Inspired by reading year-end lists on other blogs, I’m posting my own. These are my favorite books that I read in 2012, but some were published earlier. I’m not including any books that aren’t published yet, like The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey Moore (Knopf, 2013.)
A favorites list isn’t the same as a Best Books list, but these are still all excellent books. My 2012 favorites all have that something extra – resonance for me personally, an amazing audiobook narrator, extraordinarily powerful language, the reappearance of favorite characters, or something else – that makes me want to urge these books on other readers to enjoy.
Please chime in in the comments to tell me what your favorites of 2012 were!
Favorite Reads
Accelerated by Bronwen Hruska
Pegasus, 2012
New York City father takes on his child’s pressure-cooker private school.
Goodbye for Now by Laurie Frankel (Read my review)
Doubleday, 2012
Touching comedy of manners and thoughtful exploration of grief.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Knopf, 2011
Harshly beautiful love story with a magical circus and dueling magicians.
One Last Thing Before I Go by Jonathan Tropper
Dutton, 2012
A slacker dad/ex-husband tries to make peace with family and loser-ish friends.
Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead
Knopf, 2012
For summer reading with Maine, That Old Cape Magic, and Sag Harbor.
The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont (Read my review)
St. Martin’s, 2012
A Separate Peace for a whole new generation.
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
DAW, 2011
Second in a huge epic fantasy trilogy for readers who think they don’t like epic fantasy.
Favorite Listens
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny, narrated by Ralph Cosham (Read my review)
Macmillan Audio, 2012
8th in wonderful series featuring Chief Inspector Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec.
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray, narrated by the author (Read my review)
Scholastic Audio, 2011
Wildly funny story of teen beauty pageant contestants stranded on a jungle island.
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, narrated by Ralph Cosham (Read my review)
Blackstone Audio, 2012
Like listening to a great story while sitting by a roaring English fire.
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides, narrated by David Pittu
Macmillan Audio 2011
Captures the intellectual and moral confusion of coming of age in the early 80s.
The Night Swimmer by Matt Bondurant, narrated by Hillary Huber (Read my review)
AudioGO, 2012
A perfectly rendered audio edition of an atmospheric, contemporary gothic story.
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, narrated by Wil Wheaton
Random House Audio, 2011
Awesome virtual-reality story with tech-nerd heroes and corporate-drone enemies.
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison, narrated by Jeff Woodman (Read my review)
Highbridge Audio, 2012
Award-worthy narration of the voice of Ben Benjamin, a man adrift with grief.
State of Wonder by Anne Patchett, narrated by Hope Davis (Read my review)
Harper Audio, 2011
Marina Singh makes a Heart of Darkness-style journey from Minnesota to the Amazon.
