I have probably said it enough here on the blog and on twitter, but this was not a good reading year for me. Life just got in the way and reading has slipped out of the priority position. I am working to remedy that. When you find yourself reading less do you push yourself to read more, or just go with the flow? Reading is a habit, like many of the things we do daily. I worry that if I stop reading I will fill up that time with a different habit. On the other hand, I want to read for fun, sometimes if I force myself to read that feeling is minimized. I think it is yet another catch-22 and I don’t really have a solution. When I want to watch TV or relax in another way I try not to feel guilty for not reading. But I also want to make reading a habit again. I think one of the best things I can do right now is really search out those books that are a perfect fit for what I want to be reading right now. This year that has definitely been a struggle, but I am determined to work on it more.
I am still trying to get more reading done before the end of the year so that I have some momentum going into the new year. A lot of people are reflecting on some of the books they enjoyed the most this year and I am going to take this opportunity to do the same.
When Going Bovine won the Printz award early in the year I drove straight to the library and checked it out. Even though I read it almost 12 months ago, its humor and quirkiness have stuck with me throughout the entire year. It was definitely a standout book. The majority of the other books I read I cannot say the same for.
One of the major highlights of my reading year was the young adult dystopian novel by local author Ally Condie. I could gush in a rambling, kind of senseless way about how much I loved this book. I don’t think it would help you very much because Matched is one of those books that is so good it takes all your words away. I really hope you get a chance to read it soon.
This year I have had the overwhelmingly exciting opportunity to read more ARCs than I ever have before. I am now a huge fan of eGalleys and their ability to aid me in accessing some of the upcoming dystopian works and other speculative fiction selections. One book in particular I was beyond excited to read was Wither. Like Matched I have a bit of a biased connection with the author. While Ally Condie lives in the same state as me now, Lauren DeStefano lives in the same state that I grew up in. So both authors are my current hometown heroes when it comes to dystopian literature. Wither was a highly unique and dark portrait of the future that I highly enjoyed.
There were two other surprise books for me this year that I really enjoyed. Elantris by Brandon Sanderson was a great read for me by another local author. I worried when I started reading his book that Sanderson would be too much fantasy for me, but Elantris was the perfect book for me to start with. I loved the politics that were weaved throughout the book. The other surprise book was Homeland by R. A. Salvatore. I asked Mr. X his favorite fantasy book and Homeland was his choice. Soon I will need to read the next book in the series entitled Exile and I am also waiting for the publication of the second Elantris book.
I see a lot of people suggesting it is too early to pick the best books of the year. What do you think? I won’t post an official list until I am done with my reading for the year, but it does get tricky to read as much as one would like during the holidays. I think it is a good time to start thinking about the books that you enjoyed this year. Especially when you take the time to consider things you read earlier to in year.
Today I will be working on the audio of The Passage again and I am hoping to finish some other book this weekend, though I have no clue which one. I assume the one that I pick up that manages to distract me away from the internet. I am enjoying some guilt free quality time with myself.
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