I already talked about my reading year, but I've been reading some of the 2012 End of Year Book Surveys people have posted lately and thought to join this event, both because Jamie of The Perpentual Page-Turner's survey seems a fun thing to do and also as an attempt to to organise my own thoughts about the books I read & my (rather non-existant) blogging last year. So, here goes:
1. Best book you read in 2012? (You can break it down by gender if you want)
Best Finnish book I read was Sofi Oksanen's latest Kun kyyhkyset katosivat (not yet available in English). The best book written in English I read (actually reread) last year was Room by Emma Donoghue.
2. Book you were excited about & thought you were going to love more but didn't?
I had read good reviews of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin and before starting this book was looking forward to not only one great story but three as this is a first one of a trilogy. However, I did not like the story at all and am not interested in reading the other parts of the series.
3. Most surprising (in a good way) book of 2012?
I'd say Adaptation by Malinda Lo. I did expect to love this book, so there was no surprise there :), but the storyline was just amazing!
4. Book you recommended to people most in 2012?
This is a tie between Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate -series and a Finnish historical mystery Kellari by Jyrki Heino. The latter is an amazingly well-written first novel set in late 18th century Turku, the then capital of Sweden's eastern provinces i.e. Finland. I really hope it will be translated into English so that I will be able to recomment it to all my non-Finnish speaking readers, too. :)
5. Best series you discovered in 2012?
That's easy: the Maisie Dobbs mysteries by Jacqueline Winspear. I have known about this series for a long time, but only tried it out in 2012 and loved it from the start. The first book, called simply Maisie Dobbs, was my first evert e-book read! I've now read the three first books in the series.
Another series I started to read & loved was the Wandering Son -manga series by Shimura Takako.
6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2012?
Of Finnish authors it would be Jyrki Heino. Of writers writing in English I would say Emily M. Danforth (The Miseducation of Cameron Post), V. M. Withworth (The Bone Thief), Bernhard Cornwell (1356) and Barbara Ann Wright (The Pyramid Waltz). Of the authors I read in translation it would be the Iraqi born in Finland living Hassan Blasim (The Madman of Freedom Square). He writes in Arabic.
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
The Madman of Freedom Square by Hassan Blasim. It's an amazing collection of short stories set in Iraq. This was kind of at the edge of my comfort zone, because of the subject matter in some of the stories.
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2012?
No doubt here! Timeless, the last part of the Parasol Protectorate series, by Gail Carriger.
9. Book you read in 2012 that you are most likely to re-read next year:
See above number 8. :) Though I rearly reread books.
10. Most memorable character in 2012?
Cerberos in The Dark Wife by Sarah Diemer :D (You have to read the book to understand why the laughing smiley. I'm not going to spoil it by telling more here. :)). And the inimitable Alexia Tarabotti of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate -series). Also, Princess Katya Nar Umpriel of The Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Ann Wright.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2012?
The Daylight Gate by Jeanette Winterson. I simply love her writing!
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2012?
The Madman of the Freedom Square by Hassan Blasim taught me a lot about Iraq and the hardships of both people living there on the one hand and of those forced to leave on the other hand.
I also read the first three volumes of Wondering Son by Shimura Takako about two transgender children and this lovely, beautifully written and illustrated series really made me think.
14. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2012 to finally read?
Oh, there are more than one! The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg, the Maisie Dobbs mysteries and lastly Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel!!
15. Favorite passage/quote from a book you read in 2012?
Any witty line from Heartless or Timeless by Gail Carriger. :)
16. Shortest & longest book you read in 2012?
I downloaded some free stories from Amazon. The shortest was probably Christmas in Venice by Meadow Taylor. The longest book I read was All Clear by Connie Willis (793 pages).
17. Book that had a scene in it that had you reeling and dying to talk to somebody about it? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
The ending of Hassan Blasim's short story The Madman of Freedom Square in the collection with the same name made me want to talk to somebody about it, but I couldn't as no one I know had read the book at that time.
18. Favorite relationship from a book you read in 2012 (be it romantic, friendship, etc.)
Alexia Tarabotti and Lord Akeldama, also Alexia and Lord Maccon and Alexia and Madame Lefoux in the Parasol Protectorate series, Reese and Amber in Adaptation by Malinda Lo, Merope Ward/Eileen and the Hodbin children Alf and Binnie in All Clear by Connie Willis.
19. Favorite book you read in 2012 from an author you read previously?
Heartless and Timeless by Gail Carriger, Kun kyyhkyset katosivat by Sofi Oksanen, Adaptation by Malinda Lo and All Clear by Connie Willis.
20. Best book you read that you read based SOLELY on a recommendation from somebody else:
The City and the City by China Miéville I read solely because of what Eva wrote about this book on her blog.
My blogging and blog-following were too sporadic for me to be able to answer the optional book blogging/reading life -questions of the survey, so I'll skip straight to the last part namely...
Looking Ahead
1. One book you didn't get to in 2012 but will be your number 1 priority in 2013?
The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb which has been sitting on my shelves since it was published and which I finally read during the very first days of 2013. And had to read it as an e-book as I managed to misplace my paperback somewhere so totally that I still have no idea where the book is!
2. Book you are most anticipating for 2013?
I'm really looking forward to the sequal of Adaptation by Malinda Lo, sequal to The Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Ann Wright and the first books of Gail Carriger's new The Finishing School and The Parasol Protectorate Abroad -series
3. One thing you hope to accompish or do in your reading/blogging in 2013?
Well, I really want to read a lot of good books and blog much more than I did in 2012! :)
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