Bookish list

In 2011 I read over 50 books. Mostly because I spent a month here and a month there house-sitting, etc. and had a lot of porches to sit on to soak up the sunshine and plenty of reading leisure.

In 2012 I got a "real" job and read just 34 1/2 of my Goodreads goal of 35 books.

A lot of the cut in books read had to do with the cut in my time to read and a lot of it had to do with the malaise I became enveloped in. Maybe even some of it had to do with the fact that not a lot of the books were really enjoyable. Many of the books I read were ones I owned and I wanted to read at least once before deciding to get rid of them. And, I assure you, after I'd read them I had no problem tossing them in the "get them out of here before someone thinks it's my favorite book" pile.

In any case I'll make a few recommendations and the rest of my books you can politely ignore. Or not politely because some of them deserve a round of raspberries.

Recommended:

Beauty: A Re-telling of the story of Beauty & the Beast - I wanted this book to go on and on, and while it really isn't at all like the Disney movie, I definitely noticed where Disney got some of their ideas (right down to the Beast's blue jacket).

Cinder - An amazing futuristic/spacey Cinderella adaptation. Thankfully this was just part one with part two expected next month - yay!

The Hunger Games - is this considered a bandwagon thing? I really liked this book. Is it still considered a bandwagon if I'd preferred it was a single book and not a series? The second was...okay but the third one was so incredibly depressing.

Honorable mentions:

Submerged - I wrote a review of this (as I'd received it for just that purpose) and while it was flawed, there was a lot I liked about it and I'm looking forward to reading the second book in the series.

Scarlet - this book doesn't have the best reviews but I enjoyed it. Possibly because I've always loved anything Robin Hood (and because I kept picturing Gisbourne as Richard Armitage's version).

Avoid at all costs:

Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind

What I imagined: a supressed woman frees herself from social confines and gives everyone a piece of her mind.

In actuality: nothing. I don't remember her speaking her mind and I don't remember a single interesting thing that happened. Biggest disappointment of my reading year? Possibly!

The Map of Time (SPOILERS)

Promised: H.G. Wells, time travel, Jack the Ripper.

In actuality: All of that and then at the end "just kidding!" I wanted to punch this book in the face.

The Secret History of the Pink Carnation

I ignored warnings that this book was terrible and I shouldn't have.

Promised: Scarlet Pimpernel type stuff but with women.

In actuality: a yawn-inducing series of meet-cutes between the same two couples ad nauseum.



For the upcoming year? I hesitate to make a list of "to-reads" like I have in the past since I don't seem to have as much time. However, I am thinking of buying a Kindle so I have easier access to some hard-to-get-out-here-in-the-sticks books and so I don't develop back problems lucking giant paperbacks around in my purse everywhere.

So I have two questions for you:

If you have an e-reader what kind of recommendations can you make for me? With differing versions I am having trouble knowing where to start.

And two: what books should I be reading in 2013?