2012: My Year in Reading (Full Book and Audio List)

I was going over my 101 in 1001 list before uploading it to the blog, and was adding titles to Number 38, when I realized that I hadn't really read much last year.

To be honest, it's not that I didn't have time to read, because I probably did. I spent a bunch of time online, which takes away from longer chunks of reading time. Some of it was because I just wasn't in the mood for reading, or the books took longer than normal.

I had less non-fiction than I usually do, but I found that it's easier to listen to it rather than actually read it, and during the summer, I challenged myself to explore a different genre from what I am normally drawn to, with some success.


Grand Total: 78
Audio: 14
Non-Fiction: 5


January 2012 (5)
• Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters
• Playing for the Ashes by Elizabeth George
• Jazz Funeral by Julie Smith
• 6 Killer Bodies by Stephanie Bond
• Audio: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by MaryAnn Shaffer

February 2012 (7)
• Dancing at Midnight by Julia Quinn
• The Evil That Men Do by Jeanne M Dams
• DC Dead by Stuart Woods
• In the Presence of the Enemy by Elizabeth George
• Au Revoir Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber
• Vigilante by Stephen J Cannell
• Audio: The Medusa Plot (Cahills v. Vespers 1) by Gordon Korman

March 2012 (8)
• The Falls by Ian Rankin
• The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
• The First Rule by Robert Crais
• The Paris Vendetta by Steve Berry
• The Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin
• The Sentry by Robert Crais
• Audio: A King’s Ransom (Cahills v. Vespers 2) by Jude Watson
• Audio: The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan

April 2012 (6)
• The Affair by Lee Child
• Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert
• Fault Line by Barry Eisler
• Non-fiction: London Under: The Secret History Beneath the Streets by Peter Ackroyd
• Hex and the City by Simon R Green
• Audio: The Dead of Night (Cahills v. Vespers 3)

May 2012 (4)
• Angel Condemned by Mary Stanton
• Inside Out by Barry Eisler
• A Gentleman’s Honor by Stephanie Laurens
• Audio: Changeless by Gail Carriger

June 2012 (12)
• Deception On His Mind by Elizabeth George
• A Summer in Europe by Marilyn Brandt
• The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
• Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
• Never Sit Down in a Hoopskirt and Other Things I Learned in Southern Belle Hell by Crickett Rumley
• Magnolia Wednesdays by Wendy Wax
• Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch by Haywood Smith
• Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas
• Best Staged Plans by Claire Cook
• Fourth Day by Zoe Sharp
• Audio: The 39 Clues Cahill Files: Operation Trinity

July 2012 (11)
• To Kingdom Come by Will Thomas
• Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
• Day by Day Armageddon by J L Bourne
• Wife For Hire by Janet Evanovich
• The Religious Body by Catherine Aird
• The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
• I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter
• Tin City by David Housewright
• The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie
• A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin
• Audio: Blameless by Gail Carriger

August 2012 (6)
• Fiddle Dee Death by Caroline Cousins
• Summer in the South by Cathy Holton
• Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
• Non-Fiction: I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern
• Creole Belle by James Lee Burke
• Fleshmarket Alley by Ian Rankin

September 2012 (5)
• The Detachment by Barry Eisler
• Henrietta Who? by Catherine Aird
• The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin
• The Limehouse Text by Will Thomas
• Audio: Heartless by Gail Carriger

October 2012 (5)
• The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Attebrando
• Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter
• The Emperor’s Tomb by Steve Berry
• Audio: The Bayou Trilogy by Daniel Woodrell
• Audio: Shatterproof (Cahills v. Vespers 4)

November 2012 (5)
• Non-Fiction: American Sniper by Chris Kyle
• A Wanted Man by Lee Child
• Hardball by Sara Paretsky
• Audio: Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
• Audio: The Long Road Home by Martha Raddatz

December 2012 (4)
• The Jefferson Key by Steve Berry
• Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter
• Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
• Audio: Into the Fire by Dakota Meyer & Bing West

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One of my patrons asked if I'd read this yet. Nope, I'd been avoiding it because it looked like one of THOSE books. (THOSE books=something that is rather like an Oprah book, most of which make me want to run away screaming)

"I think you'd like it. Give it a try," she said.

"Lalalalala," I said.

Then I got to thinking about it. I recommend books to my patrons, but it really should be a two-way street I think. If I don't value their "hey, you should read this" moments, then they might stop valuing mine. Sure, getting people hooked up with the right book is part of being a librarian, but in a way, it's more a shared love of reading that's the bond.

So, I did what I usually do when faced with a book I just do NOT want to read.

I get the audio. Somehow when I outsource the actual reading it's a whole lot easier for me.


And within the first 2 tracks, I was entranced.

Part of it is the different readers doing a wonderful job (bad readers=forget it, life's too short) and really bringing the characters to life. Part of it is the way it's written--in epistolary format, through letters back and forth.

Or maybe it's the right book at the right time.

In any case, I'll be telling her how much I like it. And definitely thanking her for her recommendation.

NaBloWriMo Day 12

Saturday, 12 November 2011
Free Choice Saturday

I just finished reading "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I need to pick out a book to read before I go to bed tonight (well, actually this morning, because it's already Sunday), but I already know it's going to be at least a half-hour process.

Why it takes me so long to pick out a new book I haven't a clue. There's plenty to choose from all within 5 feet of where I am sitting. Reading is supposed to be fun, not stressful.

It depends on what I'm in the mood for. It depends on if it's a library book and when it's due. It depends on what time of year it is. It depends on how the book feels in my hands when I open it.

When I was in college not-so-long ago, I had to come to terms with the fact that while I was knee-deep in homework and reading assigned stuff, the publishing world was NOT going to stop, and thus, I'd never be able to read everything I wanted to read.

This makes me rather unhappy. No matter how fast I read, and I can read fairly quickly, I'll never be able to plow through as many books as I would like.

First world problems, indeed.

NaBloWriMo Day 10

Thursday, November 10, 2011
What is your secret (or not-so-secret) passion?

My not-so-secret passion is books.

Disclaimer: I'm a librarian, which doesn't necessarily coincide with loving books, but it helps.

I love to read. I'd rather read than watch TV, which is good since my family tends to monopolize the TV anyway. I have 3 bookcases, all of which are double- or triple-stacked with books I have yet to read, and yet I still buy more.

My Mom taught me how to read when I was 18 months old. She'd found some kit (I think it was called 'Teach Your Baby to Read') at a garage sale and modified it. It was something where the parent was supposed to hold up something like 5 flashcards and say, "This says _______." This was supposed to happen a couple of times a day, I think, but she just did 1 flash card at a time and then taped it on the wall. When my Dad got home (if he wasn't out on a fire), he'd take me over to the wall and ask what the word was. Mom said sometimes words would come up that she hadn't taught me what they were for real, like 'elbow', in which case she would say, "This says 'elbow', and this IS your elbow."

This worked pretty well, I think. I can't remember a time when I wasn't able to read. I used the same method with my Kid, starting around when she turned 2, and she's an avid reader too. Well, except when she's in school--since she's taking a full college load this year, she only has time to read her textbooks, lucky her.

My husband says (half-joking, mostly seriously) that he could drop me in any town any where, and within an hour I'dve found the library. This is probably true. When I studied abroad in Scotland between my junior and senior year of undergrad school (the summer of 2006), I found the library in St Andrews in 45 minutes (and got a library card in another 5), and the Central branch of the Edinburgh library the first day (but I didn't get a library card there).

I can do (and have done) without lots of things in this life. Except books. That's where I draw my line in the sand.

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There's just something about lazy Sundays that makes life worthwhile...

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For whatever reason, I tend to only read these authors when it's cold outside. They aren't my summer authors. Maybe it's because their writing styles aren't exactly light and fluffy. Maybe it's because I associate Great Britain with cold and rainy weather.

Doesn't really matter. All I know is that I'm really enjoying reading them again.

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Thursday night was our second Books and Bars Winsted Edition.

'Room' by Emma Donoghue was the book for discussion. There were definitely some interesting conversations going on, and the discussion was lively. Basically it's a book told from a 5-year old's point of view about the room he and his mother live in. As an adult reader, one quickly figures out that it's not by choice that they are there, although the little boy doesn't seem to grasp that. It's kind of like the Jaycee Dugard story, from what I'm understanding.

I didn't read it, though. I was there for show, I guess. Although many of our patrons said it was a pretty good read, I just don't need/want that kind of topic taking up brain space. I was just hoping he wouldn't call on me (like he did last time) to comment, but I still enjoyed the different takes on the same book.

I have less than no desire to belong to a book club myself, but that's mainly because I just like to read a book for myself, not necessarily to dissect it later. However, I'm OK with going to something like this a couple of times a year, because seriously, how many book clubs meet in a bar? Exactly.

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These are my book notebooks. The big one is what I have read/listened to/watched (I keep track of movies I've watched too). The little one is my "I want to read these someday and if they're part of a series I want the exact order so I can read them in order and if I don't write them down I'll forget about them" notebook.

The big notebook was started because Steve said one day, "How many books do you read a year?" When I answered that I didn't have the faintest idea besides, "Not as many as I'd like to read," he said it'd be kind of cool to keep track for a year.

That year has turned into 6. I don't write down what I think (or don't think) of the books, just merely the dates I read them. I can usually remember if I liked them or not, as well as most of the important details. You know, like what color the cover was, and maybe even what the weather was like while I was reading the book. I can tell right when I was in the middle of a really bad semester because I might have only 3 books listed for the entire month. Conversely, I can also tell when I was between terms because there's a whole lot more books.

The little notebook is interesting to me because it kind of shows how my reading tastes have changed from the time I started back to school until now. There are also some random titles that I haven't a clue as to where I came across them, nor do I remember anything about the books themselves. Those are always a crapshoot as to whether I'll actually like the books now, but it's fun to get them and try and figure out what drew me to them to start with.

Since I just finished the book I was reading (Hell's Corner by David Baldacci), I am flipping through my little notebook to see what catches my interest.

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I spent most of my day with Inspector John Rebus.

It's so nice to be able to read for fun, even though sometimes, especially Sunday afternoons, I keep thinking, "I'd better get cracking on my homework..." (I hear that side-effect of 7 straight years of school will eventually go away. One hopes.)

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This is the series I've been enjoying for the past few weeks (Dalziel & Pascoe). They're a slower read for me, which is fine now that I have the time to read for fun. Unfortunately after finishing #4 in the wee hours of the morning (1 am), I realized that I do NOT have the next one in the series. I have #5 according to the Felony & Mayhem numbering system, but it is not the actual next one in the series. Sigh.

I also realized somewhere along the way that I'm a sucker for books from Felony and Mayhem. I seem to have acquired quite a few this past year.

My Year in Reading: Full Book and Audio List

January (9)
• Freakshow by James St James
• Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt
• Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook
• The Geography Club by Brent Hartinger
• The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket
• Hot House Orchid by Stuart Woods
• Silent Night, Haunted Night by Terri Garey
• Audio: The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket
• Non-fiction: Creating Black Americans: African-American History and its Meanings, 1619 to the Present

February (10)
• Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz
• Totally Joe by James Howe
• Ash by Malinda Lo
• Naomi & Ely’s No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn & David Leviathan
• The Vast Field of Ordinary by Nick Burd
• Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel
• My Heartbeat by Garret Freymann-Weyr
• Audio: Miss Julia Speaks by Ann Ross
• Audio: The Poe Shadow by Matthew Pearl
• Non-fiction: Saving Graces by David Robinson

March (7)
• Luna by Julie Anne Peters
• The Vile Village by Lemony Snicket
• Tragedy at Two by Ann Purser
• The Pallbearers by Stephen L Cannell
• Audio: The Hostile Hospital by Lemony Snicket
• Audio: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
• Non-fiction: Letters from New Orleans by Rob Walker

April (7)
• The Carnivorous Carnival by Lemony Snicket
• Deep Shadow by Randy Wayne White
• The Lost Duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn
• Audio: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
• Non-fiction: Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Non-fiction: Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach
• Non-fiction: The House Always Wins by Marni Jameson

May (9)
• Lady Liberty by Vicki Hinze
• Kisser by Stuart Woods
• Docketful of Poesy by Diana Killian
• Lucid Intervals by Stuart Woods
• Popular Vote by Michol Ostow
• 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs
• Audio: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
• Audio: The Viper’s Nest (39 Clues)
• Non-fiction: Postsecrets: Confessions on Life, Death, and God

June (11)
• U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton
• Dante’s Numbers by David Hewson
• Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles
• Southern Fried by Cathy Pickens
• City of Fear by David Hewson
• Mama Does Time by Deborah Sharp
• Fatal Last Words by Quintin Jardine
• Audio: Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot
• Audio: Holmes on the Range by Steve Hockensmith

July 2010 (14)
• The Star Rover by Jack London
• Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
• The Jewel of the Seven Stars by Bram Stoker
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Magic By the Lake by Edward Eager
• Map of Moments by Christopher Golden
• Shoot to Thrill by PJ Tracy
• The Language of Bees by Laurie R King
• Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple) by Agatha Christie
• Audio: The Emperor’s Code (39 Clues)
• Audio: The Storm Warning (39 Clues)
• Audio: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
• Non-fiction: Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs
• Non-fiction: Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern


August 2010 (12)
• Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
• Done Gone Wrong by Cathy Pickens
• Sand and Foam by Kahil Gibran
• Mama Rides Shotgun by Deborah Sharp
• Strip Jack by Ian Rankin
• Riot Act by Zoe Sharp
• The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Galveston by Kent Conwell
• Audio: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling
• Non-fiction: Sand and Foam by Kabril Gibran
• Non-fiction: This Sold House by Diane Reyes
• Non-fiction: Give it Up! My Year of Living With Less by Mary Carlomagno

September 2010 (13)
• Hog Wild by Cathy Pickens
• Hush My Mouth by Cathy Pickens
• Spider Bones by Kathy Reichs
• The Mystery of Marie Roget by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe
• Skeletons of the Atchafalaya by Kent Conwell
• The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Hard Knocks by Zoe Sharp
• Death in the Distillery by Kent Conwell
• The Picasso Scam by Stuart Pawson
• Vicksburg by Kent Conwell
• The Ying On Triad by Kent Conwell
• Audio: Runaway by Meg Cabot

October 2010 (11)
• First Shot by Zoe Sharp
• Extracurricular Murder by Kent Conwell
• Road Kill by Zoe Sharp
• The Swamps of Bayou Teche by Kent Conwell
• The Crystal Skull Murders by Kent Conwell
• Second Shot by Zoe Sharp
• Death in the French Quarter by Kent Conwell
• Third Strike by Zoe Sharp
• The Puzzle of Piri Reis by Kent Conwell
• The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl
• Audio: Into the Gauntlet (39 Clues)


November 2010 (8)
• Defending Angels by Mary Stanton
• The Glass Rainbow by James Lee Burke
• An Unmarked Grave by Kent Conwell
• The Prostitutes’ Ball by Stephen J Cannell
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
• Until Midnight by Amanda Quick
• Angels Advocate by Mary Stanton
• Avenging Angels by Mary Stanton

December 2010 (7)
• Can’t Never Tell by Cathy Pickens
• The Black Book by Ian Rankin
• God of the Hive by Laurie R King
• A Clubbable Woman by Reginald Hill
• An Advancement in Learning by Reginald Hill
• Audio: Heist Society by Ally Carter
• Audio: Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Grand Total: 118
17 Audio
12 Non-fiction
10 School
32 YA

My 2010 Year in Reading

(Shamelessly copying, with permission, Helgagrace's blog post. For my full list, you can see this post).

Grand Total: 118
17 Audio
12 Non-fiction
10 School
32 YA (most were for school)

I have to say, I'm very surprised that I made it through so many books, but I can see right where final projects/comp tests/finals were.

I haven't read much non-fiction since I graduated, and I know I did't put down many Home remodeling/decorating titles, but that's mainly because I just look at the pictures, so I don't count them.

I'm also glad I did this list because there were a couple of months that I'd forgotten to enter some of the books from my reading journal-not-a-journal. (I write down when I start & end a book, and what series it's from, but not what I thought of it. That I can usually remember on my own.)

Keeping in mind that I didn't pay as close of attention as to the genre of the books/audios as I could've, there's a definite trend. When in school, I tended to read more YA books. I also tend to listen to more YA audios--I like the readers and the story lines are easy enough to pick back up when I haven't listened for a couple of days (almost makes me miss my looooooooong commute to St Kate's. Almost).

As for my reading goals in 2011? I'm going to go ahead and say...to read more of what I like, not what I have to read. I've waited not-so-patiently for this for SEVEN years. I'd say I'm due.

Also, I'll be doing my normal "read at least 5 books out of my normal genres" thing. I like mysteries and thrillers. Yep. Specifically British ones, but also ones set in the US South. I tried (and thoroughly enjoyed) my first foray into Steampunk via Scott Westerfeld's 'Leviathan' (and am now on the hold list for the sequel, 'Behemoth').

I also plan on reading/listening to a few classics; there's probably been enough time since they were shoved down my throat in high school that I might be able to actually enjoy some of them. Well, that, and there won't be any tests on them *crossing fingers*.

Mostly, though, I'm going to work on my reading stamina. It's rather irritating to finally get to sit down and read at night, and then falling asleep in the chair before I've read even a chapter.