I’m not sure why I torture myself and pick a short list of favorites from the dozens of books that I read each year. Maybe it’s because I enjoy revisiting them and remembering a character or something particularly compelling about them. But I believe it’s primarily because great books need to be celebrated. Time and time again.
As always I didn’t get to dive into as many as I wanted and still have a sturdy pile of those I MUST read soon. Must meaning because they lure me with their sweet titles or promises of a journey into another world, another time or because they’ve come highly recommended and I’ve just not gotten to them yet.
To make a list of favorites, there has to be some criteria. For me, it’s fabulous writing, memorable characters, and the element of delight – unexpected twists, learning something new and fascinating, or ushering me into a story world that simply won’t let go. I’m drawn to character driven stories whether it be contemporary or historical and setting is crucial.
It’s been my pleasure to read a number of debut novels this year, some for endorsement. So I’ve added a category this year – Authors to watch.
Here are the Best of the Best for 2012 (NOTE: Some were published before this year, but I read them in 2012):
Authors to watch:
Joanne Bischof – Be Still My Soul
Kellie Gilbert – Mother of Pearl
Jennifer Fromke – A Familiar Shore
Courtney Walsh – Sweethaven Series
Best Historical Novels:
Man in the Blue Moon by Michael Morris (Should be in its own category of EXCELLENT Southern fiction!)
With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin
At Every Turn by Anne Mateer
Best Contemporary Novels:
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Beginner’s Goodbye by Anne Tyler (it’s always a good reading year when there’s a new Anne Tyler book!)
The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins
Novel of the Year:
This is a tie. I cannot choose one over the other.
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield. Hardscrabble life in 1950s Arkansas with a spunky seven-year-old heroine named Swan Lake. This book is populated with memorable characters (an oversized veteran with one leg named Toy, for example), and heroic acts in a tapestry of Southern grit woven with threads of justice, grace, and redemption. I found myself weeping one minute, laughing the next, and still thinking about it months after I read it.
The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns by Margaret Dilloway. I just finished this book which is quite different from The Homecoming of Samuel Lake, but just as memorable with characters that unfold and mature just as the roses which bind the characters and plot. Again, many tears (joyful tears!) and an ending that wasn’t tied up too neatly but was satisfying and resolute. I initially bought the book because I’m writing a story that has roses as a touching point in the plot and thought it would add to my understanding of growing and tending roses (it was most enlightening in that!). What I didn’t know was that it was about a woman who is waiting to be on the kidney transplant list. I have a close family member in a similar circumstance so it became a very personal story to me. Margaret’s novel is touching and real with characters who work through their flaws. I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.
So there you have it. Twelve of my favorite novels this year. Have you read any of these? What was your favorite book this year? Any that you’re looking forward to in 2013? Chat away . . . .