Books-2012

In 2011, I read sixty books, seventy counting the annual harry potter and hunger games re-reads.  My goal for 2012 was seventy, not counting rereads. I failed miserably! In my defense, I wrote a grant, taught three continuing ed classes, and had a bustling social life, so it isn't like this is a tragedy. Anyways, here is what I read-I put stars by my top ten of the year.

1.  Tomorrow when the war began John Marsden
2.  The Snow Child Eowyn Ivey  
3. The Flame Alphabet Ben Marcus  
4. The Devil All the Time Donald Ray Pollack  Really dark and twisted, but good!
5. *The Marriage Plot Jeffrey Eugenides wonderful! characters are not particularly sympathetic,  but it's a great book nonetheless
6.  Monsters of Men Patrick Ness
7.  The Illumination Kevin Brockmeier
8.  The Fault in our Stars John Green This is a book about teenagers with cancer, so obviously right up my alley.  But despite the sadness of the topic, it is really sweet and well written-I think would be enjoyable even for those who don't like YA fiction
9.  *The Dovekeepers Alice Hoffman Probably my favorite of the year. just beautifully written and told.  Reminds me a little of The Red Tent.
10. The Flight of Gemma Hardy Margot Livesy  This is a retelling of Jane Eyre, set in the 1950s-  a pleasant enough read, but I would rather just re-read Jane Eyre
11. The Great Big Book Horrible Things: A definitive chronicle of the world's 100 greatest atrocities Matthew White  My non-fiction of the year. Surprisingly funny!
12.  Cinder Marissa Mayer
13. Under the Never Sky Vanessa Rossi
14. Song of Achilles Madeline Miller
15. Gods of Gotham Lyndsey Faye Great historical fiction in old Manhattan
16. Lamb Christopher Moore A reread for sister book club.  Still really good!
17. The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood  Another re-read of one of my all-time favorites
18. *Claire DeWitt and The City of the Dead Sara Grann Murder myster in post-Katrina New Orleans. Claire DeWitt is a great detective heroine, the mystery is sufficiently twisty without being ludicrous, the story is poignant without being cloying.
19. *Shadow and Bone Leigh Bardugo  This is a teenage fantasy/dystopian novel, of course.  The story is pretty typical, but the setting and the world the author built are completely fantastic. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.
20. The Chemistry of Tears Peter Carey
21. Out of Oz Gregory Maguire 
22. A Secret Kept Tatiana de Rosnay
23. *The Orphan Master's Son Adam Johnson. This one is set in North Korea. Interesting story and oddly funny.  You hear the story from the protagonist, the torturer interrogating him, and the official news version
24. *Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel The Sequel to Wolf Hall,  a sympathetic (ish) portrait of Thomas Cromwell
25. Insurgent Veronica Roth
26. The Blind Assassin Margaret Atwood
27. The Virgin Cure Ami McKay
28. Into the darkest corner Elizabeth Haynes. 
29. *Tell the Wolves I'm home Carol Rifka Brunt  simple and lovely.
30. The last policeman Ben Winters  A new series-mysteries set in an apocolyptic future! Sort of slow paced, but I am looking forward to reading the next installment
31. Age of Miracles Karen Thompson Walker
32. Hell or High Water Joyce Castro
33. Broken Harbor Tana French
34. What Dies in Summer Tom Wright
35. Talking with the Dead Harry Bingham
36. *Sandcastle Girls Chris Bohjalian Really, really good-very dark and , as it is about the Armenian Genocide. Engrossing throughout.
37. City of Women David Gilham
38. Gone Girl Gillian Flynn  Everyone and their daddy and all their cousins read this book. It was an engaging enough story, but I wasn't terribly impressed
39. *The Diviners Libba Bray  This is, technically, a book for teenagers. It is silly, a supernatural mystery in Jazz Age New York. The antagonist is largely ripped off from Dr. H.H. Holmes, except with more magic. Still, it was one of my favorites of the year.  I tore through it in a few days, slowed down only by the fact that it creeped me out too much to read late into the night. The writing is beautiful, way, way more poetic than you would expect in a silly book for teenagers
40. Illuminations Mary Sharrat
41. The wonder show Hannah Barnaby
42. Live through this Mindi Scott
43.  Life Among Giants Bill Roorbach
44. Grave Mercy Robin LeFevers 
45. Lazarus is dead Richard Beard This book is totally bizarre.  It is a fictionalized biographyof Lazarus (of raised-from-the-dead Biblical fame), written in a serious, scholarly tone but drawing from sources like artwork, history, and other works of fiction.  Really weird. Honestly, I probably only read past the first chapter because I was delayed forever on the second leg of my trip home for christmas.  But I am glad I persevered, because as much as the first half was a struggle to figure out what was going on the second half flew as it drew towards a touching end.