Even though I neglected to keep up with my posts, I did read several books for the 2012 Original TBR (To Be Read) Challenge. The books I finished, along with others I intended to post about, accumulated on the desk in my living room until it was time to decorate for Christmas and I decided that they had been sitting there long enough. Even if I don't end up composing posts about them, I need to shift my focus from what I read in 2012 to what I will be reading in 2013.
Before I jump too far in that direction, however, I wanted to share an annotated version of my TBR lists to document how far I got with this challenge this past year.
TBR List
1. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
I started reading The Bean Trees in June and enjoyed the first couple of chapters, but I put it down because the text was too small for me to read while walking to and from work. I moved on to other books that were more walker-friendly and never got around to picking this one back up again.
2. The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan
I started reading The Bonesetter's Daughter over the summer. I put it in the car to read when I ate outside on my lunch break. It was alright, but it didn't grab me enough to keep me reading right away, and I started going home for lunch when the temperature edged toward - and eventually passed - one hundred degrees, making it too hot to spend the lunch hour comfortably reading outside.
3. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
I read Girl with a Pearl Earring in early April and thoroughly enjoyed it. I might even reread it before I return it to my friend, just so I can write a decent review and be able to remember more than just, 'It was a beautiful story and I enjoyed my time with it.'
4. Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger
I did not get around to starting this book.
5. Independence Day by Richard Ford
It took a while for me to get into this literary prize-winner, but once I figured out a bit about the protagonist and realized that this is a book to be read in longer, more leisurely settings (not quick, 10-minute-or-so bursts), I came to enjoy it more and eventually arrived at a point where I can appreciate having experienced my time with it.
6. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
I checked out the audio version of The Last Lecture from my local public library and listened to it in the car during the first part of October. I then broke my nothing-for-me rule and bought a copy for myself while out Christmas shopping. This is a brilliant and wonderful book that has definitely earned its way onto my list of "must-read" books.
7. The Prince of the Marshes by Michael Ruhlman
I read the first chapter of The Prince of the Marshes in mid-December and really enjoyed it. Rather than rushing through so I could finish reading it by the end of the year, I decided to put off reading this book until 2013 so I could take my time and enjoy it.
8. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
I did not get around to starting this book.
9. The Sundering by Jacqueline Carey
Two fantasy novels, Banewreaker and Godslayer, collected in one volume, The Sundering provides an interesting twist on the typical fantasy adventure by telling the sweeping tale from several perspectives but subtly allying the reader with those who would normally be considered the bad guys. Once I had a handle on who was whom, what groups were on which sides, and which side was which, I really enjoyed the experience of seeing things from the other side and appreciated being able to empathize with and understand the reasoning behind both sides, while realizing the side we readers usually find ourselves on can be rather brutal and unthinking at times.
10. Winterdance by Gary Paulsen
I did not get around to starting this book, but anticipate reading it later this month as I begin an attempt at the 2013 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge.
11. Wooden Boats by Michael Ruhlman
I did not get around to starting this book, but my dad referred to it several times in conversation over the course of the year, so I do need to read it soon.
12. The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg
This was the first book I finished for this challenge, and I loved it. The Year of Pleasures is a beautiful book that made me laugh, cry, empathize, and ponder. It was wonderful and I look forward to encountering it again someday.
Alternate List
1. The Birth Book by William Sears and Martha Sears
I did not get around to starting this book, although I would like to get back to reading more doula-related books.
2. The Dewey Decimal System of Love by Josephine Carr
I started The Dewey Decimal System of Love shortly after I bought it (pre-2012) but didn't get a chance to continue it at the time. Unfortunately, I didn't make any progress on it this past year.
3. Extras by Scott Westerfeld
I took Extras with me to my parents' house to read during my post-Christmas visit with them. I read it while I was there and I enjoyed it, but I did not allow myself to finish it. Approximately thirty pages from the end, a character re-entered the narrative and I decided to stop reading at that point. I recognized the name from earlier in the series, but couldn't remember precisely who this character had been in the earlier books. I was planning to reread the series anyway as a refresher, so I decided I would stop where I was so when this character drops out of the narrative in an earlier book, I won't already know everything that happens afterward.
4. Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
I read the first couple of chapters in Inkspell during late fall, but got distracted and didn't get back to it by the end of the year.
5. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
I read this final book in the Percy Jackson series sometime during late spring. It was a good conclusion to the series, bringing everything to a climactic battle in the streets of New York City as the prophecy is fulfilled and Percy confronts the reality that he might not survive his sixteenth birthday.
6. The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherford
I did not get around to starting this book.
7. The Russian Word for Snow by Janis Cooke Newman
I did not get around to starting this book, but the recent news about Russian adoptions brought The Russian Word for Snow and another book I own to mind, so I may be pulling them off the shelf before too long.
8. Scumble by Ingrid Law
I loved Ingrid Law's Savvy and had been looking forward to Scumble. I read Ledge's adventures with learning to scumble his savvy during December and definitely hope that there are more books to come about the talented children in this unusual family.
9. Shadow Patriots by Lucia St. Clair Robson
I did not get around to starting this book.
10. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
I have Shiver in audio and in print, and have started listening to the audio version on my computer a couple of times, but I haven't stuck with it very far. I think I would be more successful in continuing and actually completing this book if I read the print version instead.
11. Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede
I had seen this book described as being "Harry Potter meets the Wild West." As a Harry Potter fan from Wyoming, how could I resist? Thirteenth Child is the first book in the Frontier Magic series, in which Eff, a thirteenth child and twin to a seventh son, moves with her family out west, where her father will teach at a land-grant university. I enjoyed the frontier setting, the character development surrounding Eff and her struggles with whether or not she truly is unlucky to be around, and the voice in which Wrede wrote the book.
12. To Understand by Ellin Oliver Keene
I did not get around to starting this book.
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