It’s finally that time of year again! When we all share our favorite reads of the past year and perhaps provide our fellow readers with some holiday ideas for friends and family. (Remember, just because the post title says “of 2013″ this doesn’t mean published in 2013. Just that you read it this past year.
First up, a perennial favorite – books!
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The Son by Philipp Meyer: http://www.amazon.com/The-Son-Philipp-Meyer/dp/0062120395
Amazon has The Son Kindle version today for 2.99.
I’m holding out for delivery via drone. Those things are so cool.
Please support your locally owned and operated bookstores-Eagle Eye Books, Little Shop of Stories, Acapella, Tall Tales, Charis and others–instead of the 600 lb. gorilla in Seattle, Washington.
Think Global – Shop Local!
For every $100 you spend, this is about how much returns to the local economy if you shop at:
Eagle Eye Books = $68
Chain bookstores = $43
On-line retailers = $0
I haven’t finished it yet, but unless it really tanks at the end my favorite book of the year will be “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. Good old-fashioned storytelling in the Dickens mode.
I thought some of the highly touted books of the year were overrated, especially “The Tenth of December” and “The Flamethrowers,” though sections of the latter were brilliant.
I’ve mostly neglected the non-fiction side this year, so I hope to discover some good titles here.
I just ordered the Tartt book this morning! If anyone is looking for a deal, it is on sale today at bomcclub dot com for $10. If you are a member, they also have a buy one/get one free and free shipping special running today, which applied to the Tartt book. I also got Amy Tan’s new book, which was also on sale for $10, so $5/each- bargain!.
Amazon has The Goldfinch Kindle version for 2.99 today. (I swear I don’t work for Amazon.)
Thank you! The Book Thief Kindle edition is only $2.49 as well! I didn’t read it in 2013, but it is one of my absolute favorites.
Does CFS stand for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome?
Do I sound particularly tired?
No, but I must be since that’s immediately what came to mind.
Just my initials, I’m afraid. Nothing that creative.
Charles Freaking Schulz?
wah wah wah wah
Little Shop of Stories has a special package deal of Donna Tartt’s Goldfinch along with your soul for $24.95. Or you can just pay the $2.99 for the ebook, the other part be damned.
Like.
Daren, if you ever run for mayor, you have my vote.
Decatur has quite a fine mayor already.
I love Mohsin Hamid’s “How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia: A Novel”. And no, I wasn’t crying at the end. There was dust in my eyes. And pollen. And someone nearby was cutting onions.
Such a slow year for me in the book department. I read “The Burgess Boys” and really enjoyed that and I’ve been working on “Hemingway’s Boat” for a very long time in bits and pieces. I like it when I’m reading it, but it hasn’t been a can’t-put-down book for me.
I also didn’t read much this year, it really is a phase thing for me but after reading this list I’m feeling like I might knock a couple out this month. I started a Rabbi murder series by Harry Kemmelman a long time ago and meant to run through them so maybe i will (they are fun and short). I also wouldn’t mind a good Christmas murder mystery.
Btw, as far as putting a book down, there’s so much to read, I don’t like to do that, but if I’m not feeling it then I will. I’ve picked up books because other people raved, or felt like I “should” read them (bios & the like), but it’s such an individual thing.
I really loved The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Alberto Urrea
I enjoyed “The Tombs” by Clive Cussler
Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane
that’s my choice as well. just wonderful.
“thirty Days with My Father” by Christal Presley. Finding Peace from wartime PTSD
I’m enjoying “The Sports Gene,” and recommend it for lovers of pop science.
“Fear and Loathing in La Liga,” uses the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid to talk broadly about postwar Spanish culture and politics, and includes a bit of philosophy about the nature of rivalry in sports, politics and other places where one might compete against someone disliked and feared, but ultimately needed.
The Fault in Our Stars, by John Greene – made me laugh and cry repeatedly, couldn’t put it down
Three Times Lucky, by Sheila Turnage – Best child character since Scout
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline – geeky fiction for sure, but highly enjoyable. I hate video games, but the 80s references and story kept me interested
The Cuckoo’s Calling, by JK Rowling – She’s just an incredible writer!
How the Light Gets In, by Louise Penny – last one in the Inspector Gamache series, and it was the best of the whole series. I want to live in her fictional village in Quebec.
I also LOVE Louise Penny.
The “Hunger Games” trilogy.
A friend recommended “The Forever War” by Joe Halderman, and I enjoyed it immensely.
He also recommended “Blood Meridian” by Cormac McCarthy. Did I enjoy it? Can one actually enjoy a McCarthy book? No idea, but it sure made for some interesting (and depressing) reading.
For you military sci-fi geeks, the latest “Horus Heresy” Warhammer 40,000 books.
And for my fellow runners, “Born to Run” by Christopher McDougall.
Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt, and The Unlikely Pilgramage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce.
We Are Water by Wally Lamb….
The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy, Round House by Louise Erdich, Ordinary Grace by William Kent Kruger, The Road from Gap Creek by Robert Morgan, Sycamore Row by John Grishom & The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan
Hands down, The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
+1 for Lookaway, Lookaway by Wilton Barnhardt.
For nonfiction, “Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief” was my favorite. The history of L. Ron Hubbard and the religion/cult he created is fascinating, as is all the juicy bits about Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and other celebrity adherents.
I forgot to mention in my other post the one non-fiction book I did enjoy this year: “Difficult Men” by Brett Martin. It’s a behind-the-scenes look at the creators behind the “golden age” of dramatic television, focusing on the shows with anti-hero male leads, including The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, The Wire, Mad Men, and a few others. If you’re interested in the tv business or the creative process, it’s a brisk read with lots of interesting tidbits (for example, David Chase wanted Steven Van Zandt to play Tony Soprano.)
Local writer Joshilyn Jackson’s Someone Else’s Love Story was my favorite this year.
I just bought that! Glad you liked it–can’t wait to read it.
I am reading the Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murikami right now, so slowly because I don’t want it to end. Not a new book, but new to me.
I also enjoyed Jagganath by Karin Tidbeck
The Snow Child, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells, and the Universe versus Alex Woods were nice reads too.
Looking at my list, I was in a magical realism phase this year…
Murakami is something else. Maybe Nobel Prize next year. Norwegian Wood is a delight.
Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From The Sopranos and The Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad by Brett Martin
Visitation Street by Ivy Pochoda
Fin & Lady: A Novel by Cathleen Schine
Tenth of December by George Saunders
Mo’ Meta Blues by ?uestlove
It’s an oldie but I never read till this year F. Scott Fitzgerald ” The Great Gatsby” I enjoyed it and order the Robert Redford version, to much better than this years version.
I loved Night Circus…not new, but a great magical reality read.
So glad someone started this thread. Sorry none of these books are from 2013.
Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell: Hardscrabble, backwoods, Missouri girl takes on an intennnnse world to find her father so her family won’t lose their house. Taut, minimalist, characters are great–almost a perfect book.
11/22/63 by Stephen King: JFK assassination + time travel + Stephen King’s brain = awesome. Great great story, a page-turner.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: This book just got me. Loved the main character. I didn’t see the “twist” coming and it just broke my heart. Quite different from the movie and much much better (as usual).
The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta: This is the calmest, most reflective post-apocalyptic book ever. Very character-driven, excellent writing.
With all the 50-years-since-JFK-was-shot hype I got Stephen King’s “11/22/63″ from the library.
At 850 pages, it’s a long read, but really engaging.
Just a note of caution – it is not a non-fiction account and involves the protagonist travelling in time.
The ending falls down a little – he should have taken more time to flesh out the consequences of time travel and what happens when….(no spoilers), but I do recommend it. It was good to read King again, since the last one I finished was The Stand.
Thread-jack alert- Hey DM- What about a what’s on your realistic and what’s on your fantasy Christmas list this year post if you get a slow news day?
The Aviators by Winston Groom and Pickett’s Charge by Charles McNair.
“More Things in Heaven and Earth” by Jeff High.
Plus 1 on The Leftovers.
The Telling Room, Michael Paterniti. Great cheeses, post Civil War Spain, and the reliability of memory
Oh–if I may–one more to add:
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simison: Really funny, quirky, sweet and adorable (if you’re okay with that) book about a…different kind of guy, a scientist, who comes up with a plan to find the perfect wife. Everyone I know who’s read this has just loved it. Sequel coming out next year too.