I have admitted defeat. Between writing for A Practical Wedding, We Heart This, my grad school class and here (when I actually do…sorry guys…), making Christmas presents and cards and being married to the most wonderful and annoying man on the planet, I am all tapped out. Fun stuff like reading has fallen to the wayside and, oh, it breaks my heart. I DON’T WANNA DO LAUNDRY, I WANNA READ!!!!
[Note: My husband might interject here and say I don’t do laundry. Ignore him. He’s lying. And possibly drunk.]
BUT pouting is never productive, no matter how good it feels, so I’m making a plan. Of sorts. My plans tend to fall apart, but that’s okay. At least I’m making one, right? RIGHT??
Anyway, I’m making a list of books for me to read in 2012. My goal is to read 100 books next year, which given my normal reading habits is not a lot. (Seriously. It’s a problem.) I’m listing them here and I’d love to hear some suggestions on ones you think I need to add to my list, or list your own! Plus I’m using pretty pretty pictures, because I love you and want you to have something to look at. (It’s also why this post is going up on Thursday and not Wednesday like it was intended. It’s a LOT of effing formatting…see what I do for you???)
I’m also starting a discussion list on our Goodreads group, Messy Reads. Go there and add your own list; I plan on using mine to keep track and update and such. It’ll be nice to go in and strike-through the read books! (Plus, I just learned how to do that to text like two days ago. I’m an HTML idiot…)
And if you’re not a Goodreads member yet, why not? All the cool kids are…
Also, you can help me find this stupid dolphin book that has been stressing me out for months now. CHANTAL! Are you still reading? Maybe you’ll know… (Chantal was my reading buddy. We’d go to each other’s houses, sit there and read together and barely say a word. She’s awesome. Even if she did like New Kids on the Block.)
Alyssa’s 2012 To-Read List
(books marked ** are sitting on my table, staring at me and begging me to read them.)
A Natural History of Love by Diane Ackerman **
A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman
Haunting Jordan (A Port Chatham Mystery #1) by P.J. Alderman
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen **
The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen
Powers, Vol. 14: 712
Powers, Vol. 14: 712 by Brian Michael Bendis
The Poisoner’s Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Blum
Anya’s Ghost by Vera Brosgol
Nearly Departed in Deadwood (Deadwood Mystery #1) by Ann Charles
Little Bee by Chris Cleave **
The Kingdom of Childhood by Rebecca Coleman
Napoleon’s Buttons by Penny Le Couteur **
Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
Don of the Dead (Pepper Martin #1) by Casey Daniels **
Life Is So Good by George Dawson
Behind the Palace Doors: Five Centuries of Sex, Adventure, Vice, Treachery, and Folly from Royal Britain by Michael Farquhar
Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Monster’s Corner: Stories Through Inhuman Eyes by Christopher Golden
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff **
The Hollows Insider: New fiction, facts, maps, murders, and more in the world of Rachel Morgan
A Perfect Blood (The Hallows Book 10) by Kim Harrison
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe **
Hot Shot by Charlotte Hughes **
A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty by Joshilyn Jackson
The Violets of March by Sarah Jio
First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1) by Darynda Jones
Tenderwire by Claire Kilroy **
Two Truths and a Lie by Katrina Kittle **
So Cold the River by Michael Koryta **
Chew: Taster’s Choice (Chew, Vol. 1) by John Layman
If Only It Were True by Marc Levy **
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Skippy Dies: A Novel by Paul Murray
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The Watery Part of the World by Michael Parker
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach**
Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife by Mary Roach
Tutu Deadly (Jenny T. Partridge, #1) by Natalie M. Roberts
Stitches by David Small
Seven Pleasures: Essays on Ordinary Happiness by Willard Spiegelman
The Earth Moved: On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms by Amy Stewart
From the Ground Up: The Story of a First Garden by Amy Stewart
Wicked Bugs: The Louse That Conquered Napoleon’s Army & Other Diabolical Insects by Amy Stewart
Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities by Amy Stewart
Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage, and Dirty Dishes by Paula Szuchman
Sudden Fiction (Continued): 60 New Short-Short Stories by James Thomas **
The Game On! Diet: Kick Your Friend’s Butt While Shrinking Your Own by Krista Vernoff
The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell **
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
The Drifter by Susan Wiggs **
Passing Through Paradise by Susan Wiggs **
Fables: The Good Prince (Fables, #10) by Bill Willingham
Fables: War and Pieces (Fables, #11) by Bill Willingham
Fables: The Dark Ages (Fables, #12) by Bill Willingham
Fables: The Great Fables Crossover (Fables, #13) by Bill Willingham
Fables: Witches (Fables, #14) by Bill Willingham
Fables: Rose Red (Fables, #15) by Bill Willingham
Fables Super Team (Fables, #16): by Bill Willingham
Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall by Bill Willingham
******
So what do you think I should add? I’ve got 62 so far…
What about you? What books do you have on your list for 2012?
**EDIT** If you’re adding your own list to GoodReads, look for the “2012 Reading List” folder in the Discussion section and read the “Wish List/To-Read Info” for help with posting.
Also, I forgot to add that the books pictured are all Amazon Affiliate links. Please see here for more details.
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Kind of a Mess 
Here’s something I would read in 2012 and I hope you will enjoy them:
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
What Do You Care What Other People Think by Richard P. Feynman
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
I am still working on the list. According to the speed currently I am reading, maybe I would set the goal of 50 books, which is already a challenge for me. And I would only set 30 of them as must-read, in case I find some interesting books in 2012.
These look really great, James! I’ll definitely add some to my list and update the post.
And I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but check out the “Book Rec’s” link ti the menu above. We’ve got a whole SLEW of book recommendations that people have read and enjoyed. You might even find something to add to YOUR list! 🙂
DEFINITELY read Lolita. SO good, one of my favorites….
For 2012 we’re going to blow up the SFSignal flowchart to NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Books list, and putting in different colored pushpins for each book we read.
YOU, my dear, are amazing. What a good idea! That chart is so cool….
Ooooooo. I haven’t ever made myself a reading list before, mostly because I’m always adding things as I find them, and already reading three things at once. But I happen to love this idea, and am now going to waste hours of productivity compiling my list and adding it to good reads. I might poach some of your books myself to beef up my own list. Yay! Also, I’m looking at your list to see if I have any suggestions, but don’t quite yet. I’ll let you know if I think of any!
Make one! I just uploaded my list to Goodreads. It’s weird because before these books were “wants” and “to-reads” and now they’re a THING because I put it down on paper. Erm…computer. WHATEVER, they’re official now! And now I officially need to finish them. 🙂
My reading list consists of all the books that are stacked on my shelf waiting to read. I have actually forgotten most of what is up there. I know Pride Prejudice and Zombies is on the shelf, a Clive Barker book, Pillars of the Earth is up there, Wicked Lovely and its sequel, A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire (and he is releasing the final book in the Wicked series soon so that will end up on my shelf), Fool by Christopher Moore, The Looking Glass Wars is in there, Coraline and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, and…umm…about a dozen or so other books that I really can’t remember. I am really far behind on my reading.
Ooo, the ladies have started a discussion on the Wicked series in the group of Goodreads; it hasn’t caught fire yet because they’re all still reading, but check it out!
And make a list! It makes it seem definite and less “well, maybe when I get a chance….”
‘Spousonomics’ is great! And ‘Stardust’! Also, have you read any of the books in The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger? It seems like you might like them, based on the supernatural-y books on your list. They’re easy, fun reads.
I would also like to echo James’ suggestions of ‘Atonement,’ ‘Angels and Demons’ and ‘The Kite Runner.’
Also, have you read ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ by Audrey Niffenegger? Or ‘My Sister’s Keeper’ by Jodi Picoult? Or ‘World War Z’ by Max Brooks, or ‘Love walked in’ by Marisa de los Santos? Or ‘Written on the Body’ by Jeannette Winterson? Or… let’s see… ‘The Brief History of the Dead’ by Kevin Brockmeier? If you like historical fiction, the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon is great. If you like memoirs (esp. those of Southern women), I would reccomend ‘The Liar’s Club’ and ‘Cherry’ by Mary Karr, and ‘The Glass Castle’ by Jeanette Walls. Similarly (but fiction) ‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett is good, as is ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ by Sue Monk Kidd. Oh, and I really like Malcom Gladwell, especially ‘Blink’ and ‘The Tipping Point.’
Oh man. I could go on FOREVER.
LADY! Where were you when we did our book recommendations ?? Can I add these to our list (in the menu bar at the top of the page)? Gimmee more!!!
And I’ll check out the ones you suggested and update my list soon. YAY BOOKS!!!!
Yes! Go ahead! And I have NO IDEA where I was! Normally (as you can totally see here) I jump at the chance to reccomend books to basically anyone, ever.
Yay books! I’ll come up with a more comprehensive list. 😉
OMG – half of those books you mention I haven’t read, but the other half that I have are all ones I ADORED. Awesome. I’m so stealing this list!
Where’s Game of Thrones? 😉 I kid, I kid…
I finished Monsters of Templeton a few weeks ago and that is a DAMN good read. Enjoy it 🙂
I know, I know! I just am not feelin’ Game of Thrones; I hear how great it is but I’m hesitant.
Okay, should I add it? I’ll do it, but only for you!
And have you read Groff’s short story collection, Delicate Edible Birds? It’s AMAZING, especially the title short story. I read it for class and raced out to get the collection; it has made me want to write even more. In fact, one story I loved so much I spent a morning scanning it and emailing it to Lauren so she could read it because I NEEDED her to read it RIGHT THEN. 🙂
Just the title of that collection is making me drool. Click click, added.
OMG just joined good reads for this, and its like when I discovered pinterest….just tumbling down the rabbit hole. I could take me weeks just to finish rating books, before I even get to picking any out…
It’s SO bad, right? I have such a hard time now spending hours on there…
I’m in the middle of reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, and it is the best book I have read in months! Since you turned me on to the Dresden Files and you are such a big Harry Potter fan, I think you’d really like it.
I also just finished The Paris Wife, which was quite good as well.
Ooo, I’ll add it. How are you liking Dresden Files? Some are less of my favorites than others, but OH how they drag you in!! What book are you on?!?
I’ve been dying to read the Dresden Files, but my library has a super huge wait list for the first of the series, for some reason. Bah humbug. Well, I’m on the hold list, at least. 😉
I’ve read all of the Dresden Files that currently exist. I agree that some are better than others, but I truly became addicted. I read them all back to back, and actually felt pretty depressed when I ran out of them. My world felt empty without Harry!
Loved, loved, loved the night circus. It actually reminded me a lot of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. I highly recommend it as a follow up book if you liked the night circus.
I like Chantal already.
Just sayin’….
Quite the list! I’m currently reading The Hobbit. How did I live so long without ever actually reading this book?!*
Pretty sure it isn’t the same book, but I was hooked on a book with dolphins way back when as well! Madeline L’engle’s A Ring of Endless Light… I think I had a bit of teenage angst that made me eat up that kind of drama, but the dolphins always grabbed heartstrings too! Anyway, I can’t recall how many times I read it but it’s been SO long – thanks for reminding me! 🙂
This is such a good list – and you definitely want to keep some room on there for good books you hear about next year. David Small is one of my favorite illustrators, and I really liked Stitches as a result (although it’s not a happy book).
If you like Stitches, I would recommend: I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly.
Some other random books I’ve liked, that I don’t see get recommended much are:
The Outside World by Tova Mirvis
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
Kindred by Octavia Butler
The Latehomecomer by Kao Kalia Yang
Admission by Jean Hanff Korelitz
I keep a To Read list in Goodreads too, and I really enjoy going in and picking out a few books at a time to get from the library. Good stuff.
A Thread of Grace by Mary Doria Russell
That book … simply stunning. Every sentence was beautifully crafted.
I promise to add this to Goodreads as well, but so far I’m thinking the Steig Laarson (Larrson? Larsson? Not sure) books and the Game of Thrones books for next year to start. Lolita has been on my to-read list for a while as well, and As I Lay Dying (Faulkner). Those will be good to intersperse with the indulgences.
The end of the year is taken up with re-reading Gregory Maguire’s Wicked series (if you haven’t read THOSE books, I highly highly recommend them, and I also adored Mirror Mirror) and finishing up with the newest, Out of Oz (I started the thread on Messy Reads about discussing them … I hope that is OK!). Then, after that, reading William Kennedy’s latest, Chango’s Beads and Two Toned Shoes. Kennedy is a novelist from my town (Albany, NY) and wrote Ironweed, which won the Pulitzer in the 80s and was made into a movie with Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep. (Little known fact – Nicholson, to this day, special orders bread from a local bakery, because it’s the best he’s ever had. or so he says.) Anyway, my cat is named after one of his books (my favorite – Roscoe), and I wanted to name our dog Phelan, after the main character in Ironweed, but my sister-in-law’s married name is also Phelan, so that would be really weird and awkward. So, anyway, I’m going to be doing a close read of that, and will probably re-read Roscoe and Ironweed after I finish, since it’s been a long time since I read either.
100 books. That’s epic. I pledged to read 50 books one year, and I got to I think 45 or so. Not sure I could do 100. Props.
Oh! And Little Bee and Miss Peregine’s – both fantastic, I read them both this past year. Also good and along similar themes as Little Bee is Cutting for Stone. That book was stunning.
That’s a good looking list! I just finished listening to Stardust as an audiobook, it was great – and Skippy Dies was one of my favorites that I read this year. (I did that one as an audiobook too, and wound up speaking with an Irish accent for a while since I was listening to it every day on a ship full of Irishmen. True story, and underrated benefit of listening to books on tape).
Did you ever read The Magicians? I’m reading the sequel, the Magician King, right now, and I’m already almost done with it. Lots of magic and adventuring plus teenage craziness…
If you like Diane Ackerman’s books and haven’t read her “One Hundred Names for Love”…it made me cry. In a good way.
Great. Have read some and see some I did not know about to try. Suggestion: Kristan Hannah -Between Sisters, True Colors,
Firefly Lane & others.