This is a list of all books I read in 2012. To be eligible for the list,I merely had to finish reading the book this year. So, for example, if a book has 500 pages, and I read 490 of them back in 2011, and finished up the final ten pages in 2012, it still counts for 2012.
Additionally, I am only counting books that I have read for the first time. I recently read the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret to my son, but since I have read the book already, I am not listing it here.
A book must have a minimum of 48 pages to qualify for the list.
The column labeled “Reason” provides the reason why I read the book. There are five possible entries in this column:
1. Class. This means the book was assigned to me in a class at work or at my university, and I had to read it.
2. Editor. This indicates I was an editor for the book, and thus read it carefully several times.
3. Kids. This means I read the book to my son (and possibly) my daughter.
4. Review. This means I recieved a free copy of the book with the understanding that I read it and write a review.
5. FTHOI. This stands for “For the Hell of It,” because, let’s face it, every once in a while I do read a book simply for my own enjoyment or to learn how to improve on something in my own personal life.
The final column in the list is titled “Grade.” There, I give a one-letter synopsis of the book, with A representing a thoroughly enjoyable book. B, C, and D representing regressive gradations of enjoyment, and F indicating a completely lousy book. Of course, any book I edited automatically deserves an A.
All book titles are clickable links.
| Title | Author(s) | Pages | Reason | Grade |
| Haunted Hotel (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 88 | Kids | B |
| Goose's Gold (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Invisible Island (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Kidnapped King (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, the | Dahl, Roald | 96 | Kids | C |
| Jaguar's Jewel (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 96 | Kids | B |
| Last Chapter and Worse | Larson, Gary | 96 | FTHOI | A |
| Cloaked in Red | Velde, Vivian Vande | 128 | FTHOI | B |
| Pivotal Decades | Cooper, Jr., John Milton | 414 | Class | C |
| Yellow Yacht (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| Wonderstruck | Selznick, Brian | 640 | Kids | B |
| Missing Mummy (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Ninth Nugget (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| Orange Outlaw (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Lucky Lottery (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Grand Expectations: The United States, 1945-1974 | Patterson, James T. | 830 | Class | C |
| Walk in the Prairie, a | Johnson, Rebecca A. | 48 | Kids | B |
| Adventures of Benny, the | Shreve, Steve | 160 | Kids | C |
| Restless Giant: The United States from Watergate to Bush v. Gore | Patterson, James T. | 450 | Class | C |
| Secret Secret Passage (Clue Books #2), the | Weiner, Eric | 102 | Kids | F |
| Case of the Invisible Cat (Clue Books #3), the | Weiner, Eric | 104 | Kids | F |
| Tale of Despereaux, the | DiCamillo, Kate | 272 | Kids | C |
| In Search of Sugihara | Levine, Hillel | 328 | FTHOI | D |
| Catch a Wave: The Rise, Fall and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson | Carlin, Peter Ames | 342 | FTHOI | B |
| Quicksand Question (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| Smoking Ears and Screaming Teeth: A Celebration of Scientific Eccentricity and Self-experimentation | Norton, Trevor | 404 | FTHOI | A |
| Panda Puzzle (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| 50 Popular Beliefs that People Think are True | Harrison, Guy P. | 464 | FTHOI | C |
| Runaway Racehorse (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| Lifeblood: How to Change the World One Dead Mosquito at a Time | Perry, Alex | 244 | FTHOI | B |
| Unwilling Umpire (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| School Skeleton (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| Glimpses | Shiner, Lewis | 336 | FTHOI | B |
| Bullhead Queen, the | Leaf, Sue | 194 | Review | B |
| Atheist Voices of Minnesota | compilation | 274 | Editor | A |
| White Wolf (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman | Pilkey, Dav | 176 | Kids | C |
| Swerve: How the World Became Modern, the | Greenblatt, Stephen | 356 | FTHOI | B |
| Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy · Part 2: The Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers | Pilkey, Dav | 176 | Kids | C |
| Vampire's Vacation (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| How the Dog Became the Dog: From Wolves to Our Best Friends | Derr, Mark | 288 | FTHOI | C |
| Ready Player One | Cline, Ernest | 384 | FTHOI | A |
| Phantom Tollbooth, the | Juster, Norton | 272 | Kids | C |
| Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy • Part 1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets | Pilkey, Dav | 176 | Kids | C |
| Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing, a | Krauss, Lawrence | 204 | FTHOI | C |
| Redshirts | Scalzi, John | 320 | FTHOI | A |
| Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People | Pilkey, Dav | 176 | Kids | C |
| Palimpsest | Stross, Charles | 136 | FTHOI | C |
| Writing Down the Bones | Goldberg, Natalie | 174 | FTHOI | C |
| God's Problem | Ehrman, Bart | 294 | FTHOI | C |
| X'ed Out X-Ray (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | B |
| Star Wars - The Clone Wars | Traviss, Karen | 272 | Kids | F |
| Where Things Come Back | Whaley, John Corey | 248 | FTHOI | B |
| Jesus, Interrupted | Ehrman, Bart | 304 | FTHOI | C |
| Esio Trot | Dahl, Roald | 64 | Kids | D |
| Zombie Zone (A to Z Mysteries), the | Roy, Ron | 90 | Kids | C |
| Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970 | Browne, David | 372 | FTHOI | C |
| Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood, the | Gleick, James | 544 | FTHOI | C |
| Captain Underpants and the Terrifying Re-Turn of Tippy Tinkletrousers | Pilkey, Dav | 304 | Kids | B |
| Theory Toolbox, the | Nealon, Jeffrey / Searls Giroux, Susan | 284 | Class | D |
| Aesop's Fables | compilation | 208 | FTHOI | B |
| Ghost Horse | Stanley, George Edward | 90 | Kids | C |
| Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith | Krakauer, Jon | 432 | FTHOI | B |
| Detective Camp | Roy, Ron | 144 | Kids | D |
| Diving Into the Wreck | Rich, Adrienne | 72 | Class | C |
| Mayflower Treasure Hunt | Roy, Ron | 122 | Kids | C |
| How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't have to be Forever | Horner, Jack / Gorman, James | 256 | FTHOI | C |
| President and the Assassin, the | Miller, Scott | 432 | FTHOI | C |
| How to Become a Famous Writer Before You're Dead | Gore, Ariel | 270 | FTHOI | B |
| Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President | Millard, Candice | 432 | FTHOI | B |
| Winnie-the-Pooh | Milne, A. A. | 148 | Kids | A |
| Piano Lesson, the | Wilson, August | 110 | Class | D |
| Dog Called Kitty, a | Wallace, Bill | 158 | Kids | C |
| Damned Good Company | Granados, Luis | 382 | Review | B |
| Pocket Guide to Minnesota Place Names, the | Feho, Michael | 188 | FTHOI | C |
Yup, as advertized, nothing here!
In what file format do you have your list on your computer? What program did you use to create it?
XML.
Used Microsoft Excel.
That should work, but for a quick solution (as it seems maybe there is a problem), save your list as a .csv file and upload that. It’s such a simple format that it’s hard for it to get screwed up.
Yes, thanks for your help.
I re-uploaded the table as a .csv file. That worked, but it also gave me something like 800+ rows and columns and whenever I tried to edit it, the browser froze. Looks like the best way is to just manually enter the data, which is slow going…
Another option would be to email me the file to debug… It could be something as simple as opening it in notepad and deleting a bunch of extra trailing characters (for example).
You can try if you want! I’ve emailed you the file.
I’ve updated the file and sent it back. You should be in good shape now.
Cam Jansen! I believe my daughter has read every book from that series. She was surprised a few weeks ago when a new one showed up at the library — most of the book series we read are long over by the time we get to them.
One idea… you could add a “link” column pointing to reviews and blog posts that cover books which you’ve written about.
We’ve only read one Cam Jansen book, primarily because Owen saw a t-rex skeleton on the cover and that piqued his interest.
Good ideas for the list. A lot of work, though. Maybe I’ll get to it this weekend.
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