2012: The List of Books

Photo from todayfm.com

Thanks to GoodReads.com (one of my favorite social networking websites), I totally embrace setting a goal of “x” number of books to read for the year.  And, also thanks to GoodReads.com, I can actually track my progress!  In 2011, I met my goal of 40 books for the year.  In comparison to a lot of other readers out there, this isn’t really all that impressive, but, as a slightly slower reader, I was ecstatic to hit the goal!

So, for 2012, I upped the ante.  When I set my goal, however, I did not know that my husband and I would trudge through the home buying process, close on a house, move, and then get to work on cleaning, painting, and miscellaneous other projects to make it “home”.  Now, I don’t know how many of my readers have purchased a house (a short sale at that), but it really consumes every ounce of your being.  SO.  I didn’t hit my goal.  I didn’t even meet my 2011 goal.  But that’s okay.  With everything that happened this year, I am still proud of the 36 books (novels, poetry, and graphic) that I completed.  I might just hit 37, too.  I’m currently reading Gone Girl and I totally cannot put it down!

My year-end lists also aid me in figuring out which books I failed to write about due to aforementioned crazy plus the holidays and work!

So, without further adieu, the list of the books that I read in 2012 (in no particular order)…

1. Grandmother’s Secrets by Rosina-Fawiza Al-Rawi
2. Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
3. Slouching Toward Nirvana by Charles Bukowski
4. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
5. Seamus Heaney – Selected Poems – 1966-1987
6. Sarah: A Novel (Book One of the Canaan Trilogy) by Marek Halter
7. The Maid and The Queen by Nancy Goldstone
8. The Boleyn Inheritance (Tudor Court, #3) by Philippa Gregory
9. Living Your Yoga by Judith Hans0n Lasater
10. Body Double (Rizzoli & Isles #4) by Tess Gerritsen
11. How to See Yourself As You Really Are by His Holiness The Dalai Lama XIV
12. Do It Herself by Joann Liebeler (a must-have for any lady buying a house!)
13. Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind by Shunryu Suzuki
14. Defending Jacob by William Landay
15. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo
16. The Constant Princess (Tudor Court, #1) by Philippa Gregory
17. Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell
18. The Walking Dead, Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us by Robert Kirkman
19. Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
20. In the Woods (Dublin Murder Squad, #1) by Tana French
21. The Anne Boleyn Collection: The Real Truth About The Tudors by Claire Ridgeway
22. Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone (#1)  by J.K. Rowling
23. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
24. The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye by Robert Kirkman
25. The Last Week: What The Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’ Final Days in Jerusalem by Marcus J. Borg
26. The Covenant (Abram’s Daughters, #1) by Beverly Lewis
27. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
28. Kiyo’s Story: A Japanese-American Family’s Quest for the American Dream by Kiyo Sato
29. Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the Early West by Anne Seagraves
30. Katharine of Aragon: The Wives of Henry VIII (#2)  by Jean Plaidy
31. The King’s Secret Matter (Tudor Saga, #4) by Jean Plaidy
32. The Shadow of the Pomegranate (Tudor Saga, #3) by Jean Plaidy
33. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
34. The Other Boleyn Girl (Tudor Court #2) by Philippa Gregory
35. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
36. Across Many Mountains: A Tibetan Family’s Epic Journey from Oppression to Freedom by Yangzom Brauen

My goal for 2013 might be slightly lower than my 2012 goal, but I look forward to trying to read as much good literature as possible.  I have a few books lined up to kick off the year – Game of Thronesand The Hobbit.  If I’m feeling adventurous enough, I might FINALLY read The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well.  Those books alone could take me all of 2013, however!

Are you setting any goals for yourself for 2013?  Did you set any for 2012?  If so, how did you do?

Oh, and one other goal that I have for 2013 – more consistent blog posting!!

Happy New Year and happy, happy reading!!