Thursday, January 17, 2013

Top Ten Reads of 2012

I may not have read as many books this year as I have in the past (something slowed me down a bit  starting in early August), but I still couldn't resist making a top ten list. I wish I could link these titles to my new bookstore-home, but I don't have one yet. For now I'll direct you to indiebound and they'll help you find the indie bookstore nearest you.




The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker - Normally I do not  read coming of age stories, but this one intrigued me enough that I made an exception. It sounds like serious sci-fi, but it's actually a very simple story about growing up when the world is changing.



Trapeze by Simon Mawer - Sometimes I think I've read enough mysteries set in World War II to last my lifetime, but then I read another great one. It's a spy story and a young woman's story and war story and it's great. It's also just beautifully written which elevates it to a higher level.


Railsea by China MiĆ©ville - I think I'm a bigger fan of China MiĆ©ville than I even realize. This is a a strange, strange story about a world where there are no oceans anymore and instead there are train tracks criss-crossing the earth and giant moles are hunted just like the white whale in Moby Dick. I loved it both despite of its weirdness and because of its weirdness.
7 History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason - I quickly summed this book up calling it Downton Abbey with tons of sex (and that's not faint praise from me). I think that gives a decent idea of the feel of it, but there's so much more here. Also, good sex in a book is very hard to find.

8 Gods and Warriors by Michelle Paver - This is a book for roughly 9 to 12 year-olds and I don't normally put those on my top ten (even when they're good they aren't good enough to be top ten), but this one really charmed me. It's well written and interesting and different and just very good.













10 Kingdom of Strangers by Zoe Ferraris - The tenth spot on my list is actually a three-way tie between Kingdom of Strangers, Istanbul Passage, and Anatomy of Murder, but I chose Kingdom of Strangers because it's the most unique. It's the third in a series about a forensic investigator in Saudi Arabia. The mystery is good, the characters are great, and I very much recommend getting hooked on these books


P.S. I wrote this blog post using the voice to text feature on my new phone while holding a baby. Wow, it took a lot of editing to clean it up enough to post and I'm sure I missed things. If there's a serious typo, email me.