Tallying up, I am delighted that I met my goal to read 52 books in 2012, one for each week last year. It was a bit harder this year than last year with a wee toddler taking much of my weekend reading time but oh so worth it. If you’re interested in seeing everything I read in 2012, the ‘Reading Now’ sidebar is still up on the ‘About Us‘ page on the right hand side, second reading list down. The 2013 list is up and already has 7 books on it. These were my favorite gems from 2012:

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett – This book (the beginning of a trilogy) is not for the faint of heart. It’s over 1,000 pages of historical fiction that brings World War I into your living room. The book follows 5 families all over the globe as they deal with various political, economic and social issues of the time (from women’s suffrage to coal mining to unions all across countries). I never felt like there were any slow sections. The term ‘epic’ barely begins to cover this masterpiece of a book. I’m almost done with Book 2 of the trilogy and have the same sweeping praise for that one.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling – Ms. Rowling is best known for her Harry Potter series. This book is nothing like that series and is downright depressing. It is ultimately a book about class warfare but takes its time building the tale. By the time I got to the last third of the book, I could barely put it down and then the last 25 pages sealed it in my head for weeks. I would wake up and my first thought would be of some of the overall themes the book illuminated. One of the professional reviewers called the book ‘deeply upsetting’. I agree with that assessment but still, could not look away [Read more…]