Looking Back at 2012

As 2012 draws to a close it’s time to look back and ponder the meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything or at the very least the books I’ve read. 2012 was a very slow year for me. Reading 122 books in 2011 induced a severe case of reading burn-out which I just couldn’t seem to shake no matter how hard I tried. With all the great science fiction books released this year my TBR-pile kept growing while I was frantically trying to take things one page at a time. A battle I simply couldn’t win.

I only managed to read 41 books this year which came as quite a shock since I initially planned to try to beat my 2011 total. One good thing that came out of my burn-out is that I discovered a newfound love for short stories. Before this I never read much short fiction, choosing to stick to those epic tomes you need to lug around in a cart. The short stories were a breath of fresh air which got me through those tough times when I didn’t feel like reading anything. Surprisingly enough I ended up reading a total of 133 short stories/novellas. I’ll definitely be making some time for more short fiction in 2013, dynamite comes in small packages and some of the stories packed quite a wallop.

Top reads of 2012

Since I didn’t get to many of the big releases of 2012 it would be a bit counterproductive to try to compile a ‘best of 2012’ list, but I do want to highlight 2 novels I’d pick as my top reads of the year.

Blue Remembered Earth by Alastair Reynolds

A superbly written, optimistic view of humanity’s future in space. The novel is brimful of stunning ideas and believable near-future technology that kept me engrossed to the very last page.

Earth Unaware by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston

A completely engrossing read that just brought the characters and their environment to vivid life. I just couldn’t get enough.

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I’d like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all the publishers - Jonathan Ball, Pan Macmillan South Africa and Penguin Books South Africa for their encouragement and continued support.

I didn’t read as much as I wanted to, I neglected the blog far too much and I didn’t catch up on the series I intended to, but overall 2012 was a pretty good year. Pretty darn good.

Happy New Year! I hope that 2013 will be filled with tons of books, but more importantly, that you will have enough time to read them all.