Top Books of 2012

It took me awhile to piece together this list.  I couldn't figure out why.... my reading consumption this year was about the same as the prior two years; in terms of quantity.  I didn't want to admit to myself what the problem is:  $$$$.  Got a Kindle last Christmas, and, in terms of maximizing my savings this year, I almost bought no hardcovers; just Kindle downloads and free books I got thru the Amazon Vine program.  I took an early dislike to to the spike in Kindle prices....from $9.99, which was common in 2011, to $12.99 and $14.99 from 2012.  So, I focused on older books and bargain books. 

Thus, I find that I didn't read enough good books in 2012 to comprise a 10 item list.  But here is what I settled for:


1.   BRINGING UP THE BODIES - Hilary Mantel       Mantel's sequel to her tour de force of "Wolf   Hall"...which made a prior year's list.  So well researched!  Historical fiction at its best. 

2.  GONE GIRL - Gillian Flynn...      I've enjoyed her prior books, but none so much as this effort  with all its twists and turns.  Superb fiction. 

3.  TEAM OF RIVALS - Doris Kearns Goodwin        I have never put an "old" book on my list
            before; essentially, my lists are about what was written in 20xx, that I read.  But this 2006 account of Lincoln, revisited in the superb "Lincoln" by Spielberg was a must read and greatly satisfying before I saw the film.

4.  THE ROUND HOUSE - Louise Erdrich     Possibly her greatest book, recognition from the
            National Book Prize.   Evokes, "To Kill A Mockingbird"; and I can never resist books
            set in North Dakota or Minnesota

5.  LIVE BY NIGHT - Dennis Lehane      Dennis Lehane (!), AND he moves his locale from Boston to Tampa.  Couldn't be better.

6.  AFTERWARDS - Rosalind Lupton     Free from Amazon Vine and superb.  An emotional rollercoaster

7. STEVE JOBS  - Walter Isaacson          An extremely fat biography given to me for XMas last year -   a fascinating account

8.  12 TRIBES OF HATTIE - Ayana Mathis     I usually try to stay away from Oprah's picks, but couldn't resist this well-written novel. 

That's it.  8.  Sigh.  I'll be more discerning in 2013. 


From Prior Years: 


http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3858636945560489201#editor/target=post;postID=7815291527772493979


http://livingimperfectly.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-books-of-2010.html

 

http://livingimperfectly.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-best-books-of-2009.html

 

 

Top Books of 2011

In Order:

1. Unbroken - still selling like hotcakes, Laura Hillenbrand's sophomore effort about a hero of

WWII. Beautifully researched and written.

2. Defending Jacob - crime novelist William Landay's account of a murder in suburban

Massachusetts, and its aftermath on the family of the accused

3. Catherine the Great - Robert Massie's great biography that reads like a novel

4. The Buddha in the Attic - Otsuka's sophomore effort; a unique insight into the women of

Japan who helped colonize California

5. The Art of Fielding - Chad Harbach's debut novel of baseball at fictional Westish College; captivating in its wording, not altogether well-received by the critics

6. The Drop - Michael Connelly's entertaining instalment in the Harry Bosch series; 2 cases; a

new love interest, some reflections of how Connelly will recast the series in the

future, when Harry's daughter Maddie is grown.

7. The Lost Wife - Alyson Richman; a love story set in and after the Holocaust. Difficult

passages about conditions in Terezin and Auschwitz

8. Bossypants - Tina Fey - a totally entertaining autobiography

9. Last to Fold - debut novel, David Duffy; an interesting lead character (Turbo Vlost) from

the Gulag, writing is crisp, series shows a lot of promise. Nominated for an

Edgar award.

10. The Litigators - John Grisham; his best and most entertaining in a long while - three

dimensional characters

Doubtless, had I had time to read the autobiography of Steve Jobs that I got for Christmas, it would have made the list. It goes in as a leading contender for 2012, however!

Prior years:

http://livingimperfectly.blogspot.com/2011/01/best-books-of-2010.html

http://livingimperfectly.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-best-books-of-2009.html