I set out at the beginning of 2012 with a challenge: Read 5 books per month or at least 60 throughout the whole year. I wanted to read all kinds of different books that spanned through different genres and time periods.
I wound up reading 82 books. Everything from finishing up the Harry Potter series, to leadership, theology, and politics. Here’s a list photo representation of my “Finished” bookshelf after this year.
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Favorite Fiction Book of 2012
I really enjoyed Hologram for a King by Dave Eggers and The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. Both were fully engrossing to me. I would highly recommend them if you’re in the mood to get lost in a book for an afternoon.
For people looking for something on the funnier/slightly off-kilter side of life, Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander is a must-read as well.
Favorite Non-Fiction Book of 2012
I thought the David Foster Wallace biography Every Love Story is a Ghost Story by D.T. Max was pretty incredible. It’s a very thorough and intimate portrait of DFW in a way that you always can see lurking behind his writing, but has never quite been brought to light. I have a new appreciation for him after reading this. And a renewed sadness that he’s gone.
What were your favorite books of 2012? I’d love to add them to my list for the coming year! My goal for 2013 is to read 90 books. We’ll see how it goes.
Happy reading!
Cheers,
Eric
Eric Clapp 4.0 
You’d probably enjoy David Brooks’s The Social Animal. I know, I know–it’s David Brooks. But it’s not partisan/political and is one of the best books I’ve read, and perhaps the best this year.
I’ve often picked it up at Barnes & Noble. I don’t mind David Brooks. That book, particularly, looked like a great read. Consider it added to the list.
Eric-I’ve read several of those books! I loved “Let the Great World Spin”–I love books about the characters. If you like books like that too, then I would recommend “A Visit from the Goon Squad.” I also loved “In the Garden of Beasts.” I read that after we got back from Germany this summer and it gave a whole new light to what we saw and did in Berlin. I have “Made to Stick” and read parts of it–it’s good for teachers 🙂 You’ve got some other good ones on there too–I’m in a book club, and we’ve read several of those: Tinkers, Freedom, Train Dreams, and Let the Great World Spin. I just finished reading “The Warmth of Other Suns” and it was fabulous, so I would recommend that one! I’ve also got some good science-y trade books if you’re interested in moving that direction–nothing too heavy, I promise. I love that you’ve read so many books–you’ve inspired me to at least read more this year. Books are amazing! Oh, one more: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years–a great Donald Miller read, I think. It definitely challenged me. Hope you are well my friend, and Happy New Year!
Thanks for the recommendations, Lindsay! I have “A Visit from the Good Squad” on my Kindle. It’s in the list of upcoming books. And I bet going to Berlin would put “In the Garden…” in a new light. What a great book.
I’ll definitely take a look into “The Warmth of Other Suns”. And I LOVED “A Million Miles…” I’ll read anything Donald Miller writes. I love it. Keep in touch with any good books you read in the new year. Always looking to add more to the stack.
Wow, this really is amazing. So how did you do it? Any tips for wannabe avid readers?
Thanks, Craig. I try to read at least an hour per day. I use reading as rewards for getting a good amount of work done. It’s all really nerdy. But once I got my library card, I just try to read whenever I can.
Thanks for the tips. I use cruising the Internet in the same way, so one of my goals this year is to cut internet time down and add in an hour of reading. My other goal this year is to read 24 books. Thanks for the inspiration!