Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters

In 2012, in 8th place for best fiction...

Synopsis: A dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel, spanning fifty years and nearly as many lives. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the shabby revelry of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Walter introduces us to the tangled lives of a dozen unforgettable characters: the starstruck Italian innkeeper and his long-lost love; the heroically preserved producer who once brought them together and his idealistic young assistant; the army veteran turned fledgling novelist and the rakish Richard Burton himself, whose appetites set the whole story in motion-along with the husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, who populate their world in the decades that follow.    
 
Recommend for: Anyone that truly appreciates how broken we are and finds beauty in that. And beauty in life, regardless.

Hardcover / 337 Pages
Harper
June 12, 2012

Get Your Copy:

 Kindle

Hardcover 

Paperback 

This book left me feeling like I'd been slapped in the face with a dose of reality. The characters are flawed, arrogant, self-absorbed, funny, deceitful, shy, and, mostly, beautiful. There was the right amount of disconnection from some characters - Michael Bane, that asshole.  And the right amount of adoration for others. Pasquel is one of my favorite characters that I have read about in a long time. Suffice to say, I was absolutely in love with him.

We are all people that had plans in our lives. Plans that worked, plans that didn't, plans that were more like metaphors to a cliff-dive towards Hell. Jess Walter seems to understand that on a level many authors will never achieve. His characters are not fluffy pieces of hormonally driven abscesses - although they do crave sex like any matured human. They are complex, beautiful, and...ruined.

This book will carry you across several characters struggles and the intricate webbing behind their elaborate connection. Also, on an upside, the cover is dashing.

Parts of this book left me broken. Therefore, when reading it again, I'd probably chose to do it on days that I felt analytical.

When it comes to Beautiful Ruins?

Buy It | Read It | Borrow It | Toss It | Burn It

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier by Ree Drummond

In 1st place for 2012 Food and Cookbooks... 


Synopsis: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier is a mouthwatering collection of the simple-but-scrumptious recipes that rotate through my kitchen on a regular basis.

Recommend for: People that want to witness a well set out cookbook.

Hardcover / 304 Pages
William Marrow Books
 March 13, 2012

Get your Copy: 
Hardcover











What just happened? I was so excited about this book. The cookbook has beautiful colors, is full of step-by-step colored photographs. It has wonderful ideas for foods. Chocolate mouse, coffee cake, strawberry shortcake, summer strir-fry, chicken tacos, etc. So, naturally, I added a whole bunch of recipes to our weekly menu and got cooking.

My boyfriend finally asked me to please return the book by the 4th day. It's not that her recipes were terrible. They were just... nothing that warranted her own cookbook. Coffeecake, chocolate mouse, shrimp stir-fry, those are all wonderful foods, but I can find better recipes with Google.

Unlike cookbooks like Looney Spoons or Websites like Moms Who Think, this was just generally a lot of build up towards a lack of a delivery.

The food was passable. No one was asking for seconds though.

When it comes to The Pioneer Woman Cooks?

Buy It | Read It | Borrow It | Toss It | Burn It

Listen to My Trumpet! by Mo Willems

In 6th place for 2012 picture book:

Synopsis: In Listen to My Trumpet! Piggie can’t wait to play her new instrument for Gerald! But is she ready to listen to his reaction?

Recommended for: Fans of the series. Fans of Mo Willems. Trumpet players.

Hardcover / 62 Pages
Disney-Hyperion
February 7 2012 

Get your copy:
Hardcover

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano

In 14th place for 2012 picture book:

Synopsis: Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.

Hardcover / 32 Pages
Roaring Book Press
February 14 2012

Get your copy:
Hardcover 

I Am A Pole (And So Can You) by Stephen Colbert

Synopsis: I Am a Pole (And So Can You!) is a 2012 spoof of a children's book written by Stephen Colbert and illustrated by Paul Hildebrand. The book tells the story of a fictional pole finding his purpose in life. Wikipedia

Recommended for: Lovers of satire. Fans of Stephen Colbert. Poles. 

Hardcover / 32 Pages
Grand Central Publishing
May 8 2012

Get your copy:
Hardcover 
Kindle

Pete The Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean

Coming in 3rd place for the best picture book of 2012

Goodreads Synopsis: Pete the Cat is wearing his favorite shirt--the one with the four totally groovy buttons. But when one falls off, does Pete cry? Goodness, no He just keeps on singing his song--after all, what could be groovier than three groovy buttons?

Recommended for: Children that like to sing and dance. Children that crave repetition.  

Hardcover / 40 pages
HarperCollins 

Get your copy:
Hardcover
Kindle

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

In 12th place for 2012 picture book:

Synopsis: How many kinds of green are there? There's the lush green of a forest on a late spring day, the fresh, juicy green of a just-cut lime, the incandescent green of a firefly, and the vivid aquamarine of a tropical sea.

Recommended for: People that love paintings or the color green. Children with a limited vocabulary.

Hardcover / 36 pages
Roaring Book Press

Get a Copy
Goodreads

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

In 6th place for best fiction of 2012:

This novel follows the story of June as she comes to term with the death of her Uncle. Recently passed from AIDS in the 80's, June has to cope with learning things about her family she wasn't ready to learn and ignorance of the newly rampant disease. Perhaps, with time, developing friendships will help her find her way.

Home Front by Kristin Hannah

In 2012, in 3rd place for best fiction...

This books follows along the life story of one family as they struggle with their relationship with each other. This is further complicated by Jolene's departure to Iraq. In this novel we get to learn how war, life, and feelings affect us. Also, we get to experience hope and loss.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

Coming in 15th for 2012 Best Picture Book: 

Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems

The 12th best picture book of 2012:

With 1355 votes, we're back to Mo Willems. Here we have Mo Willems choice of satire and an addition of a Norwegian dinosaur - I have no idea why he chose that country. The basis of this story is a twist on the classic tale.

The bad news is, my five year old missed a bit of the sarcasm. The good news is, he noticed that there was a picture frame with the notorious Mo Willems pigeon in one of the pages.

After that, I noticed that clever bastard did that in several spots.

As well as adding subtle hints at storyline:

Mo Willems has become my new Robert Munch. He's borderline genius. Yes, I like him that much.

When it comes to Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs?

Shut Up and Read It.

Boy + Bot by Ame Dyckman

The 8th best Picture book of 2012:

Every little boy likes robots. Mine isn't an exception. In fact, we have even discussed building a robot.

I'd make a cute first robot.

Therefore, he was pretty excited to read this story. I think the story one out simply because it had a robot in it. The story itself centers around the boy and the robots misunderstandings that the other is similar to themselves - boys need oil, robots need rest.

The story falls short of incredible, but is sweet and enjoyable all the same. It had 1803 votes in the Goodreads Choice Awards.

The artwork is evidently gouache. I'm going to take a stance from art class and say, gouache is the most evil, annoying, material to work with in the history of the world!

Dan Yaccarino did a pretty good job with it. As you can see, it has pretty simply shading, but it's cute artwork.

When it comes to Boy + Bot?

Shut Up and Read It.

Easy by Tammara Webber

Coming in 2nd place for best young adult fiction AND 8th place for best goodreads author:

I was actually surprised with this book. I do my best not to read predictable fiction and I assumed this would be as well. My problem isn't so much with cliche love stories, my problem is I get bored of predictable or heroines that I cannot relate to. "Empty shells" that allow readers to place themselves amongst the character. That being said, I found the writing in this novel stronger than I expected and the character development way better than anticipated.

I heard that some people had issues with her rational reaction to assault. Without divulging too much plot line, I'd like to point out that are emotions do not follow a direct pattern. Not even on something that seems it would such as death or tragedy. As well, the strong point of this novel is her trying to battle through her emotions on the assault, despite not wanting to report him at first. Which is, and remains to be, one of the most common reactions to assault. It is usually backed up by, "No one will believe me" or "It's my fault." And is usually followed by shocking reactions from friends and family. If readers are unaware of how these reactions take place, as disgusting as it can be, I urge them to look into it so they can protect themselves and the people they love better. As it a very sad point of our current reality that 1/3 American women will be assaulted and more than 60% will not be reported. 

The negative review I have on this book was that I found some parts a bit over the top in angst. I feel the story plot could have been well written without needing all of the several dramatic gut punches.

It is really refreshing to see more YA novels with strong and realistic heroines. And hero's - despite the fact I never did find my fantasy man with gray eyes that I thought I was destined for as a teenager.

If you're looking for a bit of angst, a bit of love, and a bit of humor. This book might pleasantly surprise you as a modern day love story. 

When it comes to Easy?

 Shut Up and Read It.

A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson

And the winner of best humor novel of 2012:

I tried so hard... I never give up on books. Ever. It's not that Jenny Lawson doesn't have interesting stories. It's just that she is a horrible writer. That she rambles so incoherently that you forget what she's talking about half the time, that her story doesn't seem to have any sort of coherent flow at all, but instead just vomits itself onto the pages of a book, and that I'm pretty sure most of it was taken from her Blog. 

It's not that she's not funny, it's that she tries so hard to make a joke out of everything that she's trying to fit 5 jokes into every paragraph. It's okay that every sentence isn't funny, I promise. 

I actually read the first few chapters of this book and found it enjoyable and funny. Then she just... kept going. And the thing that is really frustrating is that every single one of her stories is dramatized enough that she can explain something as more interesting than it is. Which would be fine, if it was actually proving to be a story worth telling otherwise. 

Per example, she talks about getting stabbed by a chicken when, really, she just cut her finger on a piece of chicken breast.

All of this would be great as a once in a while story, a dinner time conversation, a daily blog read, but is absolutely horrible to read in a 300 page read of continuous rambling. 

So, I made it 220 pages in the book, and maybe that doesn't constitute a proper review for some of you, but that's as far as I can do it. I literally forced myself through the past 120 pages. Thank God it's over.

When it comes to Let's Pretend That Never Happened?

Go Ahead and Burn It.

Preferably before she publishes more unedited crap.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

And the winner of the best young adult fiction of 2012: 

The sheer volume of votes this novel got ahead of the others says a lot. 28.5 THOUSAND more than the 2nd place nominee.

It turns out that this book can be observed in two ways: Either as a piece of phenomenal written fiction with existentialist revolutions, or as a strong teen's novel.
 
Here's the reason I love John Green, these are the only novels I have come across that modern teens of today, written by a modern writer of today, can read and not be forced to believe in an unhealthy outlook on centering your life around your lover. John Green maintains the importance of family, shows the strength of love (even as teenagers), let's his characters make incorrect assumptions, and allows an intellectual teen to relate to someone. Finally, in my opinion.

Teens all over the world have been given heroines and heroes, as of late, that are strong, fast, and independent, but this is the first book I've read in YA that gives them a mentally strong character to cheer for. 

I might gush over this book, simply because this book is worth gushing over. As a mother myself, this is the type of literature I'd want my children to read.

 When it comes to The Fault in Our Stars?

Shut Up and Read It.

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare

Coming in 2nd place for best goodreads author AND 2nd place for young adult fantasy & science fiction:

Okay, I admit, I jumped on the bandwagon with the rest of you.  The Mortal Instruments was a fun, young adult fantasy series. The first three books swept me off into a world I liked being in.

And then this happened. In the fifth installment of the series, Jace is tied with Sebastien and Clary is on a mission to save him. I get that the series is well liked. I just don't understand the need for the fifth book. Actually, I don't understand needing to write anything past the third book.

I'm going to say this book was successful because it had a following of loyal readers. However, this book did better than the fourth. Still, because it was unneeded story line to a good series...

When it comes to City of Lost Souls?

Go Ahead and Burn It.

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer

And the winner of the best 2012 picture book:

Strangely enough, this book did a much better job at capturing my child's attention than the original Olivia did. Perhaps because the story was more imaginative and humorous. I will still not say that this is our favorite of children's books, but I can say this little pig might just grow on you. This time you can join Olivia in her troubles as she gets bored of the regular princess and searches for something different.  

When  it comes to Olivia and the Fairy Princesses?

Shut Up and Read It.

The Duckling Gets A Cookie?! by Mo Williems

Coming in 2nd place for best picture book of 2012:

These illustrations are well done, the story line is funny and entertaining for both kids and adults, and the unexpected surprises are great. This is definitely a book you want to add to your picture book list. Mo Willems is a great child's author.

When it comes to The Duckling Gets a Cookie?

Shut Up and Read It.  

Fever Moon by Karen Marie Moning

In our 2012 best graphic novels & comics section at 6th place:

I haven't spent  a lot of time reading graphic novels lately. This one was illustrated by Al Rio. Al Rio is a stellar artist:

Which really gives this graphic novel a chance to shine. Unfortunately, he passed away before the completion of this graphic novel and Cliff Richards was left to take his place as illustrator:

This is his work as a pencil artist, by the way.

Obviously, he is out shadowed talent wise. Still, Cliff Richards had a hard task to meet up with following Al Rio. He did a pretty amazing job.

So, with the art work of this graphic novel being so strong, we're left to analyze the story line. I have never read the actual series this graphic novel is based off, but it seems okay. I doubt very much it would be better than this graphic novel.

It seems... Al Rio took a lit bit of magic to a mediocre story and made it shine.

Although, Karen Marie Moning gets 10 points just for creating the Unseelie. You would think there would be a photo of him somewhere, but there isn't. I guess everyone's too busy snapping photos of the men.

When it comes to Fever Moon?

Shut Up and Read It.  

Where We Belong by Emily Giffin

Coming in at 2nd place for best fiction of 2012:

This is a tricky one. I recently had a daughter from an unexpected relationship. The father and I decided to keep the baby and raise her together, but I cannot say that adoption didn't cross my mind. Due to that fact alone, I found a curiosity in this book. One, however, that sort of stung a little as I realized I could have walked a similar path.

Personal experience aside, I think Emily Giffin's writing has improved since she wrote her first novel.
 
Although she has a tendency to write novel's on a realistic note, I actually found this one her most unrealistic story yet. Mostly, I find it hard to believe that Conrad and Marian could pick up any sort of relationship, even if this was just hinted. I also acknowledge that Conrad must be a better character than most people I know, for forgiving her so suddenly.

Emily Giffin writes in two voices here. Which is tricky in itself. Especially since one is young and one old. I definitely think her adult voice was stronger, but she did a passable voice at an eighteen year old.

Although I do find a lot of Emily Giffin's characters superficial, I realize that a lot of people can be too.

All in all, I cannot say this is the 5-star series of literature that many reviewers see it ass, but, as far as chick lit goes, it's a lot stronger than many in the genre.

Still, I didn't feel swept in, or the need to go tell everyone to read this novel. It was "just okay."

Therefore, when it comes to Where We Belong? 

Go Ahead and Burn It.