bOOKlist 2012, Chris.

1) 11/22/63- Stephen King.  Typical King, superbly detailed characters, crazy good idea for a story.  Got a bit longwinded and dry during some of the parts about Oswald but overall very good.  Tells the story of a man who goes back in time to try and stop the assassination of JFK.

2) The Exorcist- William Peter Blatty.  DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED, or frightened, but mostly OFFENDED.  This novel is profane in the literal sense of the word, i..e. Treat something sacred with irreverence or disrespect. (the filth that comes out of this little girl's mouth, i mean, really!?!)   Irreverence doesn't begin to cover it.  This book was fantastic, I had no idea it would be so good and so thought-provoking.  Led me to seeing the movie which wasn't half as good as the novel.  Again, do not even attempt this novel if you are easily spooked or offended.

3) The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins.  Just pure fun.  The first is Hunger Games, second one is Catching Fire, and third is Mockingjay.  Mom recommended this series, knowing i share her love of trilogies and epic story lines.  This is pure candy, fun from beginning to end and a super easy read, you can likely finish all three in a week or so.  Borrows heavily from the Stephen King short story "The Running Man", but in actuallity the books resemble the movie version of this story more than the actual story itself.  Main themes are the same, specifically reliance on family and friends and the evil inherent in most any system of government.  Timely themes for this day and age. 

4) The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman.  A dark retelling of the Jungle Book stories.  The main character grows up in a graveyard vs a jungle, and interacts with ghosts and monsters rather than animals.  A really quick read and a very eerie and disquieting story.  It is hard to tell where the tension comes from in this novel but it exists the entire way through.  Would recommend brushing up on the Jungle Book prior to starting this one.

5) The Jungle Books, Rudyard Kipling.  See above.  I loved these, had been a very long time since i thought about Mowgli and Bagheera and Baloo.  I had forgoten stories like Rikki-Tikki-Tavi were in the Jungle Books.  Great read, lots of fun.

6) Shadows in Flight, Orson Scott Card.  Need to be conversant with the Ender's Shadow story arc by same author, which is in itself an arc based on the Ender's Game stories.  Loved this book though it got tough reviews (not everything can be Ender's Game).  The main themes of these stories are the ethical evolution of humanity in space.  As grandiose as that may seem, the fun comes in the characters.  I challenge any of you to read both arcs, the ender arc and the bean arc (of which this novel is the latest) and not fall in love with both of these genius children.  I plan to eventually have two lab puppies, and they shall be named ender and bean.  Furthermore, if  I am ever blessed to have a son, he will be named Andrew after the title character of these novels (Ender). 

7) Ready Player One, Ernest Cline.  Quite simply the funnest book I've read in years.  THANKS MOM!!!(man, she really gets my taste in books!)  A must read for any child of the eighties.  The pop culture references come fast and heavy and the story idea is the most clever and original I have read in a long while.  I won't ruin the story but one read through of the synopsis on the back page was enough to get me hooked.  Of  the books I have read so far this year this is the undisputed champeen! and its really not even close.  This book is just that good.  (Kevin, if you are reading this, pop over to Amazon and order this book now.  I know you don't have any time to read but if you just read one single book this year, just one, make it this one.  The 80's pop culture stuff will transport you back to green acres and sitting in front of the tv on saturday mornings watching cartoons.  Trust me.)

8) The Crook Factory, Dan Simmons.  Am halfway through this one now.  Pretty good.  A fictional narrative about the last days of Ernest Hemingway.  Takes place while 'Papa' was in Havana and mostly takes place at sea or at the legendary 'finca' among the army of cats.  The story involves Hemingway setting up a spyring for counter espionage of nazi agents in Cuba during the opening days of WWII.  Like all Simmons I have read it can be somewhat dry at times but overall I am loving it and based on the build-up the payoff should be well worth it.  Plus, I'm sorta fascinated more with Ernest Hemingway the man then most of his novels (have always loved his short fiction more than the novels, especially sutff like Big Two Hearted River, Ten Indians, and Up in Michigan) and this novel spends alot of time painting a picture of Hemingway the man.  Plus, this is a great period piece including appearances by, among others, J. Edgar Hoover, Ingrid Bergman, Marlene Deitrich, and Gary Cooper.  Final verdict to come.