Wednesday, 2 January 2013
2013 is here already and I can’t believe it, 2012 went
by so fast! I set myself a goal of 200 books this year and I managed to read
203! 76 of those were Australian YA and 65 of those were by Australian women,
as part of the Australian Women Writers 2012 Reading & Reviewing Challenge.
The AWW Challenge is on again this year and I would like to invite fans of Aussie books to sign up! There are levels to choose from, but the challenge is really about getting more people to read books by Aussie women. You can choose to read only or read and review, but you don't have to review every single book you read. Any book by an Aussie woman counts, it doesn't have to be a 2013 release. Sounds good, right? You can sign up here (you know you want to!)
And now I want to take some time to highlight my favourite books of the year!
Aussie YA
Some of the most emotional books I read this year include
contemporary Aussie YA: Stolen by Lucy Christopher, The Reluctant Hallelujah by
Gabrielle Williams, My Big Birkett by Lisa Shanahan, Friday Brown by Vikki
Wakefield, and Everything Left Unsaid by Jessica Davidson.
My favourite funny books were: My Big Birkett by Lisa
Shanahan (I know I mentioned it above but it managed to balance the sadness
with funny scenes really well), Joel and Cat Set the Story Straight by Nick
Earls and Rebecca Sparrow, Love-shy by Lili Wilkinson, and The Indigo Girls by
Penni Russon.
And my overall favourites: Six Impossible Things by Fiona
Wood, The Ashbury/Brookfield Series by Jaclyn Moriarty, Notes from the TeenageUnderground as well as Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell, Queen of the Night by Leanne Hall, SaltwaterVampires as well as Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar, I’ll Tell You Mine by Pip
Harry, One Long Thread by Belinda Jeffrey, Fury as well as Preloved by Shirley
Marr, Losing It by Julia Lawrinson, Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron, Holier ThanThou by Laura Buzo, Shadows by Paula Weston, A Corner of White by Jaclyn
Moriarty, Jarvis 24 by David Metzenthen, and Shine Light by Marianne de Pierres.
International YA
CODE NAME VERITY by Elizabeth Wein – if you have to pick one
book from 2012 that you didn't read but want to, please choose this book.
And the rest: Story of a Girl as well as Sweethearts by Sara
Zarr, Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols, The Ruby Oliver series as well as TheDisreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E.Lockhart, Gone Gone Gone by Hannah Moskowitz, When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle, Glow as well as Spark by Amy
Kathleen Ryan, The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, Something Like Normal by Trish Doller, The Raven Boys by Maggie
Stiefvater, Speechless by Hannah Harrington, Scarlet by A.C Gaughen, and
Lovestruck Summer by Melissa Walker.
A big thank you goes to my wonderful co-bloggers Meg, Geanna and Elizabeth - I am so glad we decided to start a blog together - veganyanerds4life!
Thanks to the authors and publishers who have sent me books for review - I appreciate every single one :)
And more thanks goes to the amazing friends I've made through this blog/twitter and Goodreads! Thank you to everyone who comments on posts, takes the time to watch my vlogs, has done a book swap with me or sent me something during the year. You guys made the year SO much fun :D I hope to meet a bunch more of you, especially when I visit the USA this year.
Mands xox
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24 comments:
Thanks for all the cats! And the book recommendations too! Happy New Year!
I love all of your cats! Very cute. hehe. Happy New Year!
Oh some good ones on your lists! The Fault in Our Stars, Scarlet, Glow & Spark, Something Like Normal...
Lots on your list I really want to read and I have loved the Aussie authors I have read so far!
Yay Mandee! I loved so many on your list up here: Joel and Cat Set the Record Straight, The Raven Boys, Such a Rush, Speechless. I'm about to click on the link to sign up for the Aussie reads. Thanks for the info and for a wonderful year of blogging! :)
Happy new year! Looks like you had a great 2012. Here's hoping 2013 is even better :)
I really need to read Friday Brown and Six Impossible Things, especially the latter. But that's not important now. This is:
Congrats on reading 203 books! And I'm so happy you liked most of them. It's good to see Glow and Spark on your list, I can't wait for Flame, can you?
Anyway, happy new year, heaps of love and a huge hug from me. :)
Wow, 203 books! Congratulations, Mandee. It's awesome that you read 76 books by Australian writers, too, I imagine that list is pretty drool-worthy. Good luck with your goals for 2013!
So many incredible books on your list! I have several on my tbr.
Speaking of Australian books, I know these arent new books, but I absolutely loved Graffiti Moon. Loved ! Also, I'm currently reading Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar, and wondering if you think I would enjoy Night Beach.
Congratulations on such a successful year!
Look at all those cats! Whahhh!! I still haven't got more cats, but we have 3 Hermit Crabs....not quite a fluffy cat. I have read some of these. But yes!! Look at all those books! You are making me pick up The Reluctant hallelujah and Everything Left Unsaid, sooner rather than later. I keep telling myself to read them and then I grab something else. Emotional reads...eeeeeEEeeee...better get the tissues.
Happy new Year again and I may just see you in Sydney for the HArlequin Event..woot!!! Very exciting! Lovely talking to you this year.Thanks for dropping by the blog. I am a bit slow on commenting these days. Hubby home and 3 kids at home so I am snatching time here and there to get on computer as we are getting out and about a bit. Hope you got some lovelies for XMAS xx
Michelle
I have left you a message under ICEd posting:D
Wow, 203 books! I read 86 - aiming for 100 this year. What photogenic mini-lions you have there:)
Ooh, I loved Shadows too! I liked that it was a different take on Angels. :)
PS. Cute cats! ^^
What a action packed year you have had! Well done you!! This year is going to be so slow for me with my new little baby taking up so much time (and they say all babies do is sleep!?! lol) I will have to look up Code Name Verity! Thanks for the heads up & also for adding me to your blog roll! :)
I cannot believe the year has flown by! It was a great solid first year of blogging. This is such a fantastic list of books. I am loving Aussie authors and cannot wait to read more. I see so many great titles on this list. I have a copy of Code Verity and want to read it soon. My best of 2012 poll the top book that came up over and over was Fault in the Stars so I know I need to read that as well. Thanks for sharing this fantastic post. Here is to a great 2013!
Wow Mandee, congrats on your challenge! 76 books written by Aussies is an amazing feat! And yay, I'm so excited to participate in this challenge! I'm planning to read Looking For Alibrandi, Raw Blue, Love and Other Perishable Items, (currently reding and LOVING it!) A Corner of White and Cinnamon Rain. Stolen and Story of a Girl are a couple of my all-time favourite books, too, by the way. Fabulous post, love. :)
P.S. AHHHH your cats!! Adorableness <3
Awesome - congrats on the reading challenge :D Quite an impressive feat!
Code Name Verity is a priority for 2013 on my end, as is The Raven Boys & Scarlet!
And I have to admit this post was doubly fun for me because of all the felines mixed in with books ♥♥!!
Happy New Year Mandee ~ All the best to you in 2013
Great wrap up!!!
You're tempting me with the Aussie women challenge. I have done the Aussie YA before and I LOVED IT. :D
Wow, you read SO much this year, Mandee! I definitely have to agree that Gone Gone Gone, TFiOS, The Ruby Oliver Series, The Disreputable History, Speechless, Something Like Normal, Story of a Girl, Holier Than Thou, CNV, Queen of the Night, and Shadows were all some of my faves this past year. I really do need to take you up on that offer to exchange books soon so I can get my hands on some of those Aussie beauties! :) Wonderful wrap-up, dearest! :D
I want to read more Australian (and international) books in general. I love when stories are set in other countries, even if that's not a large focus. It's just different and more interesting for me.
Thanks for the run-down of books you loved. Going to check some of these out.
-Lauren
Oh this is such a brilliant recap Mandee! There is so much Aussie awesomeness in your recap! I can't wait to dive into some of these! I agree Code Name Verity was definitely a surprising read this year, it's not a book I would typically pick up but it shook me to my core! And I love all your book photos with your cats! They look so adorable! Thanks for sharing your favourites with us! :)
Happy New Year! Well done on reaching your reading goal :)
I hope 2013 is wonderful for you and hopefully we'll get to meet at the summit in February..
A trip to the US? How amazing!!
I'm going to have to make a list of your favourite reads & get hold of them. Thankyou for sharing xx
How many cats do you have?
There looks to be quite a few different ones.. or it is one cat looking very different...haha.
Great recap of the year. I like how you broke it down into Aussie YA and International YA!
Yayyyy for Holier Than Thou! I am seriously so glad you sent me that awesome book - I loved it! I want to be a nice blogger and share it with others but I'm also totally selfish and can't imagine sending it off to someone else because I know I'll want to re-read it soon and I just can't even part with it. Is that terrible?
And oh, Code Name Verity. That book was so good!
Further, I think there must be something in the water over there in Australian because danggg I have read some amazing Aussie ladies this year (Laura Buzo, Melina Marchetta, Cath Crowley, Kimberley Freeman) and am becoming a total Aussie addict.
I loved The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely Lost it! I read that when I was a teenager when it first came out in the US, and it is still my favorite book to this day, at age 21. Lisa Shanahan has inspired me to check out books by other Aussie's. I will definitely read as many of the books on your list I can get my hands on. -Valerie M
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