Ringing Out the Old~My Book Awards of 2012 and New for 2013

 

It's the end of the year and time for me to choose the favorites of the books I've read this year.  I actually read more than I was able to review for you here, but I'm going to

keep the selection to ones you'll find reviewed on the blog, and which you can search for on my sidebar to the left or under the large picture topics above.

 

I hope you've enjoyed the reviews throughout the year.  I've appreciated your comments so much.

 

These are my favorite books...

 

For general fiction/suspense:  "The Exceptions" was fantastic.  David Cristofano is a genius of a writer getting into the psychology of his characters, and tapping into their hearts, as well.  I just loved this book which I couldn't put down.  If you have one book to read that both men and women would love to read, this is the one.  Ages 20 ~ adults of all ages.

 

For Historical Fiction hands down it was "Bring Up the Bodies."  As I said in my review, I was skeptical because "Wolf Hall" had already won the Man Booker Prize and then this one was up for it

as well.  But Hilary Mantel is a fabulous author who can take you into the life and

times of Henry VIII and his court.  This is a not to be missed book/series.

 

Without exception my favorite "back in the stacks" audiobook.  "The Lace Reader" is a tale

of love and mystery with a psychological foundation that will tear at your heart.

Please take time to read my review on this one.

It's so well worth the time to listen.

A classic in general fiction and somewhat a contemporary twist on Salem, MA and witches.

 

The very best in new authors, Jillian Medoft's "I Couldn't Love You More" is a stand out novel

about a step-mother who one day turned her back for a moment in time

and that changed life for her and her new family forever.

Rich in details about the struggles of being a

step-mother, this is a wonderful book.  I'm dying to read Jillian's next contribution!!

Please read this review and find a copy of this book, soon.  I think you'll love it.

It's literature, not fluff.

 

 

 

 

 

I loved this book.  Which I consider to be under the category of Women's Fiction.

The story of a feminist, abolutionist-minded wife during the Civil War who is institutionalized

by her husband for her free-thinking.  This is a book that shakes you up and stirs the emotions.

I loved it, and hope to read more from Kathy Hepinstall in the future.

 

 

This book tore at my psyche and emotions.  It takes place in the backyard/next town from where I raised my own children, and tells the story of a teenager in dire trouble with the law.  His parent's angst is so real it weighs on the reader!  A reading experience I will never forget.  I love this book

and highly recommend it.

 

 

 

BEST VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR GROUP:

 

HISTORICAL FICTION VIRTUAL BOOK TOURS

here is the link to their site:  http://hfvirtualbooktours.com

 

 

 

 

BOOKS  I DIDN'T GET TO BUT WILL SOON (Written in 2012):

 

1.   Gone Girl

2.  Tilt

3.  The Art Forger

4.  The House of Velvet and Glass

5.  Where'd You Go Bernadette

5.  The Middlesteins

6.  The Age of Miracles

7.  Tell the Wolves I'm Gone

8.  Several YA Novels

9.  Blackberry Winter

 

 

BOOKS I'M OPENING 2013 WITH:

 

 

"

"Happiness at someone else's expense came at a price. Tia had imagined judgment from the first kiss that she and Nathan shared. All year, she'd waited to be punished for being in love, and in truth, she believed that whatever consequences came her way would be deserved.""Five years ago, Tia fell into obsessive love with a man she could never have. Married, and the father of two boys, Nathan was unavailable in every way. When she became pregnant, he disappeared, and she gave up her baby for adoption. Five years ago, Caroline, a dedicated pathologist, reluctantly adopted a baby to please her husband. She prayed her misgivings would disappear; instead, she's questioning whether she's cut out for the role of wife and mother. Five years ago, Juliette considered her life ideal: she had a solid marriage, two beautiful young sons, and a thriving business. Then she discovered Nathan's affair. He promised he'd never stray again, and she trusted him. But when Juliette intercepts a letter to her husband from Tia that contains pictures of a child with a deep resemblance to her husband, her world crumbles once more. How could Nathan deny his daughter? And if he's kept this a secret from her, what else is he hiding? Desperate for the truth, Juliette goes in search of the little girl. And before long, the three women and Nathan are on a collision course with consequences that none of them could have predicted. Riveting and arresting, "The Comfort of Lies "explores the collateral damage of infidelity and the dark, private struggles many of us experience but rarely reveal.

 

 

"Perfect for fans of Debbie Macomber, Kristin Hannah, Beth Hoffman, and Kate Jacobs, this luminous novel from the author of "Friendship Bread "follows""a group of fascinating women who form deep friendships through their love of scrapbooking--as memories are preserved, dreams are shared, and surprising truths are revealed. Welcome to Avalon, Illinois, Pop. 4,243 At Madeline's Tea Salon, the cozy hub of the Avalon community, local residents scrapbook their memories and make new ones."

 

 

No official summary has been made of this book, but it is said to be another one of Ms Oates "gothic" inspired novels.  Anyone who knows me knows she's my very favorite author.  I'd read her dinner napkin notes!!

 

 

"A brilliant, unforgettable, and long-awaited novel from bestselling author Ruth Ozeki "A time being is someone who lives in time, and that means you, and me, and every one of us who is, or was, or ever will be." In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there's only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates' bullying. But before she ends it all, Nao first plans to document the life of her great grandmother, a Buddhist nun who's lived more than a century. A diary is Nao's only solace--and will touch lives in ways she can scarcely imagine. Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox--possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao's drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future. Full of Ozeki's signature humor and deeply engaged with the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth, "A Tale for the Time Being" is a brilliantly inventive, beguiling story of our shared humanity and the search for home."

---

AND NOW PLEASE

 

SHARE WITH US

 

WHAT YOUR FAVORITES ARE

 

AND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO READING

 

 

IN 2013!!!

 

 

 

Happy New Year

 

 

Deborah/TheBookishDame

 

 

 

and thanks for reading with me in 2012