Greetings and Happy Friday! It's hard to believe it's the last Friday of the year, isn't it? I'm still amazed at how fast this year flew by. I have a pretty quiet weekend ahead of me. My boyfriend and I are going to happy hour at my favorite Mexican place, so thoughts of a yummy cucumber margarita are definitely going to pull me through what will likely be a quiet work day!
One of my favorite parts about the end of the year is all the "best of" lists that come out. Best books. Best movies. Best moments. So today I thought I'd share the 10 best books that I read this year (out of the 56 that I have finished thus far)!
Here they are in no particular order!
10. Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio - I love all of Jio's books, but I think this one was my favorite!
9. The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh - This book sucked me in right from the get go and was a page turner for me.
8. The Moment by Douglas Kennedy - This was probably the book that I highlighted the most passages of. It's really beautifully written.
7. Looking for Alaska by John Green - This was the 2nd book that I read by this YA author and it did not disappoint. In some ways it reminds me of the movie "Dead Poet's Society". I think any adult would enjoy it.
6. Room by Emma Donoghue - This was probably the most disturbing book that I read in 2012, but I am glad I read it. It took awhile to get used to the narrator since the story was told by a young boy, but it was worth sticking with.
5. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I LOVED this book. It is a YA book, but it so does not fit into that genre in my opinion. It was so beautifully written and was just so good. Read it. You'll love it.
4. The Violets of March by Sarah Jio - This is Jio's first book. It makes me want to visit more of the Pacific Northwest.
3. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - This was such a magical and intriguing book. I did not want the story to end!
2. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - Ok, this book was totally and completely messed up and by the end of the book, I could not stand either of the main characters, but I still love it.
1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky - I love how this book was told in the form of letters written by the main character. I would highly recommend watching the movie after reading the book!
What were some of the best books you read in 2012?
PS - Happy Birthday to my dear dad! I'll have a margarita (or two) in your honor tonight! :)
22 comments:
Happy Birthday Lisa's Dad!
I love that we're brain twins enough to do posts about best 2012 books within hours of each other. And I love that we both put Sarah Jio on our lists twice!
Happy Friday indeed!
Gone Girl is such a messed-up book and the characters are so not likable at all, especially at the end. But it's just SO good! In a disturbing/crazy way. ;)
Happy Friday!
Lisa, I just started the Language of Flowers, it is our January book club selection, I have to lead the discussion, I like it so far, good to read your recommendation.
I love the best of lists at the end of the year too! They are so interesting to read and such a satisfying way to wrap up the year.
Happy birthday to your dad (hope he's doing well!) and enjoy your cucumber margarita(s) tonight with Phil!
Have a great weekend! Hope the studying is going well! Thanks for the birthday greeting for your Dad! I'll pass it on to him!
56 books is a ton of books to me! Thanks for the recommendations!
Everybody seems to be raving about Gone Girl. What's the demographic on that? I couldn't figure out who to give that to as a Christmas gift.
I'll echo your love of _The Night Circus_ -- I think it was the best book I read this year. I also really enjoyed _A Casual Vacancy_ by J.K. Rowling and _Like Water for Elephants_.
I need to read so many of these books! Time Magazine named The Fault in Our Stars one of the top 10 books of 2012 too. Totally agree about Gone Girl, so messed up and yet so amazing. My favorite book that I read this year was The Last Town on Earth. I literally had a pit in my stomach and could feel tension in my body as I read the book and tried to figure out what I'd do in the characters situations (there were no easy answers)!
Um that last comment was me. I typed A and then my hand slipped and hit "publish"
My year has been so crazy that I have not really had time to read. It's unfortunate because I used to read at least an hour or two per day, and now I've stopped making time for it.
I am going to have to spend part of my Barnes and Noble gift card money on getting The Bugalow and Blackberry Winter!
Wow, I've read only two of the books on your list...what on earth have I been doing? (will think about that later). Yes, I loved THE NIGHT CIRCUS, just absolutely loved it but don't ask me to summarize it...it could take days. And I read ROOM although it was painful...I am now on ANna Karenina but will have to see what I actually did read and finish this year...nearly a blur! So glad to see this...good to stop by...happy new year to you and your family!
Gone Girl & Perks were both on my list as well. And while I haven't read the rest, John Green and Sarah Jio have both been on my to-read lists as well. Plus I received a copy of The Night Circus for the holidays that I can't wait to pick up.
Excellent list! But I mean, you've got two John Green novels on there so how could it not be? I'll definitely need to check out a few of your other reads... I love seeing everyone's lists!
I LOVED The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Fault in Our Stars. Definitely two of the best books I read this year. Sarah Jio is an author I've been wanting to read, I just haven't gotten around to her books yet. I read nothing but great things about her work, though.
Excellent list, ive read most of them but i will def get to the others in 2013. i just finished my 50 books today so ill have to look back to find my favorites!
Wild (from Lost to Found On the Pacific Crest Trail) by Cheryl Strayed is a recent favorite.
Thanks for the recommendations! I have been so bad about reading these past few months. It makes me sad :(
Hope you are having a great NYE weekend!!
Except for the fact that I haven't read any one of these either (Boy, do I feel like a slacker!), I'm really loving your list and others summarizing the best books of 2012. I don't think I could ever catch up but I love getting the titles for maybe someday!
I've read most of the books on your top 10 list and did enjoy most of them - especially the John Green books. I think my favorite books this year were more dystopian YA - the Divergent and Delirium series books - for their entertainment value. Oh, and Goodreads says I really loved The Lost Wife and The Tea Rose.
I still haven't read any of Sarah Jio's books (they don't have them at my library) but the fact that you have two on your list is very telling! I will have to persevere at the library! I am glad you had a nice happy hour with the BF! You deserve it after all the studying (or before all the studying, I guess!)
I've read several of these books as well and really enjoyed them! I am going to download The Fault in Our Stars on my Kobo this weekend too!
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