The Reading Life Big Reads of 2012

The top 15 books are in order of my regard for the book, after that the order is purely random.  There is not a second rate book on this list.

1. Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes-just might be the big read of my life. I hope to reread every year for the rest of my life
2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy- beyond a point to praise it-War and Peace in 2013
3. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift-greatest  work of satire ever written-deep as deep can be
4. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens-one of the best opening chapters in the history of the novel.
5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
6. The Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand  a total must read-in my best 100 books of the 20th century.  One day in the life of an Untouchable in  Indian in the 1930s
7. Happiness Comes From Nowhere by Shauna Gilligan one of the best debut novels I have read in decades.
8. Father and Son by Ivan Turgenev -classic-also a short Russian novel!
9. Silas Marner by George Eliot -a very good very readable work-would be an excellent first Eliot
10. Hard to Say by Ethel Rohan  I love the work of this writer
11. Family Matters by Rohinton Mistry-I think he will also be listed in 2013-wonderful Mumbai novel
12. A House of Cards by Elizabeth MacDonald-a beautiful collection of storiesful set in Tuscany-
13. Mother America by Nuala Ní Chonchúir  a wonderful very creative collection of short stories
14. The Vagrants by Yiyun Li  powerful novel about China during the Mao years
15. Beyond the Beautiful Forever:  Life, Hope and Death in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo-this book will become a classic
16. The Etruscan by Linda Lappin-might also become a classic 
17. The Weight of Feathers by Geraldine Mills a very original collection of short stories
18. Zoli by Colum McCann  great novel set in the Roma culture
19. Border Lines by John Walsh an excellent collection of mostly set in Ireland short stories
20. Late Victorian  Holocausts: El Nino Famines and the Making of the Third World by Mike Davis-must read history  
21. The West: Stories From Ireland by Eddie Stack wonderful stories in the tradition of the Irish story teller.
22. The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon this should be your first Pynchon
23. Listening To Dust by Brandon Shire  the only writer listed for two years in a row-I hope he writes enough and I last long enough to list twenty of his works
24. What's Not Said by James Martyn Joyce   noir  stories of the dark side of the mean streets of Ireland
25. Narcopolis by Jeet Thayil  This should have won the Man Booker Prize-it was short listed
26. Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathaniel West  -if you have never read this book, put what ever you are reading on hold and read this at once.
27. Germinal by Emile Zola depressing but hugely important
28. The Dancers Dancing by Eilis Ni Dhuibhne brilliant very funny novel about the Literary high life in Ireland during the years of the Celtic tiger-
29. The Testament of Mary by Colm Toibin  very thought provoking
30. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild must read non-fiction about the Belgian Congo
31. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann wonderful work
32. The Sea by John Banville  place your self in the hands of a master.
33. A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle the first of a trilogy-the life of an IRA hitman from birth to early twenties.  I read five of Doyle's novels in 2012 and hope to read five more in 2013
34. 30 Under 30:  Stories by Irish Writers Under 30-edited by Elizabeth Reapy-a great anthology
35. Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of An American Masterpiece by Michael Gorra -a must read book for anyone into Henry James and a brilliant lesson in how to read a novel.
36. As Close As You'll Ever Be by Seamus Scanlon  more stories of the mean streets of Ireland
37. Somewhere in Minnesota by Orfhlaith Foyle  a powerful collection short stories
38. The China Factory by Mary Costello a debut short story collection by a major talent

I read a lot of good books in 2012.  I hope to read more in 2013.