I read a lot. At least one book a week. This sounds like a lot but at least it’s less than the summer after sixth grade when I burned through the entire Fear Street series by R.L Stine (52 books) in less than a month.

Here are my favorite books that I read in 2012 in no particular order (this does not mean that the books were published in 2012). I also put some quotes I like from the books:

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed: This is a collection of advice columns that were published anonymously (before Cheryl Strayed outed herself as the author) on The Rumpus. Every single situation made me think of myself or someone I know. It was almost creepy. Such a feel-good and empowering book. Every human should read it. “Don’t surrender all your joy for an idea you used to have about yourself that isn’t true anymore.”  And “The best thing you can possibly do with your life is to tackle the motherfucking shit out of it.” You know what? The whole book is like these quotes, and it’s great so read it.
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: Memoir of an amazing woman with a messed-up childhood. Like tragically messed-up. It made me realize what a baby I am and wonder if I could survive the things that she did. “One thing about whoring: It put a chicken on the table.”
The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach: Wisconsin college setting? Cool characters? Baseball? All awesome things. “A soul isn’t something a person is born with but something that must be built, by effort and error, study and love.”
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein: The story of a family told from the dog’s point of view. I was warned about how sad the ending was…and I still cried. “To separate oneself from the burden, the angst, the anguish that we all encounter everyday. To say I am alive, I am wonderful, I am. I am. That is something to aspire to.”
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: Great mystery with a scary marriage story, the ending made me angry but I came to terms with it. “It’s humbling, to become the very thing you once mocked.”
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: The story of two teenagers with cancer. And it’s really funny. I wish I wrote great sentences like the ones in this book. “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.” (EXACTLY how I feel about Tiny Beautiful Things) And “You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world…but you do have some say in who hurts you. I like my choices.”
A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan: I enjoyed the pop culture references and the predicting of the future. “If I had a view like this to look down on every day, I would have the energy and inspiration to conquer the world. The trouble is, when you most need such a view, no one gives it to you.”
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters: Fictional Hollywood tales and the sweetest elderly couple ever. Plus, there is a character named Alvis Bender and I like that. “All we have is the story we tell. Everything we do, every decision we make, our strength, weakness, motivation, history, and character-what we believe-none of it is real; it’s all part of the story we tell. But here’s the thing: it’s our goddamned story!”
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese: Twin brothers and the world of medicine intersect in this giant novel that kept me so interested I read all 550 pages in two days.“Wasn’t that the definition of home? Not where you are from, but where you are wanted?”
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb: Without hesitation, this is my all time favorite book. I re-read it once a year and as usual, the 2012 reading did not disappoint. “What are our stories if not the mirrors we hold up to our fears?”

I keep track of books using GoodReads.com which is like a Netflix for readers. I don’t adhere to their rating standard of only giving five stars to “amazing” books – I love almost every book so I can’t be trusted to give an objective opinion.