Books I Read in 2012

My 2012 resolution was to make time to read books. So to keep me on track, I decided to set a goal of two books per month.

I don't consider my resolution lofty, and I think I chose it because the goal-setting really happened at the beginning of February, and I'd only read two books in January. But setting the bar low actually helped me feel like a reading rockstar most months, and I enjoyed pushing myself to see how many books I could add to my list, which I kept in a note on my iPhone.

So what did I read? And what did I like? Revealing what I read feels like when a party guest stumbles upon your Case Logic full of CDs and judges you by them, Jewel album by Jewel album.

Here's the list. Most were first-time reads but a few were books I'd read before and wanted to visit again. While I enjoyed reading everything on this list (exception: Frank Bruni's book, which was self-indulgent and about 150 pages too long), I marked my absolute favorites with an asterisk.

January
Is Everyone Having Fun Without Me? By Mindy Kaling
Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

February
Manhunt by James L. Swanson
The Myth of You & Me by Leah Stewart
Then Again by Diane Keaton

March
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies

April
*The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Bringing up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman

May
*The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
*Just Kids by Patti Smith
Dear Daughter by Heather Armstrong

June
The Story of Charlotte's Web by Michael Sims
A Year and Six Seconds by Isabel Gillies
In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

July
Bowling Avenue by Ann Shayne
The Annotated Charlotte's Web by Peter Neumeyer
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

August
It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong with Sally Jenkins
*The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
*The Rules of Inheritance by Claire Bidwell Smith
*This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
*I Was Amelia Earhart by Jane Mendehlson

September
Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson
*Wild by Cheryl Strayed
One Day by Dave Nicholls

October
Born Round: The Secret History of a Full-time Eater by Frank Bruni
The Lifeboat by Charlotte Rogan
*The Scent of God by Beryl Singleton Bissell

November was a lost month. I didn't finish a single book, but I started and abandoned several.

December
Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper
Off Balance by Dominique Moceanu
*Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
*Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett
Swim: Why We Love the Water by Lynn Sherr

What's up for 2013? More reading, like Ann Patchett books I haven't cracked yet and a revisiting of YA novels I loved in middle school, plus a non-reading goal inspired by the last book I read in December. Still working out the details of that one, but I'm excited about it.