Friday, December 27, 2013

Favorite Reads in 2013

 
As 2013 comes to a close I have mixed feelings about my year in books.  While I exceeded my goal of 125 books (I read 158), and had a lot of enjoyable reads, I think I felt less pleasure reading in 2013.  Several of the books I read made me feel like I had to read them because I requested them.  I'm grateful yet, accepting "free books", places a certain amount of pressure on me, and often makes the reading experience itself, less enjoyable......do you know what I mean? 

For 2014, I'll be accepting fewer "free books" and doing more reading by mood. There is something uplifting about selecting a book off your personal shelves and curling up with it on a whim.  I do still plan to read a combination of physical books, eBooks and audiobooks in 2014, as well as some kids books.

Here's my favorites of 2013 --read them --

Top 10 Fiction Read in 2013

 The Goldfinch; Donna Tartt

 


 The Dinner; Herman Koch

 
 Flora; Gail Godwin
 The Night Guest; Fiona McFarlane
 Doctor Sleep; Stephen King 
 Fin & Lady; Cathleen Schine
 
Kiss Me First; Lottie Moggach
 
Top 5 Non Fiction Read in 2013






Top 10 YA and Kids Books Read in 2013

Eleanor and Park; Rainbow Rowell  
You are Stardust; Elin Kelsey and Soyean Kim
 
Dog-Gone School; Amy and Ron Schmidt
 
The One and Only Ivan; Katherine Applegate


 
Open This Little Book; Jessie Klausmeir


 Building Our House; Jonathan Bean

A Year With Marmalade; Alison Reynolds and Heath McKenzie

42 comments:

  1. I got the Katherine Applegate in a Black Friday sale. I am looking forward to reading it!

    As to your intro... I read less books than I normally do this year and as I start getting around to a 'Best of...' post, I find I really liked almost all of them. There might be something to reading less instead of more.

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  2. Several of those are on my list, as you know. I'm kind of surprised to see American Psycho on your list. My husband read it and said it's kind of disturbing. I'll have to pull out his copy and give it a try one day.

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    1. American Psycho is completely disturbing…I read it years ago and I remember hoping people weren't reading over my shoulder on the bus on the way to work. It's an American classic, though a little much for me.

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  3. Love reading everyone's favorites lists!

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  4. A few of your favorites will be on my favorite list as well. I picked up Kiss Me First and had a hard time with the POV, but plan to give it another try next year.

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  5. you've got some really good ones on your favorites list! a few I haven't read but would like to (I think) like dr. sleep and i'd know you anywhere my love {sounds so incredibly sweet!}

    this year I didn't put as much pressure on myself to read and review as i have in past years. . .my goal was to read at least 5 books/month or 60 books this year. much less than what i've read in past years but not as imposing on me and my life. . .if that makes sense. But already i've packed my posting calendar from Jan - Mar and it's not even 1/1/14 yet! I completely understand your feelings about requesting and reviewing!

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  6. You gave us some great book titles to ponder over 2013 Diane, and for them I am very grateful :) Happy New Year!

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  7. Ahhh.... SO love seeing Donna Tartt in there.
    I am about to compose my own 2013 List of Faves, and her book will definitely be in there.
    Cheers!

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  8. Ha! We don't overlap at all. That's a good thing, because I can add to my wish list.

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  9. I love seeing these lists! though they always add to my TBR lists. I hope 2014 brings you just as many wonderful books for next year's list.

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  10. Nice list! I have Eleanor and Park on mine also, and only don't have TFIOS because it topped my list the year before! I have been doing great at my goal of not accepting any more books, and hope I don't at all in 2014! :--)

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  11. The Goldfinch was one of my favorites this year too! And I also loved The Fault in our Stars, but I only included books published in 2013 on this year's list.

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  12. Great list, I will be adding a few of your top novels to my list (some are new to me). I didn't get to read much this year but hope life will shift closer to my old normal for 2014.

    Happy new year.

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  13. Dian, I haven't read any of these though The Goldfinch is high on my wishlist. So many good books to read and not enough time. Happy reading for 2014!
    Harvee
    Book Dilettante

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  14. Nice list, Diane. I have The Goldfinch and hope to read it next month. Good luck with your reading goals!

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  15. I've never heard of The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne, but it grabbed my attention when I went back and read your review. It's definitely going on my list!

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  16. American Psycho was such an interesting read. I think it made my best of list last year, if I recall. It was one of those books that was horrible and fascinating all at the same time.

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  17. A couple of these are on my favorite list too, most recently The Night Guest. And a few more are on my to-read list.

    I know exactly what you mean by 'less pleasurable reading'. In the past, if a book didn't appeal to me in the first 40 or so pages I'd abandon it without a second thought. Now, with so many of my books 'review books', I keep reading so I can at least write knowledgeably about why I didn't like it.

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  18. I'll admit that I haven't read any of the books on your list although "The Fault in Our Stars" is on my eReader right now! I love Rainbow Rowell's books for adults so I would like to give her YA book a try :)

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  19. I really enjoyed your most wonderful list!

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  20. That is an amazing number of books! I want to read lots of these (not American Psycho - I could barely handle the movie) but have only read Open This Book. I love Todd Parr but don't have the one you chose so I need to get on that!

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  21. I am glad to see The One and Only Ivan on your list. I gave that to my niece this year. I've enjoyed reading your blog this year. Happy New Year.

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  22. I'm about to start The Goldfinch - it's my book group's holiday pick (a nice long one to keep me out of mischief!).

    Flora also on my TBR list - I'm looking forward to it simply because one of my all-time favourite authors (John Irving) endorsed it.

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  23. Weird things going on with my computer today. I had to reply to Brian's comment to leave a comment for you. I agree with you about accepting free books being an obligation. When I pick up books at the library because they look interesting, I end up not reading a lot of them. Would have to feel like I had to. I noticed a lot of your fiction favorites are by men. I rarely read books by men. Here's Mine

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  24. Congrats on exceeding your reading goal! I totally understand about the pros/cons of review books. It's great to get them but then you do feel like those need to be moved up to be read first right? Anyway here's hoping 2014 brings many more good books to you!

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  25. I'm reading Goldfinch now and it's turning out to be a good read. I loved Eleanor and Park and Dinner. Such a great list - I need to bump some of these books in my TBR.

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  26. As I just wrote to someone else, what I adore about these lists is that it reminds me of the enormous amount of books in the world, and there truly are books for everybody. If you don't like one, there are a thousand others waiting. I shake my head in wonder.

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  27. I'm looking forward to The Goldfinch and Dr. Sleep myself. I accepted a few books this year too and didn't like the pressure to read them. I like having a few challenges going, but love being able to read something unforeseen when the mood strikes.

    Happy New Year!

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  28. I really want the Nancy Tillman but I've only been able to find it in storybook form and I love the board books as they're so much easier to read while holding the little ones!

    Thrilled to see Goldfinch on so many people's lists. I really need to try to read it sooner than later!

    Hope your 2014 is wonderful!

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  29. I sort of got carried away with free books in 2013 but I've already cut back. I have so many other books I want to read that I'll never get to unless I remain strong, but it's hard to say no sometimes.

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  30. The Diner & Doctor Sleep are on my tbr list. The One And Only Ivan sounds like a book that both my granddaughter and I would enjoy!

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  31. Nice list! Your top one is on my TBR roll. I'm on the waiting list for it at our public library. I'm amazed at your reading achievement in 2013. Looking forward to more of your reviews in the next year. Happy New Year, Diane!

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  32. Great list! Your top one is on my TBR list. I'm waiting for it at our public library hold line. I'm amazed at your reading achievement in 2013. All best wishes for the new year, Diane! (I've been having trouble getting my comment published on your blog, hopefully this one would go through. ) Happy New Year! --- Arti of Ripple Effects :)

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  33. The Goldfinch was really tied for #1 for me this year with The Interestings. I love the end-of-the-year lists, but they always make me feel like such a slacker, too. I tried to request fewer books this year, especially after getting really backed up in the spring, but then I find it harder to get myself to write a review if I don't "have" to!

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  34. You read some great books this year! I've definitely learned that accepting review copies stresses me out a bit and takes the joy out if reading so I very rarely do any more.

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  35. Looks like a bunch of good reading - I know I just added quite a few to my wish list! I had a great year of reading, probably in large part due to the fact that I tried to prioritize reading some of my own books for a change instead of all those free books that are nowhere near as free as they seem. It seems that it's a growing trend for bloggers to be weary of the burdens of obligation that review copies are placing on them. Who knew one could tire of "free" books? I guess there really can be too much of a good thing!

    Hope your 2014 is filled with the good reading that you choose rather than the good reading that sometimes feels forced upon you!

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  36. Great list! I haven't read any of them, but I've definitely got my eye on some of these for the future!

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  37. Great list! I haven't read any of them but I've definitely got an eye on some of them!!

    Happy 2014 and hope that it brings you some great new reading :)

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  38. I haven't read any of these books, but several are on my to-read list. Happy New Year!

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  39. I hope 2014 will be a much better year for you in terms of less commitment and more reading for you. I know where you're coming from.

    What a great list of favorites though! Tart's book is one I would like to read. And the Fault in Our Stars is one I definitely want to get to before the movie comes out.

    Here's to a wonderful 2014 in reading!

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  40. What a wonderful list. I've only read a couple, but you've given me some ideas for 2014. I have Goldfinch and hope to read it in the next few months.

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  41. Thank you for leading me to some of the best books I have ever read, Diane. Your recommendations are spot on! I have read many of your 2013 list. I will begin checking off the rest of the books! Happy New Year!

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