What I Read in 2012

I know, I know, it's February and all the end-of-the-year posts have already been done, but these are my favorite!  So bear with me and let me tell you what I did in 2012.

Here's a list of all the books I read (and finished) in 2012.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

read for book club, really enjoyed it. not as much as middlesex, but i love his writing.


The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

read for book club, didn't really love it.  

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

my pick for church book club.  interesting premise but it got kind of lost towards the end.  

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

read on my own.  took me a long time to finish because i got really sad.  the writing was beautiful and the stories were really interesting.  has anyone seen the movie? 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

gosh, i really loved this book.  i was hooked right away even though it's really out of my usual reading comfort zone. the main character had such a great voice and i loved all of the pop culture references. i heard it's being made into a movie and i couldn't be more excited.


The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

read this for book club.  it was short and sweet and an interesting look at Japanese internment. 


11/22/63 by Stephen King

my pick for book club and my first ever stephen king. i loved it so much that i wrote a letter to the author, although i didn't send it.  if you like history or have always been fascinated by time travel, you will love this book.  don't be afraid of how long it is--it flies by.  it's also not gory or scary, just suspenseful.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

i read this during a day of travel and it was the perfect distraction from turbulence and layovers.  mindy is so funny and tells stories like you're old friends catching up over lunch. 


A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

it took me a few times to get into it, but i really enjoyed this supernatural drama.  most of the book takes place in an around oxford and now i really have a hankering to take a trip.  the romance gets a bit cheesy towards the end, but i loved the history and science throughout the book.


 When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

technically a upper elementary/middle school book, but it was such a lovely story and the ending really caught me by surprise.  


Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

this was my favorite emily giffin book since something borrowed.  so good.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

oh man, what a crazy story!  the twists and turns never ended and by the end i was extremely suspicious of everyone around me.  i don't know how the author wrote such crazy and messed-up people, but i was impressed. 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

i read this for church book club and was surprised at how much i liked it.  i normally take my time reading, but i ate this one up in a couple days.  at one point, i said that i liked it better than the hunger games.  i've already read the second book, but i finished it a few days into 2013 so it's not on this list.  i've heard that they are casting the movie and i'll be interested to see how it turns out.

here's what's up next on my list for 2013:

Broken Harbor by Tana French
Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale
One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
The Round House by Louise Erdich
Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks


what are you reading? anything good?

all pictures from goodreads.com.  are you on goodreads? it's a great way to keep of track of books you've read and books you want to read.