As I said in a previous post, I read too much to fit all of my reviews for a year into a single post, so here is my 2012 reading list which I will endeavour to follow with more detailed commentary.
I was given a Kindle for Christmas 2011. For a long time I was unsure about giving up paperbacks for their digital equivalent. Having made the move I am very glad I did. For me the Kindle was the perfect choice. I now also have an ipad, but for my everyday reading I use the Kindle.
There are always those occasions where a book isn't available electronically, or it is just cheaper to buy it from the Book Depository UK in hard form than to buy it electronically, but for convenience I buy it as an ebook wherever I can.
One of the things I love is that Amazon keeps a handy list of my books, so I only have to remember the hard copy ones, and those I borrowed. I was surprised to find when compiling this list that Amazon does not allow you to export that list. Instead I have chosen to use Calibre, which also syncs up with GoodReads.
My other happy find of 2012 was a great list of free books from Amazon, updated daily http://www.squidoo.com/the-best-of-amazon-daily-free-ebooks-kindle-ipad.
You get a good sized serving of chaff with the wheat, but if you're on a budget and willing to sort through reviews to see what is going to suit you it's a good thing to know.
Classics
With the arrival of so many Massive Open Online Courses line edX and Coursera I had to check some out. For some reason I thought a class on Fantasy and Sci-fi fiction would be interesting. As part of the course work I read a few things I might not have otherwise read, but overall I find the forum focus of the classes to be a bit too full of ego for my taste. The arts is not about being right but about being interested and interesting. Not that I bothered to say that and let them lay waste to my view of course.
More on trolls (Internet and fictional) some other time perhaps.
Grimm, Jacob Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm
Stoker, Bram Dracula
Speculative fiction, Sci-Fi and Fantasy
Larson, B.V. Technomancer (Unspeakable Things: Book One)
Jemisin, Jemisin The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance Trilogy 1)
Brockway, Robert Rx - Episode 1: The Blackouts (Rx: A Tale of Electronegativity)
Hunter, Elizabeth A Hidden Fire: Elemental Mysteries Book 1
Grant, Mira Feed
Grant, Mira Deadline: The Newsflesh Trilogy: Book 2
Grant, Mira Blackout: The Newsflesh Trilogy: Book 3
Scott, Paul The Jewel In The Crown (The Raj quartet)
Cooley, Trevor H. Eye of the Moonrat (The Bowl of Souls: Book One)
Lee, Jack J. Hero's Curse (The Paladin Files)
Donaldson, Stephen R. Lord Foul's Bane (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Donaldson, Stephen R. The Illearth War (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant)
Donaldson, Stephen The Real Story & Forbidden Knowledge: The Gap Sequence: 1: v. 1 (Gap Into 1 & 2)
Donaldson, Stephen This Day All Gods Die: The Gap Sequence: 4: v. 4 (Gap Into 5)
Donaldson, Stephen A Dark and Hungry God Arises: The Gap Sequence: 2: v. 2 (Gap Into 3)
Donaldson, Stephen Chaos and Order: The Gap Sequence: 3: v. 3 (Gap Into 4)
Engdahl, Sylvia Stewards of the Flame
Reid, Ruthanne The Sundered
Mainstream & Young Adult
On reflection I think the YA genre has always been my genre of choice even though it is relatively newly (un)defined. Maybe my ppsyche is stuck back there for some reason, but I love it because it is brave enough to take some risks that I think fiction aimed at a more mass market backs away from. Teenagers are fearless after all and much more open minded and unbreakable than people think. I wish I had been kinder to my teenage self.
Green, John The Fault in Our Stars
Stockett, Kathryn The Help
Barnes, Julian The Sense of an Ending
Kidd, Sue Monk The Secret Life of Bees
Jacobson, Howard The Finkler Question
Hemmings, Kaui Hart The Descendants
Nicolai, Adam J Alex
Brown, Pat Only the Truth
Christopher, Thomas Never Too Far
Lin, Sheng-Shih Daughter of the Bamboo Forest
Irving, John In One Person
I actually bothered to review this at the time so I won't repeat it here.
Johnston, G. S. Consumption: A Novel
Sawyer, S.D. Prelude to Reveille: A Vietnam Awakening
Cronin, Keith Me Again
Alster, Pam Robin's Blue
Nevola, John E. The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II
Bekendam, P. D. Prime of Life
Prosapio, Stephen Dream War
Kraus, Jim The Dog That Talked to God
I seemed to read a number of books with religious themes this year. This was more by accident than design. as I am the least spiritual person you are ever likely to meet.
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