Books read in 2012

This is not a list taken from the NY Times or Oprah's favorites or whatever. I didn't really read too many books last year and some that I read were an utter waste of my time. I hope not to repeat that mistake again this year

First let's clarify that when I say "books", I also include comic books and graphic novels.

Like these two....

which go hand in hand -  "The Girl with the Donut Tattoo" by Darlene Horn (of My Burning Kitchen)and "24 Hr. Comic" by her husband Paul (hallowed creator of Cool Jerk). The first was a great collab between Darlene and Paul.  I also enjoyed Paul's book because it proved that there was someone else just as obsessed with music and trivia as much as me (and Superman). But seriously, I really liked his writing and how he infused pop culture in his comic.

See my previous post about it here Double Horned Salute (July 2012). My top two faves of 2012!!!

Here a few more books I read, including "Scanwiches", which was a gift from Darlene. Yes, I did read the text of this book which features different sandwiches that are scanned and describe the national origin of each sandwich.  In addition,  "Chew - Vol. 5" (bought during our Portland trip last spring at Bridge City Comics on Mississippi) was also enjoyed, along with the very funny "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me" by Mindy Kaling (loved her in the speed dating scene in "40 Year Old Virgin" and of course, "The Office").

"Ghostopolis" was recommended by TC (also picked up at Bridge City Comics)...

along with "Amulet #4 - The Last Council", and "Squee's Wonderful Big Giant Book of Unspeakable Horrors"  by Jhonen Vasquez (the genius behind "Invader Zim"!)

Now, does this even count? "Boo - The Life of the World's Cutest Dog"? There were NO WORDS but OMG, that dog is so so cute!!!! I "read" it in less than five minutes at the mall! Ha ha!

"Becoming Mexipino" by my friend Dr. Rudy Guevarra, Jr (an assistant professor at Arizona State's School of Transformation). He was also one of the co-authors of 2010's "Filipinos in San Diego".

As an avid fan of Filipino American history, I really admired Rudy's scholarly research about the Mexicans and Filipino communities in San Diego pre-WWII to the present day. Incidentally, the little girl on the front cover is Barbara Quines Monzon, now in her 80's. She's the mother of Dr. Rey Monzon, head of testing at SDSU. The photo is circa the late 20's and was taken in San Juan Capistrano Mission for her baptism. Her father, who was Filipino is on her left; the woman on her right was her godmother. In the 40's, her father owned a photo studio called "Barbara's", which was named after her. I still see her around the community and she is really a super nice lady! She can also rock the leopard print quite well!

Now this was a book I normally wouldn't have read, "Mission Blacklist" - by former Army interrogator Eric Maddox

I originally blogged about this book during our anniversary lunch at Nahrain last summer. The reason why I wanted to read it was so shallow, but yeah...(sigh) Rob Pattinson will be playing the author in an upcoming film. He will portray Maddox, the interrogator who masterminded the capture of Saddam Hussein!  RPattz in a buzz cut? I'm there!

I had fun leafing through these cookbooks and getting some great ideas on how to stretch our food dollars...

I also finished these books (which are not pictured):
"Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter" - Finally! Took me long enough! The movie version was stylish but skipped a lot from the book.

The Hunger Games trilogy: "The Hunger Games", "Catching Fire", and "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins. I had to force myself to finish the trilogy which got a bit cumbersome towards the end. I felt compelled to read it since TC raved about it the summer before. Plus, the first movie came out this Spring so I wanted to "compare" it to the movie. The book was much better but it was kind of predictable.

Now here are some books that some people really really love or really really hate.   I mean, the author just exploded all over 2012 with this erotic trilogy.  The "Fifty Shades" trilogy got its start as "fan fiction",  and was formerly known as "Master of the Universe" by Snowqueens Icedragon (the author's handle on fanfiction.net). I remember reading it in late 2009.   It's not a genre I really sought out in the past but because of the fanfic connection, I ended up reading the books out of curiosity.

Fan fic writers use utilize characters from various fandoms, such as X-Files (now that's really old!), Game of Thrones, Twilight, Harry Potter, True Blood, or whatever and write their own stories. Sometimes they go by "canon pairings" or employ "alternate universes". In this case, Anastasia Steele = Bella Swan and Christian Grey = Edward Cullen. But there are no vampires involved and there's a lot (and I mean A LOT) of kinky sex/BDSM going on. Uh, not quite Twilight! Ha ha! In most cases, the fan fics that I really like are the ones that don't delve into the supernatural and feature the characters are regular people.

In these fan fics, authors have creatively reworked the  "Edward" character in so many different ways such as:
 a billionaire tycoon like Christian Grey ("Master of the Universe"), or a total nerd or geek ("Animate Me"), or a hot musician ("Episode"), ex-convict ("The Inside Man"). or tattoo artist ("Clipped Wings & Inked Armor"), a deadbeat dad, a stripper ("Dancing in the Dark"), a sexy radio DJ ("Tunes with Tony Masen") , an Amish farmer (Wut?, but I really did like that story), a senator ("Fall to Ruin One Day", and so on...None of this vampire business! One of the current fan-fics that I'm reading right now is "Fan Fiction, Sex Gods and Single Girls". It's a fan fic WITHIN a fan fic and it's utterly hilarious! So far, it's about 55 chapters in and still....no LEMONS (i.e. "sex") but the tension is mounting and...okay, I'll stop there! Ha ha, but seriously, it's a really fun read!

The last two books at the bottom of the pile were also "Twi-fic" (fan fiction based on "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer).

I had to turn off my rational thoughts when reading this trilogy. It's not like the books will cure cancer or end world hunger,  but hey, a little escapist fiction doesn't hurt anybody I say.  I survived and I still think my IQ hasn't dropped too muchbecause of it.  Let me fan myself now, whew. Here's the link to my previous post on the "Fifty" books...

Another set of books that started off as Twi-fan fic was recently published last Spring but I didn't see the books in the stores until just recently. In fact, I saw these books at Target, of all places. Ugh! Now anyone's grandma can buy these books, ha ha! Or God forbid, a Tween!

Formerly known as the fanfic "The University of Edward Masen"  by Sebastien Robichaud (what a cool fake name!), it was pulled from the net last year and later published in two parts as "Gabriel's Inferno" and "Gabriel's Rapture". I bought my copies late Spring through Amazon. Now these books,  I really liked because of the author's use of the academic setting (the University of Toronto) and making the main character, Julia Mitchell a doctoral student specializing in Dante, with Dr. Gabriel Emerson as her thesis director and (hot) professor.  Lots of references to "Dante's Inferno" and how Julia was "Beatrice" to Emerson's Dante.

There's a lot of angst in the back story and it builds rather slowly.  I liked these better than the Fifty Shades trilogy since it seemed to have more "substance". Don't get me wrong. There's still a lot of "sexy times" in the book but not as, uh "graphic".  Anyhow, here's a link that goes into the fanfic history of these books by Media Bistro.

This was a hilarious book, formerly known as the fan fic  "Edward Wallbanger" but published recently as "Wallbanger". With a title (and bookcover) like this, it's bound to get some attention. The original fanfic and the subsequent book is actually quite humorous. You've got the female main character, her feisty best friends, and the hot guy next door. There's a lot of sexual tension (played for laughs) between those two, as well as a cat named Clive (named after "Clive Handjob", a fake name used by Rob Pattinson when checking into hotels) who steals the show in the book!

The author is Alice Clayton (who also wrote "The Redhead Revealed") and the original story is from her fan fic formerly known as "I Love LA" was a fun and breezy read. This was the sequel to "The Unidentified Readhead" (which was released two years ago). The books are about an actress who meets a famous actor (guess who?) and falls in love with him. The problem is that she's nearly ten years older and they have to keep their relationship a secret from the papparazzi and the public. Sounds like an author fantasy to me. The original fic even had it's own soundtrack which I still have on my ipod! Yes, these fics had their own playlists for each chapter!!! Beastie Boys anyone?

"Love Unscripted" by Tina Reber was a book (not based on fanfic) that was also a fun read, although you could tell it could have benefited from some editing as the book too way too long to get to the point. I found myself skipping over pages and pages. It was along the same premises of "I Love LA" where a normal woman falls in love with a famous actor (guess who again). It was kind of "Notting Hill'ish" and was one of those swoony type romance books but with snarky humor within. Again, nothing that will change the world or make you feel altruistic and shit.

Now the books that I wished I had never bought and read because they were a waste of my time and money. On Amazon, they have recommendations that say, "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought", and they show the books and so on. I thought I'd "take a chance" on some of these titles which included "Beautiful Disaster" by Jamie McGuire, "Thoughtless" and "Effortless" by  S.C. Stephens. The writing was terrible. The situations sophomoric. The main characters unrelatable (to me).  I took  a risk and learned the hard way. I'm over this genre! If I could utilize brain bleach, I would.

There was the scorching hot duo from Sylvia Day (who lives in San Diego):
"Bared to You" and it's sequel "Reflected in You" (Crossfire Series). The author seems to be capitalizing on the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. The main character, Gideon Cross is the billionaire tycoon and there is a swoony female character named Eva. There are too many sex scenes to count which actually gets pretty boring to read. I get it the first two or three times but then it becomes a tedious exercise for the author to use different synonyms for getting banged.  For variety, I also read one of her other books, "Seven Years to Sin" which was a historical novel but with sexy times. It wasn't too bad but again, not my normal genre.

Two books that I read were recommended by a fansite but I ended up not really liking them:
"The Taker" and its sequel, "The Reckoning" (part of "The Taker" trilogy).

The Marchwood Vampire series was also recommended, "Hidden" and its sequel, "Thicker than Blood" by Shalini Boland. This was an interesting take on the vampire legend using 19th Century Paris and London, along with modern London and surprisingly Cappodocia, Turkey as backdrops. The chapters go back and forth between character's POV's and the different centuries. I found myself skipping over certain chapters to get through faster. Not the best way to do it, but I got a little impatient.

When Kirk was doing his Turkey posts, I kept thinking about the fairy chimneys and their sinister role in "Hidden". I liked the first book better than the sequel.

My absolute FAVORITES from last year were:
"A Discovery of Witches" and its captivating sequel, "Shadow of Night"by Deborah Harkness (the "All Souls Trilogy")
.
Witches, wizards, daemons, and vampires in academia (think Yale and Oxford!). It's a brilliant mix of history, alchemy, magic, and romance! Dr. Diana Bishop is the reluctant descendant of witches who unlocks the spells on a long-enchanted manuscript. Dr. Matthew Clairrmont plays the sexy, mysterious and possessive vampire who feels compelled to protect her. The sequel has them time traveling to Elizabethan England during the height of witch-hunting hysteria and the burgeoning interest in science and alchemy. I loved how she intermingled real characters in the book, such as Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. I can't wait for the third book!

On my "To Read" queue in 2013:
The 2nd book in the Songs of Fire & Ice series (aka "Game of Thrones"), "Clash of Kings" by George R. R. Martin, and the 3rd, "Storm of Swords".

KING OF THE NORTH!!!!!!

"Beautiful Bastard" - Yes, that's the name of the book. Taken from a previous fan-fic called "The Office", this story pre-dates "Master of the Universe" (which later became the "Fifty Shades" trilogy). I remember reading the original version back in late 2008.  The title refers to the nickname of the main character, a ruthless and handsome CEO.

More on the background of this story here. If they ever make a movie out of that book, good luck making it rated R because hot damn!

"Darius Justice Superforce" - by David Walker (creator of "Badazz Mofo")  I swear I will finish this one day! I like the story line but I'm juggling reading too many books.

"The Jewel House - Elizabethan London and the Scientific Revolution" - Deborah Harkness (author of "Discovery of Witches"; she's a history professor at USC) - fascinating but not an easy read...

"Desert Queen - The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia" by Janet Wallach

and the hotly anticipated "The Adobo Road Cookbook - A Filipino Food Journey" by Marvin Gapultos (of the blog Burnt Lumpia and former owner of now defunct food truck, The Manila Machine)


In fact, here's his really cool book trailer:


AND EVEN MORE "SMUT":
"The Original Sinners" series by Tiffany Reisz.
"The Siren" - I just barely read the first few pages. I'm trying to read this and "Clash of Kings" at the same time..."The Angel" and "The Prince" are next after "The Siren".

I hope to read more graphic novels this year, such as the classic "Watchmen" and maybe the "Preacher" series, "Persepolis", "The Walking Dead" and "Bluebloods". I tried reading "Watchmen" in high school and couldn't get into it. Now that I'm a little more, uh mature, I will give it another chance. As for "Preacher", if Superman and Bert liked it, I want to read it for myself.

Readers, any favorite books from last year that you recommend?