Reading Goals: 2012 Recap

Posted January 16, 2013 by Holly in Miscellaneous | 2 Comments

I don’t participate in reading challenges. Like Rowena, I don’t want reading to feel like a chore. I do set reading goals, however. If I meet them, great. If not, well..whatever. I read for pleasure so it doesn’t matter.

I used to read a lot more than I do now. In years past I’d set a reading goal of 300 books and surpass it. Now I set a goal of 200 books and don’t meet it. That’s what getting married and having a baby does to a person. Screws up the reading mojo (though it is, of course, totally worth it..mostly).

In 2012 I set a personal reading goal on Goodreads of 200 books. I didn’t quite make it. I read 191, including re-reads. That includes only re-reads I read from cover-to-cover. If I included the books I just read pieces of the total would probably triple. I do a lot of skimming. That’s only 9 short of my goal, which isn’t too bad. It’s also entirely possible I met my goal, since I didn’t count books I re-read twice in the same month (and yes, I do that). *read-in-2012 ‎(141)

I re-read 49 books. Like I said, that doesn’t include books I re-read more than once in a month. *reread-in-2012 ‎(49)

My main goal in 2012 was to read more new-to-me authors. I’m a creature of habit and I have a hard time breaking out of my shell and trying new authors. I didn’t used to be this way, but over the last few years I’ve gotten lazy. I managed to try 32 new authors in 2012. That’s more than 2 a month. I’d say that’s pretty good. My plan is to continue that in 2013. *new-to-me-authors ‎(32)

I DNF‘d 3 books. The Healer’s Apprentice I plan to go back to at some point. I just wasn’t in the mood. The Darkest Day by Brit Bury is a book everyone seemed to love, but I found it implausible and silly. Eight Arms To Hold You With was just plain boring.

Here’s a recap of my year, sorted by month. The summaries are taken from our Monthly Reads posts. Links take you to my reviews, either here or at Goodreads.

January-2012 ‎(25)
My favorite reads of the month (aside from re-reads) were probably Wicked Games by Jill Myles, Captivated by Lauren Dane and The Duke’s Perfect Wife by Jennifer Ashley. Wicked Games is a light, fast-paced contemporary that I flew right through. The Duke’s Perfect Wife and Captivated are continuations of series I already love. An honorable mention goes to About That Night by Julie James. Kyle was everything I expected him to be.

My least favorite read was The Greek Tycoon’s Ultimatum. Talk about the quintessential alpha-hole/doormat romance. Kind of depressing since I generally adore Monroe’s novels.

February-2012 ‎(22)
My favorite reads of the month were the Patricia Briggs books. The Alpha and Omega novella is probably my favorite of the 3, but I also enjoyed the 2 full length novels. I’m so glad the third is coming out this month.

My least favorite was Rules of Engagement by Ann Bruce. Talk about a train-wreck. I live-tweeted while I was reading it, which caused certain authors who shall remain nameless (JoAnn Ross and Bree of the writing duo Moira Rogers) to coin the phrase Face-Punch Courtship, which may or may not be the next big thing in publishing (the hero punches the heroine in the face to knock her out, then handcuffs her to the bed..when she wakes up she decides sexy-times are in order. It was that bad.).

March-2012 ‎(20)
My favorite reads of the month were Fair Game by Patricia Briggs, the 3rd book in her Alpha and Omega series, Lucky in Love by Jill Shalvis, Moonshell Beach by JoAnn Ross and More Than One Night by Sarah Mayberry.

My least favorite read was The Rancher and the Rock Star by Lizbeth Selvig. The hero was a complete pushover and the heroine a judgmental know-it-all. Plus, the premise was just silly.

April-2012 ‎(16)
My favorite read of the month was Forever and a Day by Jill Shalvis (as an aside, I’ve been trying to write a full review for this since I read it in April, but all I keep coming up with is ZOMG READ IT NOW). It’s no secret that I love Shalvis, but this book is probably the best I’ve ever read by her. The combination of humor and emotion drew me in and left me feeling warm, fuzzy and and extremely satisfied when I finished the book.

My least favorite was Caught in the Act by Jill Sorenson. I liked the secondary plot with Maria, but the main characters and other secondary characters drove me up the wall. Rowena loved it, however, so it could just be my aversion to romantic suspense talking (though I doubt it).

May-2012 ‎(14)
My favorite reads of the month were the Briggs. I’m not going to try to choose a favorite title because I enjoyed them all.

My least favorite read was When She Wasn’t Looking by Dimon. I enjoy her writing, but I couldn’t get past some of the technical issues in regards to police procedure.

June-2012 ‎(11)
June was a really good month for me quality wise. My favorite reads were again the Briggs, but I also really enjoyed the Kilts and Kraken by Cindy Spencer Pape, Blade Song by J.C. Daniels and Slow Summer Kisses by Shannon Stacey contemporaries.

My least favorite read was Tucker’s Crossing. The premise was cute, but it wasn’t executed very well. The characters were wishy-washy and the writing inconsistent.

July-2012 ‎(10)
Even though I had a slow month, I had another good month quality wise. I adored Lord’s Fall by Thea Harrison and Riveted by Meljean Brook. Both are continuations of series I love. I also really enjoyed Within Reach by Sarah Mayberry and the A Girl Named Summer by Julie Garwood.

My least favorite read was Eight Arms to Hold You by Ally Blue. It’s an octopus shifter book, so I expected something kind of freaky and dirty. What I got was boring and slow. And not the good kind of slow. Total disappointment. I ended up stopping about halfway through.

August-2012 ‎(19)
I did another binge re-read of Linda Howard. I do this every so often. Howard is a master. I read one and I just can’t stop. Re-reads aside, I think my favorite read was The Notorious Countess Confesses by Julie Anne Long. Long writes such beautiful historicals.

My least favorite read was Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I actually enjoyed the first half of it, but the 2nd half went off the rails on a crazy train. It was bad.

September-2012 ‎(11)
My favorite reads of the month were Tart by Lauren Dane and Dream Lake by Lisa Kleypas. Since all I really did was re-read, I didn’t have a least favorite.

October-2012 ‎(12)
My favorite reads of the month were The Seduction of Elliot McBride by Jennifer Ashley and One Good Earl Deserves a Lover by Jennifer Ashley. Both were extremely well done. Not that I expected less from MacLean and Ashley. They’re both tremendous talents.

My least favorite read of the month was Heart of Danger by Lisa Marie Rice. That book was way over the top. And kind of a hot mess. Yikes.

November-2012 ‎(15)
Of the Kristen Ashley books I read, I’d have to say The Gamble and Sweet Dreams were my favorites.

My least favorites were Rock Chick and pretty much the entire Dream Man series. And..ok, kind of all of them were my least favorite. These books are…bad. And good. And terrible and awful. And wonderful. Srsly. (Send help)

December-2012 ‎(16)
My favorite read of the month was Games of the Heart by Kristen Ashley. Of The ‘Burg series, that’s the best one, IMO. I didn’t enjoy the other books nearly as much. Honorable mention goes to A Gift for All Seasons by Templeton. I love her stories.

My least favorite read was With Everything I Am by Kristen Ashley.