Books Read 2012

My goal every year is to read 12 or more books.  I wish I read a lot more like Kyria, but alas, one book a month will have to do.  Unfortunately, I fell a little short of that goal this year.  The problem was I got bogged down in "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".  Yeah, I know, it's like 100 pages and an easy read, but I wasn't enjoying it.  So I stopped reading it and then I took a several month break from reading.  I want to finish it, though, as I was 2/3 of the way through it, so I'm back on the waiting list at the library and I guess the book will have to count towards my 2013 reading.  But I think reading is going to get a little easier and quicker as I've learned how to download books from the library to my iPad and you can only check them out for a maximum of 21 days before they disappear.  Guess I'll have to actual read them instead of renew them or just pay the late fees.

Onto the list:

1. "The Happiness Project" by Gretchin Rubin
This book was given to me by a friend who knew I was going through a really rough patch.  Unfortunately that rough patch was more like a nervous breakdown, which needed more help than a book could provide.  Dave and I both read this book and were able to pull ideas from it that have helped us this year in different ways.  This is a good book to read at the start of the year when wanting to radically change your life for the next 12 months.

2, 3, and 4. "The Hunger Games", "Catching Fire", "Mockingjay" all by Suzanne Collins
Dave and I bought The Hunger Games trilogy so that we could read it before the movie(s) came out.  Dave flew through all three books in about 3 days.  It took me a bit longer.  I loved Hunger Games and it made the movie so much better.  I kinda felt like the other two books were repeats of the first book, however, I did like the way Suzanne Collins ended the series.

5. "What do you want to do before you die?" by The Buried Life
I'm kinda obsessed with Life Lists (bucket lists) and absolutely love The Buried Life guys.  I thought this book would be a more than it was.  This was basically a picture book of other people's items on their life lists with very little stories about people actually accomplishing items on their lists.

6. "It Looked Different on the Model" by Laurie Notaro
Laurie Notaro is far and away my favorite comedy writer.  My favorite book of all time is "The Idiot Girls Action Adventure Club".  Although nothing will be as funny as that book, this one was really good and funny.

7. "Belly Laughs" by Jenny McCarthy
I've got to admit, I haven't read a single book about pregnancy, child birth, or how to raise a kid.  I don't know if I'm totally screwed or doing the right thing and soaking my mind with worries I don't need.  Anyway, I did really "Belly Laughs" which was funny but not really informational.

8. "Running on Empty" by Marshall Ulrich
Ummm, I don't know.  I'm so burnt out on running/triathlon books.  There's not much I don't know about running.  Not that this book was really about running.  It was about running away from problems.  I know several people in real life who use their running to escape life.  I like to think I use my running as therapy but live in the real world.

9. "Let's Pretend this Never Happened" by Jenny Lawson
Another comedy book.  Very, very funny.  A good recommendation from a friend on Facebook.

10. "Crossing Over" by Ruth Irene Garrett
Anyone could have finished this book in about a day.  It took me four weeks.  The story could have been over in half the number of pages.  Yawn.

Overall, I call it a down year for books.  I'm having trouble finding a book that I can be excited about.  I've asked for recommendations and have gotten a few.  I'm not a fast reader so I don't like to get bogged down in long books.  If you have any good recommendations, please let me know.  I'm going to try harder in 2013 (I'm so sure (sarcasm) that will be possible once the baby comes) to read more.