1. Secrets to a Healthy Metabolism by Barbara Emmerich
2. Dreamland Social Club by Tara Altebrando
3. The Book of Tomorrow by Cecelia Ahern*
4. Divergent by Veronica Roth
5. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
6. Sarah’s Key by Tatiana deRosnay*
7. Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse*
8. Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
9. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer*
10. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer*
11. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown*
12. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer*
13. An Off Year by Claire Zulkey
14. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer*
15. At Home by Bill Bryson*
16. Birthright by Nora Roberts
17. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach*
18. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson
19. My Name is Memory by Ann Brashares
20. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
21. Every Day by David Leviathan

Well. Let’s just start off by saying I didn’t even come CLOSE to hitting my goal of reading 45 books (and three classics) during 2012. I know that reading almost two books a month is a perfectly acceptable amount of reading to do in a year. Especially a year in which I had a two+ hour daily commute for 8 months, and oh yeah that whole planning a wedding business. (Having a tv in the bedroom during 2012 also really cut into my before-bed reading time.) In the 8 years that I’ve been keeping track of my reading each year here on the blog, I’ve read 23 books, 24 books, 51 books, 44 books, 40 books, 57(!) books, 52 books, and 21 books. My average, then, is 39, but I’ve read a total of 312 books since the beginning of 2005. In these 8 years, I’ve read the Harry Potter series and the Game of Thrones series all the way through twice each (and I actually thought those numbers would be higher, to be honest).

Even though there are good reasons, I can’t also say that I’m not disappointed in my reading this year. Almost half of the books were audiobooks, and it’s not like I’m proud to have finally read all of the Twilight books (even if they kept me engaged during my long commutes for many, many weeks). The best books of the year were by FAR Night Circus and Divergent, which I’d recommend so highly. I really loved the Art of Fielding, too, and Gone Girl was good if a little … bleak for my taste.

Still, I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have a reading goal for 2013. I definitely want to get back to reading like a fiend, even if it’ll take a little adjusting. My goal is to get back up to my average, and read 39 books. I will read at least one classic that’s new to me, and at least 5 novels meant for adults (as opposed to YA, and mass market fiction like Nora Roberts definitely doesn’t count). Here’s to the new year, and lots of new books!

In Previous Years…
Books Read in 2011
Books Read in 2010
Books Read in 2009
Books Read in 2008
Books Read in 2007
Books Read in 2006
Books Read in 2005

1. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
2. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness D’Orczy
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
4. Blackout by Connie Willis
5. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
6. Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts
7. Vision in White by Nora Roberts
8. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
9. Three Fates by Nora Roberts
10. Room by Emma Donoghue
11. All Clear by Connie Willis
12. Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
13. I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
14. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
15. Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
16. The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
17. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
18. The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie
19. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
20. The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
21. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
22. Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts
23. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
24. The Giver by Lois Lowry
25. One Day by David Nicholls
26. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry
27. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
28. A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
29. Fallen by Lauren Kate
30. Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
31. Happy Ever After by Nora Roberts
32. Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
33. Where She Went by Gayle Forman
34. Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
35. Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
36. A Feast For Crows by George R. R. Martin
37. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
38. Wicked by Gregory Maguire
39. Bumped by Megan McCafferty
40. Drought by Pam Bachorz
41. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
42. Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard
43. Ape House by Sara Gruen
44. Delirium by Lauren Oliver
45. Bossypants by Tina Fey
46. Gossamer by Lois Lowry
47. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
48. Moneyball by Michael Lewis
49. The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye
50. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
51. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
52. The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout

Well I certainly came down to the wire with my books this year. Looking back at 2010′s list, I really didn’t remember that I read so much last year. 52 books as a goal was a perfectly reasonable one for me, until my new-job-related exhaustion meant I pretty much didn’t read at all from the middle of September through the beginning of November. When I started my new job, I was 18 books ahead of schedule, and by early October, I was already behind. I rounded out the year with a lot of audiobooks, which both helped me feel like I was reading again, and also helped my progress toward my goal. The funny thing is that I don’t really think not being a librarian or being in a library every day really affected my reading progress, more getting used to a new routine, and not reading at lunch made a pretty big impact.

But what were my favorite books of the year? I was SO excited for A Dance with Dragons, and even though I was afraid to keep reading for fear of my favorite characters meeting untimely ends, the book was fantastic and although it was a bit slow at times, it lived up to my (high) expectations. The Bosspyants audiobook was amazing. I read a lot of YA as predicted, but my far and away favorites were Across the Universe and If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman. Gossamer was also so charming that I still think about it a few months after finishing it.

Another part of my goal (that I admittedly forgot about until I re-read last year’s post just now) was to read two classics that I hadn’t read before. And imagine that, I actually accomplished it despite forgetting about it. I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time this year (… I know. Especially since Jane Eyre is my very favorite, so it’s not like I’m afraid of books from that era.) and loved it so much more than I expected to. And I also read A Brave New World, which was only one of two books I was assigned to read in high school but didn’t actually read (the other being Crime and Punishment, which I started but just didn’t finish), a big deal for this book-loving rule-follower. I still think there are way, way too many classics that I haven’t read, and I’d really like to fix that.

So what will my 2012 reading goal be? I toyed with not having a goal at all, but I don’t know if that’s really in me. I should probably make my goal a bit lower, just because I haven’t been reading as much as I used to… but I don’t LIKE not reading as much. So my official 2012 reading goal is to read 45 books, with the full intention to completely crush that goal. I will also read at least three more classics that are new to me, including another by Jane Austen.

In Previous Years…
Books Read in 2010
Books Read in 2009
Books Read in 2008
Books Read in 2007
Books Read in 2006
Books Read in 2005

1. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
2. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
3. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
4. Key of Light by Nora Roberts
5. The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
6. Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts
7. Key of Valor by Nora Roberts
8. The Story Girl by L.M. Montgomery
9. The Titan’s Curse by Rick Riordan
10. Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
11. Rising Tides by Nora Roberts
12. Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts
13. The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
14. Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts
15. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
16. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
17. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
18. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
19. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
20. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
21. Bite Me: A Love Story by Christopher Moore
22. Jewels of the Sun by Nora Roberts
23. Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts
24. Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
25. Heart of the Sea by Nora Roberts
26. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
27. The Lonely Hearts Club by Elizabeth Eulberg
28. A Trip to the Stars by Nicholas Christopher
29. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
30. The Umpire Strikes Back by Ron Luciano
31. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
32. The Passage by Justin Cronin
33. Fire by Kristin Cashore
34. This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer
35. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
36. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Stieg Larsson
37. Insatiable by Meg Cabot
38. Unwind by Neal Shusterman
39. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
40. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
41. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
42. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
43. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
44. Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore
45. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
46. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
47. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
48. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
49. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
50. Night World Book 1 (Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, Enchantress) by L.J. Smith
51. The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
52. Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
53. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
54. Matched by Ally Condie
55. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling
56. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
57. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling

Last year, I resolved to read more than 40 books, and I think it’s safe to say that I definitely managed to do that. 2010 was a year of reading like a maniac, the likes of which I haven’t seen in a while. (In fact, the last year I read more than 50 books was the 2007, the year I took that YA lit class in library school, which had me reading 33 books over one semester.) I seem to normally hover around 40 books in a good-reading year, 25 in a bad-reading year, so this year feels really good.

The highs in books this year were of course the last two books in the Martin series, the Percy Jackson series, Maggie Stiefvater’s two YA novels, the Passage, the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (seriously, read it), the Millennium trilogy, and of course the Hunger Games series, which totally rocked my socks. I also read a whole lot of books I’m not exactly embarrassed to have on my list, but… it’s not like I’m going to brag about exactly how many Nora Roberts books I read this year. (Although I will stand behind my assertion that there’s a time and a place for a purely predictable story with an absurdly happy ending. I have never been one who thinks that everything one reads needs to be literary, smart, or educational.)

And considering the fact that I’m currently re-reading the Harry Potter series from the beginning (spurred by the first half of the Deathly Hallows movie, naturally), it’s interesting that I haven’t actually read books 1-4 since before I started keeping track of my reading (so, 2004 or earlier). I read books 5 and 6 in 2005, 6 and 7 in 2007, and in 2009, I read book 6 once and book 7 twice. Not that anyone cares about that other than me, but it explains why it has been so enjoyable to re-read the series from the beginning.

Anyway! So what will by book resolution for 2011 be? I want to stick with the read-like-a-maniac thing, so my goal will be to read 52 books in 2011, and to read at least two classics that I haven’t read before. So I’ll leave this post with a question: what’s your favorite classic book? Mine is Jane Eyre; I collect copies and re-read it every few years and just love it. (Interesting too, since I haven’t yet been able to get through a Jane Austen novel.)

In Previous Years…
Books Read in 2009
Books Read in 2008
Books Read in 2007
Books Read in 2006
Books Read in 2005

Books Read in 2009:

In Previous Years…
Books Read in 2008
Books Read in 2007
Books Read in 2006
Books Read in 2005