2012 Book Challenge Recap

Now that 2012 is a thing of the past, I would like to share the results of my 50 Book Challenge. For those of you who are newer readers of my blog or unfamiliar with this challenge, I started keeping track of the books I read in 2011 in the hope of reading 50 books. (See 2011 recap here!) Although I fell short of my goal that year, my commitment to reading for my own personal enrichment ultimately enhanced my creativity and allowed me to make my hobby a priority.

2012 was a bit more of a struggle, with multiple responsibilities preventing me from reading as much as I preferred. I had trouble finding the time to finish a book this past year, but I still wound up reading a few great ones. I discovered the Library at my school (a little late in the game) and would recommend this hidden gem to any college students who haven’t visited theirs already. I juggled classics, such as The Importance of Being Earnest and Lolita, with not-so-remarkable pieces of “literature,” such as Fifty Shades of Grey. This year, in 2013, I hope to make reading more of a priority again. Below are the books and plays I picked up in 2012. (Any links will direct you to blogs I wrote that were inspired by these books.)

50 Book Challenge of 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling (1/8/12) – Commitment: It’s Not Just About Settling Down
2. Shut Out by Kody Keplinger (1/13/12)
3. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (3/3/12)
4. To Wed A Wicked Earl by Olivia Parker (3/10/12)
5. Me: Stories Of My Life by Katharine Hepburn (3/18/12)
6. Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde (3/27/12)
7. Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Klosterman (4/1/12)
8. Salomé by Oscar Wilde (4/8/12)
9. A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde (4/20/12)
10. At The Threshold of Memory by Marjorie Agosin (4/20/12)
11. Meetings, Expositions, Events and Conventions by George Fenich (4/22/12)
12. An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde (5/17/12)
13. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes (5/27/12)
14. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (6/11/12)
15. Sabrina Fair by Samuel Taylor (6/12/12)
16. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger (7/1/12)
17. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James (7/5/12)
18. Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James (9/20/12)

Have you read any of these books? What were your thoughts? What books do you recommend, and what books do you hope to read in 2013?