The votes are in!

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Thank you to everyone who voted in my vacation reading poll! I suppose you could consider this the height of indecision — rather than choosing my own books, I let you do it for me. 🙂

There’s a clear winner, and a few runners-up:

The top vote-getter is:

The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next #1)

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde! I’ve been wanting to read this one for years — nice choice, you guys! I’ve already read the first few chapters, and I’ve got a good, good feeling about this one. Plus, the cover blurb compares it to Monty Python, Harry Potter, and Buffy! I mean, they might as well just write my name on an engraved invitation.

The runners-up in my vacation reading poll are:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
A Small Death in the Great Glen by A. D. Scott

Let’s face it, I’m only going away for ten days — I do not need to pack four books! Although I suspect that I shall…

Thank you, thank you, to all my voters! I’ll let you know how it all works out. Meanwhile, time to go throw the books into ye olde suitcase and get on with my packing…

15Jun2013

Help Me Choose My Vacation Reading!

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I love to travel. I hate to pack.

I have a little over a week to get ready for my trip. Passport? Check. Insect repellant? Check. Cute new sundress? Check?

Decision on what books to bring? Um, not yet.

Here’s the deal. I have a huge fear of running out of reading material, so I always bring bunches of books, and then throw in even more, just in case. Because, yes, I have once had the awful experience of finishing all my vacation reading one hour into my return flight — and had nothing to do for the next four hours. It still makes me shudder, just thinking about it. In more recent years, I’ve been relying on my Kindle, because then of course I never run out.

Fair enough. But on this trip — coming up in 9 days (!) — we’ll be in a rain forest, in rainy season, and we’ve been advised to not bring electronics… and to store our books and other paper items in ziploc bags to protect them from the damp. Seriously.

So while I have bunches of shiny new books, all pretty and perfect, just waiting to be read, I’m not going to bring any of those with me. Instead, I’m thinking I’ll bring some of the older paperbacks on my shelf, the ones I’ve had for a while and haven’t read. Maybe I bought them used to begin with. Maybe they’re just enough years old that they’re starting to look a bit tattered around the edges. Whatever the case, that’s my plan.

Here’s where you come in. I’ve narrowed my list list down to about 10, and I need to come up with a top 4 or 5. (BTW, I’m only going to be away for ten days, but like I said: DEATHLY AFRAID OF RUNNING OUT OF BOOKS.)

Take a look at my ten below (pictures link back to each book’s Goodreads page), then cast your vote and let me know what you think I should read. Top vote-getters win!

Cast your vote here:

Check back to see the results — I’ll leave the poll open until next Friday, June 21st, after which the winning books are going into the suitcase!

So true.

Got this from a friend. Don’t know the source. Whoever created this… thank you!

11May2013

A rock in the sun: Reading and place memories

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the book Brazzaville Beach for my Flashback Friday post. And I discovered that my dominant thoughts about this book had less to do with the plot itself and more to do with the memories I have associated with the process of reading it. I read Brazzaville Beach during a family vacation to Israel one summer, several years ago, when the weather was unbearably hot and we spent quite a bit of time visiting my husband’s relatives. My son was still a toddler at that point and couldn’t take the heat very well, so by mid-afternoon each day, I’d usually take him off for a nap in one of the spare rooms, crank up the AC as high as it would go, and then, while he slept, I’d pull out my book and read. As soon as I picked up my copy of Brazzaville Beach again, I was tranported back to that little room, the cold air, and the sensation of snuggling in bed with my napping child.

In thinking about this, I started considering the ability that books have to transport us to another time and place. I don’t mean the obvious: When I read the Outlander series, for example, I imagine myself wandering through the Scottish Highlands. When I read Anna and the French Kiss, I couldn’t help daydreaming about walking the boulevards of Paris — and perhaps stopping for a baguette and café au lait along the way.

But that’s not what I’m talking about. Instead, what I really mean here is how strongly a particular book can evoke the memory of the time and place in which it was read. Of course, this makes me think of my high school French teacher, who — bless her heart (luv ya, Mademoiselle Littlefield!) — poured her heart and soul into getting us to understand not just French grammar but also what it means to be French. I remember her detailed explanations of Marcel Proust and his madeleines — those particular cookies that, with one bite, evoke such strong involuntary memories of a time, a place, and sensations of pleasure and love.

I think books work this way for me. On one level, there’s the pleasure of remembering a particularly beloved book, thinking about the characters, the plots, the feelings I experienced while reading the story, the puzzles and thought processes involved in figuring out or responding to an especially thorny dilemma or mystery. But on another level, my responses to certain books have almost nothing to do with the book’s content itself and everything to do with where I was and what I was experiencing at the time that I read it.

A Yosemite meadow. Not a bad place for a good book.

Another example: If you’ve read any of my top 10 lists or other posts about favorite things, you’ll know that I’m an ardent fan of Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. But here’s a twist to why I love these books so much. When I first picked up Outlander, it had been sitting on my shelf for several months already — a somewhat beat-up mass market paperback edition that I’d found at a used book sale for $2. My husband, son, and I were packing for a family camping trip and I needed something I could throw in my bag and not worry about too much, but preferably something that would take me a few days to read. In went Outlander. So there we were, on the outskirts of Yosemite, staying in a rustic cabin on the edge of a meadow. Each morning, I’d grab a thermos of coffee and head out to a large rock out in the meadow, to bask in the sun, get my morning infusion of caffeine, and read for a little while before starting our day’s activities. And that’s where I started Outlander. I’ve read the book several times since, but each time I pick it up, my first association is with that rock in the sun, spring breezes, mountain fresh air, and peace. Lovely! I have to honestly say that those memories are part and parcel of my Outlander reading experiences — not that I wouldn’t have loved the book anyway, but I think those connections add to the reasons why it’s so special to me.

And another, maybe less positive but still strong (and forgive me if I’m entering TMI territory here): I read The Pact by Jodi Picoult about 12 years ago, while I was spending a few days at home in the midst of going through fertility treatments while trying to conceive my beloved son. The Pact is certainly a difficult book to read, regardless, but in that moment, so focused on children, it was perhaps a very bad choice to read a book about teen suicide and parents struggling to cope with the loss of a child. When I think about The Pact now, my strongest memories are of my experience at the time — sitting in the window seat of my house, trying to distract myself, but never really able to stop wondering whether my treatments had worked.

Other memories as well: Under the Dome by Stephen King makes me think about the hospital waiting room where I sat reading it while waiting to hear the outcome of a relative’s surgery. When I think about Deerskin by Robin McKinley, I think about a flight to visit my father soon after he’d retired and moved to Florida. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness makes me think of the hotel balcony in Sedona, Arizona where I sat reading each afternoon on vacation, watching the sun set over the red rocks.

Sedona views. Perfect reading location.

Tastes, smells, sounds — all can take us back to a particular time or place, bring up memories of what we were doing, who we were with, how we were feeling. And I think books work the same way. A book can be savored for its own sake, but on top of that, there are the emotions and connections associated with experiencing a particular book at a certain significant time or location in our lives.

I’d love to hear the experiences of other readers. Do you have certain books that you especially cherish because of where you were when you read them? Please share your thoughts!

Save

4May2013

Reading & blogging, chickens & eggs

Posted in Blogging, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

One evening several months ago, my kid launched, quite seriously, into a discussion at the dinner table. Topic? “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Not new ground by any means for adults, but for him, it was a fun debate topic.

I was reminded of this discussion this week as I felt myself getting more and more frustrated and overwhelmed by my reading and blogging to-do lists. What’s the connection?

It’s simple: I started feeling under quite a bit of pressure to schedule my reading around the ARCs and digital galleys lined up in my queue. And yet, at the same time, I have a growing stack of new books that I couldn’t wait to buy, a few library books, and some older books on my shelves, all awaiting my attention. Which raises the question — what the heck am I doing?

I started a blog as an outlet for my love of all things bookish. I wanted a place to share my thoughts, meet other book lovers, and — I’d hoped — engage in great discussions about some terrific books. And that’s all come true, more or less, and with lots of trial and error.

But lately, I’ve been feeling the need to pick books to read in order to meet my blogging needs. I’ve been requesting and reviewing more ARCs, some of which I’ve really enjoyed — but always with an eye toward keeping up with what’s new and reviewing books that are more likely to get “hits” for my blog. I’ve been hesitating about devoting time to longer books, as that would mean I’d have fewer reviews to post in a given week. And those books gathering dust on my shelves — the ones that I’ve had for a while or that were published several years ago? Well, where’s the incentive to read those, if I don’t feel like they’re likely to increase my blog traffic?

No wonder I’ve been feeling like not such a happy camper. I have five review copies of new and upcoming books to read — but what I really want to do is read the Susanna Kearsley book on my shelf, then dive into the new Joe Hill novel that should be arriving on my doorstep this week. Plus, hey, I have a few graphic novels to catch up on, and then there’s the promise I made to myself to read one scene from Much Ado About Nothing each day.

Not only that. What about my blog posts back in December and January about my reading resolutions for 2013 and my participation in a TBR reading challenge? Should those be driving my book selections? I was diligently working my way through the TBR challenge list I’d selected for myself — for about three months, and then other books caught my eye. So now I feel guilty about not living up to a challenge I set myself… except why should I? Wasn’t the whole point of it TO HAVE FUN?

Really, I have enough things in my life to worry about. I have a full-time job (which, unfortunately, has nothing at all to do with reading books). I have an energetic, funny 10-year-old who occupies most of my free time around the house (not that that’s not a great thing!). I have an older parent whom I should call more often. I have bills to pay, dishes to put away, a husband who needs attention once in a while. READING IS MY PASSION — NOT MY BURDEN!

Back in January, in my blog post called Top Ten Bookish Resolutions for 2013, I wrote this for #10:

Slow down. Stop focusing on the numbers. Stop worrying about stats. Read for pleasure. Pick books because they’re what I want to read. Take as long as it takes to read, savor, enjoy, contemplate, consider, ponder, and reflect. Remember that I read because I love it, not because I have a challenge to meet or a blog post to write. When I stop enjoying my reading and start finding it more of a chore, I know I’m doing something wrong. READ FOR LOVE. That is all.

Clearly, I haven’t been following my own advice.

Back to the chicken and the egg: Which comes first, blogging or reading? Do I blog as a result of reading books that I love? Or do I pick books to read that I think will help my blog stats?

The answer is obvious. I need to remind myself to stick to my resolution:

READ FOR LOVE.

I hereby vow, once again, that I will not let blogging obsessions dictate my reading choices. I will read the books that call to me, that excite me, that appeal to me in the moment. Planning ahead is fine. Requesting ARCs of new books is fine. But if I’m reading a particular book out of a sense of obligation or in order to have a “fresh” book to review, then I’m doing something wrong.

Which comes first, blogging or reading? It’s clear: I’m a reader. And always will be.

So, I’ll do what I love. I’ll read the books that I really want to read. And I’ll keep on blogging about what I read, because it makes me happy. And hey, if we can have some great conversations about the books we’ve read, that’ll make me really happy too.

READ FOR LOVE.

I think I’ve found my new daily mantra. Happy reading, everyone!

25Feb2013

Resolutions, kept and broken

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Perhaps the end of February is too soon to really take stock, but certain trends are becoming crystal clear to me — namely, that my well-intentioned resolutions for 2013 just aren’t all recipes for success. I can see which way these things are going already… and it’s truly a mixed bag.

Let’s start with where I’m safely on track:

I resolved to organize my bookshelves. Well, I can’t say that I’ve completed the task, but in little chunks and bites, I’m making a dent. My books and their neighbors are starting to make some sort of weird sense. I can more or less find whatever I want within one or two tries. And hey — I’ve got ten more months to get it right!

I resolved to not start any new series, other than a) those written by authors whose works I read no matter what, or b) series that are new to me but have, in fact, already been completed by the author. So far, so good. The only new series I’ve allowed myself thus far is Gail Carriger’s new Finishing School series, starting with the newly published Etiquette & Espionage — and Gail C. is on my “read no matter what” list, so it’s all good.

I resolved to dive in and slowly work my way through the book of fairy tales I’d been coveting all of last fall. I’m happy to report that I’m making steady progress, and have now read about 1/3 of the stories. Seeing as how I usually abandon all short story books I attempt to read, I’d say I’m on the path of righteousness here.

I resolved to break out of my fiction-loving world and read 3 – 5 books from non-fiction genres. And here I am, two months into 2013, and I’ve just finished reading my first one! I read Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild this past week, and really enjoyed it. Next up in my non-fiction quest? I’m not 100% sure yet, but I’m leaning toward science or history. Stay tuned…

So far, so good. I seem to be sticking with my resolutions. Until, of course, you consider the #1 resolution on my list:

Maintain a healthy ratio of old to new: I have piles and piles of unread books in my house, at least 20 unread books on my Kindle, and yet I still gravitate toward grabbing the newest releases, checking new titles out from the library, and ignoring what I already have. Well, it has to stop! Stop, I tell you! My resolution for 2013 is to aim for at least a 2:1 ratio. For every new book, whether purchased or borrowed from the library, I will read at least two that are already in my collection. I think this will be my biggest challenge, to be honest, and I thought of settling for even a 1:1 ratio… but hey, let’s aim high.

FAIL! I am utterly and completely failing at sticking to this goal. Yes, I’ve read a few good books from off the shelves… but I can’t help myself! I keep acquiring more… and more… and more. Library or purchase, new or used, the books keep coming. I read book reviews, or I stumble across something interesting in a store window display, or I see what my friend is reading, and I just have to get it. Now. Even if I’m not going to read it for a while. Here are the new-to-me books that have made their way into my home since January 1st:

A Small Death in the Great Glen by A. D. Scott
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland by Patton Oswalt
Hanging By A Thread by Sophie Littlefield
The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick
The Child’s Child by Barbara Vine
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Black Swan Rising by Lee Carroll
The Reinvention of Love by HelenHumphreys
Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Graphic novel series Y: The Last Man and Runaways
About 15 books picked up at my workplace book swap
Library books, including my current read, The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler

So, yeah. Not doing so great on the no new books front. My healthy ratios are kaput.

But I may be okay with that. I guess I should just pat myself on the back for my small successes, and keep plowing forward. I solemnly swear that I will make a dent in the numbers of books sitting unread on my shelves by the end of 2013 — just maybe not as big a dent as I’d naively assumed I could make.

8Feb2013

1998: A very good year

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Today just happens to be my 15th wedding anniversary, so…

Happy Anniversary To Us!

Yes, we got married in 1998, but other things happened that year too, such as this:

and this:

and even this: (*cough* not that this had anything to do with my marriage *cough*)

Of course, being who I am, what’s of greatest interest to me is the world of books in 1998. A quick visit to the New York Times bestseller list for February 1998 shows some really terrific books, among them:

Fiction:

#1: Paradise by Toni Morrison

#2: Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier

#7: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

#9: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Non-Fiction:

#2: Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt

#5: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

That’s just a smattering of the books on the list, but these are the ones that I’ve read and enjoyed. I suppose if I were looking for signs and portents, I’d say that of the six books mentioned above, I’d feel just as comfortable recommending any of these today as I did fifteen years ago.

So… 1998: Books with staying power. Marriage with staying power. It’s all good.

9Jan2013

A Daily Dose of Happy

Posted in Pop Culture, The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

While working on something completely different, I Googled “people reading” and this is one of the images that popped up:

Credit where credit is due: Apparently, it’s one of many awesome pictures which can be found at the Awesome People Reading site. A place where I really need to spend more time.

Day? Made.

Now I can go to sleep.

29Dec2012

2013: My bookish resolutions for the New Year

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Forget working out more (or at all…), eating healthier, and doing good deeds. (Oh, shush, I’ll try to do those things too).

My extra special New Year’s resolutions are all about reading. It’s a new year, a new opportunity to make some pledges to myself, and perhaps try a new approach or two when it comes to my reading life.

My resolutions for 2013:

Maintain a healthy ratio of old to new: I have piles and piles of unread books in my house, at least 20 unread books on my Kindle, and yet I still gravitate toward grabbing the newest releases, checking new titles out from the library, and ignoring what I already have. Well, it has to stop! Stop, I tell you! My resolution for 2013 is to aim for at least a 2:1 ratio. For every new book, whether purchased or borrowed from the library, I will read at least two that are already in my collection. I think this will be my biggest challenge, to be honest, and I thought of settling for even a 1:1 ratio… but hey, let’s aim high.
No new series! I simply will not start any new series in 2013 — with the following exceptions (because, of course, any good rule has exceptions):
1. New series by authors I love are allowed. Because I simply must read Gail Carriger’s Finishing School books as soon as they’re released. (Etiquette & Espionage is due out in February. Hurray!)
2. It’s okay to start a new series if the entire series has already been published. For example, I read the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher all the way through, books 1 – 6, once the 6th and final book had been released.
3. It’s also okay to start a new series if the final volume will be released in 2013. A friend has been urging me to read Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicle series, but I’m holding off until there’s a release date set for the final book.
4. Obviously, if new books come out that are part of a series I already read, they’re totally fair game.
Patronize local books stores. I’ve made a conscious effort in recent years to rely more and more on the library for new reads, and then supplement my shelves with amazing finds at the library’s annual used book sales. But I’m as guilty as the next person in terms of relying on Amazon for cheap prices and quick delivery. I’ll never totally stop buying from Amazon, but I will try to funnel more of my book dollars toward the wonderful people who work so hard to keep independent bookstores alive in our communities.
Housekeeping. It’s time to do some culling. Yes, there are a lot of books on my shelves that I intend to get to eventually. But, facing facts, I admit that there are some that have been there long enough that if I really wanted to read them, I would have done it already. Impulse buys, unfortunate duplicates, books that sounded more appealing than they ended up… they need to go. I resolve to do some serious sorting and put together a bag or two (or three) of books to donate for the next library sale.
The same goes for kids’ books in my house. My son, world champion reluctant reader, has shelves full of books that he’s never going to read. Every time his school has a book fair or his teacher hands out Scholastic book order flyers, he begs me to buy stuff and swears that this time, he’s really, really, really going to read them. I’m a sap and never say no when it comes to books, but of course, it turns out just how you’d expect. So, another culling is in order. I resolve to go through my son’s shelves — with him — take out the books that he has no interest in or that he’s already outgrown, and donate them to a good cause.
Try something new! I’m a fiction reader, head to toe and deep down in my bones. But it’s nice to stretch one’s wings, expand one’s mind, branch out a little bit. So I resolve to read at least 3 – 5 non-fiction books in 2013, preferable from a few different areas. History, biography, social commentary, science — I’ve actually got some terrific-looking books on my shelves already, and it’s times I paid them some attention. I’m such a fiction junkie that this may be one of my hardest resolutions to keep, but I intend to at least make the effort.
Face facts. I don’t like short stories. I’ve never particularly liked short stories. So maybe it’s time to face facts and stop trying to force myself to read them. Every time I go to the used book sales, I come home with at least a few volumes of either fairy tales, science fiction stories, or horror stories. And no matter how much I like the author, I just never feel motivated enough to pick up a story collection rather than a novel. So my resolution for 2013 in this regard is to let myself off the hook and admit that it’s just not going to happen.

They say that resolutions are made to be broken. Remember those 15 pounds we all vowed to lose last year? Or the year we were all going to become fluent in Spanish?

Well, I’m determined to give all of my bookish resolutions a fair try. Some may stick, some may not. But here’s to 2013! May it be full of good cheer, good health, and good reading for all!

28Dec2012

2012: My year in books

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

It’s that time of year, when every newspaper, magazine, blog, and website is filled with “Best of” and “Top Ten” lists for the year that’s coming to a close. So why not jump on the bandwagon?

2012 was a year filled with great and memorable books (aren’t they all?). For me, it’s hard to pin down the absolute “best” books of the year, but this post is my own little way of summing up what I loved, what I hated, what made me laugh, what made me cry… and just about everything in between.

[Note: Included here are books that I read in 2012. Many were released in 2012, but some are older. Hey, it’s my list. Make of it what you will.]

Favorite quirky titles: Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple and Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt are the winners here, with honorable mention to The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison. Even better than the titles: The fact that I really enjoyed all three of these terrific novels.

Biggest sources of shame: That I read the Fifty Shades trilogy, pretty much without stopping to breathe, over the course of a weekend. Good literature? Nope. But impossible to tear your eyes away from? Absolutely.

Sexy without shame: The lovely Ocean’s Surrender by Denise Townsend. Good writing, interesting characters, and scorching hot action. Erotic and classy, but never cheesy.

Favorite new graphic novel series: Without doubt, gotta be the Fables series by Bill Willingham. I love everything about it, managed to gobble up all 17 volumes plus the spin-off Jack of Fables series and several other Fables-related stand-alones. Waiting impatiently for volume 18, due out in January.

Favorite new series of the non-illustrated variety: I think I’d have to go with the Mercy Thompson series, the outstanding urban fantasy series by Patricia Briggs. Populated by shape-shifters, werewolves, vampires, fey, and all sorts of things that go bump in the night, yet grounded in relatable characters who have day jobs, homes, and bills to pay, this series has just the right mix of real life and supernatural.

Best twisty-turny plots: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson. Absolute roller-coaster rides.

Favorite illustrated book for kids: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. From the author of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a simply beautiful and heart-breaking story in which the illustrations are part of the narrative. Appropriate for middle grade readers and above. (This grown-up was reduced to tears)

Favorite illustrated book for grown-ups: Sacré Bleu by Christopher Moore. You just can’t go wrong with a Christopher Moore book. Sacré Bleu, set in Paris, with a star-studded cast of Impressionist painters plus a few otherworldly types thrown in, is funny, fast-paced, and altogether full of win.

Books that I was happy to cry over: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein put me through an emotional wringer, but they’re such excellent books that I didn’t mind in the slightest.

Most powerful YA fiction read in 2012: See above.

Best YA fiction that should just be marketed as great fiction rather than confined to YA: See above.

Loveliest author encounter: When I heard that Mary Doria Russell, author of The Sparrow (love, love, love) was coming to my city to speak at a high school, I contacted her to see if the event was open to the public. It wasn’t, but she arranged for me to attend as her guest. Her appearance was wonderful, and I was so impressed by the reactions of the high school students (at an all-girls Catholic school, no less!) to this difficult and often very adult subject matter. As an added treat, I had time before her presentation to sit and talk with her, and she could not have been friendlier. Afterward, I mentioned in a thank-you email to Ms. Russell that my book group had chosen her novel Doc as our next book, and she directed me to the book group page at Random House, where I was able to request a book chat with her. My little book group and I then spent an hour on the phone with Ms. Russell, and she was absolutely delightful — warm, funny, smart, gracious, and welcoming. We all came out of that discussion practically walking on air.

Best armchair travels via fiction: Antarctica, via Where’d You Go Bernadette; Orkney Islands and Iceland via The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey; Mississippi River via Fevre Dream by George R. R. Martin; Alaska via The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey.

Most haunting dystopias and apocalypses: The Dog Stars by Peter Heller; The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson; Flashback by Dan Simmons.

Best end-of-a-series to be read with a cup of tea: Timeless, the 5th and final volume in Gail Carriger’s fabulous Parasol Protectorate series.

Weirdest set-ups for great books: Going Bovine by Libba Bray, about a teenager dying of mad cow disease; and Every Day by David Levithan, about A, who wakes up in a different body every day.

Most enjoyable forays into other time periods: The Diviners by Libba Bray, one of my favorites of the year, full of flappers and insouciant fun in the New York of the roaring 1920s; and Doc by Mary Doria Russell, historical fiction about Doc Holliday that was completely lovely to read.

Biggest disappointment (but I read it anyway): Opinions are very divided on The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling. Count me as one of the naysayers.

Biggest disappointments that I just couldn’t finish: The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin (enjoyed the first in this series, but just couldn’t get into book #2) and The Red House by Mark Haddon.

Most unique use of language: The Brides of Rollrock Island by Margo Lanagan. The author’s use of words to create a setting, a mood, and a culture is beyond description. The story itself is beautiful, but it’s Margo Lanagan’s way with the English language that truly sets this book apart from everything else I’ve read this year. (Plus, the cover is really pretty!)

Don’t read if you’re going on a cruise: The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan and The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe would not be good choices to read during a sea voyage. If you plan to stay on dry land, however, these are both quite good.

Don’t read if you’re pregnant: Breed by Chase Novak and Talulla Rising by Glen Duncan. Fantastically creepy horror, excellent books, but they’ll certainly wipe your mind clean of happy little pink and blue bunnies and lambs.

Best books with airport encounters: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith (good outcome) and Stolen by Lucy Christopher (bad outcome).

Best book that sounds like it’s about travel (but it’s not): Looking for Alaska by John Green.

Best use of a bookstore as a romantic setting: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

Great fiction that taught me a thing or two: Gold by Chris Cleve, which taught me all about Olympic bicycle racing and Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, which taught me about alchemy (and also how uncomfortable it is to dress as an Elizabethan-era woman). And dare I add Breed by Chase Novak? Breed taught me not to fly off to former Soviet-bloc countries to seek experimental fertility treatments from shady doctors. (Clearly, I’m still a bit traumatized by that book. Scary.)

Best riffs on classics: The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey, a re-telling of Jane Eyre, and Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James, set in the world of Pride and Prejudice.

Best reunion with old friends: All of the books in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer graphic novel series. So great to hang out with the Scoobies again!

Futuristic worlds I don’t want to live in: Flashback by Dan Simmons is a chilling portrayal of a future United States that’s utterly bleak and hopeless, and yet depressingly easy to envision. And Because It Is My Blood by Gabrielle Zevin is set in a world in which chocolate is illegal. Tell me that’s not a terrifying thought!

Children’s book that might seem like a Harry Potter rip-off (but isn’t): The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson. (This one came first)

Fun books to read with a kid: The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series by Maryrose Woods; Chomp by Carl Hiassen; Half Magic by Edward Eager; The Haunting of Granite Falls by Eva Ibbotson.

And finally…

Books that just plain old made me happy:

All Men of Genius by Lev AC Rosen: Brilliantly comedic steampunk cross-dressing fun.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins and The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith: Lovely, spirited, romantic YA tales with non-cookie-cutter characters.
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter: Who would have thought that a book about 1960s Hollywood, Italian fishing villages, and Richard Burton could be such a great read?

… and many more, which, for whatever reason, I can’t quite categorize but still really enjoyed (plus a few that are probably better off forgotten). It’s been a great year of reading! I can’t wait to see what treasures I’ll uncover in 2013!