Ah, 2012! A great year for distractions, not such a good one for reading! Although, having said that, I did spend a few hours reading 'The Somnambulist' rather than watching the sailing on a big screen on Weymouth beach, so perhaps I can't really blame the Olympics or Jubilee!
2012 really didn't start well for my project. One book in two months? TWO MONTHS? And a book of short stories at that?! I'm pretty sure it wasn't the fault of R, Murray Gilchrist, author of 'A Night on the Moor and Other Tales of Dread', or his stories. As usual, I'd bitten off more than I could chew with a training course, lots on at work and a number of other factors too tedious to go into. June was equally unsuccessful, because my friends had the audacity to keep getting married or having children. I didn't want to chance chucking a hardback at the married couple rather than confetti, so decided not to try to multitask that month!
Fortunately, for the rest of the year (nine months) I made my target of at least two books a month. This totalled 21 volumes in all, excluding the three books I gave up on (sorry Ms. Austen!), which brings it up to 24. OK, it's not quite the 30 books I managed in 2011, but it's still progress. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless!
I've read quite a selection of books this year, so I hope you've all found something of interest to you. The books included modern classics, science fiction, horror, humour, literary fiction, historical fiction (surprise, surprise!), short stories (ditto!) and non-fiction. There have been quite a few new books in there this year, including the lovely 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' and enchanting 'Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures'. Although I don't regret reading them for one moment, trying to be less distracted by new releases will have to be a resolution for 2013, otherwise I'll never empty my shelves!
My big regret for 2012 is that I didn't take advantage of various celebrations, anniversaries or film releases to spur me on. 'We Bought a Zoo' came out on DVD, while 'The Woman in Black', 'Anna Karenina' and 'Life of Pi' arrived at cinemas. There is still hope yet, though. While 2012 was the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film, 'Doctor No', 2013 is the 60th anniversary of the first Bond book, 'Casino Royale'. Sounds like a good opportunity to me!
On the whole, I think this has been an OK year, but I definitely want 2013 to be better. A minimum of two books a months seems manageable, so I think I'll stick to that for the time being, but I must make sure the acquisitions stay under control too! I think I would like to read more classics in next year (I have my eye on 'Jane Eyre', 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' and 'Anna Karenina') and more non-fiction (I've got a few history books waiting for me). Although I don't want my love of historical fiction to take over, it would be great if I could finish at least one series of books. I'm part way through Jean Plaidy's Tudor novels, Bernard Cornwell's King Alfred books and Winston Graham's Poldark stories.
I sincerely hope that you've enjoyed reading my blog as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I always try to be honest and fair in my opinions and respectful of the authors whose work I read, which I hope comes across.
Until next time, I'd like to wish you all a very happy new year and the very best for 2013! I hope you'll join me again soon!
2012: The Year in Books
January
'A Night on the Moor' by R.Murray Gilchrist
March
'QI Book of General Ignorance'
'The Virgin's Lover' by Philippa Gregory
April
'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett
'The Psychopath Test' by Jon Ronson
May
'Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day' by Winifred Watson
'Weird Things Customers Say in Bookshops' by Jen Campbell
'Notes on a Scandal' by Zoe Heller
July
'Fragile Things' by Neil Gaiman
'The Great Gatsby' by F. Scott Fitzgerald
August
'The Somnambulist' by Essie Fox
'The Day of the Triffids' by John Wyndham
September
'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' by Rachel Joyce
'In-Flight Entertainment' by Helen Simpson
October
'Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures' by Emma Straub
'Bob Servant: Hero of Dundee' by Neil Forsythe
'Sword Song' by Bernard Cornwell
November
'How to be a Woman' by Caitlin Moran
'Legend of Sleepy Hollow' by Washington Irving
December
'Little Boy Lost' by Marghanita Laski
'The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ' by Philip Pullman
