In 2012, I challenged myself to read books that won awards during the previous year (2011). I recapped my progress in January - Reading Book Award Winners Challenge {Finished} - but what I didn't realize at the time was that I'd also read quite a few award winners for 2012 too. I thought I'd post them now, and make this a yearly personal challenge.

Reading Book Award Winners {From 2012}

The Audies

Audiobook of the Year & Best Audiobook Biography/Memoir - Bossypants, Tina Fey. Tina Fey was the author & narrator and she did a fantastic job - I don't think anyone could have done it better BUT I really didn't enjoy the book that much. It was just okay, and honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that I'm hard wired to finish a book I've started, I would have ditched it. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

Best Audiobook Fantasy - Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Laini Taylor. This was a 5-star book all the way. Loved the story - the plot, the depth of the characters, the setting, the vivid imagery of Prague, the romance ... a beautiful story that's brilliantly written. It was narrated by Khristine Hvam, who was masterful with her pacing and portrayal of the characters.(My Discussion | Amazon | Goodreads)

Alex Awards

Ready Player One, Ernest Cline. There's lots of adventure, action & mystery throughout - both in the real World of the book, and in the virtual reality - but Cline also delved deeper, exploring online friendships and the downside of a life spent entirely online. This book talks a lot about gaming and although I'm no gamer, I still enjoyed it. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward. I wanted to love this book, but didn't. Ward is a wonderfully descriptive writer, so she made the setting & the family dynamics come alive through her words, but the story, or lack thereof & pacing, made me take eons just to finish this relatively short book. (My Discussion | Amazon | Goodreads)

Lover's Dictionary, David Levithan. I thought this book was okay - but totally forgettable. Some of the anecdotes were cute & funny - many were not. Half-way through I was over it; I kept reading, not out out of interest, but just so I could finish. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

Bram Stoker Award

Most Outstanding Novel - Flesh Eaters, Joe McKinney. Interesting, creepy, action-filled, fast-paced zombie book! Although this is the 3rd in a series, it's really a prequel for the other 2, which I haven't read - and didn't need to in order connect with Flesh Eaters - but now that I've finished, I want to go back and read them. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

Most Outstanding Young Adult Novel - Dust & Decay, Jonathan Maberry. This second installment in the Imura series is just as good as the first. Benny, the main character, is much more likable, and as with the previous book, this one is not just about the zombies - though they are some nasty attacks in here - but it's also about the relationships - between brothers, friends & young love. I also recommend reading the series in order. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

Nebula Awards

Best Novel - Among Others, Jo Walton (also winner of a Hugo Award). The book is written as a series of diary entries as Mori goes to boarding school - and let me tell you, the life of a 15 year old girl with very few friends is not very interesting, so she reads A LOT. The book has a GAZILLION references to science fiction & fantasy books and that I felt was the main point - sort of an homage to authors of old ... something I'm sure sci-fi book lovers delighted in, but for us "toe-dippers" into the genre, was a tedious exercise to read through. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

Best Young Adult Novel - The Freedom Maze, Delia Sherman. The pace was fast, the plot well developed, and the vivid descriptions of Sophie's life after she time-traveled and became a slave, along with that of the other people on the plantation (slaves & masters) really brought home that type of life. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

Locus Awards

Science Fiction Novel - Embassytown, China Mieville. In typical Mieville style, EVERYTHING introduced in this novel is new - from the way humans live & travel, to how the Hosts go bat-shit crazy when a new Ambassador arrives in town. Mieville's imagination is a Wonderland I tell you - but, it's just too much for me to follow along. (My Discussion | Amazon | Goodreads)

First Novel - The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern. I actually read all the nominees for The 2012 Locus Award Winners for Best First Novel. I thought the writing in The Night Circus was beautiful, the descriptions lush and the imagery vivid. I'm not one to like overly descriptive books, but in this case, the words were wisely used to paint a strong canvas of not only the circus & the performers, but also the lives of the 2 magicians & their mentors. And although the story moves along at a leisurely pace (read,very slow in developing at times), that just gave me time to become connected to the characters and become invested in the outcome. (My Discussion | Amazon| Goodreads)

The Story Prize

We Others, Steve Millhauser. I liked all 7 of the new stories in the 1st section - my favorites being, The Slap, where an unknown assailant goes around slapping unsuspecting, seemingly random people; and The Next Thing, which describes what will happen when mega-retail companies like Ikea & Walmart take over the World. The 2nd section, with 14 previously published stories, was just too long. (My Discussion | Amazon | Goodreads)

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Do you follow any book awards and read the winners?