Reflections on 2012

2012 has been an 'interesting' year as far as blogging and reading are concerned. I think i may have read more than ever this year (I know I have read more than 180 books as I started adding them to Goodreads as I finished them, and this does not include all the comics I have read that have since been released in book format), but I have probably reviewed less than in previous years. This was mainly due to work pressures which ratcheted up a notch this year - I was able to make time for reading but then found less time for blogging. I started to get really stressed about this so made the conscious decision back in October that I would stop putting so much pressure on myself and simply write less posts per month, and that is how I hope to continue in 2013.

2012 seemed to be the year that a number of the wonderful publishers who so kindly send us bloggers books realised that they might be overloading us, and therefore (thankfully for this blogger at least) stopped sending out unsolicited books and instead emailed us with monthly newsletters whereby we could request the books we knew we would read and review. This has really helped relieve some of the pressure, although I can't believe I am sat here saying that there were too many books arriving, especially as I am forever talling my wife that one can never have too many books.

Whilst on the subject of blogs, today is a very sad day as it marks for closing of the wonderful My Favourite Books blog. Liz and Mark have become great friends since I started blogging, with Liz especially being the Obi Wan Kenobi to my Luke Skywalker. I think The Book Zone would have folded in its first year if it hadn't have been for the advice she so readily gave me. You can read their farewell post here. They are quitting blogging in order to focus on their own writing, and I would be very surprised if you don't read reviews of their books here or elsewhere in the future. Liz has also said she would like to write the occasional review for The Book Zone, so watch this space.

2012 has been a fantastic year for books, as my favourites of 2012 list will attest. It has also been the year where I have really got into reading comics, and there have been some amazing titles this year. It was also the year that I 'discovered' the books of David Walliams. I had previously dismissed him as someone jumping on the celebrity author bandwagon, but one read of Gangsta Granny showed me how wrong I was - he really is the rightful successor to Roald Dahl's crown. Since then I have read and loved all of this books, and have just this minute realised that Ratburger should have been on my list of Books of 2012. Sorry David!

I have also just realised that I never wrote my annual Christmas book loot blog post. I had delayed writing it immediately as we hosted Christmas at our place this year, and never got up to see my mother until a few days after Christmas. I knew I had a couple of awesome books waiting for me there and I wanted to include them in my blog post. I'm not going to say anything about these books, so just feast your eyes on their loveliness.

My lovely wife also sated my geek appetite by buying me a Lego X-Wing fighter! In return I sneakily bought her book-related presents, even though she is not a huge reader. She loves stage musicals and so we are off to see the stage productions of Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory! 

And so, to conclude I would like to wish you all a wonderful 2013!