2012 RECAP

Shortly, 2012 will be a memory, so it's time to look back at the books of 2012 and recap how those books were appreciated(?).

January: 2 pre-owned : 4 borrowed : 0 ARC  - 6 books.
Best of the Month: Crunch Time

February: 5 pre-owned: 6 borrowed: 1 new: 1 ARC - 13 books.
Best of the Month:  Trick of the Light and Forgotten Garden
The worst of the month - Great Expectations

March: 4 pre-owned: 5 borrowed: 2 new: 2 ARC  - 13 books.
Best of the Month:  Diva runs out of Thyme just barely squeaked by Affairs of Steak
Least Favorite of the Month:  Remains to be Scene

April: 4 pre-owned: 9 borrowed: 0 new: 2 ARC  - 15 books.
Best of the Month:  Hunger Games
Least Favorite of the Month:  Elegance of the Hedgehog

May: 0 pre-owned:8 borrowed: 0 new: 1 ARC - 9 books.
Best of the Month: Grant
The worst of the month - Burn
 
June: 2 pre-owned: 6 borrowed: 1 new: 0 ARC - 9 books.
Best of the Month: Sprinkle with Murder
The worst of the month - Rutherford B. Hayes
 
JULY: 1 pre-owned: 8 borrowed: 0 new: 2 ARC  - 11 books.
Best of the Month:  True Justice 
The worst of the month - The Colfax massacre
  
August: 4 pre-owned: 3 borrowed: 1 new: 4 ARC  - 12 books.
Best of the Month:  Organize Your Corpses
The worst of the month - Winter Palace
  
September:  4 pre-owned: 5 borrowed: 2 new: 1 ARC  - 12 books.
Best of the Month:  Cleopatra: A Life
The worst of the month - From the tow-path to the White House
  
October:  2 pre-owned: 4 borrowed: 0 new: 4 ARC  - 9 books.
Best of the Month:  Princess Elizabeth's Spy  
The worst of the month - Frozen Thames
 
November:  5 pre-owned: 6 borrowed: 0 new: 0 ARC  - 11 books.
Best of the Month:  Empires of Light  
The worst of the month - Rumpole Misbehaves
  
December: 2  pre-owned: 4 borrowed: 4 new: 2 ARC  - 12 books.
Best of the Month:  Orchid Murder  
The worst of the month - 500 Appetizers  


Favorites of 2012:
Grant
Trick of the Light
Forgotten Garden - Best of the 2012
Hunger Games
Diva Runs out of Time
Cleopatra: A Life
Queen Elizabeth's Spy
The Inn at Rose Harbor: A Novel
Destiny of the Republic
Orchid Murder

Rutherford Birchard Hayes: The Life and Death of Rutherford B. Hayes Worst of 2012


Yearly total
Books Read - Owned  64 (Pages: 21,654)
Books Read - Borrowed 24  (Pages: 7,530)
Audio Books heard - 45 (Pages:17,959     492¼hours)

Total Completed
49 books, 45 audio books,  39 e-books -  47,143 pages
114 fiction; 19 nonfiction
10 New books
81 Pre-Owned
27 borrowed (library and friends/family)
15 for review - 7 ARCs/8 ERs

Challenge progress
75 book Challenge   133/75
12 in 12 Challenge  completed  with only 11 overlaps of 32 allowed
50 State Challenge   41/51 + DC
Endless European Challenge    16/49
96/80  BOMBS

New Books acquired
 37 Books purchased  - $180  (Tim - 2/$30)  - 10 READ
 25 Books won (ER, ARC, GIVEAWAYS, Netgalleys) in 2012 - 15 READ
106 Books received for no cost

29 new ARDs - 15 read
139 new e-books - 10 read.....................28 on top of selection list for 2013


So to all who have visited and shared my ramblings in 2012,

The Christmas Dog by Melody Carlson

 ★★★

GENRE: fiction
SUBJECT: forgiveness, neighbors

CHARACTERS: Betty, Avery, Jack
DATE READ: December 29 - December 30
NO. OF PAGES: 133
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   Yes,Nook stockpile
CATEGORY: Class Schedule

PLOT: 3.5
CHARACTERIZATION: 3
TOPICS: 3
STYLE: 3
ORIGINALITY: 2.5
ADDICTIVENESS: 3
OWNERSHIP: 3
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 2.5
Average 2.94

Betty is an elderly widow, living in the same neighborhood for years, but things are changing.  Old friends are dying or moving away and new neighbors are not very neighborly.  Add to that a stray dog that frequents her backyard and her favorite dogwood, and Betty is not happy.

Enter Betty's missing granddaughter and you have the scenario of a young woman making friends with the nasty neighbor and also falling for the stray dog.

It was entertaining but not very emotion grabbing.  Just a cute story.

The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darian Gee

  ★★★¾

GENRE: fiction
SUBJECT: memories
SETTING: Avalon, IL
CHARACTERS: Bettie Shelton, Yvonne Tate, Isabel Kidd
DATE READ: December 20 - December 26
NO. OF PAGES: 405
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   Yes,ER
CATEGORY: Lunch

PLOT:.......................................3.5
CHARACTERIZATION:................3
TOPICS:....................................2.5
STYLE:......................................3
ORIGINALITY:............................2.5
ADDICTIVENESS:......................3
OWNERSHIP:............................3
THRESHOLD QUALITY:...............2.5
Average.......................................................2.88

Bettie Shelton, president of the Avalon Scrapbooking Society, takes an interest in everyone's life in Avalon IL.  She will order people who are not interested in participating in scrapbooking to come to meetings, host meetings, pick up supplies.

Other characters in this novel, are somewhat one dimensional or placed in the scenario for a specific purpose.  The Tea shop which hosts several events has an owner and manager that also kowtow to Bettie's demands while at the same time as they are handling their own emotional issues.  But Bettie is the central character who supposedly ties everyone together but the connection often falls short.

When I started this book I saw many similarities between this book and Laura Childs Tea Shoppe mysteries and Scrapbooking mysteries.  However, the comparison is not favorable to ALSS.  There is no flow that takes the reader from one character's tale and back again even though Bettie is the link.  The relationships appear very disjointed and contrived.

A Christmas Visitor by Anne Perry

 ★★★

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: honor, fraud, forgery
SETTING: England, UK
CHARACTERS: Henry Rathbone
DATE READ: December 13 - December 20
NO. OF PAGES: 192
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   no, OD Public Library
CATEGORY: Foreign Languages

PLOT:...................................................3.5
CHARACTERIZATION:............................3
TOPICS:...............................................3
STYLE:..................................................3.5
ORIGINALITY:.......................................3
ADDICTIVENESS:..................................3
OWNERSHIP:.......................................3
THRESHOLD QUALITY:..........................3
Average...........................................................................3.13

Another of Anne Perry's Christmas novellas centers around Henry Rathbone's efforts to clear the name of his friend Judah Dreghorn, who has died suddenly in what appears to be an accident but is discovered to be murder.

This was an interesting rendition of a postmortem revelation of a character who has done wrong but without knowledge of the injustice until the very end.

The Christmas Star by Ace Collins

  ★★★¼

GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: youthful rebellion, heroes
SETTING: Ash Flat AR
CHARACTERS: Jimmy Reed, Marge Reed, Robert Reed, Calvin Jenkins
DATE READ: December 18 - December 19
NO. OF PAGES: 228
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   yes, ARC
CATEGORY: Homework

PLOT:................................3.5
CHARACTERIZATION:.........3.5
TOPICS:.............................3.5
STYLE:...............................3.5
ORIGINALITY:....................2.5
ADDICTIVENESS:...............3
OWNERSHIP:.....................3
THRESHOLD QUALITY:........2.5
Average..............................................3.13

Jimmy Reed is angry, his father, during the war died while earning the Congressional Medal of Honor, and now his mother wants to remind him by hanging the medal on the tree as the star.

But Jimmy is in a rebellious strange that is getting him into a bunch of trouble - trouble that residents in town see as tarnishing his father's memory.

As Jimmy learns more and more about his father, he realizes that he needs to make changes and take responsibility for his actions.

This book has fell good mood to it - just right for the holidays.

A Christmas Odyssey by Anne Perry

 ★★★¼

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: redemption, prodigal's return, searching
SETTING: London, England, UK
CHARACTERS: Henry Rathbone, Squeaky Robinson Dr. Crow, Lucien Wentworth
DATE READ: December 15 - December 17
NO. OF PAGES: 208
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   No, Public Library
CATEGORY: Extra curricular activities

PLOT: 3.5
CHARACTERIZATION: 3.5
TOPICS: 3.5
STYLE: 3.5
ORIGINALITY: 3
ADDICTIVENESS: 4
OWNERSHIP: 3.5
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 3.5
Average 3.50

Henry Rathbone is entreated by a friend to find his son,Lucien, who has fallen into depravity and is lost in the dregs of London.  With help from acquaintances of his own son, Henry dives into the London underground for his quest.

The adventures of all lead to an expected conclusion but still satisfactory.

A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry

14th Overlap replacement

 ★★★

GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: friendship, drug trade
SETTING: London, England, UK
CHARACTERS: Gracie Phipps, Minnie Maude Mudway, Mr. Balthasar,
DATE READ: December 10 - December 14
NO. OF PAGES: 208
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   No, Public Library
CATEGORY: Extra curricular activities

PLOT: 3
CHARACTERIZATION: 3
TOPICS: 3
STYLE: 3.5
ORIGINALITY: 3
ADDICTIVENESS: 3
OWNERSHIP: 3
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 3
Average 3.1

Gracie Phipps, a young girl living in the poorer section of London befriends an 8 year old who is  wandering the streets searching for her lost donkey. The child fears that her donkey will not find his way home and that she must track him down.

Their adventures take them into the seedier parts of the city but throughout the friendship forged between the two young girls aids them to their unusual conclusion.

The Aluminum Christmas Tree: A Novel by Thomas Davis

★★★¾

GENRE: Fiction
SUBJECT: memories
SETTING: South, USA
CHARACTERS: Mildred Jackson, Jim Jackson, Caleb Smith, Joyce Smith
DATE READ: December 11 - December 13
NO. OF PAGES: 228
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   Yes,Gift from a friend
CATEGORY: Lunch

PLOT: 3.5     CHARACTERIZATION: 3     TOPICS: 3     ORIGINALITY: 3 STYLE: 3        ADDICTIVENESS: 3             OWNERSHIP: 3.5
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 3
Average 3.13

Mildred Jackson is preparing to move out of the home that she shared with her late husband Jim, and the packing brings a whole set of memories, both good and bad flooding to the surface topped off by the Aluminum Christmas Tree.

So many of us sit and reminisce around the holidays, so what better trigger for those memories than a specific Christmas tree.  The story that was told in this book was of a couple who battled through hard times and shared those as well as the good.

I want to thank my friend Linda for sending this book to me.  One that may become a perennial favorite.

Being Santa Claus: What I Learned about the True Meaning of Christmas by Sal Lizard

	★★★½
GENRE:	Memoir
SUBJECT:	Professional Santas
SETTING:	USA
CHARACTERS:	Santa
DATE READ:	December 10 - December 11
NO. OF PAGES:	228
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:	no, Nook purchase 2012
CATEGORY:	Class Schedule

PLOT:.....................................3
CHARACTERIZATION:.............4
TOPICS:.................................4
STYLE:...................................4
ORIGINALITY:.........................3.5
ADDICTIVENESS:...................4
OWNERSHIP:.........................3.5
THRESHOLD QUALITY:...........2.5

Average..................................3.56

The holidays are here and getting into the spirit means that what better book could be read than the memoirs of "Santa".
This was a lighthearted and heartwarming story of how one man who had the natural appearance of Santa Claus took on the job and the persona of the jolly man himself.  Loads of fun and one that I will probably re-read every year just for the spirit of Santa!

A Christmas Homecoming by Anne Perry

  ★★★¾
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
SUBJECT: Dracula
SETTING: Whitby, England UK
CHARACTERS: Caroline Fielding, Joshua Fielding, Alice Netheridge
DATE READ: December 7 - December 9
NO. OF PAGES: 224
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   no, Nook purchase 2012
CATEGORY: Extra curricular activities

PLOT: 4
CHARACTERIZATION: 3.5
TOPICS: 4
STYLE: 4
ORIGINALITY: 4
ADDICTIVENESS: 3.5
OWNERSHIP: 3
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 4
Average 3.75

Anne Perry, well-known mystery writer pens a Christmas mystery every year centering around a minor character from one of her series.  This Christmas novella finds us with Caroline and Joshua Fielding, the mother and stepfather of Charlotte Pitt.

Joshua and actor has been invited to Whitby to perform a play written by a potential backer's young daughter.  The play is an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula.  A major snowstorm dumps feet of snow in the area and the occupants of the Netheridge home are trapped right before Christmas.  Need rehearsal, this causes no issues until a stranger who had also been stranded at the house, is found murdered with a stake through his heart.

What fun this mystery was especially since I was reading this for my December book club and in October we had read Dracula.  It was so fun to see Dracula from another vantage point.

Too Many Murders: A Carmine Delmonico Novel by Colleen McCullough

 ★★★¾
GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: mass murder
SETTING: Holloman, CT
CHARACTERS: Carmine Delmonico, Abe Goldberg, Corey Marshall, Dr. Erica Davenport
DATE READ: December 2 - December 7
NO. OF PAGES: 384
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   Yes, audio stockpille
CATEGORY: Study Hall

PLOT: 4
CHARACTERIZATION: 4
TOPICS: 3.5
STYLE: 4
ORIGINALITY: 3
ADDICTIVENESS: 3.5
OWNERSHIP: 3.5
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 3.5
Average 3.6


Holloman CT, a small university town, is overwhelmed with a dozen murders in one 24 hour period on April 3, 1967.  There doesn't seem to be any kind of connection - the victims range from the CEO of a major conglomerate to an 18 month old Down Syndrome baby. None of the victims is killed in the same manner, but Carmine Delmonico, the head of the homicide division in the town is sure there has to be a connection.

The investigation into each death and eventual connections, draws Delmonico and others into a dangerous and threatening situations.  The reader is taken on a roller coaster ride of questions and answers that eventually lead to a satisfactory conclusion.

The Orchid Murder by Christine Hunt

 ★★★★

GENRE: Mystery
SUBJECT: civil judgment, legal malpractice
SETTING: Minneapolos, MN
CHARACTERS: Norm Wartnick, Jerry Snider, Joe Friedberg
DATE READ: November 25 - December 6
NO. OF PAGES: 360
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   Yes, NetGalley
CATEGORY: Class Schedule

PLOT: 4
CHARACTERIZATION: 3.5
TOPICS: 3.5
STYLE: 4
ORIGINALITY: 4
ADDICTIVENESS: 4
OWNERSHIP: 4
THRESHOLD QUALITY: 4
Average 3.88

I'm not exactly sure how to describe this fascinating book.
It wasn't what I expected, but it was riveting just the same.  I thought from the title and description that it was going to be the typical murder mystery and in the end we find out who did it.  Nope, this was a murder mystery but we never found out who the killer was.  Why?  because it was a true story and it centered around a man who was never convicted of a crime but was sued in civil court for the wrongful death of the victim.  So, you think, okay, OJ was convicted of wrongful death.  But this guy didn't do it and with a totally incompetent attorney, the judgment against him destroyed his life and livelihood.

That's the setup and the book takes the reader through the process of suing his attorney for legal malpractice.   It was fascinating, a little dry  but I learned a great deal about the legal process and what is expected from a lawyer's representation.

500 Appetizers by Susannah Blake

 ★★½

GENRE: Cookbook
SUBJECT: recipes
DATE READ: December 5
NO. OF PAGES: 282
Off the Shelf (pre-2012)? Source?:   no, new cookbook
CATEGORY: Home Ec


I bought this book because I was planning a party and wanted to make some new appetizers but after going through all the recipes, nothing seemed right.  The recipes were either too odd as to their ingredients, too spicy for everyone to enjoy, or too difficult to make in large quantities.  May a small dinner party would be good for some of these, but not a party.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house recently.Created by Marcia at The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday, now has its own blog. Hosting duties are rotated every month. Gillion at Rose City Reader is our host for December. Be sure to drop by to see what everyone else got this week.

Surprise, surprise...

Random House sent me 

 to review... a young widow forms  a group to test unconventional ideas following her remarriage.

Sounds like an interesting concept.

Mailbox Monday

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house recently.Created by Marcia at The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday, now has its own blog. Hosting duties are rotated every month.Kathy at Bermuda Onion's Weblog is our host for November. Be sure to drop by to see what everyone else got this week.


This week I received three books I'm anxious to to read.

The Christmas Star  came from Abingdon Press.   This book should help get me into the holiday spirit.

and through the Librarything Early Reviewer's program I received

The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society - sounds like fun!

and last


Written in Stone - 4th in Books by the Bay Mysteries. I won the giveaway on Pudgy Penguins so thanks so much Kaye! I have #2 and #3 slated for early in 2013, so this should be soon!