New Year, New Books (Part 1)

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.

11/22/6311/22/63 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!

ArcadiaArcadia 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.

DivergentDivergent 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 SkyThe 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: A NovelHeft 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: A Novel 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 (Discovering America)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: Stories (P.S.)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: A NovelThe 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 SweeperThe 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?

6 thoughts on “New Year, New Books (Part 1)

  1. 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!

  2. 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!

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