2012 in books
I've just looked at my page and realized that I've only written one post since last year's best-of entry, and that was also about books. Guess it's hard to find the energy for long updates about my life these days. Suffice it to say that motherhood is proving to be the most exhausting and most exhilirating thing I have ever done, and my little guy (who is talking in simple sentences now and insisted on reading There's a Cow in the Cabbage Patch by himself last night at bedtime - "Leo self!" - and it was the CUTEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN) is more and more fun every day.
Anyway. I managed to read 52 new books this year. Pretty good, considering I used to read between 70-75 before Leo was born, so I'm at about 70% - I'll take it!
Favorite reads of 2012:
Maus volumes I&II by Art Spiegelman: these graphic novels are some of the most affecting books about the Holocaust (and about troubled parent/child relationships) I've ever read.
Traitor's Knot and Stormed Fortress by Janny Wurts: more of Wars of Light & Shadow. Wonderful.
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis: devastating.
Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I was pleased that it lived up to the hype, though I didn't love the third book as much as the first two. One of these days I'll have to see the movie to see how it translated to screen.
The entire Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger: SO. MUCH. FUN.
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed: I thought this collection of advice columns from "Dear Sugar" would be mildly entertaining, and it blew me away.
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer: I've been hearing about Heyer from friends for years and when I saw that my digital lending library had a copy, I jumped at it, and loved it so much that I ended up buying a copy! THIS is the kind of romance I like to read!
The WOOL omnibus by Hugh Howey: post-apocalyptic dystopia done right. A collection of self-published novellas that prove not all self-published works are crap.
Least favorite reads of 2012:
Little Bee by Chris Cleave: So many people I know loved this book, but it just didn't ring true for me.
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell: this was the sequel to The Sparrow, which I absolutely loved, and this second book was not nearly as meaningful or believable as the first. Disappointing.
A Blistered Kind of Love by Angela and Duffy Ballard: this memoir about a couple's Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike was not nearly as interesting or well-written as Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods.
The Racketeer by John Grisham: never read a Grisham book before, never will again. Only read this one because my book club picked it, and I was not impressed.
Overall, I'm pleased that I didn't waste too much of my time on books I wasn't enjoying. Happy new year!
Anyway. I managed to read 52 new books this year. Pretty good, considering I used to read between 70-75 before Leo was born, so I'm at about 70% - I'll take it!
Favorite reads of 2012:
Maus volumes I&II by Art Spiegelman: these graphic novels are some of the most affecting books about the Holocaust (and about troubled parent/child relationships) I've ever read.
Traitor's Knot and Stormed Fortress by Janny Wurts: more of Wars of Light & Shadow. Wonderful.
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis: devastating.
Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins: I was pleased that it lived up to the hype, though I didn't love the third book as much as the first two. One of these days I'll have to see the movie to see how it translated to screen.
The entire Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger: SO. MUCH. FUN.
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed: I thought this collection of advice columns from "Dear Sugar" would be mildly entertaining, and it blew me away.
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer: I've been hearing about Heyer from friends for years and when I saw that my digital lending library had a copy, I jumped at it, and loved it so much that I ended up buying a copy! THIS is the kind of romance I like to read!
The WOOL omnibus by Hugh Howey: post-apocalyptic dystopia done right. A collection of self-published novellas that prove not all self-published works are crap.
Least favorite reads of 2012:
Little Bee by Chris Cleave: So many people I know loved this book, but it just didn't ring true for me.
Children of God by Mary Doria Russell: this was the sequel to The Sparrow, which I absolutely loved, and this second book was not nearly as meaningful or believable as the first. Disappointing.
A Blistered Kind of Love by Angela and Duffy Ballard: this memoir about a couple's Pacific Crest Trail thru-hike was not nearly as interesting or well-written as Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods.
The Racketeer by John Grisham: never read a Grisham book before, never will again. Only read this one because my book club picked it, and I was not impressed.
Overall, I'm pleased that I didn't waste too much of my time on books I wasn't enjoying. Happy new year!