I couldn’t let the end of the year pass without at least one recap, right?
My Seven Most Loved Books in 2013:
- Shades of Earth by Beth Revis (ebook) 5 stars
- The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy (print) 5 stars
- The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear (audio) 5 stars
- Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (audio) 5 stars
- The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (print) 5 stars
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (ebook) 5 stars
- Night Film by Marisha Pessl (print) 5 stars
And Ten Runners Up:
- The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens (audio) 4.5 stars
- The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (audio) 4.5 stars
- For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Petrefreund (ebook) 4.5 stars
- Among the Mad by Jaqueline Winspear (audio) 4.5 stars
- Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (print) 4.5 stars
- The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (print) 4.5 stars
- Sight Reading by Daphne Kalotay (print) 4.5 stars
- Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick (audio) 4.5 stars
- Something Like Normal by Trish Doller (print) 4.5 stars
- Where the Stars Still Shine by Trish Doller (print) 4.5 stars
And my husband’s favorite books of 2013 (his actually has an order):
- 7. Symposium by Plato
- 6. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
- 5. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin
- 4. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
- 3. The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder
- 2. Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi
- 1. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
A (Very) Few Book Stats:
- Books Read: 62 (down from 80 in 2012)
- Audio: 33
- Print: 29 (including 8 ebooks)
- Ben’s Books Read: 60 (Michelle with the win!)
Note: I usually do an extensive stats post (2012|2011|2010|2009|. It takes a long time to prepare (especially since I never keep up with my spreadsheet during the year) but I love the result. However, I don’t have hours to spend recreating a reading spreadsheet this year, so as sad as this makes me, these stats are going to remain unknown. Likewise, my favorite books of 2013 lists above were not given the level of thought and creativity which I usually put into them. They are simply a compilation of the books I gave 5 and 4.5 stars to, respectively. If anyone is still reading this blog, bear with me here. And stay tuned for tomorrow’s post where I talk about the upcoming year.
How was your reading year? Are you ready for 2014 for a fresh start like me?
my books. my life. 
I was having a hard time just coming up with a number…ONE NUMBER…because I stopped doing reviews in the fall. But I did figure out I read 109 books. Of your list, I also had Night Film and the Rainbow Rowell books, and a couple of years ago I read (and loved) Fun Home.
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I am not 100% sure my number is accurate actually. And I am reading Fun Home now.
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Hey Michelle,
just to let you know I am still reading your blog. 🙂 Thanks for the wee lists. I’ll add some of the books to my TBR list. I bought Night Film months ago and haven’t found time to read it yet. I hope it’s as good as Special Topics.
Sabine
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I thought Night Film was even better than Special Topics. (And thanks for sticking with the blog!).
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If you count your runners up we have 4 that overlap! That seems like actually a lot for us.
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I know!
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Wonderful post, Michelle! Enjoyed reading about your favourites and Ben’s favourites. I want to read ‘Fangirl’ and ‘The Illusion of Separateness’. Love Simon Van Booy’s prose. I loved ‘Eleanor and Park’ and ‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ too – nice to see them on your runners up list. Nice to see ‘Death in Venice’ on Ben’s list. I enjoyed reading it, especially for Thomas Mann’s prose. I want to read an Alison Bechdel book sometime. Thanks for sharing your lists. Happy New Year! Looking forward to your post tomorrow.
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Simon Van Booy is the best.
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Great selections, I’ve only read two of your top 7 (Fangirl and Night Film) but I loved them as well. Great choices by Ben too – I love Great Expectations and Fun Home.
I’m very impressed that you read 62 books with an infant/toddler! Highly impressive!
Cheers to a happy 2014. 🙂
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I am reading Fun Home right now.
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I am not entirely sure how much I read to be honest. I did a very bad job keeping track this year. 😦 I really liked The Night Film, though. That will be on my best of list. I am listening to Fangirl right now and it is really well-done on audio.
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I’ve heard that Fangirl was a good audio. I’ll have to give it a listen someday.
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I’m listening to The Ocean At The End of The Lane right now. I’m really enjoying it. It’ll probably be on my 2014 best of list.
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I wish I had done the audio. Maybe I’ll reread it in 2014.
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The Daughter of Smoke & Bone has ended up on a few lists and I think I MUST read it soon. It sounds so good! Happy New Year, Michelle!
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It really is surprisingly good. And the audio is fantastic.
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I always enjoy reading end of the year recap posts! 🙂 It’s so nice to see your favorites and I caught up on some reviews I missed.
My reading year wasn’t very good. I read 30 books and I often had a hard time picking books to read…that’s probably the reason why I ended up reading some books which had been on my tbr list for AGES.
I’m so ready for a fresh start! I’ve started well today, with a short book my brother suggested (and lent) me last night. 🙂
Happy New Year!
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I think getting to your TBR is a success. I always have a hard time with books I’ve wanted to read for a long time because I get distracted by new ones.
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We have only one top book in common if you count your runners up. I do have two of the Rainbow Rowell books on my ereader and can’t wait to read.
I don’t keep page or reading time stats….too much work…I do love that you show me different books to read…thanks!!
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Goodreads is the only reason I have any stats. I am awful at keeping my own.
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I can’t believe that out of your favorites i’ve only read Night Film and Where the Stars Still Shine. I have some reading to do!
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So many books, so little time.
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I really enjoyed NightFilm. I thought it managed to use technology without being too gimmicky and stuck to the story, which was both fresh and creepy. If I’d added a fifth book onto my favorites of the year, I think it would have been it. Ocean at the End of the Lane would have been next! 🙂
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Great list and we have a few in common. There are definitely some books on your list that I should add to my queue.
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