So the 2012 reading year was interesting because I think this is the most I’ve explored different genres. I blame my book club for this, especially with our monthly discussions and their book recommendations. As a result, I didn’t reach the 150-ish book goal. However, I did enjoy exploring these other books that I wouldn’t normally read, so it’s still a pretty good year reading year.
I’ll talk about my reading stats more on another post. First, let’s get the best list out. 12 Best Books for 2012. Let’s get at it, shall we?
- Angelfall by Susan Ee. Gruesome, creepy and scary but absolutely fun. I read this book because of all the good reviews I read from my Goodreads friends, and I devoured it in several days. I loved Penryn the kick-ass heroine and the equally bad-ass angels who caused the apocalypse. When is the sequel coming out again? Please make it soon?
- Interim Goddess of Love by Mina V. Esguerra. I have been waiting for this ever since Mina announced it, and I was so, so excited when it finally came out. I read it fast, and read it again because I was so into Hannah’s world. :) Mina’s been hinting that she will release Book # 2 soon, and I absolutely cannot wait for it. :) Quin! <3
- Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler. I wasn’t a big fan of Twenty Boy Summer, but this one was such a charming book that I was willing to give other Ockler books a chance. I loved this because of the ice skating and the awesome, awesome cupcakes. Do not read this book while you’re hungry! Or at least, get yourself some cupcakes ready for when you finish this book. You will surely crave for them.
- The Reapers are the Angels by Alden Bell. This is a bit reminiscent of Angelfall when it comes to bad-assery. :D Temple is an awesome heroine, and there are zombies everywhere! I loved this book and I was really happy to learn that there was a prequel for this. :D Also, the ending broke my heart just a little bit.
- Sinner by Lino Rulli. I’ve been listening to The Catholic Guy show ever since Easter, and I love Lino. He never fails to make me laugh with his show. I was so happy when Monique gave me a copy of the ebook that I read it immediately — and felt like I was being described in so many pages of the book. Sinner is refreshing, honest and borderline irreverent, and definitely something I would recommend to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. :)
- The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien.This is one of my surprise favorites this year. I never planned reading it this soon because I thought I can’t take the high fantasy universe that Tolkien created. But when it became the book for our June discussion, I had to read it. I read it and I was surprised with how much I loved the book, so much that I am also going to read the rest of the series. I don’t think I would’ve appreciated it if I read it a few years back, though. Still, I’m glad I read it. :)
- Blackout by Mira Grant. The culmination of my most favorite zombie series ever. Sigh. Blackout was everything I wanted it and more, and it makes me sad that I won’t read the Masons or After the End times after. This may be the weakest among the three books, but this makes it to my best of 2012 out of my sheer devotion to this series.
- Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti. This is my first Caletti and I loved it. Other bloggers call this An Important Book, something that we all want our younger selves to read back when we were also going through what Ruby was going through. I loved the beautiful prose and the story and I don’t think I’ve ever dog-eared so many pages in one book. :)
- Voices in the Theater by A.S. Santos. This Filipino paranormal fiction won points in my book when I found out it was set in my alma mater. I wasn’t expecting to love it, but I actually did in the end. It’s a well-written angel paranormal novel with truly creepy scenes and really, really good plot. I am really looking forward to read the next book in the series.
- Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. I wouldn’t have read this if my book club friends didn’t keep on praising David Mitchell online. I was curious, and they recommended this as our first Mitchell, and we ended up having a huge buddy read thread and a face to face book discussion for this. :D I loved it for all the creativity and awesome writing, and it made me really happy to know that there are four more Mitchell novels that I have yet to read. :)
- The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland on a Ship of Her Own Makingby Catherynne M. Valente. Such a smart, smart book. It’s a fairy-tale-ish type of story but it doesn’t feed you what the author wants you to know but instead lets you figure it out. It’s also quite…gruesome at some parts but it’s really, really good. :)
- Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos. I may be a bit biased here because I would read anything the author writes. But I really liked this book, mostly because part of it was set in the Philippines and it’s a book about friendship and family more than a book about finding love. It’s not the strongest De los Santos book, but I was utterly charmed by this, and everything just fell together for me. :)
Honorable mentions:
- Wanderlove by Kristen Hubbard
- Trese #5: Midnight Tribunal by Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo
- A Bottle of Storm Clouds by Eliza Victoria
- Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
- This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers
- How to Save a Lifeby Sara Zarr
- Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
There you go. This was a fairly easy list to make, and I didn’t have to browse through some michael kors watches when I was thinking. Maybe it’s because I read a lot of good books this year? :)
What are your favorite reads in 2012? :)
I love your list because it is so diverse. There is genre variety and there are also local authors. The latter puts me to shame because I didn’t touch any book by a Filipino this year (not counting Noli). I guess I should work on that. Happy New Year!
Hm, maybe we should start that as a project for you? Haha. J/k. I’m sure you’ll find your first Filipino book soon enough, one that you’ll read because it wasn’t a requirement for the club. :)
I am reading Deb Caletti’s book this first quarter of 2013. I’m pushing through with my plan to start out with recommended books. Weee! :D
Yay! I really, really hope you like that book. It gave me all the ~*feels*~ :)
I need to try that Caletti book coz I’m a sucker at award winners/finalists :) Yay for Angelfall, Interim, and Reapers!