I think maybe, was this the book where she brought a therapy dog to the hospital for a teenage boy with cancer or something similar, and he was able to open up to the dog when left alone? That scene made an impact on me. For Blaine Anderson fanfic-scribbling reasons. (Did you think I was done mentioning him? nah)
120. The Sharp Time - Mary O'Connell. 228 pg/2011. [10/31]
Even though I don't remember the content or the plot, every so often I still think about how strangely beautiful the writing in this one was.
121. Leap - Jodi Lundgren. 217 pg/2011. [10/31]
I remember reading this on the bench outside the library right after I'd checked it out -- but at the same time, it's like I genuinely don't remember reading the content. That's how 2-star nothing it was to me.
November
(side note: oh my god I read SO MUCH this month. Look at November 4th; four in one day! A work-free Sunday, but still)
122. The Perfect Distance - Kim Ablon Whitney. 246 pg/2005. [11/1]
I was just so TICKLED to find a modern-day horse book in YA, let alone one from an author I'd read and enjoyed previously, in a book that had nothing to do with horses (See You Down the Road). I'm glad to see most of her subsequent work has stuck to horses, albeit a fair number of them looking to be self-published New Adult.
123. Tales of an African Vet [NF] - Dr. Roy Aronson. 224 pg/2011. [11/1]
I don't remember anything from this! Seems like a fun diversion though; I can see why I read it.
124. Lost in the River of Grass - Ginny Rorby. 255 pg/2011. [11/3]
My least favorite of her books, but a good survival story -- and the first one where I learned what the Everglades are really like, aside from what I'd seen on CSI: Miami. Looking it up just now, very cool to learn it's based on something that really happened to her husband, and which she originally published as a short article in a magazine, then adapted as YA fiction.
125. Cleo: The Cat Who Mended A Family [NF] - Helen Brown. 295 pg/2009. [11/3]
O yeah, that one that made me sob for twenty years. But it was good, as evidenced by the fact that I've since read the second memoir and a novel from her.
126. Zen & Xander Undone - Amy Kathleen Ryan. 212 pg/2010. [11/4]
It's weird that I have such a general feeling of fondness toward this, yet can't remember it at all. Possibly it was not actually as good as I remember; they both kinda sound like brats in the description.
127. Some Girls Are - Courtney Summers. 246 pg/2009. [11/4]
My first CS book (or 2nd, if you count that I quit Cracked Up to Be after 40 pages); it was fine but nothing special.
128. Sophie: The Incredible True Story of the Castaway Dog [NF] - Emma Pearse. 307 pg/2012. [11/4]
My patience for news-stories-turned-into-full-books is low these days, but I had a good time with them back then.
129. Two Girls of Gettysburg - Lisa Klein. 393 pg/2008. [11/4]
This is so "eh" in my memory compared to her stories reimagining girls in Shakespeare, but I do remember it being just as well written.
130. Let's Pretend This Never Happened [NF] - Jenny Lawson. 319 pg/2012. [11/6]
THE MOST HILARIOUS BOOK OF ALL TIME?? Still love it, own a paperback copy, just realized I still haven't read the bonus chapter in said copy!
131. Sharks & Boys - Kristen Tracy. 246 pg/2011. [11/6]
I wanted to read about a shark attack and by god, I did. (I otherwise remember nothing, except that someone dies. This book deserves a new edition with a better title.) (also, omg, why do like...all of her books look better than the two I managed to read??) (this + 'Lost It")
132. Sign Language - Amy Ackley. 392 pg/2011. [11/8]
Awww, my little Second Chance Summer book-twin, I love you! Still sad Ackley never published anything else.
133. Glee: The Beginning - Sophia Lowell. 216 pg/2010. [11/10]
134. Glee: Foreign Exchange - Sophia Lowell. 245 pg/2011. [11/10]
135. Glee: Summer Break - Sophia Lowell. 213 pg/2011. [11/11]
I'm so glad I got my hands on these books at the peak of my Glee fannishness, and I still own them all AND can tell them apart without even looking them up! They're none of them oustanding, but they are a novelty.
136. Psych Major Syndrome - Alicia Thompson. 330 pg/2009. [11/17]
Another of the standouts of the year -- unique and also the one I recommend errrreywhere whenever someone asks for a YA novel with a college-age protagonist "that isn't NA," because I genuinely think it's one of the best representations of the typical freshman experience out there. Or was; I guess it's getting on in years now. Not a single smart phone to be found.
137. Breathless - Jessica Warman. 311 pg/2009. [11/8]
I remember only my hatred of the main character and her brother, so much that I'm surprised to see I liked her roommate/their friendship enough to give this 3 stars. Didn't even realize I've read 2 others by this author (both much better - Beautiful Lies and Where the Truth Lies).
138. Without Tess - Marcella Pixley. 281 pg/2011. [11/18]
Yeah I regret reading this. Annoying and boring! Yet somehow I remembered enough to solve it on a lost-book forum, go figure. (I assure you, I have seen other queries where it turned out to be a book I liked, but I didn't recognize it enough to solve myself)
139. Thumped - Megan McCafferty. 290 pg/2012. [11/18]
I'm pretty sure I didn't like the conclusion to this duology as much because it had the characters doing the annoying thing where they question the establishment, and I kinda liked this particular establishment.
140. Lock and Key - Sarah Dessen. 422 pg/2008. [11/22]
If What Happened to Goodbye was a delight, this one was a touchdown. I think all the time about how much I liked these characters and still have my copy on display.
141. Dear Readers and Riders [NF] - Marguerite Henry. 220 pg/1969. [11/23]
I didn't evn know this EXISTED until 2012, imagine my delight in being able to get it near instantly via ILL (and now I have my own copy). ...still haven't reread any of her novels though, whoops.
142. Izzy & Lenore [NF] - Jon Katz. 199 pg/2008. [11/23]
And just like that... my Jon Katz era (finally) ended.
143. Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone - Kat Rosenfield. 279 pg/2012. [11/24]
Boring boring boring boring boring boring dull!
144. Second Chance Summer - Morgan Matson. 468 pg/2012. [11/24]
Aw, my second Matson. I remember the general scope of this, but of the four of hers I've read, I remember specific parts of this the least/am least excited to reread it, even though I rated Since You've Been Gone lower. But I still would reread it, theoretically, and I think I'd enjoy it.
145. Returnable Girl - Pamela Lowell. 229 pg/2006. [11/25]
This one was so sweet. It's hard to make a foster girl bratty and still make me love her, but here we are.
146. You Against Me - Jenny Downham. 413 pg/2010. [11/26]
Honestly can't believe I finished this. This was so annoying it got her on my author blacklist, having already DNFed Before I Die.
December
147. Wolf: The Journey Home - 'Asta Bowen. 276 pg/2006. [12/1]
I know I was really impressed by the realistic writing style when I read it, like the best of the animal books I read as a kid, but I don't remember much now.
148. Pregnant Pause - Han Nolan. 340 pg/2011. [12/1]
Nolan's books are interesting to me because they're beautifully written, and they're smart and have meaningful things to say, but they never seem to personally connect that well with me. Nevertheless, they're also memorable, and in this one's case I actually bumped it up to 4 stars on Goodreads just for having a more unusual outcome of a teen pregnancy.
[spoiler for what that is]
(planning to give the baby up for adoption, but deciding to keep it after the baby's born with Down Syndrome and the potential adoptive parents back out. Unplanned pregnancies carried to term rarely yield anything less than perfectly healthy newborns in fiction, unless the baby's health is the main plot -- and certainly not in teen lit)
149. They're Only Human - James Grieve. 231 pg/2001. [12/3]
The first line of my review, and also my first reaction every time I look this one up and decide I'm gonna reread it: Animal rights + student/teacher relationship = how could it go wrong?
The second line of my review, and the answer I need to remind myself why I shouldn't bother: Well, the animal rights activists could be a perfect cliche of crazy vigilante-justice, the relationship could involve a girl way too young and naive for this to be anything but gross and predatory (even if the text wasn't obvious about his past indiscretions), and the whole thing could be boring as sin, like it was just pasted together from a variety of standard-issue talking points about the above two things.
I wish I didn't go through this cycle every single time, but I do.
150. Skinny - Donna Cooner. 260 pg/2012. [12/9]
Big ball o' meh!
151. Long Live The Queen - Ellen Emerson White. 311 pg/2008 (updated version). [12/18]
This was such a fun dollar store find at the time that I kept it, but damned if I still haven't read the last book in the quartet.
152. Double Vision - Diana Hendry. 272 pg/1990. [12/25]
I wish I remembered more about this because I'm surprised it still has like NO Goodreads presence (and my former copy's cover still isn't on there!). All I remember is that I persistently think this is set during WWII when actually it's during the 1950s.
153. A Beautiful Friendship - David Weber. 352 pg/2011. [12/25]
That time janusfiles convinced me to read a sci-fi book because treecats! I remember it decently, but have no desire to revisit it or continue past the 2 books I read.
154. No Promises In The Wind - Irene Hunt. 247 pg/1970. [12/27]
On the other hand, this lovely little historical -- one of Hunt's many knockouts -- retains a fond place in my memory, if not on my bookshelves (I still have it! It's just in a box under the bed. But the fact taht I know which box is an honor on its own)
155. Between Expectatons: Lessons from a Pediatric Residency [NF] - Meghan MacLean Weir. 272 pg/2011. [12/28]
I'm really glad I read it when I did (in the thick of my Scrubs obsession), but also don't regret that I eventually donated it.
156. Where You Are - J.H. Trumble. 320 pg/2012. [12/29]
Oh, prized one-and-only win from Goodreads Giveaways*, you retain a beloved spot on my shelf. It was the perfect Christmas present that year; at no other time in my life could I possibly have loved this new adult m/m student/teacher romance as much. I still like it a lot and have kept it at 5 stars, it's just maybe no longer my absolute favorite read of 2012.
(*to be fair, I don't enter that many -- only ones where I genuinely want to own the book or can't get them at the local library. on the other hand, shouldn't my discerning taste combined with my extensive review record and 59 whole followers be rewarded already?? I know these drawings are least slightly weighted and not entirely random!)
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P.S. New This Year
You know how it's always so hard to pick your favorite reads of the year in December? I'm going to try that for 2012 now that I've had 9-10 years of perspective. Here are my top 10 that have stood the test of time (first-time reads only). In alphabetical order because Real Order was too hard:
- Blue Smoke
- Instructions For a Broken Heart
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
- Let's Pretend This Never Happned
- Ordinary Beauty
- Silver Birch
- Songs For A Teenage Nomad
- The Survival Kit
- Wanderlove
- Where You Are
- Dear Readers and Riders
- The Dog Who Wouldn't Be
- Elisabeth Sladen: The Autobiography
- Lock and Key