Books of the Year 2012

It's the last day of the year, and I've just finished my latest book. It seems rather unlikely that I'll make it through another this year. So, that being the case, here are the books I read this year:

1. "Great Expectations", by Charles Dickens*
2. "Pathfinder: Bestiary 3", by Paizo Publishing
3. "Loving Against the Odds", by Rob Parsons
4. "Pathfinder: GameMastery Guide", from Paizo Publishing
5. "Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual", by Ryder Windham, Chris Reiff, and Chris Trevas
6. "Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Edition", by Steve Kenson
7. "Pathfinder: Tide of Honour", by Tito Leati
8. "Return of the Black Company", by Glen Cook
9. "A Town Like Alice", by Nevil Shute*
10. "Pathfinder: The Empty Throne", by Neil Spicer
11. "Towers of Midnight", by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
12. "A Kingdom Beseiged", by Raymond E. Feist
13. "Silas Marner", by George Eli
14. "The Many Deaths of the Black Company", by Glen Cook
15. "A Dance With Dragons: Dreams and Dust", by George R.R. Martin
16. "A Dance With Dragons: After the Feast", by George R.R. Martin
17. "Pathfinder: The Wormwood Mutiny", by Richard Pett
18. "Pathfinder: Raiders of the Fever Sea", by Greg A. Vaughan
19. "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide", by Rodney Thompson, Sterling Hershey, John Jackson Miller, and Abel G. Peña
20. "The Second Book of Lankhmar", by Fritz Leiber
21. "Death of Kings", by Bernard Cornwell
22. "Pathfinder: Tempest Rising", by Matthew Goodall
23. "Snuff", by Terry Pratchett
24. "Clear and Present Danger", by Tom Clancy
25. "Pathfinder: The Island of Empty Eyes", by Neil Spicer
26. "Pathfinder: The Price of Infamy", by Time Hitchcock
27. "Conqueror", by Conn Iggulden
28. "Star Wars: Choices of One", by Timothy Zahn
29. "Pride and Prejudice", by Jane Austen*
30. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald*
31. "Pathfinder: From Hell's Heart", by Jason Nelson
32. "Pathfinder: Shards of Sin", by Greg A. Vaughan
33. "Atonement", by Ian McEwan*
34. "Pyramids", by Terry Pratchett
35. "Prince of Wolves", by Dave Gross
36. "Red Dwarf: Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers", by Grant Naylor
37. "Master and Commander", by Patrick O'Brian
38. "Pathfinder: Curse of the Lady's Light", by Mike Shel
39. "Guards! Guards!", by Terry Pratchett
40. "Winter Witch", by Elaine Cunningham
41. "Post Captain", by Patrick O'Brian
42. "Jane Eyre", by Charlotte Bronte*
43. "Moving Pictures", by Terry Pratchett
44. "Pathfinder: The Asylum Stone", by James L. Sutter
45. "Plague of Shadows", by Howard Andrew Jones
46. "Eberron Player's Guide", by David Noonan, Ari Marmell, and Robert J. Schwalb
47. "HMS Surprise", by Patrick O'Brian
48. "Sense and Sensibility", by Jane Austen*
49. "Hartsend", by Janice Brown
50. "Eberron Campaign Guide", by James Wyatt and Keith Baker
51. "Pathfinder: Beyond the Doomsday Door", by Tito Leati
52. "The Worldwound Gambit", by Robin D. Laws
53. "Black Crusade: Hand of Corruption", by Fantasy Flight Games
54. "The Mauritius Command", by Patrick O'Brian
55. "Emma", by Jane Austen*

So, there it is - 55 books, 8 books from The List, 19 RPG-related books, and a miscellany of others. I think that's a pretty good showing for the year, especially given the uncertainties of the first few months.

The book of the year is "Atonement", which I found to be much more satisfying than I had expected, and much better than the film (as is almost always the case). The worst book of the year, by a long, long way, was Tom Clancy's "Clear and Present Danger". Oh dear.

I feel that honourable mention must be made of "Hartsend", this being the first adult novel by a young and up-and-coming author of my acquaintance. And which was an extremely compelling read in its own right. Recommended.

For next year, it is my hope to get into something of a sequence, and each month to read one book from each of five 'series'. These include "Books from The List", the Aubrey/Maturin series, the monthly Pathfinder books, the "Pathfinder Tales" novels, and finally those Pratchett books that I have not yet read (most of his non-Discworld novels). In theory, this gives 60 books for the year, which feels about right. That said, a couple of the 'series' don't have a full complement of 12 books to read; however, I plan to "fill the gaps" with those few new novels that I am waiting for - Bernard Cornwell's latest, Feist's latest, etc.

Onward!