Sarahkka's 2012 Book List

[Sarahkka]

January
Last year I had the aim of trying to read 50 books (I think I started to keep track in the spring), and managed to get through 25.
I also had a list of books that I wanted to read, but only managed four of them. I hate seeing unfinished lists like that, so I am going to take a different approach this year.
This year, I think I am going to just read and read, and keep track of the books with the list below. I will offer thoughts on some of the books and would love feedback if any of you read them or have suggestions for ones that I might enjoy, etc.

Happy Reading in 2012, everyone!

Books Read 2012

January
1. Wildwood – Colin Meloy
2. I Am Half-Sick of Shadows – Alan Bradley
3. Pirate King – Laurie R. King
4. The Sookie Stackhouse Companion – Charlaine Harris
5. A Dance with Dragons – George R.R. Martin
6. 666 Park Avenue - Gabriella Pearce
7. The Apothecary - Maile Meloy
8. Damned - Chuck Palahniuk
9. Liars and Saints - Maile Meloy
10. A Family Daughter - Maile Meloy
11. Zone One - Colson Whitehead

February

12. The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival - John Vaillant
13. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
14. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
15. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins

March

16. Shanghai Girls - Lisa See
17. Dreams of Joy - Lisa See
18. A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness
19. The Midnight Zoo - Sonya Hartnett

April

20. The Invention of Hugo Cabret - Brian Selznick
21. The Virgin Cure - Ami McKay
22. Nanny Returns - Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus

May

23. Deadlocked - Charlaine Harris

June

(mostly read natural history research stuff - no full books)

July

24. Shadow of Night - Deborah Harkness
25. The Glass Wall - Jeannette Walls

August

26. The Flying Troutmans - Miriam Toews

September/October

I know I read a few, but I can't remember...

November/December

The Wolf Gift - Anne Rice
Guilty Pleasures - Laurell K. Hamilton
The Laughing Corpse - Laurell K. Hamilton
Circus of the Damned - Laurell K. Hamilton
The Lunatic Cafe - Laurell K. Hamilton
Bloody Bones - Laurell K. Hamilton
The Killing Dance - Laurell K. Hamilton
Burnt Offerings - Laurell K. Hamilton
Blue Moon - Laurell K. Hamilton
Sunshine - Robin McKinley

 

[Sarahkka]

Wildwood by Colin Meloy

Really lovely and fantastical children's novel by the lead singer of the Decemberists. I work a lot with kids, so I try to keep somewhat hip to the latest in kid culture!

Apparently, there may be a sequel. I hope so. I loved the protagonist, the central quest, and the magical world. Also a GREAT villain here.

 

[Sarahkka]

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley

I cannot rave enough about how wonderful Flavia deLuce and her sleuthing adventures are! These books are great mysteries, but I will laugh until my sides stitch at Flavia's voice and her wonderful perception of the world. Very pleased to discover that Alan Bradley is a Canadian!
This is the fourth in the series and I believe his website said that he is contracted for six novels.

 

[Sarahkka]

Pirate King by Laurie R. King

This is another mystery series that I have really enjoyed so far. The protagonist is Mary Russell, a brilliant young woman who meets and marries Sherlock Holmes.
Good, solid writing and decent mysteries throughout the series.
This one sort of strayed from the overarching struggle that the pair have been dealing with, but was still very fun.

 

[Sarahkka]

The Sookie Stackhouse Companion by Charlaine Harris.

I grabbed this thinking that it was a new collection of Sookie short stories.
Nope.
It had one novella, then all sorts of odds and ends: everything from essays from her fan club members to recipes to synopses of the novels, etc.
If you are a die-hard Sookie fan, this might be fun, but I wouldn't bother, otherwise. The novella was fun. I'm getting pretty tired of the sloppy writing, though. I think Sookie's story needs to wrap up soon.

 

[Sarahkka]

A Dance with Dragons by George RR Martin

Another huge read in the Song of Ice and Fire series.
I'm really enjoying this series, but I felt like this book was even more violent (and sexually violent, in particular) than the rest - and that's saying something! The story was still compelling, and it is such a well-woven tapestry of an epic, but man! Does rape and really sick, cruel violence have to feature so prominently? I get it that the stakes need to be high, but the excruciating details - are they really necessary?
I'll keep reading, but I have to be honest - that aspect of the book really turns me off.

 

[Sarahkka]

666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pearce

Dumb. Don't bother.

 

[Sarahkka]

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

Wow. What a sophisticated, eloquent, and exciting book. This did not feel like YA fiction. It was so well-written! Highly recommended!
I am starting her adult stuff next!

 

[Sarahkka]

Damned by Chuck Palahniuk

How to describe this funny funny weird book?
The jacket calls it "Inferno by the way of The Breakfast Club" and that is kind of it. The protagonist is a 13-yr old who finds herself in hell. Hell, by the way, is a very funny mixture of Dante and our modern world. (The damned sometimes get eaten by demons and sometimes find themselves on endless shifts in a call centre as telemarketers ) She has to reconcile her death and her place in hell, and that is the jist of the story.
A wonderful surprise of a novel. I picked it up on a whim and loved it. I think I've read Choke and Fight Club by Palahniuk. Ages ago.
Oh, and I read this instead of more Maile Meloy because I realized it was due back at the library tomorrow!

 

[Sarahkka]

Liars and Saints by Maile Meloy

While I didn't enjoy this book as much as her YA novel, The Apothecary, I still had a good read. The novel follows four generations of a family in the States as they deal with all sorts of twists and turns and tragedies. It shifted perspective constantly, which really built the relationships well. She's a hell of a writer, no arguing there. The book didn't blow me away, but I was impressed with how few words she needed to tell a story of this scope and size.

 

[Sarahkka]

A Family Daughter by Maile Meloy

Okay, I will now say that Maile Meloy's adult work is wonderful. This book is written as a companion piece to Liars and Saints, and once you've read them both, you understand what a talent Meloy is. The previous book is a novel written by a character in this book, but is about the same family. It's the same style of quickly changing perspectives. Sometimes it feels like I am reading a series of short stories that tell the whole story. Really clever and wonderful prose.

 

[Sarahkka]

Zone One by Colson Whitehead

A very literary zombie apocalypse novel. Well-written, but not my style. Found reading this kind of hard work, actually. The author had the protagonist slipping in and out of memories and it got very confusing as to what was actually going on. I had to re-read stuff a lot to try to sort it out. Good writer, but not my style.

 

[Sarahkka]

The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival by John Vaillant

Stunning work of non-fiction by a Canadian nature writer. As I've mentioned before, I have an extensive background in tiger conservation through my Zoo work. I was even commissioned to write, produce, and perform a show on the Amur tiger for the Smithsonian National Zoo, so I am pretty well-read on the issue. This book impressed me to no end by the depth of its research and the quality of its writing. And I learned so much!!! In case non-fiction feels like too much work for your coveted reading time, take my word for it: this is an exciting read. It feels a bit like a true crime book. Anyway, rave review!

 

[Sarahkka]

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Well, I had to see what all the fuss was about! And unlike the Twilight series which brings fresh waves of irritation every time I think about its insipid and cloying characters, this novel for young adults knocked it out of the ball park.
If I were an English teacher, I would be on my knees thanking and praising Collins for delivering a kick-ass story with huge and interesting themes to explore. Everything from world hunger to free will to ancient Greece - you could cover it all. And it would be a joy to discuss with your students because they would be swept up by the story and wanting to discuss their thoughts and feelings.
I am not saying that this is the best book ever written or anything, but it is really quality and so nice to see amidst the typical vampire love crap that YA seems inundated with these days.
I have managed to get most of the second novel listened to on tape, but am not counting that as a read until I get to actually read it!

 

[Sarahkka]

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Found a copy and read the whole thing last night. Because I could not put it down. Great series.

 

[Sarahkka]

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

So good. The whole trilogy.

 

[Sarahkka]

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See

So.... I am hopefully leading a trip to China and Tibet in September! (I say "hopefully" because it has to sell a certain number of seats before it is confirmed). This means that I am going to be immersing myself in all sorts of books on that area, including novels. I find if I do a combination of fiction and non-fiction (particularly when the fiction is in the form of well-researched and well-written historical novels), the factual stuff really sticks with me.
I enjoyed Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan a lot last December, so I put all her novels on my China Reading List. Shanghai Girls does not disappoint. It is told in a similar fashion to Snow Flower in that the central story revolves around a very intense and close relationship between two young girls and follows them through the decades. In this case, the two young girls are sisters rather than best friends and the time period is during the Japanese invasion of China through to the experience of Chinese immigrants in 1930s/40s America.
Everytime I read one of Lisa See's novel, I wind up reading into the wee hours of the morning, because she is a gripping storyteller with a beautiful narrative flow, and I feel like I understand just a little more about Chinese culture. I think I have a lot of political prejudices to get over when it comes to China, mostly due to the human rights atrocities and conservation issues. It really helps me work through that when I feel like someone (even a fictional voice) is giving me some insight into Chinese perspective.
So, in short, another combination of great writing and fantastic storytelling from Lisa See. I am looking forward to reading more of her novels.

 

[Sarahkka]

Dreams of Joy by Lisa See

The more I read by this author, the more I love her. Gripping read, too. Really hard to put down. The main characters must survive and escape Mao's Great Famine or Great Leap Forward. My god, the policies that were imposed on the people of China in the name of "progress". Flabbergasting.

 

[Sarahkka]

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Hmmmm. I enjoyed this book, but am on the fence as to what I really thought of the writing. I really enjoyed the way history, wine, and place were used and described in this big sprawling fantasy epic. However, the romance between the main character and her love interest felt kind of cliched and made me kind of impatient. I intend to read the sequel(s?), asI found the world of the novel fun and well-thought out, but not sure how much I care about the main characters. I almost want to re-read it again in a few months and see how it affects me. Decent book, if not for the romance stuff. I'd be interested in hearing what other people think of this one.

 

[Sarahkka]

The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett

God, I wish I could write like this. One reviewer called this "an eloquently written, heartrending novel". Perfectly put. Two little boys and their baby sister narrowly escape the extermination of their Romany camp by Nazis in Hungary. They are travelling through the wartorn countryside, trying to stay hidden and to survive, until one night when they come across a zoo. The animals in the zoo can talk and as the children and the animals share their stories and observations of the war, they discuss all sorts of things, including what it means to be free.
Heartbreaking, yet hopeful.
And definitely not just for kids.