Best reads - 2013

Best Reads - 2013
It's that time of year! Any genre, any year of publication.
The few books that stand above all the others when you think back on 2013.
The best-of-the-best. Create your own genres as needed.

Literary Fiction
New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani. The utterly lost man seeks notice.
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa. Forgetful math professor.
Ravelstein by Saul Bellow. Rambling, interesting fictional biography.
Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler. Allegorical novel of the horrors of Stalin's Show Trials.

Short Story
The Lost Decade by F. Scott Fitzgerald (short story). Excellent.
Brief Loves That Live Forever by Andrei Makine. Vignettes of Soviet life, vividly done.
Akhnilo (short story) from Dusk and Other Stories by James Salter. Prize-winning stories.

Espionage
Asset by Jonathan Orvin. Excellent espionage story.

Sci-fi
World War Z by Max Brooks. The World-Wide Zombie War. Fabulous!

Scholarly for lay reader.
The Cambridge Guide to Thomas Pynchon. Excellent. Informative. Clearly written.
General Relativity from A to B by Robert Geroch. Fabulous! Just Fabulous!.

I like the idea of best of genre, as opposed to best of the year. The latter is entirely too limiting!

Have to think.....

Best of Historical Fiction would be the wildly popular (for once with much reason).
Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel. Oliver Cromwell, humanized beautifully.

The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory. The story of Anne Neville, daughter of Richard Neville. She was married to King Richard III. Part of Gregory's series on the War of the Roses, and as far as I am concerned, the best.

Best of Non-Fiction

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. The story of the assassination of President James Garfield.
Blood Will Tell (A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII) by Kyra Cornelius Kramer.
Her Majesty's Spymaster by Stephen Budiansky. It is the story of Sir Francis Walsingham, you could call him the Father of Modern Spycraft.

Best of Literary Fiction

Dangerous Liaisions by Choderlos De Laclos.
The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin.....yes, that Justin Cronin of the vampire (going to be) trilogy. This guy can write a wonderfully moving tale of love, sacrifice and redemption. Just lovely.
Invisible by Paul Auster.
Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster. Twisted.
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. I know, it's a play but fits the genre, IMO. Starkly intense, fantastic.
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. It is realistic, and so artfully and intensely accomplished...heartbreaking.

Best Science Fiction/Fantasy

Replay by Ken Grimwood. How many lives does it take, with a twist.
The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. Innovative.
The Inverted World by Christopher Priest. It's all perspective.
World War Z by Max Brooks. I've not been a fan of zombie books, but this, told in newspaper reporting style was terrific!

Best Spy/Espionage

Death Will Have Your Eyes by James Sallis. It is very different.
Asset by Jonathan Orvin. A journey.

Best New (for me) Author

Ellen Ullman.
I've read two of her books, so far.

By Blood and
Close to the Machine: Technopilia and it's Discontents.

She is a computer geek's Geek, and can tell a wonderful story beautifully.

There have been lots of books I have read this year that I have thoroughly enjoyed and wouldn't hesitate to recommend but I have to say that hands down the best books I have read this year were:

When The Emperor Was Divine - Julie Otsuka
The Buddha in the Attic - Julie Otsuka


The Harmony Silk Factory - Tash Aw
Map of the Invisible World - Tash Aw


The Garden of Evening Mists - Tan Twan Eng
The Gift Of Rain - Tan Twan Eng

Each of these books deeply impacted me emotionally which is just about the highest praise I can give a book.

Wonderful, wonderful, Pontalba, Meadow! Many more great books for TBR 2014 lists.
Who else? What else?
All bests gratefully received.

I still plan on reading a lot this month, but these were my favorites so far:

Best of Literary Fiction
Blindness, by José Saramago
Jesus Cristo Bebia Cerveja, by Afonso Cruz (not yet translated to English; translates to Jesus Christ Drank Beer)

Best of Historical Fiction
The House of the Spirits, by Isabel Allende (it was a reread for me)
The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon

Best of Mystery/Thriller/Crime Fiction
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
Edge of Black, by J.T. Ellison

Best of Fantasy
What's a Witch to Do?, by Jennifer Harlow

Best of Romance
It Happened One Autumn, by Lisa Kleypas

Best of Non Fiction
The World without us, by Alan Weisman

Love that best non-fiction, Landslide! Somehow it missed all my TBR's. But not again.
Thanks.

Bump for everyone: Perhaps you've read the best book of all year in the past two weeks.
Now's a good time to list it.
Last chance coming, on Dec 31.

OK! End-of-the-year time!

Surely more than just four of us have read memorable books in 2013 -- this being a book and READER forum.

Just 'fess up. There won't be no more bumps and last chances before this thread slowly sinks below the waves.

Happy 2014 to all!

Peder

yeah discussing actual books seems to sort of not be happening all that much on the forum at the moment, which is kind of why we are all here.

Come guys! Book forum! Books! Discuss!

And don't be intimidated by all the books we list - I have at other points in my life been profoundly moved by not very literary books - the impact has more to do with the place you are in, and your experiences than the literary qualities of a book. Although of course if it is also well written then that is a bonus.

I remember having a total A-ha moment in a rather forgettable little fantasy book - so forgettable I have forgotten it, but that year I read that paragraph in that book it would have topped my 'best book of the year' list.

So come on share .... what was your best book of the year?

My favorite non-fiction (and favorite book of the year): The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero
favorite mystery/thriller: Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. (I still need to read Night Film.)

Other genres? Not sure, I'll have to think about it some more...

Special Topics in Calamity Physics sounds interesting. Just one question - is it more adult or more YA with a teenage protagonist?

Meadow337 said:

Special Topics in Calamity Physics sounds interesting. Just one question - is it more adult or more YA with a teenage protagonist?

Click to expand...

That's a good question....the heroine is a teenager but I would say it's more adult, though it's not overly graphic or anything; the writing style is a little heavy with a lot of literary/historical references. It doesn't seem to have been written for a YA audience.

ChaosTheory said:

That's a good question....the heroine is a teenager but I would say it's more adult, though it's not overly graphic or anything; the writing style is a little heavy with a lot of literary/historical references. It doesn't seem to have been written for a YA audience.

Click to expand...

cool thanks!

Yay! Many thanks, Chaos Theory. I have often wondered about Special Topics in Calamity Physics, it's such an unusual title. Your comments have helped clarify the matter, especially that it was one of your favorites for the year. Good enough for me.

It moves a little slowly but I really enjoyed it

Best horror - House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski and Mr. X by Peter Straub
Best historical fiction - Emperor: The Gates of Rome by Conn Iggulden and The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
Best literary fiction - Midnight Champagne by A. Manette Ansay

My reading list this year was pretty random, I didn't get to much that was actually published this year. Oh well..

General Fiction The Well And The Mine by Gin Phillips/Under The Same Stars by Tim Lott/Daylight Saving by Edward
Hogan/Wilderness by Lance Weller/The Broken Cedar by Martin Malone/Little Wolves by Thomas Maltman.
Crime The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
Thriller Red Winter by Dan Smith
Fantasy Winter by William Horwood
Sci-Fi Raft by Stephen Baxter/The Infinite Sea by Jeffrey A Carver
Historical The Bleeding Land by Giles Kristian/Harvest by Jim Crace/Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Historical Action Odin's Wolves by Giles Kristian/The Burning Land by Bernard Cornwell/Shieldwall by Justin Hill.
Historical Crime Martyr by Rory Clements/The Devil's Ribbon by D.E.Meredith
Ghost Story/Horror The Ritual by Adam Neville/Duplex by Michael James McFarland
Kindle In The Time Of Famine by Michael Grant

Way to go, Shadforth! An excellent collection -- never heard of any of them A wonderful feature of this BAR book forum.
Many thanks for taking the time to share.

P.S. But my wife has heard of many of your titles and authors and also says they are great.