Books I Want to Read in 2012

Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.
An epic, old-school fantasy. I'm a little late to Game of Thrones. Even before the show came out, my fantasy-reading friends were raving about it ("He kills everyone, it's awesome!"). I got it for my birthday last year and read the first chapter but got distracted. I restarted after the new year and am now about 50% through on my Kindle. Yes it's long, but it's so hard to put down!

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson.
Third in the Dragon Tattoo series of thrillers. So I read the first two books in this series in paperback way back when they first came out in the US. I decided to wait for the third one to come out in paperback because I'm the kind of person who hates to have two books in paperback and one in hardback. Well, I guess the publisher wanted to squeeze every last penny out of the hardback because I have waited two &!#% years for Hornet's Nest to come out in paperback.  My wait is nearly over though, because the mass market paperback will be released on February 21st (but the list price is $10, come on!).

The Wicked by Michael Wallace.
Also released on February 21st is the third book in Michael Wallace's Righteous series. I've read the first two (both mysteries set in polygamist communities) and am looking forward to this one because it looks like the focus will move from Jacob Christianson, who starred in the first two, to his sister Eliza. I've actually already purchased it (it was originally self-published; Feb. 21st is when it makes the move to Amazon's publishing arm, Thomas & Mercer) and it will probably be my next read once I finish Game of Thrones.


Crucible of Gold by Naomi Novik.
A historical fantasy (think Master and Commander with dragons!). This is seventh in the series, I think. Why don't they number them anymore? If it's the kind of series you have to read in order (which this one is) then they really ought to number them. Anyway, the last book was not as good as some of the earlier ones (it was all land-based and I missed the sailing!) so I have high hopes for this one. It comes out March 6th.

Redshirts by John Scalzi.
Science fiction. So Mr. Scalzi is being pretty secretive about the plot of this one (there is no description up on Amazon yet), but just the title is enough for me to get excited. Anyone who has ever watched the original Star Trek series knows that when Kirk takes a landing party down to a planet, the nameless guys in the red shirts are always going to bite the dust. Obviously this is not going to be a Star Trek novel, but I'm guessing Mr. Scalzi is going to play with the Redshirt trope some how. It will be released June 5th.