List the Books You Read in 2012, and Rate Them

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Ok, so this is just a continuation of the "List the book you read in a year" thread. It's not really a contest, just a list to share with others.

I'm hoping to top last years's number of 54.

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

[Charles Darnay]

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.

Careful with that - Oryx is not representative of her other work. I really enjoyed it but have hated everything else I read by her (don't ask why I kept reading her stuff). That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.

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My 2012 is beginning with two fairly large books. First in Tale of Genji (which is being discussed elsewhere on this forum so I will leave it at that. Second is Mark Helprin's "Soldier of the Great War". I'm about halfway through and it is fantastic. I read his "Winter Tale" a few years back and aside from the ending I loved it. Whereas "Winter's Tale" was huge in its scope and the focus was more on the scenery and description than character, "Soldier" has a wonderful central character who's exploits are well-written and very fun.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Careful with that - Oryx is not representative of her other work. I really enjoyed it but have hated everything else I read by her (don't ask why I kept reading her stuff). That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Interesting. Makes me want to read her other stuff even more, haha.

[Charles Darnay]

Interesting. Makes me want to read her other stuff even more, haha.

Fine, but if you read "Handmaids' Tale" and hate it, you brought it upon yourself.

[tonywalt]

I have taken a few days off and I am almost finished Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968-2000 (2009).

Very good book.

[mona amon]

Careful with that - Oryx is not representative of her other work. I really enjoyed it but have hated everything else I read by her (don't ask why I kept reading her stuff). That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.

As for me, I didn't like Oryx and Crake as much as Alias Grace, The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin. My favourite is Cat's Eye which I thought was really very good.

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First book of 2012 - Charlotte Bronte's Shirley. Not her best, but still the work of a genius. 8/10

[Delarge]

1. 1Q84 (book 1) by Haruki Murakami -- 7/10. I think the trilogy can go in any direction from here. Might become one of his finest or one of his worst. I am looking forward to reading the second.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Note: My ratings are based mostly on enjoyment of the text.

1. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood -- 9/10. 2012 is off to a good start. This book was excellent. A compelling story that really kept me turning the pages. I loved the back and forth timeline; it was brilliantly utilized. Ths was my first Atwood book, and I'm looking forward to reading more from her.
2. Dubliners by James Joyce -- 7/10. If it wasn't by James Joyce and I didn't feel an overwhelming need to have liked it more than I did, it would have probably received a lower rating. I'm just not a huge fan of "slice of life" stories, now matter how beautifully written (and, honestly, I was expecting more in that department). I did find some of the stories charming, though, and the last paragraph of "The Dead" was particularly brilliant.

[JuniperWoolf]

That being said, I have heard good things about "Year of the Flood" which is more in line with "Oryx" - I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Year of the Flood was very good. It had this crazy nature-based religious group, it was really a great commentary on the whole "green" movement that's been gathering so much speed in the last few decades. It's also a part of the Oryx and Crake story, it doesn't pick up where it left off but it tells the story from outside the dome and then in the end scene it tells you what Snowman decides to do with the people that he finds (and it also tells you who those people are) so it picks up where O&C left off, but only for a very short while.

1. The Phantom of the Opera - 7.5/10
Pretty decent, I like how extremely French it was. I loved The Persian, and it did a really good job exploring the importance of physical appearance. If Eric didn't look like a walking corpse, he would have been on par with the greatest geniuses who had ever lived. Also, the whole house by a lake in a cave under the Paris opera house thing was pretty cool. Great visuals.

[Delarge]

1. 1Q84 (book 1) by Haruki Murakami -- 7/10. I think the trilogy can go in any direction from here. Might become one of his finest or one of his worst. I am looking forward to reading the second.

2. 1Q84 (book 2) by Haruki Murakami -- 8/10. Really a good follow-up from the first book. The pace has quickened and the story is getting more and more weird in a very Murakamian way. Now I cannot wait for the last book to get translated into Danish.

[Scheherazade]

1. The Giver by Lois Lowry 6/10. Somewhat mixed feelings. Trying to keep in mind that it is a YA book but still found the writing pedantic and somewhat forced. Thought-provoking storyline for children.

2. The Collector by Fowles - 10/10 - A breath-taking book, a page-turner, thought-provoking. I am very happy to see that, after 25 years, the book still affects me in the same manner; even more so because I feel I have been able to appreciate some aspects of the book more this time round. And my belief that Fowles is one of the best writers of the 20th century has been confirmed once again.

3. The Sheltering Sky by Bowles - 6/10 - Even though it is a well-written book that keeps you reading, I am left with "blah" feeling when I finished it. What was the point? By now, I know that I am not keen these Americans-in-search-of-self-through-journey type of books and this one will just go into that pile for me.

4. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene - 8/10 Humorous and interesting. Very much enjoyed this one. Regret not having read his books any sooner.

5. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson 9/10 - A fantastic story written in first person. It contains heavy sections on religious (Christian) issues but still the author manages to make it about the human nature and condition. Hard to put down.

6. March by Geraldine Brooks 8/10 - Another first-person narrative and an interesting take on what happens to the father of March girls (Little Women) when he leaves his family behind to join the war.

7. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett - 8/10 - Hard to put down, absurd, heart-warming and tragic.

8. Advise and Consent by Allen Drury -7/10 - A political thriller from 1950s. It is amazing to see that things hardly ever changes where politics is concerned.

9. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk - 8/10 - A murder mystery taking place in 16th century Istanbul where Turks are struggling to come to terms with their relationship with the Western world.

10. The Winter of Our Discontent by Steinbeck - 10/10 -Wonderful.

11. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson 8/10 - Story of two sisters and their growth from childhood to womanhood in the care of various female relatives. Very good descriptive passages.

12. Cannery Row by Steinbeck 10/10 Marvelous characters, marvelous narration.

13. Look Back in Anger by John Osborne - 9/10 Powerful, shocking and angry.

14. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - 6/10 It started as a promising historical novel with some elements of fantasy thrown in but quickly deteriorated into a predictable cliche. Rather disappointing.

15. Blindness by Saramago 9/10 Phew. Simply could not put it down, feeling disgusted with humanity and falling in love with it all the same. Marvelous writing (albeit a little hard to get used to) and, thankfully, good translation.

16. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard - 9/10 An excellent play rich with word plays and wit.

17. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - 9/10 As always Gaiman manages to lure you into the story with his great style of narrative and turns the story into a page turner.

18. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R King - 7/10 An interesting sequel to Sherlock Holmes stories. Entertaining page turner.

19. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes -8/10 Uncomplicated, solid writing enriched with a compelling storyline. I was disappointed with the ending as it felt very predictably unpredictable.

20. A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan 7/10 An interesting structure, stories being told from different perspectives, expanding on a time period of many decades in the lives of semi-celebrities and the circles they move. I did not feel moved enough to care but I enjoyed the writing style very much.

21. The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington 7/10 A quick read with a very predictable and dramatic story line.

22. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier 8/10 Another enjoyable, page-turner from Du Maurier. And a great ending.

23. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 10/10 Marquez's style is perfect. My only problem with this book is not being able to read it in its original.

24. Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner 7/10 Even though I quite enjoyed her writing style, I felt that the story was behind the times. The ending left me quite disappointed.

25. Daisy Miller by Henry James - 8/10Great introduction to James and touching story.

26. The Importance of Being Earnest by Wilde 10/10 Quirky, witty and cynical. Keeps getting better and better each time I read.

27. The Sportwriter by Richard Ford - 6/10 Good writing style with a boring storyline.

28. On Beauty by Zadie Smith - 8/10 Two black families dedicated two different approaches to life, religion and politics and how their lives touch each other. Smith writes with ease, detailed without being stuffy or forced. Well worth the time!

29. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece by Annabel Pitcher - 6/10 Story of a 10-year-old boy who tries to come to terms with the death of a sister who's killed in a terrorist attack and the divorce of his parents following her death. Most issues oversimplified and sugarcoated. Cannot help but wonder whether it is one of those books that were written at the right time and place to be popular.

30. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - 8/10 Another children's book that deals with death but in a more honest, open and realistic way. The book is enriched with the illustrations.

31. Howards End by EM Forster - 8/10 Read it again after a while and have to admit it felt even better this time round.

32. Love in the Cold Climate by Nancy Mitford - 5/10 What promised to be an engaging, quirky book turned into a disappointing blah.

33. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton - 6/10 Another re-read. Not sure why I don't like this book but the whole "aww, poor things" does not do it for me. Considering how much I enjoy Wharton's style, it is a surprise.

[Paulclem]

1. The Departure by Neal Asher. A solid sci fi about an overcrowded dystopian earth that has become ruled by a world government - with frequent references to the Eurozone - which has decided to annihilate a large portion of the billions who would die anyway. Our hero, Adam Saul, has developed an organic interface to computers and implanted it in his brain in order to overcome the military backed bureacracy. Pacy beginning to a new series. 7/10

[OrphanPip]

Aphra Behn - History of the Nun - 6/10, I get a lot of enjoyment out of how ridiculous early prose stories can be.
Aphra Behn - The Fair Jilt - 7/10. This one is more ridiculous than the other, and thus better in my book.
Eliza Haywood - Love in Excess - 6/10. Not big on amatory fiction really, but this is one of the 3 best selling novels of the 18th century.
Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist - 9/10. Not really one of Dickens' best, but it's one of his funnier novels, and who can forget Fagin, Mr. Bumble, or Sikes.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

When were this first two you listed written, Pip?

[Drkshadow03]

Just 1 so far.

1) The Best Short Stories by Guy De Mauppasaunt (Wordsworth Classics edition): Soooo good! I can't believe I haven't read any of his work before. (blog has more in depth reactions).

I started The Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickens, which I was really liking, but stopped to read Don Juan. I'm on Canto 4 of Don Juan by Lord Byron, which is very hit-or-miss for me so far.