Happy New Year to you all! For the first time in several years I decided to spend my Christmas money primarily on books. I received an Amazon gift card from my sister-in-law, some cash from my in-laws, and had a credit with Amazon. Today I’m going to share what I bought to read on my Kindle.
11/22/63 by Stephen King. This is actually the February pick for my book club, so I was happy to see it on so many “Best of 2012” lists. I actually checked the hard copy out of the library, but I have to return it before I’ve even had a chance to open it. Maybe not a bad thing that I won’t have to hold that tome on my chest when I read at night!
Arcadia by Lauren Groff. I loved Groff’s short story collection Delicate Edible Birds when I read it back in 2009. This was another novel that made many “Best of” lists, so I am expecting good things.
Divergent by Veronica Roth. This was a favorite all over the book blogs a few years ago when I added it to my wishlist. I was a little wary about buying this one because I never seem to get to the second book in any series, but I was too curious to pass it up.
The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow. This was another one I added several years ago and decided it was time to give it a go. I think at the time I added it I was interested in juxtaposing it with The Help.
Heft by Liz Moore. I added this one to my wishlist a while ago after reading a review on someone’s blog. (Note to self: Makes notes to self about these things.) It also made a lot of “Best of” lists this year. If you are spotting a trend, it’s no accident. I purposely focused much of my Kindle purchases on the latest fiction.
HHhH by Laurent Binet. From all the reviews I’ve read, I not only expect this to be captivating but something I will want to read more than once. It was also Jackie’s best book of 2012.
Killer on the Road: Violence and the American Interstate by Ginger Strand. I actually bought this as research for a writing project, but it sounds fascinating (and a bit terrifying) in its own right.
Legend of a Suicide by David Vann. I admit that I will snap up books from my wishlist when they are on super sale. I added this ages ago when dovegreyreader featured it on her blog.
The Middlesteins by Jami Attenberg. This book is all over everywhere, but I have a feeling it’s for very good reasons. The premise is interesting, and the characters sound so very compelling.
The Street Sweeper by Eliot Perlman. I put this on my wishlist when I read Jackie’s original review of it, and then when I saw it made her list for top books of 2012 I knew I had to read it.
Tune in later this week, in which I reveal what “real” books I bought to read in 2013 (or 2014, or 2015…you get it). Have you read/are you planning to read any of these? What are your first picks for 2013?
The Evening Reader 
The Street Sweeper, Heft, and Arcadia are on my reading list for 2013 too. Happy reading.
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the King. Sadly I didn’t enjoy it as much as I was hoping.
Vasilly, great minds and all that. 🙂 Happy reading and Happy New Year!
Ana, I haven’t read anything by King in over 20 years. Also, I hear this novel is very different from his usual fare. I’m very curious!
What a great list of books! I loved HHhH, Heft, The Street Sweeper and thought Arcadia and Legends of a Suicide were both impressive in their own ways. I can’t wait to see what you think of them all!
JAckie, I have picked up some real gems I am sure. But these are just the e-books! The question is, how will I get to them all?