8. John Cotton Dana
Not terribly exciting, but one of the first books I downloaded when I got my Kindle Fire.
7. Margret Rey 
I am NOT a Curious George fan. I mean, have you ever READ the book? But, since I have a miniature dachshund myself, how could I resist?
6. Anthony Horowitz 
I know Horowitz has written a lot of teen books and I probably should have read him before. And I also know this is quite a departure from his other books. But this one is fabulous – the first time the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has authorized a new Sherlock Holmes novel. It left me hanging until the very end, and is oh so respectful of the original.
5. Mike Lupica
I should have read Lupica before now, too, but I’m really not a big sports fan (but I do buy lots of sports books for the library). This was a fun read, though, and I see why kids like him. (Actually, I have read him before, his book Hero, book it is quite different than this, his typical YA sports fare.)
4. Rachel Joyce 
Rachel Joyce is a new author, but I did quite like this book. (As you might discern from this list, I’m not really into finding new authors! My list of my favorite books of 2012 would be harder to wade through as there would be a lot more choices.)
3. Robert Fagles
Fagles is the translator here of good ol’ Homer, but what a difference he makes! I read Fitzgerald’s translation a decade ago and it was fine and good, but Fagles’ translation is simply beautiful. If you’ve read Homer before, read it again – but only this Homer.
2. Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
Some high school students were doing a project on banned books and wanted to know if I could had this one. I didn’t, nor did any school or public library around me. Of course it’s controversial but ridiculously so – it’s a true story and a sweet one at that. At any rate, I own it now, and am glad to do so. I hope Richardson and Parnell find other sweet stories to tell.
1. Michael Connelly 
I’m surprised I hadn’t read this author before, as it is right up my alley. I found him by watching The Lincoln Lawyer on Amazon (with Prime membership, free – Prime is the best $79 I’ve ever spent!). I wanted to go read another book right away, but I’m not going to make the mistake I did with Jonathan Kellerman and read all the books (with the same characters) together very quickly – I’ll never want to read another again if I do that! I like his style, though – quick and smart. Of all the authors here, this is the only one I’m sure I’ll read again.
christinesturgeon 