Favorite Reads of 2012

Before we get too far into 2013, I want to post a list of my favorites of the 80 books I read in 2012. On goodreads I gave five stars ("it was amazing") to six books. I gave another 56 books a four-star rating ("really liked it"). Here are my favorites of those 62 good reads:

Highly- and widely-recommended book that ended up meeting my expectations: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

Young adult novel that made me wish I were eighteen years old and falling in love for the first time: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Favorite book that I subsequently recommended to my thirteen-year-old son: After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Favorite book recommended to me by my thirteen-year-old son: Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip by Jordan Sonnenblick

Best experiences with books I was offered for review: The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Nichole Bernier and Return to Exile by E.J. Patten

Longest book I read (which was worth every page): 11/22/63 by Stephen King

Book I joyfully read in one sitting: Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Best beginning to a new series: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Most hoped-for sequel: Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

Best look at today's political climate: The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin

Favorite book that I was not interested in the first time I saw it: With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo

Most thought-provoking dystopian novel: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Most thought-provoking memoir: Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor

Favorite "I'm glad I finally got around to reading this one" book: Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Favorite re-read: Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

Biggest "pleasant surprise" (resulting from my low expectations of a self-published debut novel): The Sand Bar by Rebecca Bryan

Hardest book to put down: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Favorite young adult novel exploring an aspect of history I knew little about: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Favorite young adult novel exploring a geographic area I knew little about: Red Glass by Laura Resau

Best cathartic experience: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Favorite scene: The "cameo" of Frances Hodgson Burnett in The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

Books with the biggest impact on my life: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp and Flunking Sainthood by Jana Riess

What were your favorite reads of 2012?

Favorite Reads of 2010

In 2010 on goodreads, I gave five stars ("it was amazing") to eight books. I gave another 42 books a four-star rating ("really liked it"). The following are a few of my favorites of those 50 good reads:

• Favorite short-but-powerful read: If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson


• Favorite re-read: To Kill a Mockbird by Harper Lee


• Favorite female character: Mattie Gokey in A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly


• Favorite male character: Owen Birnbaum in Slob by Ellen Potter


• Fondest memories revisited: Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh


• Best experience with a book I was offered for review: The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanan


• Favorite collaborative effort: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan (Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a close second.)


• Favorite book to recommend to friends: Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford


• Most anticipated book: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins


• Books with the biggest impact on my life: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and Bluebird: Women and the New Psychology of Happiness by Ariel Gore


• Best beginning to a new trilogy: Matched by Ally Condie


• Favorite recent releases by favorite authors: The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver, Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian, and House Rules by Jodi Picoult


• Favorite "I'm glad I took a chance on a second book by the author of a book I loved" book: I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak


• Favorite young adult novel exploring faith: Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr (Honorable mention to Losing Faith by Denise Jaden.)


• Favorite adult novel exploring faith: Any Bitter Thing by Monica Wood


• Favorite feminist novel for young adults: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart


• Best not-his-usual-genre book: Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

What were your favorite reads of 2010?

Favorite Reads of 2009

In 2009 on goodreads, I gave five stars ("it was amazing") to only two books. It appears that I gave another 45 books a four-star rating ("really liked it"). The following are a few of my favorites of those 47 good reads:

• Favorite "I can't believe I'd never heard of this author before this year" book: Unwind by Neal Shusterman


• Favorite new release by a favorite YA author: North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
  (Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson is a close second.)


• Favorite non-fiction book: Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist by Michael J. Fox


• Favorite re-read: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson


• Favorite new-to-me character: Ruby Oliver in The Boyfriend List, The Boy Book, and The Treasure Map of Boys by E. Lockhart


• Favorite books to share with my daughters: The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins


• Favorite "I'm glad I finally got around to it" book: Lost and Found by Carolyn Parkhurst


• Favorite book with an odd title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows


• Best book that I wasn't interested in the first time I saw it: The Help by Kathryn Stockett

By the way, the first and last are the books that got five stars.

Highlights of the Year

It’s an old question, but a good one . . . What were your favorite books this year?

List as many as you like … fiction, non-fiction, mystery, romance, science-fiction, business, travel, cookbooks … whatever the category. But, really, we’re all dying to know. What books were the highlight of your reading year in 2007?

I already wrote some thoughts about books published in 2007. Here are some thoughts about the rest of the highlights of the year. (Links are to my reviews.)

• Favorite "I can't believe I'd never heard of this book before this year" book: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger


• Favorite classic: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  (Winter Wheat by Mildred Walker is a close second.)


• Favorite non-fiction book: Brainiac: Adventures in the Curious, Competitive, Compulsive World of Trivia Buffs by Ken Jennings


• Favorite long book: The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova (It's over 600 pages!)


• Favorite new-to-me author: Jodi Picoult (I read nine of her books this year - and will try to squeeze one more in by December 31! Those reviews are here.)


• Favorite book and movie duo: The Freedom Writer's Diary by The Freedom Writers with Erin Gruwell


• Favorite books to share with my daughters: Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer


• Favorite book I just stumbled upon: Replay by Ken Grimwood


• Favorite thought-provoking read: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne


• Favorite re-read: Small Change: The Secret Life of Penny Burford by J. Belinda Yandell


• Best good-bye to a favorite friend: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling