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Although I started out strong at the beginning of 2012, reading 2-3 books per week, my final book count was “just” 78 books read. We really invested more energy and time in our structured school time this school year, and I’m in the middle of launching a few new projects, so my reading time got cut way back in the last few months.

My goal for 2013 is to simply be realistic about how much time I can spend with my nose in a book. I want to make it a priority over mindless internet surfing or vegging in front of the TV without prioritizing it over the things that really matter, like school and family and making healthy meals!

For more about how I make time for reading, be sure to read The Busy Mom’s Guide to Finding Time to Read.

In 2013, we’ll be launching a new feature here at Life Your Way, a weekly book club where we can chat about what we’re reading and share recommendations. I’m looking forward to the accountability of sharing my book choices every week (maybe I’ll be able to balance my fiction and nonfiction choices a bit better!) as well as sharing the books and audiobooks my girls are enjoying.

In addition, I’m really looking forward to hearing your recommendations, which you’ll be able to share in the comments or through Inlinkz (for fellow bloggers).

And, yes, I’m hoping to finally get on the GoodReads bandwagon as a way to keep an ongoing catalog of the books I read.

Now for the reading lists:

The 2012 List

Here is the full list of books I read in 2012, with my favorites in italics:

Historical Fiction

• The Keeper (Stoney Ridge Seasons) by Suzanne Woods Fisher
• A Time for Peace (Quilts of Lancaster County) by Barbara Cameron
• The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden
• The Guardian Duke: A Forgotten Castles Novel by Jamie Carie
• Yellow Crocus: A Novel by Laila Ibrahim
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson
• A Heart Divided (Heart of the Rockies) by Kathleen Morgan
• All Different Kinds Of Free by Jessica McCann
• Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke
• Words Spoken True by Ann H. Gabhart
• Amelia’s Last Secret (A Novella) by Eric Wilson
• Glamorous Illusions by Lisa T. Bergren
• Breathe and Sing by Lisa T. Bergren
• Rekindled (Fountain Creek Chronicles, Book 1) by Tamera Alexander
• Casting Stones by G. M. Barlean
• The Physician (Cole) and Shaman by Noah Gordon
• At the Sign of the Sugar Plum and Petals in the Ashes by Mary Hooper
• Journey in Riverbend by Henry McLaughlin
• Love Finds You in Amana, Iowa by Melanie Dobson
• Love Finds You in Wildrose, South Dakota by Tracey Bateman
• Wedded to War by Jocelyn Green
• The Widow at Larkspur Inn by Lawana Blackwell

Young Adult Dystopian

• When She Woke by Hillary Jordan
• Wither (Chemical Garden) by Lauren DeStefano
• Matched, Crossed and Reached by Ally Condie
• The Giver, Gathering Blue and Messenger by Lois Lowry
• Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth
• Birthmarked (Birthmarked Trilogy) by Caragh M. O’Brien
• Prison Nation by Jenni Merritt
• Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver
• Eve and Once by Anna Carey

Fantasy

• Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
• Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
• Waterfall, Cascade and Torrent by Lisa T. Bergren
• The Underland Chronicles (Books 1-5) by Suzanne Collins
• Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
• Illusion by Frank Peretti
  

Contemporary Fiction

• Matters of Choice by Noah Gordon
• Over the Edge by Brandilyn Collins
• Secrets, Unforgotten and Echoes by Kristen Heitzmann
• Submerged by Dani Pettrey

Nonfiction

• The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask by Mark Mittelberg
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
• The Well-Trained Mind and The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer
• The Green Pharmacy Herbal Handbook: Your Comprehensive Reference to the Best Herbs for Healing by James A. Duke
• 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker
• In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss
• Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World by Michael Hyatt
• In the Presence of My Enemies by Gracia Burnham
• The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
• Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge
• Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington
• What It Is Is Beautiful by Sarah Dunning Park
• Freedom by Mende Nazer
• Uncovering the Logic of English by Denise Eide

Unfinished

I’d still love to finish these books, which — interestingly — all happen to be paperbacks. Maybe I should splurge for the Kindle editions and see if that makes a difference!

• Climbing Parnassus: A New Apologia for Greek and Latin by Tracy Lee Simmons
• Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra
• Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder
• Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

The 2013 List

And here is the list of books that I hope to read in 2013, knowing I’ll pick up plenty more along the way:

Contemporary Fiction

• If I Lie by Corinne Jackson
• Stolen by Lucy Christopher
• Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley
• What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
• The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

Historical Fiction

• The Snow Child: A Novel by Eowyn Ivey
• The Healing by Jonathan Odell
• The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
• The Dry Grass of August by Anna Jean Mayhew
• Grave Consequences: A Novel (Grand Tour Series) by Lisa T. Bergren (3/1)

Dystopian & Fantasy

• Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi (1/8)
• Ender’s Game (The Ender Quintet) by Orson Scott Card
• Enclave and Outpost by Ann Aquirre
• Fever and Sever (2/12) by Lauren DeStefano

Nonfiction

• Anything: The Prayer That Unlocked My God and My Soul by Jennie Allen
• A Year of Biblical Womanhood: How a Liberated Woman Found Herself Sitting on Her Roof, Covering Her Head, and Calling Her Husband “Master” by Rachel Held Evans
• The Year of Learning Dangerously: Adventures in Homeschooling by Quinn Cummings
• Folks, This Ain’t Normal: A Farmer’s Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World by Joel Salatin
• Love Does: Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World by Bob Goff
• Energy Explosion: A 7 Day Guide to Jumpstart Your Energy by Arabah Joy
• Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
• The History of the Medieval World and The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer
• French Kids Eat Everything: How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters by Karen Le Billon
• Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman

**My to-be-read list comes from a variety of sources, including recommendations from Shaina at Food for My Family, Crystal at Money Saving Mom, Amy at Mom Advice and Katie at Good Life Eats!

What were your favorite books read this year? What’s on your list for 2013? Feel free to leave a link to a year-end reading list on your blog if you’ve shared one!