It all started with the Old Fashioned Book Lover's Swap I organized with my friend Susan on Craftster back in January. During that swap I became aware of a lot of interesting books that I wanted to read; I also found out about the website Goodreads, where I could keep track of what I have read, and write reviews to remind myself what I thought of those books! You can find my Goodreads profile HERE.
I read a lot of Stephen King this year--17 of the books I read were his. I like King's writing style and the way he develops his characters, and I became quite proficient at skimming over the more violent and/or gruesome passages! My favorites were Lisey's Story and 11/22/63.
One of the books I read was the one I received in the Book Lover's Swap: My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult. I enjoyed it enough to look for more by the same author, and unfortunately my next choice--Plain Truth--turned out to be one of the worst books I read. Do yourself a favor and skip that one. The other stinker that I had the misfortune of reading was A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb. This is a "young adult" novel that I chose after someone else in the swap claimed that it was her favorite book ever! It was really silly and strangely R-rated (the few other young adult novels I've read in the past were very chaste).
My favorite new author (new to me, anyway) is Wallace Stegner. I have read only one of his books so far (Crossing to Safety) and I love his writing style and the way he tells a story. I need to get my hands on more of his works.
Most of the books I read were physical books from the library, until I realized in November that I could check out some books electronically. Wow, what a cool revelation that was! I have an iPad and an iPhone (and I have a strong feeling that there will be a Kindle Paperwhite under the Christmas tree with my name on it), so I gave e-books a try, and I am so excited to be able to read on my e-device without having to buy the book (I'm cheap that way)! The best part is being able to read on my iPad at home, then, when I'm away from home and find myself with some time to fill, I can open the same book on my phone and it will take me to the spot where I stopped reading on the iPad! Technology is amazing!
I plan to continue reading with the same goal of 52 books in 2014. I'd love some recommendations--who's your favorite author?