Favourite Books of 2012

Even though I'm a few books behind in terms of reviewing, I'm going to keep with tradition and come up with a list of my favourite reads of 2012.  Same rules as usual - it doesn't matter when the book was written, but I have to have read it for the first time in 2012.  Any genre counts.  And this is a purely subjective list!  So here goes, with links to my reviews...

1.  Say to this Mountain (Ched Myers) - this was one of my elective books for the Lay Worship Leader course that I am taking, but had a very profound impact on me.  I've found myself turning back to it on a regular basis since I read it back in March.

2.  Quiet:  The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking (Susan Cain) - as an introvert myself, this book gave me a new lens through which to view the world around me.

3. 419 (Will Ferguson) - my favourite fiction read of the year, and deserving (in my opinion) of the Giller Prize that it won.

4.  Still Alice (Lisa Genova) - cliché, I know, but I enjoyed this book and keep on recommending it to people I meet.

5.  Mornings in Jenin (Susan Abulhala) - a beautiful, heartbreaking book that again changed my perspective on the world - in this case, the situation in Palestine and Israel.

6.  Little Bee (Chris Cleave) - another cliché, but a book that manages to be funny and heartbreaking at the same time.

7.  In One Person (John Irving) - people either love John Irving's books or hate them.  I happen to be in the faction that loves them.  So of course, his latest is going to be on my list.

8.  Adventures in Solitude (Grant Lawrence) - a memoir about growing up on the west coast.  Solitude vs. loneliness.  I am a big fan of solitude.

9.  Death Comes to Pemberley (P. D. James) - one part Jane Austen, one part P. D. James - who wouldn't love this book!

10.  Arranged (Catherine McKenzie) - I discovered this author this year and read two of her books - I'm not usually a fan of "chick-lit", but books like these keep me coming back to the genre to give it another try.

A few notes:

• I struggled a bit to come up with this list.  My 2012 reading was filled a lot with reading for the course, interspersed with fluffy books to give my brain a break.  But I still managed to read some gems this year!
• I think that this is the first year that a non-fiction book has placed in the #1 position on my list.  And in the #2 spot.  I have been doing more non-fiction reading this year than usual (given the course), though with only 3 out of my top 10 being non-fiction, I don't think that they were proportionally represented here.

I finished up 2 books in the past few weeks and still have to get some reviews posted - maybe later this week.  Plus I did go on a boxing-week book-buying spree, so have a fresh stack of books on my TBR stack!

Happy New Year to everyone, and may your 2013 be filled with lots of time for good books!