Welcome to Day Two of Armchair BEA. Today we’re spotlighting some of our favorites of the year so far.
Luckily, I track those each month as I link to my reviews.
In January, it was Mudbound, by Hillary Jordan. (Click titles/covers for reviews)
Next: The Bungalow, by Sarah Jio
Blue Monday, by Nicci French
The Beginner’s Goodbye, by Anne Tyler
11/22/63, by Stephen King
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These books exemplify another side effect of blogging. Although I’d read Stephen King, Anne Tyler, and Nicci French in my pre-blogging days, I first learned of authors Sarah Jio and Hillary Jordan through blogging.
Maybe I would have stumbled upon them on my own, but I somehow doubt it. I first read Hillary Jordan’s When She Woke last year, and then just had to read Mudbound.
What are your favorites this year? Has blogging helped inform your reading choices?
I haven’t heard of any of these, except for Stephen King’s 11.22.63. I have it on audio book, but it’s over 30 hours. So I’m saving it for a long car trip.
Great list! Thanks for stopping by my Best of 2012!
I’m not a fan of audio, especially not the longer ones…but it might just work for a long car trip. Although my longest one in the last few years was only 11 hours…lol
Hope you enjoy it, Lauren…and thanks for stopping by.
Good thing I am browsing best of 2012 with my Goodreads open.
Ha-ha…Yes, I find myself adding books, too, as I troll around the blogosphere. Thanks for stopping by, Carrie, and enjoy the week!
Blue Monday is on my list to read, glad to see it is on your best so far.
I have had a crap year of reading so I didn’t do a post.
Sorry to hear about your reading year so far….Hope everything improves soon, Marce, and I loved Blue Monday so much that I didn’t want to stop reading to eat or sleep. Thanks for visiting!
Thanks for stopping by today. A bunch of those are unfamiliar to me so I’ll have to check them out. I did read Mudbound a couple of years ago. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Yes, I think it was definitely an unforgettable read, Marie. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your week.
Blogging has been how I have found a lot of the books I have read recently too. I haven’t read any of these yet, but I wrote down some titles to look into!
Yes, my notebooks are filling up with books to look into…thanks for visiting, and enjoy the week, Samantha.
I should really read basically any Nicci French novel, I’ve heard so many good things about them!!
I’ve enjoyed the Nicci French books for awhile, now, but hadn’t read any in a couple of years until Blue Monday.
Thanks for stopping by, Daisy, and I hope you enjoy them, too.
Boy, I need to get out more, because lots of people are raving about books I’ve not heard of (or just not read)! These sound interesting – I’ll have to check them out.
Thanks, Melissa…glad you liked them. Hope you enjoy finding new books to read. Glad you could stop by.
I haven’t read too many 2012 releases yet, but I loved your picks. I’m intrigued by Blue Monday especially!
Thanks, Preet…I think I may have misinterpreted today’s prompt, as I answered in terms of Favorite Books Read in 2012…all of these were released in 2012, except Mudbound. Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy your choices.
I have been dying to read that Anne Tyler book! I’ll post my favorite books in my own Armchair BEa post later today, because I am not sure of them yet, lol!
I used to have more difficulty choosing, but now I post links to my books read on one of the pages here, and each month choose a favorite.
Makes life easier…lol
Thanks for stopping by, Ghetto Girl, and enjoy the week.
I’m curious on the Stephen King book b/c of the subject, though admittedly the only book I’ve liked of his was his book on the writing craft.
Stopping by for the Armchair BEA hop!
I’ve read a few Stephen King books, Stephanie, and except for his prose, this one was not like the others. I enjoyed this one more than his horror fare.
Thanks for visiting, and enjoy your week.
Oh goodness, you are making me feel super behind in my reading. Or proud that I have a decent TBR Bookcase! Thanks for sharing!
A great bookcase can go a long way toward making us feel better, Sarah. At one time, my unread TBRs rested on a redwood barbecue cart, with a few stacked on the floor! lol
Now that the stacks are more manageable, they’re on my office coffee table.
Thanks for stopping by, and enjoy the week.
I’ve heard Mudbound is amazing! And I really want to read the new Stephen King but I’ve never read anything by him so I’m not sure if that’s the best book to start with.
It’s hard to know what to recommend, Jae, but I did enjoy this Stephen King more than his others.
Thanks for stopping by…enjoy the week.
I still have to read 11/22/63 (it’s on my pile) and I just recently ordered When She Woke by Hillary Jordan. My friend, Heather, loved that book. Great list, Laurel. I’ll have to check out the other titles.
Oh, I think you’re going to love When She Woke…and 11/22/63 totally captivated me. Thanks for visiting, Michelle, and enjoy your choices.
I haven’t heard of a few of these before now, but I have heard of The Bungalow and I’ve heard that it was really good.
All of them sound interesting though. 
Thanks for sharing your Best of 2012 list!
Ambur
My Armchair BEA Giveaway
You’re welcome, Ambur, and enjoy your selections. Glad you could stop by.
I have been meaning to read 11/22/63! I am not sure why I haven’t yet other than that I know his books are so long and I get so involved in them! The Stand is my favorite book ever though so I need to get to it soon!!
I had to read the Stephen King book in bits and pieces, usually at night. It took about a week.
Thanks for stopping by, Shannon, and enjoy your reading.
I really want to read that Stephen King book!
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did, Jillian…thanks for stopping by, and have a great week.
I hadn’t heard of Mudbound until about two days ago and now it’s popping up everywhere and I can’t believe I hadn’t read it yet! It’s definitely going on my TBR!
I read When She Woke first, and then started hearing about Mudbound. Couldn’t wait to dive into it. Thanks for visiting, Stacy. Enjoy your week.
Great choices Laurel!
Thanks, Shelleyrae…enjoy your picks, and I’m glad you could visit.
I haven’t read any of these books, but they look great! Enjoy aBEA!
Thanks, neabarabea….glad you could stop by. Enjoy your picks!
I have not read any of these but I hope you enjoy the rest of day #2.
Thanks, Lisa…hope you do, too; glad you could stop by.
One of my good reading buddies is heavily pushing Mudbound at me. I have a feeling I’ll get to it sooner rather than later!
Yes, it was SOOO good! But I gather you figured that I’d love it, since I picked it. Quite different from the author’s book When She Woke….but totally awesome. Thanks for visiting, Jen…hope you enjoy it.
I have The Violets of March on my favorite list. I did like The Bungalow too. I am sure that 11/22/63 will find its way on my fav list to as I am really enjoying it. I just brought home Blue Monday.
Yes, eventually the books we hear a lot about (in a good way) do find their way “home” to us. Thanks for visiting, Nise, and enjoy the week!
Seems to me I remember hearing tons of a great things around the blogosphere about Mudbound when it first came out. I have When She Woke waiting for me on my TBR shelf, but I still need to grab a copy of Mudbound!
It was after I raved about When She Woke that I started hearing: “you have to read Mudbound.” So I checked it out and the rest is beautiful history…lol
Thanks for stopping by, Megan, and enjoy!
I’ve been eyeing that Bungalow for a while now, but I agree Mudbound is a fantastic read (it’s one of the choices in the giveaway on my blog – have a look, there are other books to choose from, too). I loved 11/22/63 too!
Thanks, Judith, I’ll check out your giveaways! Thanks for stopping by…and isn’t it fun to talk about the books we love?