There is, in fact, a mood theme icon for discontent, which is how I feel about this list. I read way less than I usually do because of the insanity of this semester. Links are to my reviews - I did manage to write some. Organized by new books and rereads, for obvious depressing reasons:

( The list )

The notables:

• The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima - YA + high fantasy + good writing! How could I not like it?
• The Lost Conspiracy by Frances Hardinge - As always, a marvel.
• The Floating Islands by Rachel Neumeier - A lovely, understated, elegant fantasy.
• Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt - A maelstrom of emotion, a testament to the strength of humanity, a wonderful, wonderful novel. YA at its finest.
• Passage by Connie Willis - A heartbreaker, but it contains so much truth about life and death and grief and is so utterly gripping that it's an undeniable standout.
• All the rereads are wonderful, too.

The numbers, loosely by genre:
YA (includes fantasy and dystopian YA): 33
Children's (meaning for everyone, but shelved with children's books): 12
Adult fiction: 6
Plays: 8
Somewhere-in-between: 2

Organized by author last name, because I feel like I've gone on author binges this year. Starred books are rereads; links are to my reviews.

( Not too shabby, considering the amount of time I spent catching up on TV shows I've somehow missed )

Books I absolutely loved (alternatively titled "read them all"):

Chime by Franny Billingsley
Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge
Fly Trap by Frances Hardinge
Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. le Guin
The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. le Guin
The Ghosts of Ashbury High by Jaclyn Moriarty
The City in the Lake by Rachel Neumeier
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers
Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers
Countdown by Deborah Wiles
Bellwether by Connie Willis

The numbers, loosely by genre:

Fantasy: 27
YA (includes dystopian YA): 16
Adult fiction: 4
Romance: 4
Mystery: 7
Historical fiction: 18
Somewhere-in-between: 12

No, my tastes really don't slant in any particular direction. At all. Heh.

And wow, I read a lot more historical fiction than I thought. (And it surprised me, very much, to realize that Last Days of Summer is really historical fiction. That book is somehow timeless.) And I've given adult fiction a shot - adult bestselling, critically acclaimed fiction - and hated it all.

Thoughts? Hat tip to you if you read this entire post!