Books to Read in 2012

[Onaona]

Hi everyone! What book(s) are you most excited to read in 2012? (Any book, whether to be published in 2012 or not).

I'm excited to read The Twelve (sequel to Justin Cronin's The Passage) and Bitterblue (Final book in Kristin Cashore's Graceling trilogy). I am also looking forward to *finally* reading something by Haruki Murakami (probably 1Q84).

Anyone else?

[[deleted user]]

You hit my top book, The Twelve! I'm also hoping Tana French comes out with a new book. It'll have been 2 years in July 2012 since her last book came out. I haven't heard anything yet, but I'm hopeful!

BTW, I've heard Bitterblue is great! I can't wait to read it. Long time in coming!

[Linda]

My favorite mystery writer, Carol O'Connell is coming out with a new book The Chalk Garden.

[[deleted user]]

Rohinton Mistry is rumored to have a new book coming in 2012. I will be stopping everything to read that one. It has been too long.

[Michelle]

I will race to the bookstore to get John Irving's new one coming out Mayish.

[Michael]

I've already read a couple of books due in 2012 and I can say it's going to be a *good* reading year.

As for what I'm going to read in 2012, I've committed to:

Something by Faulkner (probably As I Lay Dying)
Great Expectations
Guards! Guards!
Rebecca

I'm sure there are other books I've committed to reading. I seem to do that a lot!

Like many of you, I can't wait to get my hands on The Twelve. Hopefully, there will be a manuscript soon!

[[deleted user]]

I'm also hoping Tana French comes out with a new book. It'll have been 2 years in July 2012 since her last book came out.

Broken Harbour by Tana French is due March 29th 2012 in the UK and June 7 2012 for the US.

I'm going to order the UK edition from the Book Depository.

[Hermione]

I'm looking forward to these books!

The Mirage by Matt Ruff
American Dervish: A Novel by Ayad Akhtar
Pure by Julianna Baggott
A Good American by Alex George
The Lifespan of a Fact by John D'Agata
Birds of a Lesser Paradise: Stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman

[Janet]

I can't wait for Christopher Moore's . I didn't care much for but I've loved all his other books.
Another one on my most wanted list is
And as others have said ...I think the delays in it's publication have made it more coveted.
Although they're not new releases,
I'll be reading more books in these series and but unfortunately Diana Gabaldon is not going to finish her next book until 2013.


I'm also looking forward to seeing what Ann and Michael come up with for us, both on the podcast and at the retreats.

[[deleted user]]

Lauren wrote: "I'm looking forward to these books!

The Mirage by Matt Ruff
American Dervish: A Novel by Ayad Akhtar
Pure by Julianna Baggott
A Good American by Alex George
The Lifespan of a Fact by Joh..."

I just finished an advance copy of American Dervish and it's really good.

[Alondra]

Ready to read 11/22/63; i was holding out for the new year, so don't slap me. Also ready to see where Inheritance is gonna take me; hopefully it wont tick me off! I am looking forward to my challenges in 2 other reading groups because i really have a great mix, and am stepping out of my horror-genre a little more. Ready to read Kafka on the Shore, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Book Thief, just to name a few of my TBRs :)

[Jay]

I don't have any big books I'm anticipating but then again I rarely have a clue what is coming out until Anne, Michael or the folks at Bookrageous tell me.

[Mindi]

I'm still tabulating my list of 2012 reads. Damned by Chuck Pahlaniuk and the Hunger Games Trilogy are at the top of my pile, though! :)

[Amy]

Thank you all for posting these. One of my personal challenges for 2012 is to read at least one new 2012 release a month, and this definitely helped fill up the first half of the year with possibilities!

[Kirsty]

Amy that's one of my goals too! :) More specifically, I want to read one a month that was published in that month. I don't really know much about upcoming releases though so I'm finding this thread helpful!

One book I'm really excited to read is We The Animals, which doesn't come out here until March.

[Dawn]

I could go on and on and on ...

[Kathy]

My To Read list goes on for several single-spaced pages. Every now and then I'll read a sample paragraph online to get a sense of an author's style; that helps me to pare down my choices a little. But GoodReads' new Personalized Recommendations feature has suggested dozens and dozens of titles I would never have thought of otherwise. Where to begin in 2012...?

I'm not sure about upcoming releases. Alan Bradley has announced the titles of his next two Flavia de Luce mysteries but not the publication dates: I'll certainly read those as soon as they're available. Likewise anything new from Terry Pratchett. My taste in fiction leans toward the 1930s and earlier, so perhaps I'll use 2012 fill in some of the gaps in my Edna Ferber, P.G. Wodehouse, Booth Tarkington, or Samuel Hopkins Adams shelves. In newish nonfiction I definitely want to read
, and

[Wendy]

For 2012 I already have a small list going which includes: Nemesis by Jo Nesbo (and if I like that then I'm sure I'll have to read his others), One Day by David Nicholls, the Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde, The Twelve (anxiously awaiting), and the next book in the A Discovery of Witches trilogy. I would also like to read some more classics that were preloaded on my eReader but I'm not sure which ones I'll get too. I love getting ideas from other people's reading lists!

[Gerald]

My book to read is and an a assortment of many others.ger

[Linda]

Gerald wrote: "My book to read is and an a assortment of many others.ger"

I've gott that one from the library right now, Gerald. Don't know if it will be #2 or #3 for the year. I 'm just starting and I've got too.

[Callie]

I am very excited because a reprint of JG Ballard's High-Rise is coming out in March! Thanks to a recommendation by the Enthusiasticast guys, I've been looking forward to this for a long while.

[Becky]

I need some help out there for recommending some books to my 15 yr old godson. He is a ballet dancer, very catholic, and homeschooled, loves to read. For CHristmas I got him Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory b/c he loves WW2 and he inhaled it. I'm worried that he's too sheltered and needs to branch out with his reading. Here is his email below in response to my ? about what he is reading.

" I usually like classics because I know that they are all well written, wholesome, and entertaining, but I like mysteries, Louis L'Amour's western books, science fiction, and historical fiction. I am also a dedicated Tolkien-ist (I read the Lord of the Rings once a year), and have almost all his books, though I do not care for much else in the fantasy genre. I also love history books on any time period or place, especially anything between the 14th-15th centuries and the dawn of history. I even like looking at atlases for fun."

Help this boy! What should I recommend? Would the Hunger Games be suitable?? There's so much to read out there it seems tragic to re-read Tolkien every year, but perhaps I'm being too negative.

Thanks!

[Barb]

@Becky What about Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption?
A little harsh because it deals with POWs but very compelling to read.

[[deleted user]]

I think his reading tastes are very admirable and catholic for a fifteen year old. I wouldn't give him a hard time.

[Ann]

Becky wrote: "I need some help out there for recommending some books to my 15 yr old godson. He is a ballet dancer, very catholic, and homeschooled, loves to read. For CHristmas I got him [book:Operation Minceme..."

A few books that come to mind: Jean Auel's CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR and the other books in that series ... Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey Maturin series (which I still haven't read myself but they are highly recommended by dozens of my bookseller and book-loving friends), and Barb's recommendation of UNBROKEN is a great one as well. Also thinking of THE LOST CITY OF Z by David Grann, and in a similar vein, Candace Millard's two books: THE RIVER OF DOUBT and DESTINY OF THE REPUBLIC.

[Esther]

I was a terribly square teenager. I read, and enjoyed, 1984 when I was 12, loved watching the News and anything about politics.
But I grew out of it.
Try him with Douglas Adams that is some fun, intelligent scifi.

[Veronica]

Hey everyone! I'm new here. Just joined the group today. I'm from the Philippines. I'm guessing the first Filipino to join this group?

Anyway, I'm currently reading 1Q84 by Murakami. Enjoying it very much! It's strange but it's very interesting. This year, looking forward to (finally) reading Hunger Games and Songs of Ice and Fire. Hoping to finish both series this year!

[Ann]

Hi Veronica,
Welcome! I'm not sure if there is anyone else from the Philippines in the group, but I do know that we have people from all over. So glad to meet you, and love your reading choices!

Ann

[Elizabeth☮]

i am looking forward to reading The Art of Fielding and When She Woke. i hope i get to them this year.

[Dottie]

Kathy wrote: "My To Read list goes on for several single-spaced pages. Every now and then I'll read a sample paragraph online to get a sense of an author's style; that helps me to pare down my choices a little. ..."

Wow -- just put the bio of Dahl on my 12s shelf, Kathy, thanks for mentioning it. One of my 12s is to read more non-fiction/memoirs/bios and Dahl is a very interesting one certainly.

[Dottie]

Becky -- i'm with Eric's response -- the young man seems to me to be fairly balanced and if his favorite is Tolkien then why not let hiom read it multiple times? What about WWII figures biographies to stretch him a bit within that interest?

[[deleted user]]

Becky wrote: "I need some help out there for recommending some books to my 15 yr old godson."

I don't know that your godson needs any "help" but I recommend Mervyn Peakes' Ghormenghast Books:
Titus Groan
Ghormenghast
Titus Alone
Titus Awakes

They are SFF; but there are no aliens or advanced technology.It's a "Medievalish" world of magic and politics and amazing artwork.

[Kathy]

Dottie wrote: "Wow -- just put the bio of Dahl on my 12s shelf, Kathy, thanks for mentioning it. One of my 12s is to read more non-fiction/memoirs/bios and Dahl is a very interesting one certainly."

It's interesting, all right, Dottie, but don't expect it to be cheerful. This was an impeccably researched and very well-written biography but one of the more depressing ones I've stuck with from beginning to end.