Favorite Reads of 2012

I almost feel embarrassed posting my listing of books read in 2012.  I don't want it to appear that I am trying to impress with the large number of books I read.  This year, I reconnected with an old college roommate, who wondered whether I am reading too many books or reading books as a way of avoiding making relationships.  While I don't think that is the case (indeed, there are plenty of other reasons why I'm not able to form new friendships in this tiny town), I can understand the concern over the intensity of my reading.

Still, if one desires to write, the best way to learn the craft is not only to spend time writing, but also to spend a large amount of time reading.  In that endeavor, I surpassed my goals this year, reading a total of 75 books.  My mother always asks me to write a post where I list them all, so she can print it out for future reference for her own reading.  Thus, here I present the books I read in 2012 and highlight the ones I think stood out above the rest (5 YA or middle-grade books and 10 grown-up books):

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
Shepherds Abiding by Jan Karon
The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe
A Choice to Cherish by Alan Maki
*  The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
A Marriage Carol by Chris Fabry & Gary Chapman
The Christmas Scrapbook by Philip Gulley
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
Crunch by Leslie Connor
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Stray Affections by Charlene Ann Baumbich
Any Minute by Joyce Meyer & Deborah Bedford
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Son by Lois Lowry
The Sins of the Father by Jeffrey Archer
Zen and the Art of Faking It by Jordan Sonnenblick
To Heaven and Back by Mary C. Neal, MD
*  Only Time Will Tell by Jeffrey Archer
*  Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
*  In the Bag by Kate Klise
Honeycomb Kids by Anna M. Campbell
Whitethorn Woods by Maeve Binchy
Bloom by Kelle Hampton
Talking Back to Facebook by James P. Steyer
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
*  Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones
Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Father Knows Less by Wendell Jamieson
*  Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Boys Should Be Boys by Meg Meeker, M.D.
Sister by Rosamund Lupton
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen
What if Your Blessings Come Through Raindrops by Laura Story
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper
Take One by Karen Kingsbury
The God Box by Mary Lou Quinlan
Locked Garden by Gloria Whelan
*  Journal of Best Practices by David Finch
The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan
The Cardturner by Louis Sachar
Perfect Health by Mary-Ann Shearer
The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht
Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
*  The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
*  Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey
*  Night Road by Kristin Hannah
Far From Here by Nicole Baart
The Soul Tells a Story by Vinita Hampton Wright
Escape by Barbara Delinsky
*  The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Sibling Effect by Jeffrey Kluger
The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
*  Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
*  Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
*  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Bras & Broomsticks by Sarah Mlynowski
The Road to Forever by Ron Felt
Friendship Bread by Darien Gee
*  La's Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander MCall Smith
A New Kind of Normal by Carol Kent
When I Lay My Isaac Down by Carol Kent
Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan
Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher
Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Breaking the Code by Karen Fisher-Alaniz
The Quest by Sean McDowell and Bob Hostetler
A Perfect Mess by Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman
Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos
In the Company of Others by Jan Karon
Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson