I’m finding our TV is on less and less these days, as Shane and I prefer more and more to spend our evenings on the couch with a couple of good books. Â I’ve always wanted to be one of those couples that reads together and talks about books and finally, here we are – we’re livin’ the dream, folks (maybe 30 years prematurely, but whatever). Â I finished 18 books in 2012 from a decently wide range of genres. Â There were a couple of knocked-my-socks-off good reads, a couple of major disappointments, and a pile of perfect pals for Sunday afternoons on the back porch (or the blanket-laden couch, as of late).
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
God Behaving Badly:Is the God of the Old Testament Angry, Sexist and Racist? by David T. Lamb
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
An Atlas of Impossible Longing by Anuradha Roy
Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis by Lauren Winner
Mission to Paris by Alan Furst
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
No Biking in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Fay Greene
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
11/22/63 by Steven King
Best books of 2012: Two-way tie between The Book Thief and Unbroken, because they both brought me joy and sadness in equal measure, and damn if I’m not a sucker for a book that makes me actually feel something.  First runner-up goes to Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, for all of Lauren Winner’s nuggets of spiritual wisdom.
Worst book of 2012:Â Â The Night Circus. Â This one had been on my to-read list for awhile, and it left me completely underwhelmed. Â It had all the potential in the world to be beautiful and moving and completely fantastical, but…blah. Â And bah humbug.
On the docket for 2013:  Those 850 pages of Steven King’s time travel page-turner derailed me a bit, so I’m still working on my 2012 list - The Great Gatsby and The Power of One  are at the top of the list for this year.  Also in the queue are Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott and Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  And with that, good night – my Kindle beckons!