Books Read in 2012

Here’s my contribution to Lists Week at the Saturday Review.

Below is a list of the books I’ve read in 2012. Over the past few years I’ve read about a book a week, and this year that number is way down, with a total of only 36 for the year. I like to think that I’ve read more thoughtfully according to this slower pace. It also reflects our family’s movement outward into discovering the natural world around us — hours spent without a book in hand, yet priceless hours that yield permanent results just the same.

16 of the 36 books were fiction; 20 were nonfiction. A few (the Tolkien for instance) were rereads. Almost none of the children’s books and read-alouds we’ve done are included.

I see some familiar authors and some new ones, some familiar preoccupations and some new ones. I find it impossible to rate them; each was appropriate for me at the time I read it. A complete list, I suppose, would include the numerous books the fell by the wayside before I completed them, but who keeps track?

In any case, without further ado, here they are — linked to my reviews.

1. Aiken, Joan. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
2. Berry, Wendell. Jayber Crow.
3. Bridges, Jerry. True Community.
4. Buechner, Frederick. The Faces of Jesus.
5. —. The Storm.
6. Cain, Susan. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking.
7. Comstock, Anna Botsford. The Comstocks of Cornell.
8. Durden, Kent. Gifts of an Eagle.
9. Eldredge, John. Walking with God.
10. Enns, Peter. Telling God’s Story: A Parent’s Guide to Teaching the Bible.
11. Evans, Rachel Held. A Year of Biblical Womanhood.
12. Gilbert, Suzie. Flyaway. (Posted at my nature blog.)
13. Goins, Jeff. You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One).
14. Goudge, Elizabeth. Green Dolphin Street.
15. Heilbrun, Carol. Writing a Woman’s Life.
16. Helgoe, Laurie. Introvert Power.
17. Ishiguro, Kazuo. Nocturnes.
18. Kinnaman, David and Gabe Lyons. UnChristian.
19. Latham, Irene. Leaving Gee’s Bend.
20. Law, Ingrid. Savvy.
21. L’Engle, Madeleine. The Summer of the Great Grandmother.
22. Lewis, C.S. The Discarded Image.
23. Lightman, Alan. Einstein’s Dreams.
24. Lowry, Lois. The Willoughbys.
25. MacDonald, George. Unspoken Sermons.
26. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma.
27. Robinson, Marilynne. When I Was a Child I Read Books.
28. Stewart, Trenton Lee. The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict.
29. Stott, John. The Birds Our Teachers.
30. Taylor, Barbara Brown. Leaving Church.
31. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring.
32. —. The Return of the King.
33. —. The Two Towers.
34. Trollope, Anthony. The Way We Live Now.
35. Twain, Mark. Extracts from Adam’s Diary.
36. Ursu, Anne. Breadcrumbs.