My Top 2012 Picks

I'm a couple weeks late on this post, but here are some of my favourite reads of 2012.

When I look back at my 2012 list of books, there aren't all that many "Must-Reads" ... It seem that in 2012, I didn't spend my time reading literary masterpieces or classic novels - it was a year I spent reading recommended books, top books on the chart, recent releases or simple stuff to pass the time!  It's not about reading what people think you should read, but reading what you're in the mood for!

Instead of listing my top 5 books of 2012 (like I did for 2011), I've decided to pick a few categories and list my top pick for those categories.




Funniest True (or Mostly True) Books

Seriously... I'm Kidding by Ellen Degeneres

I read this book early in 2012 and remember reading it so quickly.  It was a hilarious read about nothing in particular.  It had me laughing out loud and telling everyone to read it if they needed a little "pick-me-up" in their day.  It's a book that I will honestly read again someday.  Buy this book here.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson

 

A little more, shall we say, "adult" (or "inappropriate") than the other winner in the "Funniest True (or Mostly True) Book" category, this was a top pick for me this year.  Jenny Lawson (aka The Bloggess) is a hilarious blogger who writes about anything and everything that happens to her.  Her stories are exaggerated (or not, you make that call) and funny.  She takes ordinary (and some not-so-ordinary) situations and turns them into awkward and extremely memorable stories.  I read through this book at a crazy speed and really want to listen to the audiobook of "Let's Pretend This Never Happened", for the sole reason of hearing Jenny Lawson's expressions as she tells some of her stories.  Buy this book here.

Favourite Love Story

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

I'm a sucker for love stories and this love story was a beautiful one.  These two individuals went through so much individually before they tried to make it work out with each other.  Nicholas Sparks tells the story in a way that gives you enough information to see what is going on while keeping you guessing about how everything is going to unfold. I didn't want to put the book down once I started it (and I may have watched the movie "The Lucky One" a few times already...).  Buy this book here.


Most Talked About Series

"Fifty Shades of Grey" series by E.L. James

What would a 2012 list be without this series mentioned?  While it wasn't my favourite series, it was very talked about and popular in 2012.  I asked myself numerous times, "Why am I still reading this?"  Yet I continued to read it.  While I don't think it's any literary masterpiece, I remember my dad saying to me once, "You may say that it's not good writing.  But if the author can get you to ignore everything else that you have to do in your life right now and pick up that book instead, then it's got something."  So, E.L. James, although I'm embarrassed to say it, you get a pick on my 2012 list because I made it through the series in 2012 and so did so many other people.  Buy this series here.

Best Young Adult Book

Shine by Lauren Myracle

Dealing with difficult issues such as bullying, hate crimes, depression, and rape, Shine is a must-read for teens.  It was a book that was a bit difficult to read because of the content, but I think it deals with issues that need more awareness.  While I felt that the way some of these issues were dealt with in the book was unrealistic or different than the larger communities that many of us are used to, the issues are important and the content itself is worth a read.  Buy this book here.

Most Magical Book

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I've talked to a few people who just couldn't get into this book, but I loved it.  I thought The Night Circus was well written and told a story in a different, magical way.  If you're up for using your imagination and getting into a book that will make you think, give this one a try.  Buy this book here.

Shine (Lauren Myracle)

I've been meaning to get this post written for a while, but it's been a busy few days.  Now that I can finally enjoy my March Break, here are my thoughts on Shine by Lauren Myracle.

I've had my eye on this book for a while.  First, we had a "judge the book by the cover" kind of relationship - I saw the cover and I liked it.  In an effort to save money, I left it there.  When I saw it on the top list of Teen books, I decided to give it a try.

(Fun fact about this book: It was nominated as a National Book Award finalist for Young Adult literature, but apparently there was a "miscommunication" and Myracle was asked to withdraw her name from the running.  I guess a similarly titled book was initially supposed to get nominated instead of "Shine."  I liked the book and find this whole situation to be a little bit ridiculous and Myracle should have been able to keep her nomination.  Her book was good!  Read about it all here.)

Patrick is the victim of an antigay hate crime in his small community of Black Creek.  He's assaulted and basically left there, dying.  Because of the closeness of the community members, the police don't want to do too much investigating.  Cat, Patrick's best friend, takes it in her own hands to figure out who is responsible for the crime.  She has been through her own rough patches with some of the community members and so she has her own suspects in mind.  During her detective work, Cat gets to face some of her own issues that have been haunting her for years.

It's really hard for me to imagine this all happening the way it did since I didn't grow up in a "small" town like Black Creek.  It's hard for me to accept that a justice system would basically stand around and do nothing while a young boy is laying in a coma in a hospital bed.  I'm thankful that I didn't grow up in a situation like this!

The issues that are discussed in this book are serious ones, and I think it's great to open the eyes of a young adult audience to these topics.  The one major topic is that of the antigay hate crime (and bullying), but they also touch on drugs and alcohol, depression and rape. 

The story was a good little mystery, and I think it's a good read for Young Adult readers.

If you haven't already read my post about Peter Katz and the Matthew Shepard Foundation, you can find it here.

Shine (Lauren Myracle) and the Matthew Shepard Foundation

I just finished reading Shine by Lauren Myracle.  I enjoyed the book but I'm still wrapping my head around it right now.  A review to come soon, I promise!  If you just can't wait to read a summary, you can read one here...

Maybe it's just because of the kind of day I've had, but I wanted to make good use of this post before I reviewed the book.  Shine dealt with the serious topic of bullying and antigay hate crimes (and also touched on the seriousness of drugs).  Since today is also February 29th, which is Pink Shirt Day (for anti-bullying), I thought I would share this video by an artist that I love. 

In this video, Peter Katz is playing his song "The Fence." This song was written about Matthew Shepard, who was the victim of an antigay hate crime in 1998.  The Matthew Shepard Foundation was created in his name, and some of the proceeds from the book "Shine" will be donated to the Foundation. 

 

I strongly encourage you to do a bit of reading about the Matthew Shepard Foundation.  Let's help them with their Desired Outcome "to persuade people to think differently, behave differently, and inform others of the importance and value of diversity."

I don't know who said this one (word around Google is that it's Plato, but who knows) - "Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."  Try to be the positive in someone's day, everyday.