2012 in books, part 5

Every year my reading goal is simple: 365, one book a day. This year I just barely managed to make it, with a grand total of 366. Last year, my best reading year since I started recording books, I read 385.

{Stats paragraph: How did I get 365? I count each chapter book I read, but not picture books. This year, Atinuke’s books gave me a bit of a problem but I did count them in the end because they’re shelved in JFIC in my library. I count every re-read as a separate book, both through my reading history (so a book I read in 2011 and then in 2012 is counted twice) and during the year (the year I read Jellicoe Road 3 times, I counted it 3 times). This is because I fundamentally believe that each time you read a book, you’re reading it in a new and different way. I don’t keep track of the percentage of new vs. re-reads, but I do know that there were fewer re-reads in 2012 than there have been in the past.}

Personally, of course, 2012 has been a strange and difficult year: my father was diagnosed with brain cancer in February and died in November. A lot of you were hugely supportive, and I am so grateful for all of you, and all your messages and kind words.

It’s kind of neat to look back on a year and see what themes, conscious or unconscious, have developed. This year I have several: flying, WWII, and non-fiction. Before this year, I had taken a long break from any kind of real non-fiction reading–not planned, but it wasn’t what interested me and I was gleefully hurtling through tons of SF/F and YA. But I read a number of really good non-fiction books, enough that did a separate post just for them. As far as the others go, sometimes one book came directly from another–Agent Garbo and Double-Cross, for instance. Sometimes it was serendipity.

Flying
Promise the Night
Code Name Verity
Such a Rush
Listen! The Wind
The Map of My Dead Pilots

WWII
Double Cross
Agent Garbo
Code Name Verity
The FitzOsbornes at War
Enemy Brothers
Bomb!

There were also a couple of authors I read a lot of: Mary Stewart, Jennifer Crusie, Mo Willems. And this was the first year I have been able to go to author events–I actually went to two! First was the McFadden Memorial lecture given by–Mo Willems! It was a really fun evening, but so large and impersonal that I actually sort of forgot about it until after the second author event I went to. That was a fantastic reading/signing with Saundra Mitchell, Christine Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan. I’m definitely hooked, so now all I need are more authors who will come do events in the Indianapolis area when I’m not working. (Catherynne Valente came to Indy…and I had to work. I was Quite Unhappy.)

I wrote a number of posts that weren’t just straight book reviews–some book related, some not. Here are the links to my favorites:
* An interview with my friend B about my reading habits
* A series about the myths in the Queen’s Thief series: The Thief; The Queen of Attolia; The King of Attolia; A Conspiracy of Kings
* The Fault in Our Stars and my fictional city
* Diana Wynne Jones and me
* Armchair BEA interview
* I also wrote a short story about a tower and a forest
* Then I was all 1940s style for Halloween at the library
* I made stenciled eggs and Cream-filled Hazelnut Torte and watched Captain America and was delighted by family history.

I’ve split my favorite books up into three categories: fiction, non-fiction, and younger books (early readers and picture books). Those posts will be going up for the next three days. I hope you’ll stick around.