sunday salonI wasn’t sure if I was going to write a post today but after reading just a few posts, I wanted to write a “favorite books of 2012” post too. You guys are adding so many books to my tbr lists. I love reading your excitement over some of your favorite books.

2012 wasn’t a great year for blogging (or reading). I knew I wouldn’t be able to read as many books this year as I did last and I was right. My stats along with my favorite books read this year are listed below. My favorite books aren’t always books that were published this year, but they are books that I will re-read and buy if I don’t already have them.

248: the number of books I’ve read so far this year. That’s down from the 325 books I read in 2011.

55: the number of books I gave a 5-star rating to.

120: the number of books read that received a 4- star rating.

649: the number of pages that A Game of Thrones contained. It was the longest book I read.

Favorite fictional reads:

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  • The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. What a quiet and beautiful book about the friendship between a housekeeper, her son, and the professor she worked for.
  • No Crystal Stair by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson. In my review of this book, I called it a “celebration of the written word and one man’s dedication to it.”
  • Alcestis by Katharine Beutner. A “fleshing-out” of the Greek myth of Alcestis, a wife who took her husband’s place when Death came from him. I like the book when I first read it and it’s grown on me since.
  • Forgotten Country by Catherine Chung. Another quiet and beautiful tale set in the United States and Korea about family. I love the descriptions of Korea. The book was realistic and I will definitely read Chung’s next book.
  • The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan. This was my time reading a novel by Lanagan but it definitely won’t be the last. The Brides of Rollrock Island is a book that once you’ve finished reading it, you want to immediately start re-reading.
  • There is No Dog by Meg Rosoff. I enjoyed reading this exploration of God as a horny seventeen year old. It reminded me a lot of Douglas Adams’ A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series.

Favorite non-fiction reads:

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  • How Children Succeed by Paul Tough. It’s a book that I enjoyed so much that I won’t review it until I reread it a second time. Tough shows readers that it’s character traits such as grit, perseverance, and creativity that will help our children succeed, not just academically but in most aspects of life.
  • How Georgia Became O’Keefe by Karen Karbo. This is a book I loved so much. Karbo is a wonderful writer. Her style reminds me a lot of Michael Lee West. When you read their non-fiction, it’s not like you’re reading a book but more like you’re having a conversation with a new friend. You can sit there for hours and just listen.

Favorite children’s books:

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  • Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman
  • Neville by Norton Juster
  • Bink and Gollie, Two for One by Kate DiCamillo
  • Blackout by John Rocco
  • Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett

Favorite Graphic Novels:

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  • Ichiro by Ryan Inzama
  • Hades: Lord of the Dead by George O’Connor
  • Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
  • Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Favorite Cookbook:

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Favorite book of poetry:

  • B by Sarah Kay.

Printed books that proved that e-books can’t do everything:

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  • Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony. Chopsticks tells the story of two teens from very different worlds who are in love. Every page is a collage that’s made out of various papers and objects.
  • Nox by Anne Carson. Nox is an elegy that Carson wrote to her older brother, a person who was never really in her life. It’s an accordion book in a box that’s just lovely to hold.

How was your reading this year?