as most of you already know, i read A LOT. i pretty much have to read every day or i become one cranky monkey. on the worst days, all i get to read is a page or two before i fall asleep. on the best days, i read until i reach the end. although, sometimes, reaching the end really sucks either because i don’t like the ending or because i’m sad the story is over.
here’s a list of books i’ve read this year in no particular order:
adult:
GODS IN ALABAMA by joshilyn jackson
BECOME YOUR OWN MATCHMAKER by patti stanger (yeah, that one worked out well for me.)
THE HELP by kathryn stockett (started this as an audio book, which i highly recommend because hearing the southern accent really influences how you read the rest of the book.)
NO PLOT? NO PROBLEM! by chris baty
BEAUTY by robin mckinley
THE HOST by stephenie meyer
LIFE AFTER YES by aidan donnelley rowley
ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL by james herriot
WHERE LOVE GROWS by cynthia reese
young adult:
*HUNGER GAMES, CATCHING FIRE, and MOCKINGJAY by suzanne collins
*INTO THE WILD NERD YONDER by julie halpern
GET WELL SOON by julie halpern
THE SECRET YEAR by jennifer hubbard
*IF I STAY by gayle forman
WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON by david levithan and john green
BREAK by hannah moskowitz
*THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by jay asher
*BEFORE I FALL by lauren oliver
SEA by heidi kling
THE DISREPUTABLE HISTORY OF FRANKIE LANDAU-BANKS by e. lockhart
SISTERS RED by jackson pearce
ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by stephanie perkins
PARANORMALCY by kiersten white
THE DUFF by kody keplinger
*THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO, *THE ASK AND THE ANSWER, *MOSTERS OF MEN by patrick ness
THE REPLACEMENT by brenna yovanoff
LINGER by maggie stievater
BALLAD, LAMENT by maggie stievater
GIRL PARTS by john cusick
ZOMBIES VS. UNICORNS, AN ANTHOLOGY edited by holly black and justine larbalestier
THE MOCKINGBIRDS by daisy whitney
YOU by charles benoit
HOW TO SAY GOODBYE IN ROBOT by natalie standiford
*LIAR by justine larbalestier
BRIGHTLY WOVEN by alexandra bracken
THE MAZE RUNNER by james dashner
*LOVE IS THE HIGHER LAW by david levithan
*THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by jandy nelson
FLY GIRL by sherri l. smith
FALLEN by lauren kate
HUSH HUSH by becca fitzpatrick
MERMAID’S MIRROR by l.k. madigan
*FLASH BURNOUT by l.k. madigan
WHEN YOU REACH ME by rebecca stand
THE DARK DIVINE by bree despain
IF YOU COME SOFTLY by jacqueline woodson
LIPS TOUCH by laini taylor
FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH by carrie ryan
MAGIC UNDER GLASS by jaclyn dolamore
THE DARK DAYS OF HAMBURGER HALPIN by josh berk
BIRTHMARKED by caragh o’brien
RAMPANT by diana peterfreund (first book in series is ASCENDANT)
MORNING GLORY by diana peterfreund (which, incidentally, was written from the movie script, not the other way around. i didn’t know this was an option. pretty interesting turn of events. now i have to see the movie to compare to the book!)
middle grade:
*PRINCESS FOR HIRE by lindsey leavitt
CAMILLE MCPHEE FELL UNDER THE BUS by kristen tracy
THE VIEW FROM SATURDAY by e.l. konigsburg
IT’S RAINING CUPCAKES by lisa schroeder
*AS IF BEING 12 3/4 ISN’T BAD ENOUGH, MY MOTHER IS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT by donna gephart
*THE CASE OF THE CASE OF THE MISTAKEN IDENTITY by mac barnett
8th GRADE SUPER ZERO by olugbemisola rhuday-perkovich
audiobooks:
INSATIABLE by meg cabot
*IF I STAY by gayle forman (danger alert)
THE HELP by kathryn stockett (first two chapters. it’s all i could download. don’t mind me and my technological difficulties.)
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALFBLOOD PRINCE by j.k. rowling
i’m sure i’m missing some and as you know, december’s not even over yet so my reading continues, but sheesh, when i write it down like that, it looks like i have no life and all i ever do is read. not that there’s anything wrong with that. but maybe all this reading is getting in the way of me writing… OR…. it is research helping me to understand the industry better. all i know is thank goodness for the cambridge public library because if i didn’t have that, i’d be buried under a pile of books instead of typing this blog post.
what have you read this year? this month? this week? see any books not on my list that are must reads? i’m always open to recommendations.
*denotes the books i LOVED.
Abigail Mumford 
Need a Christmas present for me? How about passing along this entire list of books :)
-E
(a) no, i don’t need a christmas gift for you. i’m all set. thanks.
and (b) the majority of them came from the library. money doesn’t grow on trees, you know. oh wait, maybe they don’t teach that til senior year.
Wow! That’s quite a list. You are rockin’ reader. :)
if you stack up all the books i’ve read this year, it’d reach the moon!
yeah, that’s what would happen.
what can i say? i like to read.
Just wanted to add another “*” to THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE and the CHAOS WALKING series :):)
Intrigued by ZOMBIES vs UNICORNS. Do you recommend?
i think i’ve recovered from the first read of THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE. i’m ready to dive into my second read. and i think i really really want to try the CHAOS WALKING series via audiobook. i can’t imagine how they do the noise….
ZvU. i couldn’t make it through all the stories before i had to return it to the library (and didn’t want to incur fines), so i picked my way through. i read about 3/4 of them. what i really liked was how the editors had a mini-debate at the start of each story showing how zombies or unicorns were the winners. it’s worth a read, for sure, but i don’t know if it’d ever read it again. moral: check it out from the library.
Oh, fun! OK, will definitely check it out of the library. Grazie!
anytime.
Wow that’s quite a list. I’m glad you read all 3 books of the Chaos Walking trilogy. I’m finally reading them now (listening to the audio book of the first one which is FANTASTIC!).
I get grumpy when I don’t get a chance to read. Which is often. That’s why I’m trying to cram reading in as much as possible. Audiobooks on my morning and afternoon commutes, Kindle reading of manuscripts at the gym, reading on the toilet if necessary! :-)
i stand by my statement that the CHAOS WALKING series is the best, most complete series i’ve ever read. each book got better. the characters grew up in believable ways. and the ending of the last book? oh me oh my. absolutely perfect. i was never disappointed once by this series, which i can’t say about the HARRY POTTER or HUNGER GAMES series.
and yes, i support bathroom reading!
WOW. that is some list! when do you sleep??? i knew you read a lot, but that’s A LOT!
i’ll have to checked out the starred ones… and, ugh, i’ve had The Ask and the Answer on my shelf forever, i promise i will read it eventually!
maybe that’s why i’m always so tired?!?!
You are my reading HEEEERRRROOO. This list is my well-intentioned list, I’ve only gotten to about 10+ of those this year. When people ask if I’ve read something, I’m going to say “No, but Abby has so its probably good.” No further explanation. Updates on assumed mental status forthcoming.
am i also the wind beneath your wings?
You kill me, Abby. Kill me. “One cranky monkey.” Hilarious. Anyway, you totally beat me on the book reading. I read a lot, but you are like the goddess of reading. Gees, if I didn’t have to work and write a book, I might just be up there with you. Anywho, have a good day!
i am to please my readers. glad to hear my efforts are working! thanks for stopping by, julia.
holy crap, abs!!! that’s a lot of books! i’m in awe. so if you could only recommend one of those books from the list (b/c realistically that’s all i will read in a year’s time), which would it be?
that’s a really hard question. especially since the majority of my books are YA. but my two favorites are IF I STAY and THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE. those are single books and you could read them super quickly because they are YA.
HUNGER GAMES is probably my most favorite EVER, but that’s the start of a triology, so if i recommended that, it wouldn’t be me recommending one book, but three. and you asked for one. so go with the sad, but amazing choices i listed above. and let me know what you think!!!!