2013 has come to an end. And what a year it was. I had 1-4.5 (which led to a list of my top 12 all-time), 6-4.0's, and 12-3.5's. I also read 77 books but a little under 25,000 pages (1,000 less than 2012). As always, I have listed all the books in order, with author, book, pages, and rating. This will be followed by my top books of the year. Take a gander.
Flynn, Vince - The Last Man - 433 - 3.5
DePaul, Virna - Shades of Desire - 378 - 3.0
Baldacci, David - The Forgotten - 422 - 3.0
Ivey, Eowyn - The Snow Child - 386 - 2.5
Ford, Jamie - Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet - 285 - 3.5
Adair, Marina - Kissing under the Mistletoe - 286 - 3.0
Griffin, W.E.B. - Empire and Honor - 517 - 3.5
Coben, Harlan - Six Years - 351 - 3.0
Diaz, Sue - Minefields of the Heart (NF) - 152 - 4.0
Pavone, Chris - The Expats - 326 - 3.0
Randolph, Ladette - Haven's Wake - 238 - 2.5
Mishani, D.A. - The Missing File - 289 - 2.0
Castner, Brian - The Long Walk (NF) - 220 - 2.5
Erdrich, Louise - The Round House - 317 - 3.0
Berenson, Alex - The Night Ranger - 387 - 2.5
Foer, Jonathan Safran - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - 326 - 2.0
Adair, Marina - Summer in Napa - 317 - 3.0
Margolin, Philip - Sleight of Hand - 309 - 2.5
Diffenbaugh, Vanessa - The Language of Flowers - 308 - 4.5
Gold, David - Carter Beats the Devil - 480 - 2.0
DePaul, Virna - Shades of Passion - 378 - 3.5
Coelho, Paulo - Manuscript Found in Accra - 190 - 2.0
Wecker, Helene - The Golem and the Jinni - 484 - 3.0
Solomons, Natasha - The House at Tyneford - 355 - 3.0
Bennett, Alan - The Uncommon Reader - 120 - 2.0
Lavigne, Michael - The Wanting - 318 - 2.5
Rose, M.J. - Seduction - 365 - 2.5
Dietrich, William - The Barbed Crown - 339 - 2.5
Bryan, Helen - The Sisterhood - 402 - 3.5
Haynes, Jasmine - What Happens After Dark - 329 (no rating - read with an eye toward editing)
Power, Henriette - The Clover House - 397 - 3.0
Burke, Alafair - If You Were Here - 358 - 3.0
Foster, Melissa - Traces of Kara - 294 - 2.0
Walls, Jeanette - The Silver Star - 267 - 3.0
Joseph, Jeff - A Novel Obsession - 219 - 2.5
O'Farrell, Maggie - Instructions for a Heatwave - 290 - 2.5
Sloan, Robin - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore - 288 - 3.0
Hoffman, Beth - Saving CeeCee Honeycutt - 306 - 4.0
Atkinson, Kate - Life After Life - 519 - 2.5
Sussman, Ellen - The Paradise Guest House - 256 - 3.0
Picoult, Jodi - The Storyteller - 460 - 4.0
Baldacci, David - The Hit - 390 - 3.0
Clayton, Meg Waite - The Wednesday Sisters - 284 - 3.0
Spicer, Bev - Bunny on a Bike - 181 - 2.0
Mankel, Henning - A Treacherous Paradise - 354 - 2.5
Hoffman, Beth - Looking for Me - 354 - 4.0
Taylor, Brad - Enemy of Mine - 385 - 2.5
Danticat, Edridge - Claire of the Sea Light - 238 - 2.5
Sporleder, Steve - From Sleepy Lagoon to the Corner of the Cats - 332 - 3.5
Silva, Daniel - The English Girl - 473 - 3.5
Walter, Jess - Beautiful Ruins - 373 - 3.0
Raffel, Keith - The Temple Mount - 381 (see Jasmine Haynes above)
Jayne, Hannah - Truly, Madly, Deadly - 262 - 3.0
Orgain, Diana - Bundle of Trouble - 296 - 2.5
Guzeman, Tracy - Gravity of Birds - 294 - 3.5
Kirschman, Ellen - Burying Ben - 227 - 3.0
Rutlen, Carmen - Dancing Naked...In Fuzzy Red Slippers - 204 - 2.5
Franklin-Willis, Amy- The Lost Saints of Tennessee - 340 - 4.0
Petrocelli, William - The Circle of Thirteen - 324 - 2.5
Albom, Mitch - The First Phone Call from Heaven - 290 - 3.5
Piccinin, Toni - The Goodbye Year - 248 - 3.0
Swan, Joan - Rush - 384 - 3.0
Krueger, William Kent - Ordinary Grace - 306 - 3.0
Sporleder, Steve - Hobo's Ashes - 238 - 2.5
Patchett, Ann - This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage - 306 - 2.5
Archer, Jeffrey - Best Kept Secret - 373 - 3.5
Potter, Greg - Albatross - 360 - 3.0
Margolin, Philip - Worthy Brown's Daughter - 340 - 2.5
Fowler, Karen Joy - We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - 308 - 2.5
Hafner, Katie - Mother Daughter Me - 259 - 3.5
Chessman, Harriett Scott - The Beauty of Ordinary Things - 142 - 2.5
Haynes, Jasmine - The Naughty Corner - 297 - 3.5
Andrews, Dr. Russell - Too Big to Succeed - 152 - 3.0
Moyes, JoJo - Me Before You - 369 - 4.0
Kerman, Piper - Orange Is the New Black - 295 - 3.5
Jackson, Nate - Slow Getting Up - 240 - 3.0
Adina, Shelley - Lady of Devices - 181 - 3.0
Fountain, Ben - Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - 307 - 3.0
Barony, Beth - Henrietta, The Dragon Slayer - 225 - 2.5
Books - 77
Pages - 24, 973
Average pages/book - 324
So, in 2011 I had a top 6. In 2012, there was a top 11. And this year, believe it or not, there is a top 19. Does that seem a little ridiculous? Perhaps. Am I getting soft in my old age? Could be. But what can I do? I've got 19 books that were 3.5 or higher. It's not fair to penalize the 3.5's just because there are so many of them. Oh, wait, it's my blog. I get to do whatever crazy thing I want. Cool. Here they are, in order:
The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh - 4.5 (this is not a misprint)
The Storyteller, Jodi Picoult - 4.0
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt, Beth Hoffman - 4.0
Me Before You, JoJo Moyes - 4.0
The Lost Saints of Tennessee, Amy Franklin-Willis - 4.0
Looking for Me, Beth Hoffman - 4.0
Minefields of the Heart, Sue Diaz - 4.0
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Jamie Ford - 3.5
The English Girl, Daniel Silva - 3.5
Gravity of Birds, Tracy Guzeman - 3.5
The Sisterhood, Helen Bryan - 3.5
The Last Man, Vince Flynn - 3.5
Orange Is the New Black, Piper Kerman - 3.5
Mother Daughter Me, Katie Hafner - 3.5
The First Phone Call from Heaven, Mitch Albom - 3.5
The Naughty Corner, Jasmine Haynes - 3.5
From Sleepy Lagoon to the Corner of the Cats, Steve Sporleder - 3.5
Empire and Honor, W.E.B. Griffin - 3.5
Shades of Passion, Virna DePaul - 3.5
The Community Service Award: Our 2nd annual goes to Minefields of the Heart, Sue Diaz. This book is the true story of a 3-tour of duty soldier in the Middle East. What makes this so different is that it's written by the soldier's mother. We get to see how incredibly rough it was for the family, not just the soldier. It certainly opened my eyes wide. Nice job, Sue.
CONTEST: And also like last year, I will have a drawing for all those who post a comment on this blog. The winner will have a choice of which of the 77 books he/she wants. The winner can choose between print, digital, and audio. Good luck, all.
Oh my ... now this really IS a wonderful surprise. Thank you so much for selecting both of my novels for your list. I'm honored and delighted!
ReplyDeleteWishing you and Joni all good things and much happiness in 2014. I sure hope I get to see you this year!
Joni and I feel the same way. Does the remodel get done in 2014!?
ReplyDeleteHere's knowing that you will have a great year.
I like that you didn't penalize some of the 3.5's. The only one's I've read are Beth Hoffman's but I would love to read The Language of Flowers, per your recommendation :)
ReplyDeleteHappy reading :)
And based on your recommendation, with strong endorsements from both Jasmine Haynes and Shelley Adina, I will be starting Louise Penny's Still Life tomorrow or Friday. Thanks for the rec.
ReplyDeleteA great list, congrats on your achievement!
ReplyDeleteShelleyrae @ Book'd Out
It pales in comparison to you(!), but what's better than fighting over how many books somebody read? It's the best.
Delete2013 was a great year for you! I'm determined to keep better stats next year.
ReplyDeleteIt really is fun to keep track of books/pages and compare/compete with friends.
DeleteThank you, Lloyd! It's an honor to be on your list!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you and Joni!
And thank you for all the happy reading hours you have given me with your recommendations. I'll be going through your list and adding as many of the books as I can to my MP3 player. Although, as you know, I've read many of them and have agreed completely with you.
Here's to the next year of great reading!
I'm starting Still Life, by Louise Penny, today, thanks to your recommendation.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it! I just finished How The Light Gets In Book 9 and loved it! the books just keep getting better!
DeleteI definitely like the 1st 25 pages.
ReplyDeleteWow, great year! Thanks for sharing your list--will be looking forward to reading some of those myself!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many great books and so many highly regarded recommendations that it's hard to get to a lot of them. It's never-ending.
DeleteStacy, congratulations. You have won the free print-, e-, or audio- book. Pick the one you want and the format, and I will get it to you.
ReplyDeleteYea!!! Since I don't own a copy and I want to read it because so many people liked it and it was your favorite is The Language of Flowers :) Thank you Lloyd!
ReplyDelete