Books I Read in 2012

OK, I'm letting go of the 12/12 annual reading goal (12 fiction and 12 non-fiction). I made it in 2009, and surpassed it in 2010, but both those years contained a fair bit of unemployment and then a fair bit of commuting 20+ miles through the wilds of Los Angeles listening to audio books.

Previous lists here.

It's simply not a realistic goal for me with my current life configuration, although reading remains a priority as one of my few hobbies, an important part of education and continual life and self improvement, and also as a source of film adaptation dreaming. Film adaptation being the only form of screenwriting I personally enjoy doing.

This year I read 16 books, 9 fiction and 7 non-fiction. Not too shabby, although one of these was Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which admittedly I read on one lunch break. Here's the list, from most recent back. A star indicates that I read it with my book club. My favorite books this year were 1, 4, 6, and 12.

1. Directors Tell The Story by Bethany Rooney
2. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Lucia Graves (Translator) *
3. Devil Said Bang (Sandman Slim #4) by Richard Kadrey
4. My Brain Made Me Do It: The Rise of Neuroscience and the Threat to Moral Responsibility by Eliezer J. Sternberg
5. Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
6. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall by Kazuo Ishiguro
7. Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
8. Red Shirts by John Scalzi
9. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach  *
10. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole  *
11. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach
12. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, Gia-Fu Feng (Translator), Jane English (Translator)
13. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller *
14. Billenium by J.G. Ballard
15. Townie by Andre Dubus III *
16. The Tao of Dating by Alex Benzer

So... a new 2013 goal. I think 12 would be a good goal, but not enough of a challenge. I want to say 18, but maybe that's stretching it, considering I only hit 16 this year.

It's challenging to land on even numbers. I find odd numbers more appealing generally, although my favorite number is 2... I really like numbers that are divisable by 3 and 9, so actually, I think I will say 18. New goal, 18 books in 2013, 9 fiction and 9 non-fiction. I've already started my first book of the year, so I'm going to try to get cracking on that.

What was your favorite book you read this year?

Comments

[Denise]

Uh oh, I think I'm behind on my Sandman Slim! Need to catch up, so thanks for posting this -- I love being reminded of series I've enjoyed and fallen behind on. Heh.

Also, funny, I was thinking about re-reading Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I'm definitely going to do it -- it's been like 30 years or something since I first read it. :-)

[lizriz]

LOVE Sandman Slim! I had fallen behind, too, and there's a short story that I just downloaded to read. They are so fun. Man, I'd love to see a Sandman Slim movie. I wonder who's sitting on those rights.

And it was definitely fun to re-read Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I definitely recommend it. :) Cheers!

[Greg]

I love the opening 60 pages of Kazuo Ishiguro's "The Unconsoled." I loaned it to my grandmother and it vanished from her house when she moved (I suspect her caretaker took it with her).

Favorite books of the past year: 1) The Angel of Darkness, by Caleb Carr, one of the best historical mysteries I've read in a long time. Tied for second: The Mirage, by Matt Ruff, and Redshirts, by John Scalzi.