2012 Resolutions

Sigh.

There's basically only one: figure out this health thing and get on top of it.

That includes some sub-resolutions, though, including:

• Talking to my GP this week
• Trying out the gluten-free diet
• Getting health insurance
• Maybe visiting the Mayo clinic, if my hypothetical health insurance will pay for it
• Getting acupuncture
• Doing exercise every day, no matter what
• Working on going to bed early and getting not only enough sleep, but the right kind of sleep
• etc.

I'm so boring.

What I Read in 2011

1. Graceling Kristin Cashore
2. Fire Kristin Cashore
3. Disgrace J.M. Coetzee
4. Buffy Season 8 Vols. 1-7
5. Bud, not Buddy Christopher Paul Curtis
6. Diwata Barbara Jane Reyes
7. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake Sarah Maclean
8. Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord Sarah Maclean
9. Faking It Jennifer Crusie
10. Welcome to Temptation Jennifer Crusie
11. Chinatown Beat Henry Chang
12. Rosemary and Rue Seanan McGuire
13. A Local Habitation Seanan McGuire
14. An Artificial Night Seanan McGuire
15. Open Andre Agassi
16. Mark of the Demon Diana Rowland
17. Blood of the Demon Diana Rowland
18. Secrets of the Demon Diana Rowland
19. Moon Called Patricia Briggs
20. Blood Bound Patricia Briggs
21. Iron Kissed Patricia Briggs
22. Bone Crossed Patricia Briggs 
23. Silver Borne Patricia Briggs
24. Fight Club Chuck Palahniuk
25. Huntress Malinda Lo
26. Beauty and the Beast Robin McKinley
27. Speak Laurie Halse Anderson
28. Late Eclipses Seanan McGuire
29. River Marked Patricia Briggs
30. Cry Wolf Patricia Briggs
31. Hunting Ground Patricia Briggs
32. The Thief Megan Whalen Turner
33. The Queen of Attolia Megan Whalen Turner
34. The King of Attolia Megan Whalen Turner
35.  A Conspiracy of Kings Megan Whalen Turner
36. Blood and Chocolate Annette Curtis Klause
37. Patricia Briggs Moon Called
38. Faith Hunter Skinwalker
39. Faith Hunter Blood Cross
40. Faith Hunter Mercy Blade
41. Michael Frost and Holly Black White Cat
42. Holly Black Red Glove
43. Ilona Andrews On the Edge
44. Ilona Andrews Bayou Moon
45. Ilona Andrews Magic Bites
46. Ilona Andrews Magic Burns
47. Ilona Andrews Magic Strikes
48. Ilona Andrews Magic Bleeds
49. Patricia Briggs Masques
50. Patricia Briggs Wolfsbane
51. Patricia Briggs Steal the Dragon
52. Patricia Briggs The Hob's Bargain
53. Patricia Briggs Dragon Bones
54. Patricia Briggs Dragon Blood
55. Patricia Briggs Raven's Shadow
56. Patricia Briggs Raven's Strike
57. Kathryn Harrison The Kiss
58. Hat Full of Sky Terry Pratchett
59. Wintersmith Terry Pratchett
60. I Shall Wear Midnight Terry Pratchett
61. Kitty and the Midnight Hour Carrie Vaughn
62. Kitty Goes to Washington Carrie Vaughn
63. Kitty Takes a Holiday Carrie Vaughn
64. Kitty and the Silver Bullet Carrie Vaughn
65. Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand Carrie Vaughn
66. Kitty Raises Hell Carrie Vaughn
67. Kitty's House of Horrors Carrie Vaughn
68. Kitty Goes to War Carrie Vaughn
69. Voices of Dragons Carrie Vaughn
70. Leche R. Zamora Linmark
71. Cold Magic Kate Elliott
72. Magic Slays Ilona Andrews
73. Kitty's Big Trouble Carrie Vaughn
74. Carrie Vaughan Steel
75. Scott Lynch The Lies of Locke Lamora
76. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone
77. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
78. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
79. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
    
80. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
81. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince
82. J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
    
83. a friend's novel MS
84. Tess Gerritsen The Silent Girl
85. Patti Smith Just Kids
86. The Power of Six Pittacus Lore 
87. Knightley Academy Violet Haberdasher 
88. The Secret Prince Violet Haberdasher 
89. One Salt Sea Seanan McGuire 
90. Goliath Scott Westerfeld 
91. The Girl of Fire and Thorns Rae Carson 
92. Drink, Slay, Love Sarah Beth Durst 
93. Cold Fire Kate Elliott 
94. Wolf Mark Joseph Bruchac
95. Alanna Tamora Pierce 
96. In the Hand of the Goddess Tamora Pierce 
97. The Woman Who Rides Like a Man Tamora Pierce
98. Lioness Rampant Tamora Pierce 
99. Trickster's Choice Tamora Pierce 
100. Trickster's Queen Tamora Pierce 
101. Leviathan Scott Westerfeld 
102. Behemoth Scott Westerfeld 
103. The Thief Megan Whalen Turner 
104. The Queen of Attolia Megan Whalen Turner 
105. The King of Attolia Megan Whalen Turner 
106. A Conspiracy of Kings Megan Whalen Turner 
107. White Cat Holly Black 
108. Red Glove Holly Black 
109. Graceling Kristin Cashore 
110. Cold Magic Kate Elliott
111. Wolf Mark Joseph Bruchac
112. Daugther of Smoke and Bone Laini Taylor
113. Troubled Waters Sharon Shinn
114. A Posse of Princesses Sherwood Smith
115. Coronets and Steel Sherwood Smith
116. Mastiff Tamora Pierce
117. The Grimm Legacy Polly Shulman
118. Blood Spirits Sherwood Smith
119. The Trouble With Kings Sherwood Smith
120. Crown Duel Sherwood Smith
121. Dead Witch Walking Kim Harrison
122. The Good, The Bad, and the Undead Kim Harrison
123. Every Which Way But Dead Kim Harrison
124. A Fistful of Charms Kim Harrison
125. For a Few Demons More Kim Harrison
126. The Outlaw Demon Wails Kim Harrison
127. White Witch, Black Curse Kim Harrison
128. Black Magic Sanction Kim Harrison
129. Pale Demon Kim Harrison

ETA: Whoops. I allowed this to automatically post without finishing it. I started this post at the beginning of the year and just added books to it as I read. I set it to post automatically on Jan. 2.

Anyway. As you can probably tell, Kristen Cashore's Graceling is my comfort read of choice. Love that book! Can't wait for her new one to come out next this year.

Read a few memoirs this year: Andre Agassi's Open, Patti Smith's Just Kids, and, finally, Kathryn Harrison's The Kiss; all "celebrated" and talked about memoirs, and all worth reading for various reasons. The Kiss has all the faults and stupidities that I hate in popular "literary" memoir: the deadness of emotion that seems so trendy, the exact sort of "poetic" language that contributes to said deadness, the beautification of an ugly and sordid episode in someone's life, etc. But it was good to read the book that -- sort of -- started it all. Smith's Just Kids was a celebrity tell-all memoir written by a poet -- albeit a poet who never grew past adolescence, a permanent Rimbaud. There are a LOT of hints in the book as to why she's stuck in that stage, artistically, not least that she disembodies herself in her work and takes on male personas (physical personas.) And the ghost writer of Agassi's memoir is simply a terrific biographer and ventriloquist, who wrote a wonderful book about drive, obsession, and what it takes to be a top competitor and athlete.

I read a LOTTTT of series in the "urban fantasy" or "paranormal romance" vein. Still not sure which these are. Seanan McGuire's October Daye series (plus I met McGuire at Wiscon, in an elevator, and drooled on her!), Diana Rowland's demon series, Patricia Briggs' werewolf serieses (how do you indicate more than one series?), Faith Hunter's skinwalker series, Ilona Andrew's Kate Daniels series and Edge series (the first another werewolf/demon thingy, and the second definitely a world in which paranormal romances take place), Carrie Vaughn's Kitty werewolf series, and finally, Kim Harrison's witch series. LOVE. All of them. Of course, they're trash of the highest order, but oh, what middle-aged woman wish fulfillment! I love how most of the heroines are in their early thirties, are mixed race (or have a mixed-race best friend; it's all about the exoticism and wish fulfillment, ladeez!), kick much ass, and have these sensitive, macho, alpha males as suitors. Doesn't say ANYTHING about me, does it?

And finally, did a lot of YA again, although nothing that really stands out, although I did re-read the stuff that I loved, including Graceling, and the Megan Whalen Turner series. Oh, and I really dug Drink, Slay, Love, and not just because of the title. Unicorns and vampires! Yay!

The only really serious reading I did was reviews for Hyphen. I should do more of those.

And I read more actual books this year, although so many were re-reads ... because I was reading so much comfort food. It's all about the illness, I'm afraid. I think I'll try to read slightly more challenging stuff in 2012, but there will still be a lot of comfort food.