It’s time for one of my favorite top 10 lists of the year: the best books I read in 2012. This year my reading varied widely in quality from the absolutely amazing to the frustrating and dull. That’s to be expected, of course; but fortunately, it was very easy for me to come up with 10 books that I really liked! Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Maggie Stiefvater, The Scorpio Races — Absolutely my favorite book of 2012, and maybe one of my favorite books of all time! The wild, strange setting of Thisbe enchanted me, and I loved the slow-burning romance between protagonists Sean and Puck.
2. Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity — My other favorite book of 2012. It’s either tied with The Scorpio Races or a very, very, very close second. It’s a wonderful WWII adventure story, as well as a portrait of the close relationship between two best friends. It’s also told in a unique and interesting way that packs a huge emotional punch.
3. Poul Anderson, The High Crusade — Good writing, a kick-ass premise, and unexpected character depth made this book a pleasure to read. I’m not big on aliens in general, but when they land on Earth in the middle of the Crusades, well, color me intrigued!
4. Jean Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs — An adorable book that is destined to become a lifelong comfort read. It’s sweet and old-fashioned and reminds me a lot of Anne of Green Gables.
5. Sarah Addison Allen, The Sugar Queen — A delicious book in more ways than one. Main character Josey comes out of her shell and finds true love amidst the lush, magical backdrop of a small North Carolina town.
6. Kathryn Miller Haines, The War Against Miss Winter — I really enjoyed this book’s unique approach to the World War II period. Rather than using the setting as a shortcut to manipulate the reader’s emotions (as I think some WWII books do), this book simply treats it as the grim everyday background of the characters’ lives. The novel also has a great twist ending!
7. Josephine Tey, Brat Farrar — Books set in English country houses are my not-so-guilty pleasure, and this novel has a wonderful setup The protagonist is a con man pretending to be the long-lost son of the family, but he soon finds himself changing in response to their kindness.
8. Jennifer Echols, Such a Rush — I really like Echols’ romantic dramas in general, but this is one of her best. I loved main character Leah and her passion for flying airplanes. She’s deeply flawed but strong as hell and determined to succeed in life. Also, the romance is wonderful, both sexy and sweet.
9. Rainbow Rowell, Attachments — This book is a delightful romantic comedy with old-fashioned flair. The love story is given a unique twist in that the hero falls in love with the heroine through reading her email conversations with her best friend, even though he’s never met her in person.
10. Helene Hanff, 84, Charing Cross Road — A must-read for every bibliophile! This collection of letters between the American Hanff and a reserved British bookseller is funny and witty and smart and charming and just amazing! It’s a real testament to literature and its ability to create lasting friendships.
You Book Me All Night Long 
Yay for The Sugar Queen! The War Against Miss Winter and Attachments sounds very interesting, am going to check them out 🙂 And 84, Charing Cross Road has been on my want-to-read list for soooooo looooong, lol, maybe I will finally check it out next year?
My TTT
Yay, hope you enjoy the books! I especially know you will like 84, Charing Cross Road. 🙂
I really enjoy Sarah Addison Allen’s books. I’m excited that another one of hers will be out in 2013.
Check Out My Top Ten – http://joriesreads.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/jories-top-ten-favorite-books-of-2012/
Me too! I still haven’t read The Girl Who Chased the Moon, either — I’m saving it for the perfect time!
Great list! We have Such a Rush in common, and I enjoyed The Scorpio Races too. Attachments is a recent read and it’s so sweet! I need to catch up with some of the other titles on your list, especially Code Name Verity.
Wasn’t Such a Rush great?! I’m excited for Echols’ 2013 releases…looks like her first adult romance is coming out in February!
I haven’t read any on your list,but I’ve read some Poul Anderson. Mostly I just wanted to say that I liked the name of your blog. 🙂
-Jay
Thanks, Jay! It amuses me as well. Any recommendations for more Poul Anderson? I’d like to read some more of his stuff.
Hmm… I think the book I read was Corridors of Time or something like that. Very interesting premise. I also read a few short stories in some big anthology that I’ve since discarded. I kind of like the old ‘classic age of sci-fi’ stuff. One of my TTT was of that category: “Earth Abides” Good stuff. 🙂
I’m not very conversant with sci fi. I have nothing against it; it’s just not something I’ve often gravitated towards. I’ll have to look up Earth Abides and see what it’s about!
I also loved Attachments, it’s the only book I read this year that I’ve already reread! I’ve been meaning to read The Scorpio Races and Code Name Verity, too… just neither is in a genre I read a lot, so I’ve been putting them off! Maybe next year!
I’d love to reread Attachments soon as well. I hope you like Scorpio and Verity when you get to them!
Awesome list – I loved The Scorpio Races too – it made my list of faves for the year also.
SO GOOD, right?!
I just wrote on another blog that I was surprised not to see Attachments, cute cute cute it was. It almost made my list.
Cute is the word! I want Rowell to write MORE THINGS, please!
I love the sound of Attachments and 84, Charing Cross Road. I don’t know that I’d heard of them before! The Scorpio Races also made my list. And yet another endorsement of Code Name Verity has me remembering to slip it into my suitcase for my Christmas expeditions. I have to read that one soon!
Love how varied your list was – refreshing 😉
Thanks! I’m pleasantly surprised that you called my list “varied,” because sometimes I think I read too many romance-based novels! But I guess I did include some sci fi and a couple of mysteries, so yay for me? Yes. 🙂
I guess I read so many romances I count different genres as varied! Ha. Seriously, I thought you had a bunch of really great picks – that came from different places 😉
Haha, sounds like a good way to do it! Diversity in reading is a good thing, but there’s also nothing wrong with knowing what you like!
I haven’t read any of these, but I’ve heard great things about The Scorpio Races and Code Name Verity. Great list! Thanks for sharing and stopping by. Oh–and I LOVE your blog name! How creative!
Rachel @ Beauty and the Bookshelf
Thanks, Rachel — I really like your blog name as well!