Book List for 2012

List of Books Read in 2012

1.  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.  1.1.12.  *****
2.  English After the Fall by Robert E. Scholes.  1.1.12.  ***
3.  "Rules for Virgins" by Amy Tan.  1.2.12. ****
4.  Green River Killer by Jeff Jensen.  1.3.12.  ****
5.  The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls.  1.5.12. *****
6.  "The Crazy Old Lady in the Attic" by Kathleen Valentine.  1.6.12.  ***
7.  Stitches: A Memoir by David Small.  1.8.12.  *****
8.  Feynman by Ottaviani and Myrick.  1.9.12.  *****
9.  The Last Vampire by Christopher Pike.  1.11.12.  ***
10.  Inside the Victorian Home by Judith Flanders.  1.16.12.  ***
11.  Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. 1.17.12.  **1/2
12.  Black Blood by Christopher Pike.  1.17.12.  ***
13.  The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan.  1.17.12.  ***1/2
14.  The Terrible Axe-Man of New Orleans by Rick Geary.  1.24.12.  ***1/2
15.  A Taste of Midnight by Lara Adrian.  1.27.12.  ***1/2
16.  Darker After Midnight by Lara Adrian.  1.28.12.  ****

17.  Lothaire by Kresley Cole.  2.3.13.  *
18.  Oedipus the King by Sophocles.  2.7.12. 
19.  Ex Libris: Confessions of an Common Reader by Anne Fadiman.  2.10.12.  ****
20.  Cinder by Marissa Meyer.  2.11.12.  ****1/2
21.  Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood.  2.14.12.  ***
22.  Wither by Lauren DeStefano.  2.21.12.  ****
23.  One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey.  2.21.12.
24.  Timeless by Gail Carriger.  2.24.12.  ****

25. A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison.  3.1.12.  ****1/2
26.  Torso by Brian Michael Bendis and Marc Andreyko.  3.4.12.  **1/2
27.  Fair Game by Patricia Briggs.  3.10.12.  *****
28.  Somebody Tell Aunt Tillie She's Dead by Christina Miller.  3.14.12.  ****
29.  Habibi by Craig Thompson.  3.15.12.  *****
30.  The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  3.24.12.  ***
31. Return of the Rose by  Theresa Ragan.  3.31.12.  ****
32.   Othello by Shakespeare.  3.31.12

33.  Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu.  4.5.12.  ****
34.  Hexed by  Ilona Andrews and others.  4.5.12.  ***
35.  At Home by Bill Bryson.  4.21.12.  ***
36.  Simon Said by Sarah R. Shaber.  4.27.12.  ***
37.  Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett.  4.27.12. 

38. Broadmoor Revealed by  Mark Stevens.  5.3.12.  *** 
39.Death Comes to Pemberly by  P. D. James.  5.4.12.  *
40.  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night by  Mark Haddon.  5.4.12.  ****
41.  "Beauty: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Outtake" by Laurell K. Hamilon.  5.9.12.  ***
42. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by  Alan Bradley.  5.13.12.  ***
43. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.  5.15.12.  ****
44.  Chime by Franny Billingsley.  5.17.12.  ***1/2
45. Charlotte Collins by Jennifer Whiteley Becton.  5.19.12.  *****
46.  Baby Shark by  Robert Fate.  5.19.12.  ****1/2
47.  A Tale of 3 Witches by Christiana Miller and Barbra Annino.  5.30.12.  **

48.  Avalon High by Meg Cabot.  6.6.12.  **1/2
49.  Kiss the Dead by  Laurell K. Hamilton.  6.7.12.  ***1/2
50.  Baby Shark's Beaumont Blues by Robert Fate.  6.9.12.  ***1/2
51. Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgard.  6.26.12.  **1/2
52.  The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot.  6.?.12.  ***
53.  Insatiable by Meg Cabit.  Incomplete. 

54.  Persuasion by Jane Austen.  7.7.12.  ****
55.  Some Like it Hawk by Donna Andrews.  7.20.12.  ***
56. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.  7.28.12.  ***
57.  Thirteen by Kelley Armstrong.  7.29.12.  *****

58.  Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.  8.4.12.  *****
59.  The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing.  8.24.12.  *****
60.  Never Buried by Edie Claire.  8.28.12.  ***
61.  Kitty Steals the Show by Carrie Vaughn.  8.31.12.  ***

62.  Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths.  9.23.12.  ***

63.  The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson.  10.7.12.  ***
64. Feed by M.T. Anderson.  10.14.12.  **
65.  Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown.  10.17.12.  ***1/2
66.  Othello by William Shakespeare.  10.20.12.  *****

67.  The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary e. Pearson.  11.1.12.  ***1/2
68.  Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare. 11.1.12.  *****
69.  The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny.  11.2.12.  ***
70.  The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross.  11.11.12.  ***
71.  We Sinners by Hanna Pylväinen.  11.20.12.  ****
72.  The Girl in the Clockwork Collar by Kady Cross.  11.22.12.  ***

73.  God Save the Queen by Kate Locke.  12.5.12.  ***
74.  Deep Kiss of Winter by Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter. 12.11.12. **1/2
75.  Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.  12.12.12.  ****
76. Penelope by Rebecca Harrington.  **
77.  The Darkest Prison by Gena Showalter.  12.13.12.  ***
78.  Amityville Horrible by Kelley Armstrong.  12.13.12.  ****
79.  Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  12.17.12.  **
80.  Nightshifted by Cassie Alexander.  12.29.12.  **1/2
81.  Divergent by Veronica Roth.  12.30.12.  ***

80.
Title: Nightshifted
Author: Cassie Alexander
Pages: 352
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 29, 2012
Rating: **1/2

Another reviewer on LibraryThing comments that a female protagonist is rare in urban fantasy; apparently we have entirely different reading habits, because I find the genre to be saturated with strong-yet-annoyingly-vulnerable female protagonists with cozy-like occupations (shop clerk, DJ, nurse).  And Nightshifted is just such a novel.  The protagonist, Edie, is a nurse who takes a job on a secret supernatural ward in exchange for mysteries powers-that-be promising to keep her junkie brother clean.  Initially, this is an interesting plot device, but the novel proves to be more niche-focused than generally appealing; Nightshifted relies largely on genre fans with some personal attachment to nursing/hospitals, and falls flat for a reader like me. 

81.
Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Pages: 576
Genre: YA Dystopian
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Borrowed from the library
Date Completed: December 30, 2012
Rating: ***

If you're read more than one young adult dystopian novel, then you've read this before. 

In a genre that essentially lacks originality, what I find important is character development and pacing.  In Divergent, the reader follows Tris as she (predictably) leaves the faction of her birth to join the (predictably) violent faction in charge of "security," where she (predictably) makes enemies, proves to be "different," and finds a teenage love interest.  Ultimately, Tris is not an unlikeable protagonist, but the pacing of the novel shifts from tedious to absurdly rushed. The shift is jolting, and disrupts any suspension of disbelief.  Ultimately, Divergent is stronger than novels like Delirium, but is not the best example of the genre that has been published in recent years. 

74.
Title: [Deep Kiss of Winter]
Author: Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter
Pages: 436
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 11, 2012
Rating: **1/2

I've encountered both of these authors with varying success before, and as I approach a paper on paranormal romance I thought jumping into this pairing would be a good step back into the genre.  Both works, as this marketing scheme requires, are loosely related to a single idea used to bind the two stories together, with a bit of fan-girl-fawning over each other in the acknowledgements.  Cole's is certainly the stronger story, although neither is particularly captivating. Fans of either should stick with solo publications.  

75.
Title: [Anna Dressed in Blood]
Author: Kendare Blake
Pages: 320
Genre: YA Horror
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: December 12, 2012
Rating: ****

Anna Dressed in Blood is a true ghost story, of the kind that so often mark a horror enthusiast's early introduction to the genre.  This begins as the kind of story I would "sneak" out of the library and read under the covers, a la Scary Stories to Read in the Dark.  Cas is a ghost-hunter who, like his father, is dedicating his life to sending back murderous spirits.  He takes up the athame after his father ultimately lost who own battle with such a spirit, and with his witch mother travels the country, trying to keep the living safe from the dead.  As has to happen in YA novels, something is different about this ghost - Anna Dressed in Blood - and Cas finds himself with unlikely accomplices, despite his years of solo work. 

Blake wonderfully weaves in traditional ghost stories into this plot, giving audiences the hitchhiker and the haunted house that are so often abandoned after summer camps are a thing of the past.  Anna Dressed in Blood favorably reminds me of I Am Not a Serial Killer, and like the latter has what I'll call an "unnecessary element" that detracts from narrative.  Overall, the book is highly successful, and highly enjoyable. 

76.
Title: [Penelope]
Author: Rebecca Harrington
Pages: 120 read before giving up
Genre: Fiction
Medium: Paperback
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed:
Rating: **

I can understand why people would find this book entertaining, and even why people would like Penelope, the socially awkward and completely human Harvard freshman trying to find her way.  Personally, I found Penelope overly immature and dull, and found the social interactions even less interesting than when I myself was in college.  Penelope is not for me. 

77.
Title: [The Darkest Prison]
Author: Gena Showalter
Pages: ?  LT says 448, but there's no way
Genre: Supernatural Romance
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 13, 2012
Rating: ***

Standard fare. 

78.
Title: [Amittyville Horrible]
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Pages:
Genre:
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 13, 2012
Rating: ****

When Armstrong concluded her Otherwood series with Thirteen she promised fans that this wouldn't be the last they'd see of the characters they'd come to love, and with the novella/short story "Amittyville Horrible" she keeps that promise.  This one follows Jamie, necromancer, as she's roped into another reality special - "for charity."  Like always, Armstrong is consistent with her characters, paces the stories well, and offers a twist I didn't expect.  "Amittyville Horrible" is a very fun read. 

79.
Title: [Delirium]
Author: Lauren Oliver
Pages: 480
Genre: YA Dystopian
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Borrowed from the library
Date Completed: December 17, 2012
Rating: **

Love is identified as a fatal disease, a "cure" is found, and the US closes its borders as it pushes to eradicate human connection in pursuit of "happiness."  Yes, you've stumbled upon a YA dystopian.  And, of course, this means that a rebellion is brewing, and our perfectly plain and unassuming protagonist is in for dangerous romance, rebellion, and chaos. 

Delirium was listed by a colleague as being one of "the best" of the genre, and if this is true then I would have to identify the genre as one that is inherently weak.  The story is trite and the plot devices are shallow; that an author would actually say that love is a disease is sophomoric and uninteresting, overshadowing all that could be redeemable in the narrative. 

73.
Title: God Save the Queen
Author: Kate Locke
Pages: 
Genre: Steampunk-scifi-esque
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition:
Date Completed: December 5, 2012
Rating: ***

 God Save the Queen: a perhaps-antisocial young woman living in a supernaturally-drenched world discovers that things aren't what they seem, and neither is she (do I even need to mention the inevitable love interest of standard characteristics and loyalty?). While not wholly original, this formula is one I enjoy, and pursue knowingly.

 Kate Locke's God Save the Queen is a fun little romp that could have been so much more, if Locke wasn't so concerned with the current trend in the supernatural genres. As opposed to focusing on her own story and creative endeavors, she seeks to write against other popular stories, which only works as a disservice to her own book. It's all well and good to offer alternative mythologies, and (as I've said just recently), tastes will vary even among loyal genre-fans, but the drive to be-or-not-be can overshadow a text. After the anti-Twilight barb in her introduction (which itself unnecessarily defends her own mythology - probably because she fears the same kind of backlash Meyers faces), quotes such as this: "Now, they write romances and make foolish teen films about {vampires and werewolves}" not-so-subtlely allude to the same text. What this does, however, is not separate Locke from Meyers by adopting a popular criticism of the series, but rather illustrates her own ignorance of the tradition and evolution of the genre in which she is publishing by arguing against vampires and werewolves as romantic figures. Not only is Dracula (1897) romantic, but so are "Carmilla" (1872) and "Christabel," (1797) to name just three of many examples. I won't argue that in-depth knowledge of the genre is necessary to write successfully within that genre, but I will argue that one should conduct better research before publishing such barbs, in order not to be mocked herself.

 I will be reading the second in the series, with the hope that another book will bring greater confidence on the part of the narrative as its own creation.