Books I read in 2012

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I saw this on Dawn's blog and HAD to do my own version here!!

1. Best Book(s) You Read In 2012? 

Hemingway’s Girl by Erika Robuck

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves – I’ll be recommending this one to everyone!!!

Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim – this one ended up on my “all time favorites” list.

2. Most Disappointing Book? 

When you read 58 books in one year, there end up being at least a few that fall into this category…the first one I can think of is “The House at Riverton” by Kate Morton. I know some people may absolutely LOVE this book (and the author) and it came HIGHLY recommended to me by two friends (and avid readers)…maybe I missed something but this book did nothing for me. I just wanted to be done with it. I would not say I enjoyed it.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book? 

I would have to say "Yellow Crocus" by Laila Ibrahim. While the cover description certainly interested me enough to read it, I had no idea how wrapped up in the story I would become. The writing was absolutely wonderful allowing me to so easily picture the scenes in my head and feel as if I was watching the action unfold. Loved it!!

4. Book(s) you recommended to people most in 2012? 

I typically recommend “TheSoldier’s Wife” by Margaret Leroy or “Saving CeeCee Honeycutt” by Beth Hoffman – they are two of my ALL TIME favorites though I read them pre-2012.

5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
The Lowcountry Tales by Dorothea Benton Frank!! I absolutely love the Lowcountry area, Charleston especially and that love just made reading these books that much more enjoyable. I particularly enjoyed reading about restaurants or places where we have been. It was in these books that I learned of Poe's Tavern, which has quickly become my favorite dining spot in the Lowcountry. 

6. Favorite new author(s) you discovered in 2012?

Laila Ibrahim - author of "Yellow Crocus" - this was such a wonderful book and turns out to be this authors FIRST work. I contacted her after I read it to let her know how I loved it and sadly, she doesn't have anything else in the works right now.

7. Most thrilling, un-put-down-able book in 2012? 
"On the Island" by Tracey Garvis-Graves. Seriously, I read this book in 2 days, which is nearly a world record for me as I rarely get through books that quickly. It was *that* good!!! BTW: I heard they are making a movie out of it. 

8. Book you most anticipated in 2012? 
The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman…which apparently I must have been harboring some high expectations that it didn’t quite live up to for me.

9. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2012?


10. Most memorable character in 2012? 
I loved Mattie in "Yellow Crocus"!! Absolutely loved her. To the point of wishing I had her to take care of me as  a child. You could not read this book and not fall in love with Mattie. You just couldn't. My heart broke over & over for her throughout this book.

11. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
I cannot decide. This one may have to be a tie between "Yellow Crocus" and "Hemingway's Girl"...both books were so fabulously written in my opinion. They both fall into that "just can't put them down" category...though real life called so I did have to put them down at times, I just didn't want to. In addition to being full of fantastic characters, both books were also so very easy to read and the stories flowed so well. Definitely two of my favorites of 2012.

12. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012? 
I can’t say any book I read in 2012 made an impact on me.

13. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
I'll have to go with "The Paris Wife". True, it only came out in February 2011, but a few of my Goodreads friends had read it fairly soon thereafter and gave it high ratings, but I continued to push it aside for other books. I even had it on the e-book waitlist at the library and when it came available I passed it up letting others on the list go ahead with it. I may have done that twice! Now that I have finally read it, I am happy to say that I enjoyed the book and honestly, it confirmed all the stories I had already heard about Hemingway's character.

14. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2012?

“The most important thing I learned is that to be truly happy, you've got to pay attention to that stupid inner voice we all have. It knows what you need and will drive you shit crazy until you listen to it.” 
― Dorothea Benton Frank, Isle of Palms

15. Book you read in 2012 that you would be most likely to reread in 2013? 
I do not typically re-read ANY books because there are just too many good ones out there I haven't read yet. Should I someday have a shortage of books on my "want to read" list (doubtful), then I would definitely read "The Soldier's Wife", "Hemingway's Girl" or "On The Island" again. Loved all 3 of them.