Best of 2012

So my goal this year was to read 75 books.  Unfortunately I am on #60 and there is only three days left in the year.  Maybe next year.  Regardless I have read a lot of wonderful books this year and want to share the ones that made the most impact on me.  So in no particular order here is my list of the best of 2012:

1. Across the Universe/ A Million Suns

  Awesome Science Fiction/Mystery. Can't wait for the final book Shades of Earth.

2. The Fault in Our Stars

 

This book is so amazing I don't even know where to begin.

3. If I Stay/ Where She Went

Great contemporary. Loved the sequel even more than the first.

4. Divergent/ Insurgent

Action packed awesome. Plus Four ranks a 10 on the literary hotness scale.

5. Cinder

Cyborg Cinderella. That's really all you need to know. I loved it.

6. Code Name Verity

Simply Amazing. Left me sobbing in the car on a family road trip. Words don't to it justice.

7. For the Darkness Shows the Stars

Made me want to read Austen's original. Love this story interspersed with letters.

8. Princess Academy: Palace of Stone

The brilliant sequel that was the worth the many years waiting. Still love Miri and Peder.

9. The Diviners

Love the 1920's setting and Naughty John truly scared me.

10. Days of Blood and Starlight

Yes. A million times yes. So different from the first book but loved it just as much.

11. The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight

Read it in one evening. Perfect balance of everything you might want in a contemporary.

12. Unspoken

Great cast of characters and a fabulous plot. Not to mention a heart wrenching ending.

13. Everneath

I absolutely love greek myths and this retelling is excellent. Plus it takes place in Utah.

14. Tiger Lily

Hesitant at first, but came to love it in the end. A wonderful Peter Pan retelling.

15. Black Heart

Great ending to a fabulous series.

I was going to stop at 12, but there were just so many wonderful books released this year.  I also know that I missed some of the best ones so they are on my TBR pile beginning with Shadow and Bone.

Also some of the books that didn't make the list because they weren't released this year or are rereads that I highly recommend

Anna and the French Kiss & Lola and the Boy Next Door
13 Little Blue Envelopes/The Last Little Blue Envelop/The Name of the Star
Anything by Tamora Pierce (I read something of her's every year)
The Night Circus
The Book Thief (If you haven't read this...READ IT NOW!)
A Monster Calls

So there's more than plenty book recommendations to keep anyone busy reading.

Loving YA

Why do I love YA?

Because YA is who I am.  Not literally, but figuratively.  I relate to the stories.  YA touches me and teaches me things that I can't get from any other type of writing.  It was there for me when I was a teenager and has stuck with me as I have transitioned to what is supposedly adulthood.  The truth is that YA books will be there with me during every step on my journey.  They are the stories that I turn to in every instance.  Some books I continually go back to and reread time and time again.  Others I may only read once but they will undoubtedly leave some sort of mark.  I often think that if I were to peel back my skin underneath would not be muscle and blood, but words and ink.  Most of the words that make up who I am come from YA.  Some of those words are my own just waiting to be written.  Regardless they make me who I am.  I love YA because it speaks to me and will continue to speak to me throughout my life.  This is just one of the many reasons why I love YA.

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again."
C.S. Lewis

The truth is I am one of those girls that never grew old enough to stop reading what I love.  And I hope I never do.

And because not only is YA amazing, but also the authors.  The fabulous Beth Revis is doing an wonderful giveaway at her website linked below.  Continue to share the love of YA.

http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2012/11/celebrate-books-win-library-of-signed.html

There's Always Tomorrow...There's Always Today

I haven't written a blog post in over a year.  Obviously I failed at 2011's resolutions and blogging in general.  Today though I am recommitting myself to writing and reading.  Today is the day I make this declaration.  From today forward this blog will document my journey through writing, reading, and life in general.  Someone out there in the vast universe may see this and ask why today?  And the answer is  why not today.  There is no better time then the present.  So here are my random November Resolutions:

1. Write Often
          ~This mean's more than once a week
          ~Also in various places including this blog
2. Read
          ~Technically I already have this goal taken care of seeing as I have read over 50 books this year, but I am still going to put it down.
3. Write About What I Read
           ~Reactions, What I like, What I don't,
           ~The good, bad, and amazingly awesome
4. Live Life
           ~Self Explanatory

That is all I am posting here, but it is to hold myself accountable to myself.  And best wishes to a New November with new goals