Well there we have it.
2012 is almost over.
I think it's safe now to say that I have read less than 20 books this year.
I never really started counting the number of books I read in a year since 2010, but I know I've always read more than twenty for sure. And no, I don't necessarily care about the number. I do care, though, about the reason behind this inevitable slump.
I am not sure it's cured quite yet, but I'm writing here and talking about reading and books and commenting on people talking about books... so maybe that's a start!
That being said, I am so out of the loop. I haven't read one good book in months. I don't know anything about new releases, unexpected must-reads, and highly recommended titles. So please do recommend away. I am open to any genre. It just needs to be something YOU thought was amazing.
I think two of the books that really did that 'swept me away and tumbled me out the other end thinking how much I loved reading' thing were THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt and REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier. Both page-turners, both beautifully written but also very accessible. Maybe one of those are worth a try, if you haven't read them already - and they're both perfect books for the winter too...??
ReplyDeleteIf I could I'd totally weave a 'reading slump, be gone!' spell for you as a Christmas present. I'll keep working on it, k? x
I haven't had a very good reading year, either. I've had a couple of shorter reading slumps, and read really few good books. The two I found exceptional, and enjoyed reading theme were Second Glance by Jodie Picoult and How Huge the Night by Heather Munn.
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So sorry doll.
ReplyDeleteIt happens.
It seems to be going around too.
Like the flu.
My fav of the year was Anna Dressed in Blood.
I really enjoyed lately Will Grayson, will grayson by John Green and David Levithan. Have you read it?
ReplyDeleteI've had an exceptionally bad year too, book wise. I did just read Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore and it was really good.
ReplyDeleteI also second The Secret History. I read it back in January and it is still in my top 5 books i've read this year.
That 24 hour bookstore definitely caught my attention! Will keep on the look out for that for sure when I go to the library next. Also, I need to read The Secret History. A lot of people have been telling me to read it.
DeleteI have second Rebecca my fav for the year. You will also love The Fault of Stars I think. I am loving Andrea Kanes Yuletide Treasure, a Christmas story, so beautiful and special.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved The Fault in our Stars. Are you talking about John Green's book? It's really good, I thought.
DeleteI know how you feel. I gave myself the goal of reading 100 books this year and I didn't even make it half way! It sucks.
ReplyDeleteWhat's Left of Me by Kat Zhang was a book I really enjoyed recently.
That's exactly me right there. I read more than 100 in 2011 so I was so set on the same goal for 2012. Too bad. Maybe next year!
Delete+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteThe best book I read this year was Ermita by F. Sionil Jose. I'd describe it as "the Gone with the Wind of the Philippines" and would recommend it to anyone. But it's kind of intense. =P
Right now I'm finally discovering Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series, and it's so much better than I thought it would be. Have you read those, Jillian?
Now that I think about it, I have no idea how many books I read this year. Six in June, definitely, because I was keeping count, and Middlemarch by George Eliot before that and Pet Sematary afterwards . . . You know, Jillian, I've probably read less than twenty this year! ;-)
I haven't read Little House series but have seen them here and there! Never really dug into them though. And hey, reading less than 20 isn't that bad now that I think about it ;)
DeleteI enjoyed The Selection, Unwind, Fall Together, and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. They were great. I hope you get your reading mojo back (if you want to, that is).
ReplyDeleteThanks for those suggestions!
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ReplyDeleteMay I suggest The Unlikely Pilgrzmge of Harold Fry". It was my favorite audiobook for 2012.
ReplyDeleteTwo fiction that stood out to me this year were The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I enjoyed The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and Cinder (Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer also though I am not a big YA reader. I had read 20 fiction this year and a handful of NF (mostly on baby/parenting stuff...) Definitely a lot less than my usual 100 books a year...
ReplyDeleteAlso just started listening to the 24 Hour Bookstore just now (saw the comment earlier :) )
Have you read the Divergent Trilogy? (Veronica Roth) (Dystopian)
ReplyDeleteOr the Leviathin Trilogy, (Scott Westerfeld) (Steampunk, WWI)
They are both really good, check them out.