I feel like I've had some bad luck with books this year - lot's of false starts. I had to give up on Rasputin's Bastards; while I was enjoying the plot, at about 200 pages in I realized that I didn't care at all about a single one of the characters, I simply couldn't care at all about what happened to them. Each time I put the book down, I found it harder to pick up again.

Conversely, I started Stephen King's Pet Semetary this morning, and I'm already in love with Jud, and Louise is also a great character. This is probably what I love most about King - his handling of character. It's not particularly nuanced, but he knows how to create likable, but often flawed, heroes, he knows how to show friendship, and he knows how illustrate characteristics through small details and actions. I read PS many, many years ago (over 20), and it's great to read it again.