Favorite Books of 2012

Whoa!  It's been awhile since I posted here!  Blogger sure has changed!  Anyway, thought I'd share my favorite books of 2012!

Last year I started reading like a maniac again.  I took my son to get his library card last Spring and we've gone to the library every 2-3 weeks since!  It was so wonderful to read again - I hadn't really read anything of substance since before he was born.

Some of my favorites were:

The Hunger Games - I read all three in about a week and a half and they blew me away.  And, of course, the movie pales in comparison

Under the Dome - Stephen King really knows how to freak a girl out with real people.  This book shows how a small town reacts when something bad happens to them.  It's crazy.  And good. And scary.  A perfect SK.

11/22/63 - another SK.  This one is about time travel, which is a total mind fuck for me.  I simultaneously love and hate time travel plot lines.  He does a good job with this one, though...even though I kind of saw the ending coming (the whole time-space continuum thing).

The Descendants - Just a beautiful book - funny, sad, heartwarming, poignant.  I just watched the movie last night - since it had been awhile since I read the book, I was pretty happy with the movie adaptation.  Plus, George Clooney wins for me in anything.

Two Kisses for Maddy - this one is by a fellow blogger, Matt Logelin.  Those of you not familiar with Matt and Maddy's story, go take a look at his site.  He has a few quick links to give you background.  I came across Matt's blog right after I found out I was pregnant with my son and right after Matt lost Liz, so I kind of followed him from the beginning of his journey.  The book was a perfect addition to his blog. Warning: have tissues ready.  And if you're offended by the word "fuck" then you may not want to read (or any of the books I'm suggesting, really).

Let's Pretend This Never Happened - Blogger Bloggess writes a hilarious book.  I think I peed my pants twice while reading this book. (see above warning regarding the word "fuck")

A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of Night - The first two books in a trilogy by Deborah Harkness.  Alone, Discovery of Witches was rough for me - until the vampire came into the picture.  The sequel, Shadow of Night, was awesome (more time travel into the 1500's, one my favorite time periods!).  I'm looking forward to the third book.

And, my most favorite book I read last year:

The Night Circus - Have you ever read a book that you were afraid to put down because you were afraid you were going to miss something?  That's how Erin Morgenstern's debut novel was for me.  It has mixed review on Goodreads, but I absolutely loved it.  I recommended it to pretty much everyone I know who loves to read and I even bought it as gifts for my besties for their birthdays.  In fact, I just went out and bought a copy for myself so I could reread it again.  That's how amazing it was - I'll reread it less than a year after reading it for the first time!  Seriously, though, it was magical.  Truly magical.

What was your favorite book you read last year?

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

First of all, let me preface this book review with a quick little disclaimer. I heart vampires and vampire stories. I have a bit of an (unhealthy?) obsession with these creatures of the night. I'm not sure why, but I do. That being said, I shall proceed.

Dead Until Dark is the first in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I don't know why I'm just now reading these - what with my obsession with vampires and all. But I guess I was a little wary of another vampire series. I tried reading that series by Laurell K Hamilton and just wasn't able to get into them. And I enjoyed Twilight to an extent but had issues with Bella and Meyers kind of jumped the shark with the last book. So I held off on this series, but after looking for something quick, easy and fun to read, these were suggested to me (my friends know of my vampire penchant) and I've fallen in love.

But I digress. As I was saying, Dead Until Dark is the first of a series. We are introduced to Sookie Stackhouse from Bon Temps, Louisana and she has a special ability to hear people's thoughts, though she tries to block them out as much as possible. She's a waitress at a local bar and is extremely excited when they get their first vampire customer. See, vampires are "out of the closet" in this series - they are integrated with humans for the most part, but a vampire in Bon Temps is a pretty exciting deal considering how small the town is.

Sookie quickly realizes that this vampire, Bill Compton, is special - different - she can't hear his thoughts! And he realizes that she's not like most humans. So begins the love story. But it's not all sex and lame romantic stuff. No, there's murder and humour and mystery and a cameo by a supposed dead "King" (which made me laugh hysterically)...it's just a damn good story. Well, a damn good story for someone who hasn't read an actual book in almost 9 months at any rate. Plus? I actually like the heroine of this story. This is rarity with me but Sookie rocks. She has her flaws (as any good protagonist does) but she more than makes up for them.

READ THIS BOOK. Then, go watch the HBO series True Blood. The plot of season 1 basically follows this first book...loosely. And for the first time, I actually enjoyed both the book and the TV adaptation - even though the TV series has quite a bit of differences than the book I never once uttered "that didn't happen in the book!" And if you don't fall in love with Sookie and Bill (seriously, how could you not?) and all the others of Bon Temps then...well then I'm just sorry for you. But if you tire of Twilight's immaturity and Edwards creepiness and Bella's annoyance and want some good vampire stories - read this now.

Um...what's wrong with wanting to read The DaVinci Code?

I recently read an article in New York Times about Book Club troubles. I guess I had no idea what a serious business book clubs were. Click the link to read the article for yourself as I make a bit of commentary on this article.

First of all, if looking at Jocelyn Bowie standing there all high and mighty doesn't make you want to punch her in her mouth, maybe this quote will:

The last straw came when the group picked “The Da Vinci Code” and someone suggested the discussion would be enriched by delving into the author’s source material. “It was bad enough that they wanted to read ‘Da Vinci Code’ in the first place,” Ms. Bowie said, “but then they wanted to talk about it.” She quit shortly after, making up a polite excuse: “I told the organizer, ‘You’re reading fiction, and I’m reading history right now.’ ”

Oh. My. GAWD. A book club wanting to read a book and talk about it? What kind of madness is this? Hey. Ms. Bowie. Get off your high horse and quit acting like you're too cool for school. Maybe your group didn't want to look past Oprah's picks because you were condescending about suggesting new titles? Perhaps? And who's to say that these books that you look down your nose at won't be deemed "literary classics" someday?

Second...how do I get Esther Bushell's job?

"...Esther Bushell, a professional book-group facilitator who leads a dozen suburban New York groups and charges $250 to $300 a member annually for her services."

I want that job. But I think I would be better at it because I wouldn't have any "moral obligations" (WTF???) and would gladly take money to lead discussions about The Devil Wears Prada. Because even though it's labeled a "chick-lit" book (meaning some think that it's below them to even peek past the super sweet cover), there are things to take away from it and discuss (like rivalries between women and how we tend to sabatoge ourselves by doing this or how the movie wasn't as annoying as the book...just to name a few).

Maybe I am over-simplifying this, but it shouldn't be this hard - or petty - to have a book club. Seriously, who the hell would want to join a book club whose guidelines includes "no therapy talk, no chit-chat and no skipping meetings."? Me thinks that some people take things and themselves waaay too seriously.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard

When the title of the final Harry Potter installment came out in the spring of 2007, everyone was a buzz with questions.

"What are the Deathly Hallows?"

These questions were answered July 21, 2007, when we all were finally able to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The answer was found in a book Dumbledore left Hermione: The Tales of Beedle the Bard which are basically fairy tales or fables for witches and wizards.

After finishing the final Harry Potter book, J.K. Rowling actually started writing her own version of The Tales. At the time only seven copies were made - they were all handwritten and illustrated by Rowling. Six were given as gifts to those who helped the most with the Potter series and the seventh was sold at auction with the proceeds going to a charity.

When news of this book being written hit the streets, people demanded to be able to read the stories. But at the time, there was absolutely no intention of the books being released publicly, much to the dismay of many a Potter fan.

So imagine my surprise* when I received an email from Barnes & Noble this summer announcing the public release of The Tales of Beedle the Bard. I reserved my copy and on December 4th, I headed to my local Barnes and Noble and purchased my copy.

Along with The Tale of the Three Brothers (the story featured in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Rowling brings us The Wizard and the Hopping Pot, The Fountain of Fair Fortune, The Warlock's Hairy Heart and Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump.

The stories themselves are entertaining with lessons to be had by all who reads them - much like the fairy tales and fables we have grown up with. The best part of the book, however, is the "extensive commentary by Albus Dumbledore." Rowling has managed to reignite the Potter magic and create more questions and desire for more stories outside of Harry Potter**! I also believe that she has created a book that our future generations will use the same way our parents used Hans Christian Anderson or Aesop's Fables.

Even if you're not a Potter fan (to which I say, "say what?") the book is worth the read - especially if you have children who are of the age to appreciate and understand the lessons to be learned. Plus, all of the proceeds of the sale of the book go towards a charity.

*So not surprised at all even though Rowling stated that Harry Potter's story is over.

**There are so many side stories to be had here, people! Prequels and such...and people will buy them! Rowling would be crazy not to cash in on that.