My reading slowed waaaay down at the end of this year because a) holidays are crazytown, b) I mostly listened to Christmas music on my commute instead of audiobooks, and c) I started reading Moby-Dick and The Passage, both of which I am still in the middle of, and both of which are super long. But! Here is what I did finish.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern: Exactly my kind of book – a little magical, mysterious, romantic, with lots of foreshadowing and pretty words. While I was reading I felt like it was a little too long, but I’d probably enjoy that on a re-read. (4 stars)

The End by Lemony Snicket: The last of the Series of Unfortunate Events books, and it was pretty much just like the others. So I liked it fine, just like the rest, but I was a little disappointed that all the loose ends weren’t tied up. (4 stars)

Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor: The second in a trilogy and definitely not as good as the first. The main villain in this one just annoyed me. I’ll probably still read the last one though. (audiobook, 3 stars)

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie: This is the first of the Hercule Poirot novels, and of course I loved it since I have a thing for eccentric detectives. The rest of the characters are pretty shallow and are mainly just there to support the plot but it kept surprising me so it’s all good. (audiobook, 3 stars)

How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster: I wanted a brush-up on literary criticism and this served the purpose. I found it very easy to read, straightforward, and interesting although his attempt at humor wasn’t my style. (4 stars)

Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson: This was just really, really funny. (audiobook, 4 stars)

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie: One of the most famous of Hercule Poirot’s cases. Really creative mystery, not your typical outcome. Some deeper issues at play as well. Super enjoyable. (audiobook, 4 stars)

Shine Shine Shine by Lydia Netzer: I really enjoyed this strange, sad, beautiful book. For some reason it took me a long time to read though. (4 stars)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: Midway through this I was pretty sure I’d rate it three stars. I was interested and liked the characters, but the overall plot wasn’t advancing very fast and for awhile it just seemed like unrelated episodes. But then it all started to come together, slowly and then faster, and the end was perfect. Not only was there an exciting climax but the resolution was so nostalgic and emotional that I found myself sobbing. (audiobook, 4 stars)

Tomorrow I’ll share with you my five favorite books of 2012.