my year in books

This isn't an obligatory year-end post, I suck at those (as with most things) and would probably never do them ever. Or you know, would probably just do it later. If I feel like it, which I probably won't. Anyway, this is my 2012 in books. Voila. How exciting.

Ever year, I overestimate my reading capacity. And why wouldn't I think I can do impossible goals when I always start the year right? In 2011, for example, I read 5 books in January alone, but finished my 11th book on December. What the hell, I know. This didn't stop me from aiming for 30 books this year. I knooow, I kinda suck at this learning-from-your-mistake shit. Anyway, here's a quick rundown of this year's list:

Novels

1. Swift As Desire (Laura Esquivel)
2. A Long Way Down (Nick Hornby)
3. Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)
4. Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close (Jonathan Safran Foer)
5. Life Of Pi (Yann Martel)
6. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
7. Perks Of Being A Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
8. Chronicle Of A Death Foretold (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
9. Looking for Alaska (John Green)
10. A Visit from The Goon Squad (Jennifer Egan)
11. Her Fearful Symmetry (Audrey Niffeneger)
12. Book of Tomorrow (Cecelia Ahern)
13. Tender is the Night (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
14. Papertowns (John Green)
15. Fight Club (Chuck Palahniuk) 

Graphic Novels

1. Wolverine: Old Man Logan (Mark Millar)
2. Paul Moves Out (Michel Rabagliati)
3. Y: The Last Man Deluxe Book One (Brian Vaughan & Pia Guerra)

Short Stories

[not including the many bedtime stories I've read (and re-read) to my niece and nephews]

1.     A Perfect Day for Bananafish (JD Salinger)

2.     Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut (JD Salinger)

3.     Just Before the War with the Eskimos (JD Salinger)

4.     The Laughing Man (JD Salinger)

5.     Down at the Dinghy (JD Salinger)

6.     For Esmé – with Love and Squalor (JD Salinger)

7.     Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes (JD Salinger)

8.     De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period (JD Salinger)

9.     Teddy (JD Salinger)

10.  A Sound of Thunder (Ray Bradbury)

11.  A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)

12.  The Looking Glass (Anton Chekhov)

13.  The Nightingale and the Rose (Oscar Wilde)

14.  Man from the South (Roald Dahl)

15.  A Good Man is Hard to Find (Flannery O’Connor)

16.  The Second Bakery Attack (Haruki Murakami)

17.  The Use of Force (William Carlos Williams)

18.  The Rockinghorse Winner (D.H. Lawrence)

19.  The Yellow Wallpaper (Charlotte Perkins Gilman)

20.  The Nose (Nikolai Gogol)

21.  Gooseberries (Anton Chekhov)

22.  About Love (Anton Chekhov)

23.  A Lady’s Story (Anton Chekhov)

Sooo, yeah. I didn't quite hit the target. But I did try to finish the 20 best short stories of all time, and I read through the yellowed pages of Ehm's copy of Nine Stories (retitled:  For Esmé – with Love and Squalor). And believe it or not, I did try to read meaningful texts, such as Kafka's The Castle, Euginides' Middlesex, even some dissertations but alas, I ended up having Cecelia Ahern's Book of Tomorrow in the list instead of those. DO NOT JUDGE. I was in a very dark place. Hah. I've no excuse, I've completely lost appetite for long, complex reads since the move. I've made up for it in the surprising turnout of short stories in my list, but I'm kind of disappointed. Next year, I'll try to cutdown on the YA (which began with reading Perks, really), and try to go back to reading substantial texts, maybe a few classics, maybe a nonfiction, definitely a Murakami. But seeing as I won't be going to the library any time soon, I might delve into Nathan's shelf and finish his Roald Dahl collection. Just until I get myself a new book. 'til then, I'll be thinking whether I should actually set a goal this year.