Bookworm: 22 Books & What I Want You To Read.

I am KILLING it this year, you guys! On New Years Day I set a book reading goal for myself – a total of 50 books in 2012. 50 was an arbitrary number, especially since I only read 29 books in all of 2011 but I’m proud to say I’m on my way. It seems really nerdy to have a book reading goal, but I’ve always loved to read. I have fond memories bringing home really graphic dinosaur books, the ones with pictures showing a T-Rex ripping apart a smaller dinosaur – from the school library for my mom to read to me. The book I remember reading most as a child was Millicent and the Wind by Robert Munsch. The synopsis: Millicent lives a three-day walk from any other children, so she has no friends. But one day, the wind whispers her name, and Millicent discovers how much fun a friend can be. Totally describes my childhood. Just kidding.

I would have borrowers this one, for sure.

I’ve already read 22 books so far this year : ) I’m a little behind pace to reach 50 (I blame the super intense and LONG Clive Barker book I’m reading now) but I think I can make it. Since the year is almost halfway through I thought I’d share my most favourite books so far with you.

The 22 books I’ve read thus far listed in no particular order:

**The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene**

**Ready Player One by Ernest Cline**

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig

Sleepwalk With Me by Mike Birbiglia

**I Know I Am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee**

The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling

Nerd Do Well by Simon Pegg

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Specials (#3 in the Uglies Series) by Scott Westerfeld

****WARNING–> HERE LIES EMBARRASSING BOOKS***

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

****END OF WARNING***

Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

Up in Honey’s Room: A Novel by Elmore Leonard

The Night Eternal (#3 in The Strain Trilogy) by Guillermo Del Toro

The Blood Spilt by Asa Larsson

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Pretties (#2 in the Uglies Series) by Scott Westerfeld

My taste is obviously diverse – from young adult science fiction to celebrity essays to Twilight fan fiction lady porn – it runs the gamut! My top three book recommendations for you dear reader are as follows… 50 Shades of… PSYCHE! I wouldn’t do that to you, even though the books are ridiculously hilarious. I’m recommending “I Know I Am, But What Are You” by Samantha Bee – hilarious! I laughed out loud with each chapter. Samantha has a really unique voice and out of the essay collections I read this year it’s easily my favourite. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – you don’t have to be a pop culture aficionado to appreciate this brilliant piece of science fiction. The worlds (virtual and our own) created by Cline is so vivid and feels eerily possible given how quickly technology is advancing. Plus it has characters you really want to root for. I’ll definitely be revisiting this one. The Fault in Our Stars by John Greene – this one will definitely make you cry but you won’t care you’re going to keep reading. Pretty sure I cried throughout the entire last half of the book, non-stop. It deals with cancer in such a real way and since cancer touches everyone no reader will be left unaffected.

So there you have it! I hope some of you check out the books that I’ve read…even the 50 Shades of Grey series ;)