1.01.2013

2012 reading list

In 2011 I decided that I didn't read enough.  I got held up reading things I didn't like (I have this awful mental block where I can't start another book until I finish the current one.  This is usually an arduous process and usually leads to me throwing some sort of tantrum) and in the fall I got a tv which, after not having cable for years, became the thing I looked forward to doing every day (letting my brain turn to mush while watching Grey's Anatomy and the entire series of Felicity).

I gave myself a goal to read 15 books in 2012.  I ended up reading 28!  I'm so impressed with myself.

Books 2012

1. Wind Up Bird Chronicles- H. Murakami
2. Little Women- L.M. Alcott 
3. Norwegian Wood- H. Murakami
4. After the Quake- H. Murakami
5. After Dark- H. Murakami
6. A Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao- J. Diaz
7.  The Broom of the System- D.F. Wallace
8.  Identical Strangers- E. Schein & P. Bernstein
9.  The Art of Eating In- C. Erway
10.  Blindness- J. Saramago
11.  A Wild Sheep Chase- H. Murakami
12.  Room- E. Donoghue
13.  Wild- C. Strayed 
14.  1Q84- H. Murakami
15.  Lolita- V. Nabokov
16.  Everything Beautiful Came After- S. Van Booey
17.  The Perks of Being a Wallflower- S. Chbosky
18.  Stranger Than Fiction- C. Palahniuk
19.  The Time Traveler's Wife- A. Niffenegger
20.  Dog On It- S. Quinn
21.  Thereby Hangs a Tail- S. Quinn
22. To Fetch a Thief- S. Quinn
23.  The Dog Who Knew Too Much- S. Quinn
24.  A Fistful of Collars- S. Quinn
25.  A Cat Was Involved- S. Quinn
26.  The Humbling- P. Roth
27.  American Pastoral- P. Roth
28.  The Psychopath Test- J. Ronson

If you can't tell, I really like Murakami.  The world that his characters live in is surreal and incredibly imaginative.  I also really liked Quinn's books.  You will like them too if you like books told from an animal's perspective.  Also, I finally read Lolita.  It confused the hell out of me.  Feeling bad for a pedofile is something I didn't think would ever happen.  

I liked so many of the books I read and would really recommend most of them.  Except Little Women.  I really hated Little Women.  

Since my commute to work is at least an hour I have plenty of time to read on the train.  After I surpassed my original goal of 15 books, I wanted to double my goal and read 30 books before the end of the year; however, sometime in early December I didn't have a free hand to hold my book, so I started listening to an episode of "This American Life" and was reminded of how much I love Ira Glass.  He's such an amazing journalist and I find his voice to be very soothing during underground rush hour traffic.  Listening to his voice drowns out my own thoughts of kicking someone for leaning against the pole so noone else can use it.  Consequently, the last 2-3 weeks has been spent catching up on TAL episodes that I've missed over the last year or so and not reading Franny and Zoey of which I am 2/3 of the way through.

Happy New Year everyone!  
My new goal is 20 books and to catch up to current TAL episodes- I'm 6 months behind...
xoxo
MK


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