Saying Goodbye to 2011

I'm packaging up 2011 into a little box, wrapping it in shiny paper so it doesn't look quite so lackluster, putting a modest bow on top, setting it on the shelf and leaving it be. 2011 was not a stellar year for me, either with reading or my personal life. I'm anxiously looking forward to 2012. I'm moving into a new place of my own. In moving, I've been putting my hands on ALL of my books and I've come to realize that I've got some really fantastic books that I've never read. To that end, and I know I've said this before but given the new situation with moving and not having as much disposable income as I had before, I'm going to try my best to put a moratorium on buying new books, for at least the first of the year. The usual loopholes apply: book signings, eBay special finds, some graphic novels, my Oz collection.

Now for the stats for 2011:
Favorites of 2011
January - Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
February - The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
March - Wither, the Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 1 by Lauren DeStefano
April Too many good books this month, so I've got THREE top picks for April! - The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton, Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles Book 1 by Kevin Hearne, Delirium by Lauren Oliver
May - Untitled by My Anonymous Cousin
June - Centerpieces by Penelope Przekop
July - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
August - Push by Sapphire
September - The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
October - Hotel Angeline
November - The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
December - Fever, the Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 2 by Lauren DeStefano

Books Read: 76
Pages Read: 16278

Breakdown per month
JAN - 9 - 1387
FEB - 7 - 1308
MAR - 2 - 550
APR - 11 - 2947
MAY - 1 - 167
JUN - 1 - 179
JUL - 9 - 1756
AUG - 6 - 1070
SEP - 4 - 1442
OCT - 5 - 1470
NOV - 12 - 2122
DEC - 9 - 1880
TTL - 76 - 16278

The silver lining that I had after such a dreadful reading year is that almost every book I read this year I enjoyed. So, if I'm going to read such a small amount of books, at least I got to enjoy every one of them!



As for 2012, I have high hopes. I'm not participating in any challenges this year, as I feel this is always one of the places that I falter the most each and every year. The only "challenge" that I'm participating in is one of my own, and that's reading the entire oeuvre of May Sarton's printed works. This year would have been her centennial birthday, so I thought it was fitting that I read her entire printed works in one year. As I own them all, this shouldn't be too problematic. I'll also be attending the Sarton Centennial Symposium in York, ME in May this year, and am looking forward to that.

Otherwise, I'm just focusing on reading what I've got. I'd like most of my reading this year to come from books on my shelf. So many have been sitting there for so long, neglected and unread, gathering dust, desperate to be read. I must attend to these book needs before I start to give my library a complex!

So, there it is. My 2011 recap and a look forward to 2012. I hope you're looking forward to the new year as much as I am! Happy reading!!