Hassan's Book of 2012

As 2012 came to an end, I reflected on the forty books that I have read.  This has been a year where I certainly have read less than in previous years, and it still took me a month to get to choosing a winner.

I have encountered several books that absolutely sucked, but I have stopped blogging about books I hated and did not finish.

2 books that were quite simply “Not Good”,

9 books that were just “Meh”,

12 books that I considered as “Good,”

13 books that were “Very Good,” and

4 books that I would recommend as REQUIRED READING:

• City of Thieves, by David Benioff
• True Notebooks, by Mark Salzman
• Something Fierce, by Carmen Aguirre
• The Art of Fielding, by Chad Harbach

True Notebooks is a great book, but was a re-read from last year (and was last years winner), and thus does not qualify for Hassan’s Book of 2012.

• City of Thieves tells the story of David’s Grandfather in St. Petersberg during WWII.  I would hate to ruin the story with any more detail than that, other than to say it’s a warm story and I love the characters.
• Something Fierc tells the story of Aguirre’s amazing childhood, supporting her parents’ efforts to overthrow Pinochet in Chile.
• The Art of Fielding is the story of a story of friendship

If I were going to recommend just one of these, I would have to say that the amazing characters and engaging story told by Benioff has stayed with me throughout the year.  The Hassan Book of 2012 is City of Thieves.

A LOOK BACK

• Hassan’s Book of 2011 was True Notebooks, by Mark Salzman
• Hassan’s Book of 2010 was Three Day Road, by Joseph Boyden
• Hassan’s Book of 2009 was The Help, by Kathryn Sockett
• Hassan’s Book of 2008 (and of the decade) was Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie