Books and Authors I loved/discovered in 2012: Part Two

 
PART TWO

Authors I discovered and loved/series I devoured

1. Ally Carter. Oh man, how did I not read anything by Ally Carter before?! It was one of those cases where I was following the person on twitter long before I read anything by them, and when I found one in the library (the library has given me so many gems!) I devoured it. I adore the Gallagher Girls. So much. I love the characters. The setting. The humour. The plots. The writing. Ally Carter is just magical. I would have put this in the series section, but then I loved The Heist Society novels too. How could I not?

2. Stella Gibbons. Cold Comfort Farm had been on my to be read list for a LONG time. I finally read it last Christmas, and fell in love with this author. Over this year I have read many more of her novels, and I just love her humour and style.

3. Morgan Matson. I loved reading Amy and Rodger's Epic Detour earlier in the year, having heard a lot about it, it was great to finally read it, but Second Chance Summer which I read over the summer cemented Morgan Matson as one of my (many) new favourite authors. The prose and plot were beautiful and haunting, the characters I grew so attached to... just everything about this book was wonderful. I think I've raved about it before so I'll leave it there....

4. Diana Wynne Jones. I discovered Wynne Jones because of my children's literature course earlier in the year and it made me wonder why I'd never picked up one of her books before. Her books are magical and are just enchanting. I've devoured many of hers this year, and loved in particular Howl's Moving Castle and Charmed Life.


Series I devoured

1.Joss Stirling. Joss' books all fit together in the same story world so I figured it was a series. I love these books and these characters, and have eagerly read each one this year.I love the world she creates and the characters and these perfect little stories, that are kind of paranormal, but not quite, and it's so different and unusual I loved it.

2. Garth Nix. I read the Sabriel Triology over Easter when I should have been writing my dissertation and I loved them. I had heard of them before but never read them, and I stole them from my brother's bookcase. They were awesome!

3. Veronica Roth. The first two books in the Divergent series. These were books I heard a lot about, and so I read the first one, which was awesome and preordered the second I loved them so much. Awesome series!

4. Lauren Oliver. The Delirium series. I devoured the first two of this series in about 24 hours... seriously I found the first one in the library, thought I'd give it a go, and I was hooked. I couldn't put it down and unable to wait to get the next one, bought it for my kindle and read that one too... I can't wait for the last in the series. So good... and such horrible cliffhangers!


Books I should have read before and only did this year

1. The Hobbit. J R R Tolkein. I know, I know. Well, I finally read it in honour of the film coming out. And I loved it.

2. LOTR. J R R Tolkein. This is another of those epic books I have always thought I wanted to and should read, and it was only this summer I finally restarted it again and committed myself. I've never even seen the films (I've seen bits... I know....) so it really was an epic adventure for me. And it was awesome!

Rereads of the Year 

1. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. My favourite all time book. I reread this a month or so ago, having not done so for ages and I reread loads of du Maurier's for my dissertation but it was nice to return to this one. Haunting and beautiful as always.

2. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. You may remember me raving about this earlier in the year when I got to do a presentation on it. Well I loved rereading it as ever. Magical book.

 3. Anna And The French Kiss and Lola And The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins.These two books, especially Anna, have fast become some of my comfort reads and there's a very good reason why. I love revisiting these characters and their worlds, and it's so easy to become immeresed in that world. And I can't wait for the next one... which brings me onto my next blog post.

4. But first one last reread - Harry Potter. No year is complete without rereading a Harry Potter or two. Ultimate comfort reading when I'm down or need something familiar and comforting.

Phew!

That's it for now.

Planning to do a 'books I'm looking forward to in 2013' post, maybe in the week after Christmas.

Books and Authors I loved/discovered in 2012: Part One

I was thinking of posting a list of books I was excited about being released in the New Year and I was looking back through some old notebooks and thought why not post about some of the books I'd loved this year, and the authors I'd enjoyed reading and those I'd discovered? So here we go. (While some of these were published this year, many were not. And this is an edited selection of things I've read this year!)

PART ONE

Books I adored (and I read many of these authors for the first time and love them dearly now) 

1. The year started off with the release of The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. And oh man, what a good start to the year this was! It started as it meant to go on. Of course this book has been covered so much this year, but it deserved it. It was amazing, heartbreaking, heartwarming and perfect.

2. I have been gradually working my way through the beautiful and lovely novels by Sarah Dessen. One that I read this summer was The Truth about Forever and I fell in love, like you do when you read a Sarah Dessen. I could see why this book is so quoted on tumblr! I loved the characters, the set up, everything.

3. A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd, is one of those big books that I had heard a lot about, before I picked up a copy at the library. This was such a lovely but emotional read and I was glad I was able to read it. It was beautifully written, and so well constructed I just adored it.

4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Lani Taylor was another book I had heard a lot about, and so when I finally got it this summer I was delighted and instantly hooked. I was drawn into this world and these characters, and I'm hoping I get the sequel for Christmas!

5. The Book of Summers by Emilya Hall was a lovely summer novel which I devoured. The first one on this list which isn't a YA book, I know. I loved the rich setting and characterisation, and this was the perfect book to read on a lazy summer afternoon!

6. Another 'grown up book' as it were that I loved reading was The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown. I loved how this was about sisters and how all the threads tied together. It was a really enjoyable read and really explored family dynamics!

7. Julia Albain is one of my heroes, and so A Glamorously Unglamourous Life was a must read for me. I don't know why I hadn't read it until this year, but I read it with a coffee just before I graduated - the right time to read it I guess. It is such an inspiring little book, I felt instantly inspired and determined to go out and do!

8. Night School by C J Daugherty was one of those ones I stumbled upon and then wondered why on earth I had never come across this book before. The combination of fantastic characters, a boarding school in the middle of the countryside, intrigue and well what's not to like?

9. So one of the big events of the year, of course, was the publication of JK Rowling's first book for adults, The Casual Vacancy, and I was definitely one of those who was very excited and had to go buy it on the day it came out. I was not disappointed. Yes, it was different to Potter (of course it was) but her style is fantastic and I loved the way she creates characters and draws you into the world she creates. I have not one bad thing to say.

10. Unsaid Things, the Mcfly biography, the only non fiction book on this list, is another of those ones I couldn't wait for it to come out and had to order it, so I had it immediately. I spent an afternoon reading it and was emotionally drained afterwards. Felt like I had been waiting forever for this book to finally come out, and to learn all the secrets they'd been keeping, so this was amazing to read. My heart broke though.

11. Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater was one of those anticipated books and it didn't let down. I loved this book. It was wonderful, with fantastic characters and a plot which drew you in.

Phew!

Coming soon: Part Two - Authors I discovered and loved, series I devoured, books I should have read before, and rereads of the year.