100 Books in 2012

I did it! Last night I finished my 100th book of 2012. Although I haven't kept up with blogging every month what I read, I thought I would finish posting the list, just for closure's sake. (These are the books I read from May to December - January through April is already posted.) I'll put a star next to the ones I especially recommend, and then I'll do a list at the end of my top 12.

May - 8

*The Kind Diet - Alicia Silverstone
Christina Cooks - Christina Pirello
*Binocular Vision - Edith Pearlman
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
Fast Food Nation - Eric Schlosser
The Magician's Assistant - Ann Patchett
*Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler
*Train Dreams - Denis Johnson

June - 9

*The Newlyweds - Nell Freudenberger
*Born to Run - Christopher McDougall
The Uninvited Guests - Sadie Jones
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
Ladder of Years - Anne Tyler
Digestive Wellness - Elizabeth Lipski
Viva Vegan! - Terry Hope Romero
*The Tiger's Wife - Tea Obreht
*The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks - Elizabeth Lockhart

July - 8

Run - Ann Patchett
*Forks Over Knives
Teach Your Own - John Holt
Here's a Penny - Carolyn Haywood
James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl
The Whole-Brain Child - Daniel J. Siegel
Drop-Dead Healthy - A.J. Jacobs
Homeschooling Your Child the First Year - Linda Dobson

August - 3

*The Element - Sir Ken Robinson
The Slipping Down Life - Anne Tyler
Vinegar Hill - A. Manette Ansay

September - 9

Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
The Hand that First Held Mine - Maggie O'Farrell
The Starch Solution - John A. McDougall
It's Here Somewhere - Alice Fulton
Winnie the Pooh - A. A. Milne
To the Rescue: The Biography of Thomas S. Monson - Heidi S. Swinton
Little Bee - Chris Cleave
The Know-It-All - A.J. Jacobs
*If Morning Ever Comes - Anne Tyler

October - 15

Loitering with Intent - Muriel Spark
The Shoemaker's Wife - Adriana Trigiani
Let Them Eat Vegan - Dreena Burton
No Children, No Pets - Marion Holland
*The Postmistress - Sarah Blake
*The Lacuna - Barbara Kingsolver
*The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and My. Hyde - Robert L. Stevenson
The Tin Can Tree - Anne Tyler
Moving in His Majesty and Power - Neal A. Maxwell
*The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett
Breakfast at Tiffany's - Truman Capote
*The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson
*Daring Greatly - Brene Brown
*The Book of Jonas - Stephen Dau

November - 10

The Painted Veil - W. Somerset Maugham
The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint - Brady Udall
*The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
*The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck
The Life of Our Lord - Charles Dickens
The Death of Ivan Ilyich - Leo Tolstoy
A Charlotte Mason Education - Catherine Levison
More Charlotte Mason Education - Catherine Levison
Teaching Montessori in the Home: The Preschool Years - Elizabeth G. Hainstock
Searching for Caleb - Anne Tyler

December - 4

*Clean Home Green Home - Kimberly Delaney
*A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
*Gift from the Sea - Anne Morrow Lindbergh
*The Book of Mormon (obviously I'll put a star by this one! :) )

I feel so accomplished. I think this is the first New Year's resolution I've ever made and kept all the way to the end, so it's a big deal for me. I couldn't have done it without Andrew - he filled in the gaps that I sometimes left in domestic duties while I was busy reading. He was totally supportive and never once complained that I was reading too much - even when sometimes I was.

I learned a lot from all these books - how to be a good writer, for one, and also how to be a bad one. (Probably my least favorite book was The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani - don't read that one, it was very poorly written. Sorry to be rude.) One of the main things I've learned and that I'll keep with me forever is that there are so many different ways to live life. I used to feel like my way was the only right way, but I think now I'm less judgmental of other people's choices. (Hello, vegan homeschooler, it's a good thing I learned that lesson!) I don't know exactly what book taught me that lesson, but as I reflect on the year as a whole that's one thing that emerges to me.

It was fun to type the titles again. I was amazed at how clearly I remember where I was while reading it and things about the book. I won't be reading as many books in 2013 - I have a new goal for this next year. Now that I have read 100 books, I'm going to write a book of my own. My goal is a page a day to have a full novel by the end of the year. Stay tuned for updates on that. (In my twice annual blogpost.)

And now here's my list of my favorites of the year!

Top 12 Books of 2012

Digging to America - Anne Tyler
Persuasion - Jane Austen
State of Wonder - Ann Patchett
The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey
Breathing Lessons - Anne Tyler
The Newlyweds - Nell Freudenberger
The Element - Sir Ken Robinson
The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett
The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson
The Book of Jonas - Stephen Dau
The Secret Scripture - Sebastian Barry
The Good Earth - Pearl S. Buck