Well… it is that time again. When I release my big old list of what I read last year. I have realized that the volume of what I read does not correspond directly to the quality. Out of the 48 volumes listed below, I can only say there were a few real standouts in terms of memorability and great writing. Fiction seems to be pretty formulaic lately. And I don’t even read romance novels!

I joined a book club in October, and it has afforded me the opportunity to read some books that I would not normally choose.

My highly recommended reads are denoted below with a big old asterisk.

What is your reading goal for 2013? Any awesome reads in 2012 that I should check out?

Books Read 2012

 

The Cat’s Table—Michael Ondaatje

Miss. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – Ransom Riggs

In the Skin of a Lion – Michael Ondaatje

The Paris Wife – Paula McLain *

Under the Big Top – Bruce Feiler  (nf)

The Diamond Age – Neil Stephenson

The Pursuit of Love – Nancy Mitford

Love in a Cold Climate – Nancy Mitford

Ash –Malinda Lo

Blackbird House – Alice Hoffman *

The Woman in Black – Susan Hill

The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern *

French Lessons – Ellen Sussman

The Truth of All Things – Keiran Shields

Witches of East End – Melissa De la Cruz

Wondershow – Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

The Last Nude – Ellis Avery

The Alchemist’s Daughter – Katharine McMahon

Arcadia – Lauren Groff *

The October Country – Ray Bradbury

The Summer We Read Gatsby – Danielle Ganek

The Sea Captain’s Wife – Beth Powning

The Lace Reader – Brunonia Barry

The Marriage Plot – Jeffrey Eugenides

The Book of Lost Fragrances – M.J. Rose

Doc – Mary Doria Russell

The Hypnotist – M.J. Rose

The House of Velvet and Glass – Katherine Howe

The Glimmer Palace – Beatrice Colin

Under the Poppy – Kathe Koja

Page from a Tennessee Journal – Francine Thomas Howard

The Footprints of God – Greg Iles

The Book of Fires – Jane Borodale

The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb – Melanie Benjamin

13, Rue Therese – Elena Mauli Shapiro

Evangeline – Ben Farmer

The Lake of Dreams – Kim Edwards

The Cookbook Collector – Allegra Goodman *

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

The Island – Elin Hilderbrand

Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn *

The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman *

The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey

Last Night I Sang to the Monster – Benjamin Alire Saenz

Rules of Civility: A Novel – Amor Towles

Wormwood – Poppy Z. Brite

The Rook – Daniel O’Malley

The Anatomy of Ghosts – Andrew Taylor

* good stuff