Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Best of Reading 2013






I was thinking of doing this earlier, but after seeing this on a number of blogs that I subscribe to, I thought it might be time to do this.  Jamie from The Perpetual Page Turner has offered the 4th annual end of year book survey and here is my attempt at this.  I will link up where I can.

1. Best Book Read in 2013
That is a difficult one to determine as there were a number of books that could qualify, but it would have to be a tie between The Book Thief and A Game of Thrones.

2. Book you were excited about and thought you were going to love but didn't?
This is one is a little easier because I have had some time to think about it and it would have to be Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple.  I had heard so many good things about this book, but I was a little disappointed in the book; felt confused by the nature of the book.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.

4. Book that you read in 2013 that you recommended the most in 2013? 
It probably was The Book Thief and A Game of Thrones.

5. Best series that you discovered in 2013
Even though I have only read the first book in the series, I would have to say A Song of Fire & Ice and the Flavia de Luce series.

6. Favourite new author you discovered in 2013
As with most people in the blog world, I would probably have to say Rainbow Rowell, but a close second would have to be George R.R. Martin.

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
I am not a big fantasy fan, but I would have to say A Game of Thrones.

8. Most thrilling unputdownable book of 2013
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (read it in 3 days).

9. Book that you read in 2013 that you are going to reread next year
Northanger Abbey; its my bookclub's selection and I should refresh myself with the book and it won't take that long to read. 

10. Favourite cover of a book you read in 2013

11. Most memorable character of 2013
For me it would be Flavia de Luce; she's such a spunky gal and even when I am not reading one of the books, I still think of her.

12. Most beautifully written book of 2013
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka; it was short and to the point.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.  While I didn't have the home life that Eleanor had (mine was more like Park's), I was teased and talked behind my back when I was in my teens.  In fact, somebody called me a fat pig in front of me, but I can imagine that there was worse that was said behind my back.

14. Book you can't believe you waited until 2013 to read
That would have to be The Book Thief by Markas Zusak.  I had purchased a copy of the book a few years ago and it had been on my TBR list and on my shelf for a number of years and I am so glad that I read it.

15. Favourite Passage/Quote from a book that you read in 2013
I think it was a passage in Dearie in which it mentioned how Julia Child loathed all the fat-free foods that were coming onto the market and that eating fatty foods in moderation was probably a good thing.

16. Shortest & Longest book you read in 2013
Shortest - A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (about 100 pages)
Longest - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (837 pgs; while Anna K was longer by one page, I read the vast majority of the book in 2012)

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? Other than Hilly eating the pie in The Help, there really wasn't, although the scene in which the bombs landed on Himmel Street in The Book Thief was pretty close.

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
For me it was the relationship between Eleanor & Park, but the second one was the relationship between Liesel and her foster father.

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You Read Previously
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen.

20. Best Book You Read That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else
This is a hard one, as there are a number of books, but I would have to say Longbourne by Jo Baker.

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
Historical Fiction

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013
Robb Stark and Jon Snow (yes I know what happens to Robb in the end...)

23. Best 2013 debut you read?
I am going with Rainbow Rowell

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
The world that George R.R. Martin created in A Game of Thrones; doesn't hurt that I love the show as well.  But the world created in Crime and Punishment would be a close second.

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
Probably the books in the Flavia de Luce series.

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
The Book Thief and The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy.

27.Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
Can't think of one; sorry.

And then looking forward....
  
1. One Book You Didn't Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014?
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel; I was hoping to get around to it this year, but just couldn't.

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014?
See #1.

3. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?I hope to read a few more of the books that have been on my shelves for a number of years and finish War & Peace.

So what did I review in 2013?  (Links leads to posts)
  Blizzard of Glass by Sally M. Walker
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
The Chronicles of Downton Abbey: A New Era by Jessica Fellowes and Matthew Sturgis
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Titanic : Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
The Accursed by Joyce Carol Oates
The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty
A Red Herring without Mustard by Alan Bradley
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
The House Girl by Tara Conklin
The Whole Truth by Kit Pearson
The Gods of Heavenly Punishment by Jennifer Epstein
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple
The Chalice by Nancy Bilyeau
The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy
The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian
Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
The Life and Times of Call the Midwife by Heidi Thomas
The Dinner by Herman Koch
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
Dearie : the remarkable life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz
Emma by Jane Austen
Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen
Moby Dick by Herman Dick
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Longbourne by Jo Baker
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
Call Me Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber
Behind the Scenes at Downton Abbey by Emma Rowley
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows by Alan Bradley
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Lady Catherine and the Real Downton Abbey by Fiona, Countess of Carnarvon
Thunderstruck by Erik Larsen
The Dogs of Christmas by W. Bruce Cameron
The Winter of Red Snow by Kristina Gregory
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

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