Bookish: 2012 Book List

Yeah, I know. I typically post my annual list of books somewhere around the first week of January.

And it's April.

The end of April.

But you see, I've been quite busy, and due to the new format (um, this Bookish blog), I neglected to work on the list as I went along, like previous years. Oh! And links! Adding links takes time!

Anyway, after adding a bit to the post here and there for a couple months, it's finally complete.

In 2012, I read 41 books. Not a record but reasonably respectable, methinks. After all, 2012 was a pretty big year for us.

Although no book received a rating of 5, a few did stand out as particularly good: Red Hook Road, My Name Is Mary Sutter, The Uncommon Reader, and Princesses of Iowa were among them.

A couple will probably stick with me more for the circumstances under which I read them. For example, the Crimson Petal and the White was an almost 900-page beast that I read mostly on my iPhone at 3:00 a.m. as I rocked newborn Lorelei. All Souls was read primarily as Lorelei slept on my chest during her early morning nap, when we had the house to ourselves. I read the quite long The Sweet Far Thing in record time to return it to the library before Lorelei was born.

Also, the duds. The Violets of March was on par with a cheesy Lifetime movie and the writing was bland and uninspired. The Story of Beautiful Girl utterly failed to deliver and was quite the disappointment. Finally, The Luncheon of the Boating Party bored me.

So, here's my take. Each link should take you to the book's actual (and sometimes snarky) review.

Enjoy! And I'll try to post next year's 2013 list before Spring 2014.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

Tiffany Baker

Contemporary Literature (341 pages)

Rating: 4

My Name Is Mary Sutter

Robin Oliveira
Historical Fiction (364 pages)
Rating: 4.25

The Boy Book: A Study of Habits and Behaviors, Plus Techniques for Taming Them

E. Lockhart
Young Adult (193 pages)
Rating: 4

A Crimson Warning

Tasha Alexander
Mystery (322 pages)
Rating: 3.25

The Uncommon Reader

Alan Bennett
Contemporary Literature (120 pages)
Rating: 4.5

The Violets of March

Sarah Jio
Contemporary Literature (293 pages)
Rating: 3

Dairy Queen

Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Young Adult (274 pages)
Rating: 3.75

Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years

Jim Fay and Charles Fay
Parenting (200 pages)
Rating: 3

Rumors

Anna Godbersen
Young Adult (448 pages)
Rating: 3.75

The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine
Alina Bronsky
Contemporary Literature (262 pages)
Rating: 4.25

Balance Is a Crock, Sleep Is for the Weak

Amy Eschliman and Leigh Oshirak
Parenting (326 pages)
Rating: 4

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins
Young Adult (384 pages)
Rating: 4.25

The Story of Beautiful Girl

Rachel Simon
Contemporary Literature (368 pages)
Rating: 3

Strange Saint

Andrew Beahrs

Historical Fiction (363 pages)
Rating: 4

Love in a Cold Climate

Nancy Mitford
Contemporary Literature (256 pages)
Rating: 4

Mentor: A Memoir

Tom Grimes

Autobiography (245 pages)
Rating: 4.5

Bicycle Days

John Burnham Schwartz
Contemporary Literature (253 pages)
Rating: 3.5

The Thin Man
Dashiell Hammett
Contemporary Literature (201 pages)
Rating: 4

The Lonely Polygamist

Brady Udall
Contemporary Literature (624 pages)
Rating: 4

Red Hook Road
Ayelet Waldman
Contemporary Literature (343 pages)
Rating: 4.25

The Gospel of Ruth: Loving God Enough to Break the Rules

Carolyn Custis James
Religion (224 pages)
Rating: 4

State of Wonder

Ann Patchett
Contemporary Literature (384 pages)
Rating: 4

The Princesses of Iowa

M. Molly Backes
Young Adult (464 pages)
Rating: 4

When Washington Was in Vogue

Edward Christopher Williams

Harlem Renaissance (277 pages)
Rating: 3.5

The Off Season

Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Young Adult (300 pages)
Rating: 3.5

Catching Fire

Suzanne Collins
Young Adult (391 pages)
Rating: 3.5

Galway Bay

Mary Pat Kelly
Historical Fiction (550 pages)
Rating: 4

The Three Weissmans of Westport

Cathleen Schine
Contemporary Literature (292 pages)
Rating: 4.25

The Pleasure of My Company
Steve Martin
Contemporary Literature (176 pages)
Rating: 4

The Luncheon of the Boating Party

Susan Vreeland
Historical Fiction (429 pages)
Rating: 3

Rebel Angels

Libba Bray
Young Adult (576 pages)
Rating: 4.25

The Sweet Far Thing

Libba Bray

Young Adult (819 pages)
Rating: 4

Book of Shadows

Alexandra Sokoloff
Thriller (320 pages)
Rating: 3.75

The Hangman's Daughter

Oliver Potzsch
Historical Fiction (448 pages)
Rating: 3.25

The Leftovers