We are 3/4 of the way through 2012 (gulp) and guess what! I have already read MORE BOOKS this year than I did in 2011. I’m rather impressed with myself, even though I know it’s only because of all the travel I’ve been doing. I’ve thus far found it nearly impossible to get any WRITING done during tours and book conferences, which means I get LOTS of reading done. Planes, especially, are great for this.

Anyway. Rambling.

As usual, there were many amazing books that I read this last quarter, but three of them really stood out to me, and I didn’t realize until I was compiling this list that they all fall into the horror/paranormal genre. That genre is doing great things these days and I’m thrilled to see it expanding beyond vampires and werewolves!

Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt
I was given this book as a gift from the lovely folks at A Good Book Cafe in Sumner, WA, when I had a signing there a couple months ago. I started reading it the next day and… finished reading it about three hours later. I could not put it down. It’s lush and romantic and engrossing and the heroine is awesomely fierce and clever. Months later, I STILL find myself thinking about this book.

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Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama
I’ve both tweeted and talked about my love for this book on this blog before, but now that I’ve actually met Elizabeth, I unbelievably like the book even more! (She’s so nice, you guys.) But author-appreciation aside, this book. OH, this book. It is expertly crafted, deliciously written, eerie and mesmerizing and vicious and FILLED with surprising twists and mysteries.
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The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett
This one doesn’t come out until March 2013 and for that I am SO SORRY. I received an early copy for blurbing and about 20 pages in I knew that YES, I would be blurbing this book. It’s clever and witty and encompasses some of my favorite tropes (such as a magical school and a murder mystery) while still being very different from anything else out there. Put this one on your TBRs, or it is available for pre-order, so you could also do that.
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And here’s my complete reading list so far:

BOOKS READ IN 2012

First Quarter
1. Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi
2. Moonglass, by Jessi Kirby
3. Legend, by Marie Lu
4. Never Eighteen, by Megan Bostic
5. Fracture, by Megan Miranda
6. The Mockingbirds, by Daisy Whitney
7. A Million Suns, by Beth Revis
8. The Girl of Fire and Thorns, by Rae Carson
9. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
10. Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, by Beth Fantaskey
11. The Forest of Hands and Teeth, by Carrie Ryan
12. Scarlet, by A.C. Gaughen
13. Harbinger, by Sara Wilson Etienne
14. Stormdancer, by Jay Kristoff
15. Cracked, by K.M. Walton
16. Ditched, by Robin Mellom
17. BookLife, by Jeff VanderMeer
18. Cinder, by ME! (Had to include it.)
19. Starters, by Lissa Price
20. Out of Sight, Out of Time, by Ally Carter
21. White Cat, by Holly Black
22. The Cardturner, by Louis Sachar
23. Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline

Mini-Break for Research
24. Libya, by Terri Willis
25. The Sahara, by Ann Heinrichs
26. Sudan, by Patricia Levy and Zawiah Abdul Latif
27. Satellites, by Ron Miller
28. The Inside & Out Guide to Spacecraft, by Clare Hibbert

Second Quarter
29. Croak, by Gina Damico
30. Wither, by Lauren DeStefano
31. Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card
32. The Way We Fall, by Megan Crewe
33. BZRK, by Michael Grant
34. Girl of Nightmares, by Kendare Blake
35. Valkyrie Rising, by Ingrid Paulson
36. Mila 2.0, by Debra Driza
37. Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo
38. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, by Lish McBride
39. Monument 14, by Emmy Laybourne
40. Struck, by Jennifer Bosworth
41. Insurgent, by Veronica Roth
42. Enchanted, by Alethea Kontis
43. Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore
44. Throne of Glass, by Sarah J. Maas
45. Above World, by Jenn Reese
46. The Productive Writer, by Sage Cohen

Third Quarter
47. Remarkable, by Liz Foley
48. The Professor’s Daughter, by Joann Sfar & Emmanuel Guibert (graphic novel)
49. Little Vampire, by Joann Sfar (graphic novel)
50. Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol (graphic novel)
51. Friends With Boys, by Faith Erin Hicks (graphic novel)
52. The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson
53. Alice in the Country of Hearts, by QuinRose & Soumei Hoshino (graphic novel)
54. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father, by Jessica Brody
55. Demon Racer, by Tamara Felsinger (beta-read manuscript)
56. 12 Minutes of Midnight, by Tamara Felsinger (beta-read manuscript)
57. Nursery Rhyme Comics, with an intro by Leonard S. Marcus
58. The Annotated Alice, by Lewis Carroll and Martin Gardner
59. Necromancing the Stone, by Lish McBride
60. Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos
61. Keturah and Lord Death, by Martine Leavitt
62. The Selection, by Kiera Cass
63. Monstrous Beauty, by Elizabeth Fama
64. Storybound, by Marissa Burt
65. The Domino Men, by Jonathan Barnes
66. Enclave, by Ann Aguirre
67. The Nightmare Affair, by Mindee Arnett
68. Magisterium, by Jeff Hirsch
69. Outlining Your Novel: Map Your Way to Success, by K.M. Weiland
70. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, by Jesse Andrews
71. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, by Christopher Healy

What was your favorite recent read?