Monday, January 21, 2013

What DID Susan read in 2012?





1. Rules of Civility – Amor Towles ★★★★★
2. The Night Swimmer – Matt Bondurant ★★★
3. The Odds – Stewart O’Nan ★★★★★
4. Bet Me – Jennifer Crusie ★★★
5. Stories I Only Tell My Friends – Rob Lowe ★★★★★
6. Sleeping Beauty – Elle Lothlorien ★★★★
7. Stay Awake: Stories – Dan Chaon ★★★★
8. Love and Shame and Love – Peter Orner★ ★★★★
9. The Spy Who Jumped Through the Screen – Thomas Caplan ★★
10. Hope: A Tragedy – Shalom Auslander ★★★★
11. The Borrower – ★★★
12. The Orphan Master’s Son – Adam Johnson ★★★★★
13. The Roswell Conspiracy – Boyd Morrison ★★★★★
14. Gideon’s Corpse – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child ★★★
15. The Secret Adversary – Agatha Christie ★★★★
16. 150 Pounds – ★★★★
17. The Flame Alphabet – Ben Marcus ★★★
18. Horizon – Sophie Littlefield ★★★★★
19. Bloodland – Alan Glynn ★★★★★
20. Defending Jacob – William Landay ★★★★★
21. Starters – Lissa Price ★★★★★
22. The Secret of the Sands – ★★★
23. Back to Zero – ★★★
24. Entangled – ★★★
25. The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey★★★★★
26. Ragnarok – A.S. Byatt ★★★
27. Beat the Reaper – Josh Bazell ★★★★★
28. Wild Thing – Josh Bazell ★★★★★
29. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins ★★★★★
30. Catch Me – Lisa Gardner ★★★★★
31. The Eden Prophesy – Graham Brown ★★★★★
32. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – Jonathan Safran Foer ★★★★★
33. How to Cook Like a Man – Daniel Duane ★★★★
34. The Technologists – Matthew Pearl ★★★
35. The Rook – Daniel O’Malley ★★★★★
36. The Help – Kathryn Stockett ★★★★
37. The Starboard Sea – Amber Dermot ★★★
38. The Dressmaker – Kate Alcott ★★★★
39. River Monsters: True Tales of the Ones That Didn’t Get Away – Jeremy Wade ★★★★
40. Clawback – Mike Cooper ★★★★★
41. The Salmon of Doubt – Douglas Adams ★★★★
42. The Mirage – Matt Ruff ★★★★
43. The Games – Ted Kosmatka ★★★
44. This is How – Augusten Burroughs ★★★★
45. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins ★★★★★
46. The Good Father – Noah Hawley ★★★★★
47. The Vanishers – Heidi Julavits ★★★★
48. How to Eat a Cupcake – Meg Donohue ★★★★
49. The Lifeboat – Charlotte Rogan ★★★★
50. The Thief – Fuminori Nakamura ★★★★
51. Mockingjay – Suzanne Collins ★★★★★
52. Angelmaker – Nick Harkaway ★★★★★
53. The Professionals – Owen Laukannen ★★★★★
54. The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde ★★★★★
55. Edge of Dark Water – Joe Lansdale ★★★★★
56. Love is Murder – ITW ★★
57. The Philanthropist’s Danse – Paul ★★★★★
58. Oath of Office – Michael Palmer ★★★★
59. The Gilly Salt Sisters – Tiffany Baker ★★★
60. Gods Without Men – Hari Kunzru ★★★★★
61. The Return of the Ancients – Greig Beck ★★
62. An Economist Gets Lunch – Tyler Cowen ★★★★★
63. The Innocent – David Baldacci ★★★★
64. Wife 22 – Melanie Gideon ★★★★★
65. The New Republic – Lionel Shriver ★★★★
66. Lunatics – Dave Barry & Alan Zweibel ★★★★
67. Don’t Turn Around – Michelle Gagnon ★★★★★
68. The Fault in Our Stars – John Greene ★★★★★
69. Sorry Please Thank You – Charles Yu ★★★★
70. Overseas – Beatriz Williams ★★★★
71. White Lies – Jeremy Bates ★★
72. Guilt By Degrees – Marcia Clark ★★★★★
73. The Age of Miracles – Karen Walker Thompson ★★★★★
74. Discretion – Alison Leotta ★★★★★
75. The Deep Zone – James Tabor ★★★★
76. The Columbus Affair – Steve Berry ★★★
77. How to Talk to a Widower – Jonathan Tropper ★★★★
78. Fool Moon – Jim Butcher ★★★★
79. In One Person – John Irving ★★★★★
80. The Chemistry of Tears – Peter Carey ★★★★★
81. The Third Gate – Lincoln Child ★★★★★
82. Canada – Richard Ford ★★★★★
83. Bloodline – James Rollins ★★★★★
84. Strindberg’s Star –Jan Wallentin ★★
85. They Eat Puppies, Don’t They? – Christopher Buckley ★★★★★
86. The 500 – Matthew Quirk ★★★★
87. Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn ★★★★★
88. The Long Earth – Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter ★★★★★
89. Don’t Ever Get Old – Daniel Friedman ★★★★★
90. ParaNorman – Elizabeth Cody Kimmel ★★★
91. The Conviction – Robert Dugoni ★★★★
92. The Maze Runner – James Dashner ★★★
93. Beautiful Ruins – Jess Walter ★★★★★
94. The Key – Simon Toyne ★★★★
95. SecondWorld – Jeremy Robinson ★★★★
96. A Bad Day for Mercy – Sophie Littlefield ★★★★★
97. Alif the Unseen – G. Willow Wilson ★★★
98. Ice Fire – David Lyons ★★★
99. Beneath the Dark Ice – Greig Beck ★★★★
100. The Dangerous Animals Club – Stephen Tobolowsky ★★★★
101. Shunning Sarah – Julie Kramer ★★★★
102. 15 Seconds – Andrew Gross ★★★★
103. Harry Lipkin, Private Eye – Barry Fantoni ★★
104. Gold – Chris Cleave ★★★
105. The Next Best Thing – Jennifer Weiner ★★★★★
106. On the Island – Tracey Garvis Graves ★★★★★
107. Some Kind of Fairy Tale – Graham Joyce ★★★★
108. The Prisoner of Heaven – Carlos Ruiz Zafon ★★★★★
109. Shadow of Night – Deborah Harkness ★
110. Medusa’s Glance and Vampire’s Kiss:The Science of Monsters – ★★★★
111. Kill Decision – Daniel Suarez ★★★
112. Spiral – Paul McEuen ★★★★★
113. Albert of Adelaide – Howard L. Anderson ★★★★★
114. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye – Rachel Joyce ★★★★★
115. John Saturnal’s Feast – Lawrence Norfolk ★★
116. The Fear Index – Robert Harris ★★
117. One Last Thing Before I Go – Jonathan Tropper ★★★★
118. The Pidgeon Pie Mystery – Julia Stuart ★★★
119. The Dog Stars – Peter Weller ★★★★★
120. Liar & Spy – Rebecca Stead ★★★★
121. The Last Dragonslayer – Jasper Fforde ★★★★★
122. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? – Maria Semple ★★★★★
123. The Survivor – Gregg Hurwitz ★★★★
124. Telegraph Avenue – Michael Chabon ★★★★★
125. The Passage – Justin Cronin ★★★★★
126. What in God’s Name? – Simon Rich ★★★★
127. The House at Tyneford – Natasha Solomons ★★★
128. Power Play – Joseph Finder ★★★★
129. The Cove – Ron Rash ★★★★
130. The Map of the Sky – Felix J. Palma ★★★★★
131. NW – Zadie Smith ★★★
132. Breed – Chase Novak ★★★★
133. Hanging by a Thread – Sophie Littlefield ★★★
134. How Literature Saved my Life – David Shields ★★★★
135. This is How You Lose Her – Junot Diaz ★★★★★
136. The Woman Who Died a Lot – Jasper Fforde ★★★★★
137. The Satanic Verses – Salman Rushdie ★★★★
138. Siri For Dummies – Marc Saltzman ★★★★
139. The Yellow Birds – Kevin Powers ★★★★★
140. Joseph Anton – Salman Rushdie ★★★★
141. The Twelve – Justin Cronin ★★★★★
142. Run – Blake Crouch ★★★
143. American on Purpose – Craig Ferguson ★★★★
144. The Cat Behind the Hat – Caroline M. Smith ★★★★★
145. Sailor Twain: The Mermaid on the Hudson – Mark Siegel ★★★★
146. The Blood Gospels – James Rollins & Rebecca Cantrell ★★★★★
147. The Casual Vacancy – J.K. Rowling ★★★
148. The Sign of the Four – Arthur Conan Doyle ★★★★★
149. Goldberg Variations – Susan Isaacs ★★★★
150. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore – Robin Sloan ★★★★★
151. The Middlesteins – Jami Attenberg ★★★★
152. Red Rain – R. L. Stein ★★
153. The Secret Keeper – Kate Morton ★★★★
154. Mrs. Queen Takes the Train – William Keuhn ★★★★
155. A Working Theory of Love – Scott Hutchins ★★★★
156. Back to Blood – Tom Wolfe ★★★★★
157. The Racketeer – John Grisham ★★★★
158. Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality – Jacob Tomsky ★★★★
159. Nine Stories – J.D. Salinger ★★★★★
160. The Round House – Louise Erdrich ★★★★★
161. Flight Behavior – Barbara Kingsolver ★★★★
162. Alice in Wonderland – Elle Lothlorien ★★★★
163. Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story – Christopher Moore ★★★★★
164. Peaches for Father Francis – JoAnne Harris ★★★★
165. I Saw Zombies Eating Santa Claus – S.G. Browne ★★★★
166. The Lawgiver – Herman Wouk ★★★★★
167. Sweet Tooth – Ian McEwan ★★★★★
168. Life Among Giants – Bill Roerbach ★★★★★
169. Far From the Trees – Andrew Solomon ★★★★★
170. Big Brother – Lionel Shriver ★★★★★
171. The Beginners Goodbye – Anne Tyler ★★★★
172. Battle Royale – Koushun Takami ★★★
173. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm – Philip Pullman ★★★★★
174. Mannheim Rex – Robert Pobi ★★★
175. A Hologram for the King – Dave Eggers ★★★★★
176. Warm Bodies – Isaac Marion ★★★★★
177. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk – Ben Fountain ★★★★★
178. Nano – Robin Cook ★★
179. Behind the Beautiful Forevers – Katherine Boo ★★★★★
180. Home – Toni Morrison ★★★★★
181. The Newlyweds – Nell Freudenberger ★★★★★
182. Arcadia – Lauren Groff ★★★★★
183. Two Graves – Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child ★★★★★
184. Dear Life: Stories – Alice Munro ★★★★★
185. Tell The Wolves I’m Home – Carol Rivka Brunt ★★★★★
186. Colin Fischer – Ashley Edward Miller & Zack Stentz ★★★★★
187. Dangerous Waters – Toni Anderson ★★
188. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer ★★★★★
189. The Orchardist – Amanda Coplin ★★★★★
190. The Innocent – Taylor Stevens ★★★★
191. One Shot – Lee Child ★★★★
192. A Thousand Pardons – Jonathan Dee ★★★★
193. Divergent – Veronica Roth ★★★★★
194. Little Known Facts – Christine Sneed ★★★★
195. Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) – Jenny Lawson ★★★★
196. Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See – Juliann Garey ★★★★
197. Cover of Snow – Jenny Milchman ★★★
198. Risky Business – Nora Roberts ★★★
199. Blessed Are Those Who Thirst – Anne Holt ★★★★
200. The Death of Bees – Lisa O’Donnell ★★★★★
201. Extinction—Mark Alpert ★★★★
202. Half-Blood Blues – Esi Edugyan ★★★★


Story Collections (7)
Re-reads (11)
Young Adult (15)
Non-Fiction (17)

★ = 1
★★ = 11
★★★ = 31
★★★★ = 68
★★★★★ = 91

4 comments:

  1. I read some of the same books you did. However, I give different star ratings to most.

    The Orphan Master’s Son – Adam Johnson
    I HATED this book and give it one star for choppy writing.

    Defending Jacob – William Landay
    I agree with you: five stars.

    The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey
    I give this three stars, not five, because the book is full of unanswered questions.

    The Help – Kathryn Stockett
    I felt this was a five-star book because enthralled with it and hated to see it end.

    Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
    I agree with you: five stars.

    The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Annie Barrows & Mary Ann Shaffer
    I gave this only two stars because the book is just plain silly and predictable. Also, because this book is written the way it is (as a series of letters), it never grabbed me and made me anxious to read more.

    One Shot – Lee Child
    I gave this four stars because I enjoyed it so much.

    Several more of the books you read I own and plan to read this year.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I've challenged myself to read and review 100 books this year (chronicling it on loebick.com), and here you've done over 200! Well done! I had to go back and see what book you gave one star to and saw that it was Deborah Harkness's newest. I recently read A Discover of Witches and was also not impressed.

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  3. And here I was congratulating myself for having read and reviewed 8 books in 4 weeks. :-)

    Last year I read about 60 books, and our lists overlapped on only one - The Sign of Four. I re-read that because I was enjoying Kim Newman's "Hound of the D'Urbevilles" hugely and wanted to refresh myself on the Holmes and other stories Newman used. I think you'd love "Hound."

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  4. Hey, it's fun to hear everyone's take on these books. Techeditor, I'm glad we're not always in disagreement on these titles! We're really far apart on a couple of them, though. In fact, within the week you'll see a review posted here which is an ode to epistolary novels like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I absolutely love stories that are told that way! And for me, that book was all about the characters, who I absolutely fell in love with. Maybe tomorrow I'll post a review of Herman Wouk's The Law Giver, another epistolary novel I flat-out loved (but given the above wouldn't recommend to you).

    And Steve, it's good to see you! (You, too, April!) I can't believe that we only overlapped on one book the whole year. Yeah, I was watching both the British and the American contemporary Holmes shows, and I also wanted to refresh myself on the original. I was actually pleasantly surprised by just how much the tv people lifted straight from Conan Doyle.

    ReplyDelete