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Thursday, January 5, 2012

Best Books of 2012, Tami Style

I love reading other people's book reviews, so decided to include a few of my personal recommendations from what I read in 2012. My taste is not your taste, obviously (although I am tasty!), so take what you want from this and discard the rest.

Draculas (Kilborn, Crouch, Wilson and Strand). DEFINITELY not for the squeamish or sensitive reader . . . but if you like perverse, dark humor, don't mind gory and want an all new take on vamps, read this one. It whipped through my family like wildfire. We all ended up reading it and we always knew when someone got to a certain page from the "ewwwww" sounds they were making. This book also introduced me to Blake Crouch as a writer and since then, I have been reading more by him. I just finished Run. If you're an "impatient reader" like my daughter Nicole (i.e. you want them to stop talking and describing and get TO THE ACTION in the story and stay there), this is the one to read. It takes off on the FIRST page and never, ever slows down.

Sing You Home (Picoult). Well, in my eyes, this woman can write no wrong. She absolutely fascinates me and when a friend recently asked me which writer I would be if I could only choose one, I chose Jodi without a moment's hesitation. I have never, ever read an author who could make me think and reconsider issues and viewpoints as much as she does. I respect her immensely.

Heads, You Lose ( Lutzman and Hayward) Admittedly, I read this for the name Lisa Lutzman on the cover. Since she created the Spellman Files series--unquestionably one of my lifetime of reading favorites--I had to read this. I wasn't disappointed . . . although I have no doubt I was annoying to the people around me when I read it on the train. I kept laughing and giggling and reading parts out loud to Nicole. The authors are ex-boyfriend and girlfriend in real life and included bickering debates in between chapters. Perfect for those who like a lot of snarky humor added in to their mystery.

I am Not a Serial Killer/Mr. Monster/I Don't Want to Kill You trilogy (Wells). Really fun books . . . . think Dexter only a teenager. Smart young man doing what he can to make the world a safer, better place.

Unexpectedly fascinating reads? Left Neglected (Genova) was an intriguing exploration of what happens when the brain doesn't function correctly, followed by Before I Go to Sleep (Watson) about a major case of daily amnesia. I was less fascinated by the hyped You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know (Sellers) because I couldn't connect to the main character. I wanted to shake her instead of sympathize.

I read a number of autobiographies which were interesting, including Transformation (Bono), Seriously, Just Kidding (DeGeneres), Happy Accidents (Lynch), If You Asked Me (White) and Stolen Life (Dugard). I like learning about other people's lives and perspectives.

Any I DON'T recommend . .. i.e. started reading and either gave up mid-book or got to the end and said, "What a waste of time!" . . . . I try to limit those because life is short and I have a LOT of books, but the ones I did encounter were Illumination by Brocknauer, As Husbands Go by Issacs, One Bloody Thing after Another by Comeau and Inside the Mind of Casey Anthony by Keith Ablow. Definitely didn't impress me.

How many books did you read in 2011? I managed 28 . . . . which seems pretty puny to my younger days but work just eats up most of my time. Maybe I will read more in 2012! I hope so. What did you read that you loved or hated? Post and tell me!

2 comments:

Aimee said...

I don't work, so I had lots more time. I read a lot more last year than I had in a few years. My kid is getting older, I guess, freed up some time. I read a lot of fantasy/sci-fi, which isn't my norm, and enjoyed it (loving the Game of Thrones books right now). Also read and loved a few Cormac McCarthy books. Maybe my favorite book was "Just Kids" by Patti Smith.

Bev said...

Just picking up reading again. It's a great destresser and I need that right now. Gotta pick up Heads, You Lose. I, also, love the Spellman series. Thinking about rereading them as I type. :D