Best book(s) you read in 2012?

LJD · Dec 30, 2012

Whether published in 2012 or not.

For me:
Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter (2012)
The Language of Flowers - Vanessa Diffenbaugh (2011)

Amanda R. · Dec 30, 2012

Chinese Lessons - John Pomfret (2006). This is a book I almost didn't buy, but when I started reading I couldn't put it down. It is the best book about China and Chinese people I have read. Anyone interested in China should read it.

thothguard51 · Dec 30, 2012

For me, 2012 was the year I discovered Bernard Cornwell thanks to a GRRM interview I read. Fifteen books and counting and I loved each one...

kkbe · Dec 30, 2012

Stone City, hands down. Written by Mitchell Smith back in, I don't know. I found it for twenty-five cents at a Salvation Army store. It's a thick paperback, small font, tight leading, tough to read. In more ways than one. Damn, that novel. It takes place in a state prison and that prison is as twisted, cold and unforgiving as some of the characters. Smith has written a masterpiece, I swear it. The end blew me away, I cried. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened for days after. I'm keeping it, I'll read it again.

It's not perfect. Smith slips off on tangents every now and again. Like I said, it's long and hard to read and he gets a little verbose but all-in-all, it was so good. Incredibly good. I love that damn book. In fact, when I wrote CHERRY, I put it in there which means I'm going to have to get permission from somebody. . .

Yikes.

Brightdreamer · Dec 30, 2012

Let's see... apparently, I've read 119 books in 2012. Of them, my favorites, in no particular order:

The House of Silk (Anthony Horowitz) - Great Sherlock Holmes mystery.

Heroes of the Valley (Jonathan Stroud) - A YA fantasy, in which a boy learns the hard way that bard's tales of heroism don't work in the real world.

Rip Haywire Blows UP! (Dan Thomas) - The second collection of Rip Haywire comics. (I just love that strip...)

Earth (the Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race (Jon Stewart et al.) - The Daily Show's talented writing staff takes on the whole planet. I haven't laughed that much in ages.

How To Manage Your Money When You Don't Have Any (Erik Wecks) - Probably the most practical book on finances I've come across, especially for those of us without anything to spare for investment games.

Tinman · Dec 30, 2012

The Art of Racing in the Rain. A novel told from a dog's PoV.

Jon M · Dec 30, 2012

The Things They Carried, Tim O'Brien. Just awesome. Will probably re-read it again sometime in '13.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem, by Joan Didion, was good too. Some of the essays I didn't care too much for, but some, like the title piece, were superb.

LJD · Dec 30, 2012

Tinman said:
The Art of Racing in the Rain. A novel told from a dog's PoV.

I read that one a few months ago too. It's in the "very good" collection on my e-reader

Vito · Dec 30, 2012

The Bonfire of the Vanities - Tom Wolfe (1987)

The Call of the Wild - Jack London (1903)

Purple Rose · Dec 30, 2012

The Lemon Tree by Sandy Tolan
Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Beyond the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

Saavedra · Dec 30, 2012

Junot Díaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

heyjude · Dec 31, 2012

The Bookseller by our own Mark Pryor.

DreamWeaver · Dec 31, 2012

Tinman said:
The Art of Racing in the Rain. A novel told from a dog's PoV.

LJD said:
I read that one a few months ago too. It's in the "very good" collection on my e-reader

Gave a copy to a friend for Christmas. It's one of my favorite books, though I didn't re-read it this year. Hmmm...must re-read soon.

PS. See current avatar for The Art of Racing in the Rain in three different languages, next to the dog

Filigree · Dec 31, 2012

I haven't read as much in 2012 as I planned.

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, is maybe not the best book I read, but the one that stuck with me and makes me smile foolishly even now.

P-Jay · Dec 31, 2012

Off the top of my head...

Non-Fiction
Four Hour Chef - Tim Ferriss
Trust Me, I'm Lying - Ryan Holiday
Hilarity Ensues - Tucker Max (I know, I know...)

Fiction
Hunger Games Trilogy

LJD · Dec 31, 2012

Filigree said:
I haven't read as much in 2012 as I planned.

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline, is maybe not the best book I read, but the one that stuck with me and makes me smile foolishly even now.

I had been eyeing that one up in the bookstore a while back. But my TBR pile is already pretty freaking enormous. Maybe, eventually

mccardey · Dec 31, 2012

I'm going to assume that it was Gilead because that really is the best book I've ever read. But I read it for the first time a few years ago - so I'll bear this thread in mind for next year.

Kerosene · Dec 31, 2012

The Black Prism & The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks. I'm a big fan and it took me a year to learn Weeks put out the Black Prism, and after I finished it, the second book was just being released! What the hell! They weren't really perfect, but some of the most enjoyable writing I've read this year.

Cross Channel by Flying Shine, written by Romeo Tanaka. Absolutely one of the greatest stories I've read, well worth the 80 hours I spent on it. And because of that, I ordered me up all of Romeo's other works and have been reading them off and on (takes time when you're still studying Japanese), and loving every character the man puts on the paper.

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Mark Lawrence. Not a thrill ride, but a good story with very, very good parts to it. You slog through it for the first couple hundred pages, and it starts to pull you in.

bilbo1975 · Dec 31, 2012

The God Delusion - Richard Dawkins

On Writing - Stephen King

World War Z - Max Brooks

Infidel - Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Because They Hate - Brigitte Gabriel

The Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas

American Psycho - Bret Easton Ellis

What's so Great about America - Dinesh D'Souza

Londonistan - Melanie Phillips

Donnie Brasco - Joseph D. Pistone with Richard Woodley

Devil Ledbetter · Dec 31, 2012

Arcadia by Lauren Groff
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Liralen · Jan 5, 2013

The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss

The Bards of Bone Plain, Patricia McKillip

archerjoe · Jan 6, 2013

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers
Auraria by Tim Westover
Don't Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

Satori1977 · Jan 6, 2013

I haven't read as much this year as I normally do. But a few stand out:

Lily of the Nile and Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray. One of my new favorite authors. If you like Egyptian historicals, she is a must read. Can't wait to read the third.

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre. The best SciFi I have read in a long time. She also became a must-read author for me this year.

Stolen Summer by S.A. Meade (our own Firedrake). Beautiful and poignant M/M romance. It made me cry. In a good way.

cmi0616 · Jan 14, 2013

I've got a bunch. If I had to pick the best book, I think it would be Brief Interviews With Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace. I'd heard much about Wallace but had never checked out any of his books before. I'm glad I did. I think everyone in this day and age should be required to read Brief Interviews. The insights and the social commentary are exceptional.

Other close contestants include

The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (1953)
The Pale King by David Foster Wallace (2011)
White Teeth by Zadie Smith (2001)
Strong Motion by Jonathan Franzen (1992)
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach (2012)
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (2012)

sennydreadful · Jan 14, 2013

thothguard51 said:
For me, 2012 was the year I discovered Bernard Cornwell thanks to a GRRM interview I read. Fifteen books and counting and I loved each one...

Ooo me too! Adored his Warlord trilogy and the Alfred the Great novels. Can't wait for more tales of Uhtred!

Best book(s) you read in 2012?

She who must be obeyed

A Gentleman of a refined age...

Huh.

Benign Lurker, Doomed Lardlump

I against I

Recalled to life

practical experience, FTW

a mean mother hubbard.

Making my own sunshine

Shakespearean Fool

Mildly Disturbing

My name is PJ.

Your Pixie Queen

Come on you stranger, you legend,

Miss Conceived

Listening to the Voices In My Head

X-Box Fancier