Where Ladybugs Roar

Confessions and Passions of a Compulsive Writer

Friday, June 29, 2012

Holy Smokes, Batman--Look How Much I've Read

So, today is day 181 so we're not quite half-way through the year, but I thought I'd mention some of my favorite books I've read this year. My goal is 366 titles read this year and I'm up to 197... I think. (Yeah, I'm a little ahead of the game, but there will be vacations and NaNoWriMo to account for.) And these are titles so some are shorter than others... it's still sort of amazing... even to me, but it is killing my writing goals. Le sigh. Anyway...

THESE AREN'T IN ORDER OF HOW MUCH I LIKE THEM. They're in order of when I picked their title off my read list. I can't possibly put them in order of how much I liked them. I also linked to my reviews on Amazon on some--and if you feel like marking my reviews as helpful--you know... whatever... I won't stop you. ; )

Okay, I'll go by genre... and since I'm an overachiever, I'll link you to their Amazon pages:

Top Five Books in Nonfiction:
1. Eat That Frog: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating by Brian Tracy
2. Save the Cat by Blake Snyder & Amazon Review
3. I Moved Your Cheese by Deepak Malhotra
4. Heroes: What They Do and Why We Need Them by Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals
5. F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers by Richard Benson 

Top Ten Books in YA:
1. Holes by Louis Sachar
2. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen & Amazon Review
3. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom & Amazon Review
4. Sophie & Carter by Chelsea Fine & Amazon Review
5. The Curse Girl by Kate Avery Ellison  & Amazon Review
6. A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket & Amazon Review
7. Classic Goosebumps #13: Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine
8. Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith & Amazon Review
9. Tentacles by Roland Smith 
10. Vordak the Incomprehensible: How to Grow Up and Rule the World by Vordak T. Incomprehensible  & Amazon Review

Top Five Titles in Classics 
1. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
2. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
3. Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
4. The Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allan Poe
5. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Top Five Books in General Fiction:
1. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn & Amazon Review
2. On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves
3. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card & Amazon Review
4. The Grimm Curse by Stephen Carpenter 
5. 1001 First Lines by Scarlett Archer & Amazon Review

Top Ten Books in Romance
1. The Disgraced Playboy by Caitlin Crews & Amazon Review
2. Believe It or Not by Tawna Fenske & Amazon Review
3. Try Me (Take a Chance) by Diane Alberts & Amazon Review
4. Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot
5. How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf by Molly Harper
6. Hearts In Darkness by Laura Kaye
7. Killing Time by Leslie Kelly
8. Wife for a Week by Kelly Hunter & Amazon Review
9. Marriage Made on Paper by Maisey Yates & Amazon Review
10. Fairy Tales Flirts by Lisa Scott

I know Ender's Game should really be in a separate category with other Sci-fi/Fantasy books but most of the ones I've read fit in other categories and I've got some on my TBR to read before the end of the year, so keep your pants on. My end of the year list will have more Sci-fi/Fantasy. (And, yes, my Classics list could have gone to 20 with just the Agatha Christie books I've read, but I think you got the point with the ones listed.)

There are quite a few that I really should do reviews on, but I just haven't gotten around to it.

Oh, wait, one final list:

Top Ten Books I've Read in 2012 and *Recommended* on Twitter and In Real Life:

1. Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
2. Save the Cat by Blake Snyder
3. The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen
4. Cryptid Hunters by Roland Smith
5. Hearts In Darkness by Laura Kaye (explicit content)
6. On The Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves (explicit content)
7. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
8. Sophie and Carter by Chelsea Fine
9. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
10. Fairy Tale Flirts by Lisa Scott

So, that's me... what are your favorite books you've read this year?