A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin

★★★★

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not.  Make it your strength.  Then it can never be your weakness.  Armour yourself in it and it will never be used to hurt you."

This epic fantasy novel is the first book in the A Song of Fire and Ice serious.  Set in a world where anything can happen, winter is coming and everything the characters know and love is about to change.  When the king dies unexpectedly, a battle for the iron throne begins.

I have always really enjoyed fantasy books (especially in my pre-teenage years), but I haven't started a fantasy serious for a long time.  Maybe because I have so many other books to read and multi-volume sets take so much time!  I wanted to read it before I watched the serious on HBO, so I figured I would give it a try.  Anyways, I really enjoyed this book!  I loved all of the complex characters and seeing their lives intertwine throughout the story.  This is the only volume of the series that I have read so far, but I'm almost done with the third season of the HBO show and it's amazing...I can't wait catch up on the show and read the rest of the books!

Checkout the amazing HBO series here.

This book was #5 on my top ten list of 2012.

Blankets by Craig Thompson

★★★★

"How satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface.  To make a map of my movement-no matter how temporary."

This graphic novels tell the coming-of-age story of a boy named Craig growing up in Wisconsin.  Throughout the book, he struggles with family, religion, belonging, and his first love.

I normally don't read too many graphic novels, but this was chosen for a book club and I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  Many of the themes of the story are the the same ones that young adults struggle with on a daily basis.  It was very realistic and I loved the drawings.

This was one of my favorites:

This book was #9 on my top ten list of 2012.

Lamb by Christopher Moore

★★★★

"This story is not and never was meant to challenge anyone's faith; however, if one's faith can be shaken by stories in a humorous novel one may have a bit more praying to do."

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson

★★★

"It was so easy to disappear, so easy to deny knowledge, so very easy in the smoke and din to mask that something dark had taken root.  This was Chicago, on the eve of the greatest fair in history."

Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich

★★

"Personally, I'm a lazy kind of guy, and leaving the door open on the mystical saves me work.  I don't have to stress my brain trying to explain the unexplainable.  It's magic.  End of discussion."

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

★★★★

"I trust you have seen the ocean.  If you have, then you have witnessed the divine.  How barren the ground is in comparison!  If I could count the hours I have spent staring out at it!  And yet those hours ever feel lost.  I cannot imagine how else I could refill them were I given a second chance."

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

★★★

"I've had many enemies over the years.  If there's one thing I've learned, it's never engage in a fight you're sure to lose.  On the other hand, never let anyone who has insulted you get away with it.  Bide your time and strike back when you're in a position of strength-even if you no longer need to strike back."

Here We Go Again: My Life in Television by Betty White

★★★