2012 Book List

So in December I blogged about the books I read in 2011. Last year was a good reading year for me. I finished many wonderful stories in different genres. I read a lot of books that are “typical” for me, but I also branched out, took suggestions from friends, colleagues and the New York Times and found wonderful authors that I hope to read again and again.

I’m hoping for a lot more of the same in 2012. To keep me on track, I’ve complied a running list in my Erin Condren Life Planner of books I want to read this year. There’s no order or ranking, no alphabetization. There’s no saying I’ll even read all these books this year. Who knows? Maybe I’ll find a slew of books in a couple months so great that I push all these aside. Also, I’m known for hanging out around the New Fiction, Memiors and Clearance tables in Barnes & Noble which frequently pile me up with a stack of books that take precedence over whatever’s currently on my list. So don’t hold me to it, but here’s my reading list for 2012 (at least for now):

“The Marriage Plot” by Jeffrey Eugenides: I first discovered Eugenides last year reading “Middlesex,” one of my favorite books from 2011. He hasn’t come out with a new book in years, so his fans were eagerly anticipating this book late last year. I didn’t get to it last year, so I’m starting my year off with it now. I’m only about 50 pages in, but Eugenides has an amazing way of bringing characters to life and makes you relate to them in ways you never thought possible. Especially when they’re incredibly different from you. I already can’t take my eyes off this one!

“Bittersweet” by Shauna Niequist: So I actually cheated and started this book in 2011, but I didn’t finish it until 2012, so I think it’s fair to keep it on this year’s list. A friend introduced me to Shauna through an article she wrote for a Christian publication, and I was so in love that I had to find more. She’s written two novels, both of which are almost written blog-style and chronicle moments in her life when she found God, questioned God and downright refused God….but somehow always managed to find her way back. She’s a young mom, and for women in their twenties and thirties, I think it’s a great guide to learning how to live gracefully. PS—Her blogs states that she started writing her third book this month. You better believe I’ll be on the waiting list!

“All is Grace” by Brennan Manning, “Blue Nights” by Joan Didion and “The Language of Flowers” by Vanessa Diffenbaugh: If there’s any testament to how much I’m admiring Mrs. Niequist right now, it would be that these three books were all on her recommended reading list for 2011. I figure if I’m enjoying her own writing as much as I am, I should certainly look towards some of her favorite books for 2012. “Grace” is about struggles with God and addiction; “Flowers” is about the foster system in California; and I have no idea what “Nights” is about, but she said it was her favorite book of 2011, so I’m game!

“The Blue Sweater” by Jacqueline Novogratz: This was recommended to me by a dear friend with whom I share the same taste in books. She said she thought of me while reading this last year, so I’m trusting her and picking it up in 2012.

“Firefly Lane” by Kristin Hannah: I think this book came out a few years ago, and it was super-popular when it came out. I somehow missed it. (I have this problem where I decided that I’m not going to read the super-popular books because I’m “off-beat,” “quirky,” and “an individualist” in my reading style….but then I end up dying to read them and relinquish a year or two later. I’ve done this with Twilight and Harry Potter, too, don’t judge.)

“Songs Without Words” by Ann Packer: Ann wrote one of my favorite books of all time “The Dive From Clausen’s Pier” which I read the summer after I graduated high school. She’s only written a few novels, but I was excited to google her name and come up with this more recent title.

“In the Garden of Beasts” by Erik Larson came recommended by both the NYT Best Seller’s List and my father. I also needed to include some more non-fiction in my 2012 list. Based on the story of the U. S. Ambassador to Germany during Hitler’s reign, it’s his family’s story of being an American in Germany during such a controversial time.

“Simple Abundance” by Sarah Ban Breathnach: I had definitely heard of this book, but I didn’t really know what it was. I also thought it was for old people, not going to lie. But when one of my dearest friends told me it was on her reading list, I figured I should find out more. I’ve already ordered my copy on Amazon because it seems like just the kind of book I need for this time in my life. Stories collected from women, lifting each other up and encouraging each other every day of the year. It also seems like a good book to pick up and put down when we need an extra boost.

“The Magic Room” by Jeffrey Zaslow and “The Fall Back Plan” by Leigh Stein: I don’t know too much about these books either, but they’re on Oprah’s list of “Books to Watch For in 2012.” If they’re good enough for Oprah, they’re good enough for me!

To full Kindles,

Lia