Welcome 2013! I guess I will continue this blog. Hopefully with more consistency than how I ended 2012, although I am fairly proud of myself for writing 8 out of the 12 months. That is 2/3 of the year, or over 66%. I'm pretty happy with that. (How do you like those math skills?)
I think I'll start by stating my top picks from 2012 and then create a to-read list for 2013. I did notice that I read some of what was on my to-read list from last year. That's encouraging.
My #5 pick is a non-fiction book called Parenting Without Power Struggles. I felt the suggestions were not only applicable to the parent/child relationship to others. Very common sense and doable and I have been able to immediately practice some of the ideas and see benefits. I think it's one that I will leave by the bedside, as I'm sure a second or third read over the years will only reinforce positive ideas.
#4 is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Great suspenseful storyline. A little disturbing in some ways. And a surprise ending. Which if you read my earlier post, I did NOT like. But overall, an interesting read.
#3 is The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivy. Based on a Russian fairy tale, set in Alaska, lots of character development. Loved the ending.
#2 is The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. A story that has haunted me since I've read it. I won't forget this story for a long time. An autobiography (if I remember correctly) and I think a testament to the fact that anyone can rise above their life circumstances and not be stuck in a cycle of poverty. Might be reading another by this author in the upcoming year.
#1 is the series that I spent the most time on the year, The Song of Ice and Fire by G. R. R. Martin. Absolutely sucked me in. I think I spent at least 3 months, if not more, reading the five books, as well as watching the first season on dvd from Netflix. I only hope that number six comes out soon while I still remember characters and the like.
Most disappointed by the follow-up to The Discovery of Witches. The second book did not charm me nearly as much as the first one did. And One-thousand White Women was not as good as I thought it would be given the testimonials I heard from people.
Some series and authors I read in '12 that I hope to read more of in '13 are: Jim Butcher with the Dresden series, Michael Scott and the Nicolas Flamel series, Brad Thor and Brad Meltzer were both authors I liked for quick, suspense filled thrillers. Kate Atkinson and Jo Nesbo are two others I hope to read more of this upcoming year.
Based on the Coffee and a Book Chick's review, I have put Wool Omnibus at the top of my list to read. Another goal of mine would be to find out how I can download audio books onto my iPod from the library. Now, will I read more than the 39 books I read this year? I'm going to guess yes, unless I stumble across another series like SOIAF that run five to eight hundred pages per book. I read 18,258 pages in 2012, which may be a more accurate tool to use as a basis for comparison.
For those of you who actually did read this - I think there are a couple of you - thanks for taking the time to do so. I hope my grammar wasn't too offensive and that you got a book idea or two from your visits. Please feel free to share and comment on what you are reading!
Happy reading in 2013!!
