I read eleven books in December and I’ve picked out my four favourites below. Some months I find it very difficult to choose, but this time it was easy.
1. Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears was surprisingly good considering how much I struggled with one of his other novels a few years ago. It was the only one of my December reads to appear on my Top Books of 2011 list.
2. I am Half-Sick of Shadows, the fourth book in Alan Bradley’s Flavia de Luce series, was the perfect book to read in the week before Christmas. I think it might even be my favourite Flavia book so far.
3. The Girl on the Cliff was the last book I finished before the end of the year and I haven’t had time to write about it yet. I really enjoyed it and now I want to read Lucinda Riley’s previous book, Hothouse Flower.
4. I still haven’t posted my thoughts on Corrag by Susan Fletcher either, but it was a beautifully written book with a unique narrative voice and one of my favourites of the month.
The other books I read in December were:
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart
The White Devil by Justin Evans
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak
Shakespeare’s Mistress by Karen Harper
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Plans for 2012
I’ve been reading other bloggers’ lists of goals for the year ahead and was thinking about writing my own, but really I just have one goal and it’s a very simple one: I only want to read books that I enjoy in 2012. And so, to achieve that goal I’m going to read books from my favourite genres, re-discover authors whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past, re-read more books than I have in recent years, and avoid the temptation to read books that don’t really appeal to me just because everyone else seems to be reading them or because I feel that I should. I also want to give myself permission to stop reading anything that I’m not enjoying, whether I’ve read twenty pages or two hundred!
So, my goals for this year are not very specific (apart from the few reading challenges I’ve signed up for) but will hopefully lead to an enjoyable year of reading in 2012!
Did you read any good books in December? Have you been making plans for 2012?
She Reads Novels 
I have been reading Alexander McCall Smith’s “Sunday Philosopher Club” series and am enjoying it tremendously. I found Sebastian Barry’s “A Long, Long, Way” a good read. I was disappointed with Susan Schiff’s biography of Cleopatra.
I still haven’t read anything by Alexander McCall Smith but would like to give his books a try. And I’ve loved both of the Sebastian Barry novels I’ve read and am planning to read A Long, Long Way this year.
I loved The Girl on the Cliff, and look forward to your thoughts. And also The Distant Hours because I was mightily disappointed with that book.
I have given great thought to my reading challenges (as opposed to the diet and fitness ones!) and have come up with a few hopefully that will not panic me too much! Post up about it shortly.
I look forward to your posts in 2012 as you have introduced me to some new books and authors and also it is great to know someone else there, enjoys the books I read as well!
Happy New Year Helen.
I was a bit disappointed with The Distant Hours too – I thought it was far too long. I loved The Girl on the Cliff, though!
I’m so glad you liked Corrag, Helen, I ADORED that book!
Like your plan for 2012 too – that’s how mine started off too; wanting to read books I enjoy and from my favourite genres etc which is how I ended up with a whole list of Vic lit (not sure how much I will get read but it makes me smile to think that it is all there waiting for me…)
Happy 2012 and happy reading 🙂
I think your blog was where I first heard about Corrag, Boof. I loved it and will try to post my thoughts on it soon!
An excellent goal! Happy New Year, Helen 🙂
Thanks, Ana. Happy New Year to you, too!
I love the idea of not reading something, though you might feel that you should. I want to stay away from the ‘hip’ books this year because I rarely enjoy them and I wasted too much time starting and abandoning the popular books of 2011. I’m going to read more to my taste and not give into the desire to read what the review journals say I should like! Happiest of New Years to you!
I felt I wasted some of my time in 2011 too, trying to get interested in books I didn’t really want to read. I want to take a more relaxed approach to my reading in 2012!
That looks like a very good month of reading, and your plane looks eminently sensible. I plan to be more picky with crime and new books so that I can fit in more classics, historical fiction and non fiction. So hopefully I read the best of everything!
I’m planning to read a lot of classics and historical fiction this year too. I would like to introduce more non-fiction into my reading as I read very little of it at the moment, but I’m not sure if I’ll manage that!