Tuesday 1 January 2013

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!!

 Well first of all...
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!

I hope 2013 brings everyone a happy and successful year, both in the blogsphere and in the...'normal-sphere'...!!
 
Can you believe 2013 has arrived already??! Time has simply flown by so fast I can hardly keep up! I can't believe The Book Parade has been up and running for almost a whole year now (I started in February 2012)! It seems like such a long time since then, yet also like no time at all! (If that even makes sense...)

Anyway, as we're waving goodbye to 2012...the year when the world was supposed to end...but didn't...at least it doesn't appear to have done...?? I would like to share the books I loved the most this year! So, here goes...

My Favourite Reads Of 2012!!!

I've read so many amazing books this year, so it was really hard to pick just a small selection, but I've finally managed to come up with a list of my top ten.There will be loads more that deserve to be on the list too but unfortunately I couldn't include them all! :(

1.     The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
 
BEST. BOOK. EVER. 

I could spend all day talking about this book.

But don't worry.

I won't.

BEAUTIFUL PERFECT AMAZING DEVASTATING BRILLIANT GENIUS BEAUTIFUL AMAZING PERFECT

ASDFGHJKL

My thoughts are stars I cannot fathom into constellations.




2.     Doomed by Tracy Deebs     
                                             
   I have to say, this one really surprised me. I didn't  expect it to be so amazing...but it really was! A tense,  thrilling adventure that had me so drawn in that I honestly could feel me pulse racing as I read it!


  3. Divergent by Veronica Roth


 After The Hunger Games and this, I was starting to fall in love with the dystopian genre. When I read this, at the beginning of 2012, I hadn't read many dystopians...but throughout the rest of 2012, I have read LOADS! This remains one of my favourites though! Read my review of it here :)

4. Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien

 My mum picked this out at the library for me and I'm so glad she did because I ended up loving it! I read it in one day, and immediately requested  demanded the sequel! ;) Which she very kindly went to the library and brought home the next day! <3
This book was also the very first one I EVER reviewed on The Book Parade!! Check out the review here :) 

5. Shelter by Harlan Coben

  When I found this in the library I was really excited because I had been intrigued by the premise for a long time...and I was not disappointed. Shelter was a thrilling, gripping, shocking read. I can't wait to read more about Mickey!

6. The Maze Runner

I liked this one so much I bought it for two of my friends as birthday presents! There's a really great mystery underlying this - What is the purpose of the maze? Why is it there? Who built it? And just when you think the mystery is almost resolved at the end, a whole new can of worms is opened...

7. Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry

 Do I really need to say more? Yes, this book was as awesome as pretty much EVERYONE says it is! :D

8. A Long, Long Sleep

 This was another of those ones that took me by surprise. I thought it would just be another fairytale retelling - sweet and likable at best - but it was so much more. Even had tears pouring down my cheeks at one point! Read my review of it here :)

9. Ashes by Ilsa J. Bick

This was one of the very first books I read this year. It was gripping and nail-bitingly tense - literally - I found my fingertips hovering near my mouth at points! I must read the sequel soon!

10. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

  I was in holiday in Canada when I read this and although on holiday you're meant to go out and do exciting things...all I wanted to do was stay in and read! Skin-tingling romance between Adam and Juliette <3


Well, that was a harder task than I would have thought!! There are SO many more books I feel I could mention but we'd be here all day if I did!

Feel free to leave any comments with your thoughts about my best reads of 2012, or yours! And once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!! :D  
 

9 comments:

  1. Happy new year, Catherine!
    THE FAULT IN OUR STARS! YAAAY! I LOVE IT SO SO SO SO MUCH! Augustus <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
    AND DIVERGENT! Four <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

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  2. I love The Fault in Our Stars! :) I still must read Divergent. Happy New Year!

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  3. Happy New Year! OMG THE FAULT IN OUR STARS!!!! :D Such an amazing book! And Divergent is brilliant too... I <3 Four :)
    I am dying to read Shatter Me, Ashes and Birthmarked, they look amazing.
    Have a great 2013, Catherine! :) xxx

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  4. Catherine, happy new year to you, too! It looks like the majority of your favorites of 2012 are dystopians. I'll really have to check out ASHES, DOOMED, SHATTER ME, and BIRTHMARKED. I LOVE Divergent, Pushing the Limits, and The Maze Runner. Great picks, Catherine!

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    1. Haha yeah, I noticed that too! It seems I really do read an alarmingly large number of dystopians! ;D

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  5. OMG I SO AGREE ABOUT SHATTER ME AND DIVERGENT THEY WERE SO AMAZING. SO AMAZING. I SO AGREE WITH YOU ON THOSE. DIVERGENT IS BECOMING A MOVIE COME 2014. THEY CAST SHAILENE WOODLEY AS TRIS AND HAVE A SHORT LIST FOR FOUR AND THEY'RE CHOOSING SOON!

    And I have Promised on my shelf but I haven't read Birthmarked yet! But awesome choices, they all look AMAZING!!

    I'm reading Doomed right now, too, and let me just say: the protagonist really annoyed me. Like, a LOT. But it's actually turning up so I'm really excited to possibly finish it soon! :D

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    1. OMG I KNOW I'M SO EXCITED FOR THE DIVERGENT MOVIE AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! :D

      Aww you found Pandora annoying?? I thought she was a pretty cool protagonist! Oh well, hope you enjoy the rest of the book anyways :)

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  6. Happy New Year to you too, Catherine! Hope this year is great for you ^.^

    The Fault in Our Stars... seems like such a beautiful book and I'm yet to pick it up. Same with Divergent although I have promised myself that after my exams , I will put aside review books and DEVOUR it :D Shelter and Shatter Me sounds totally awesome too - lots of pretty dystopians up there ;) And PUSHING THE LIMITS - LOVE LOVE LOVE, one of my favourites this year too <3

    Fab list, Catherine <3

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  7. OMG OMG The Fault in Our Stars <3 OMG OMG!!
    I loved this book with all my heart, AUGUSTUS <3
    Sorry, I thought I was following this awesome blog, but I am now. Happy New Year, (Follow back, maybe). Happy Blogging :D

    - Sunny @ www.asupersunnyspot.blogspot.com

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