delete this account pls Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 It's that time of year I guess, but instead of focusing on the best books that came out in 2013, why not have a thread for the best books you read in 2013, regardless of when they were published. Because unless you're a reviewer, most readers aren't so ferociously current. Well, I'm not anyway. Browsing my goodreads looking at all the books I gave 5 stars this year; Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Fantastic. A bit of a showoff book, with Micthell effortlessly switching between genres, prose styles, time periods etc, but in the best way. This one really stayed with me and it's something I think I'm going to read again and again every few years. Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell. As good as everyone says it is. Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy by John LeCarre. This was a reread but I liked it even more the second time. George Smiley is one of the great fictional characters of the 20th century. Smiley's People, also by John LeCarre. The conclusion of the so-called 'Karla Trilogy' is every bit as good as the beginning. The middle book, Honourable Schoolboy is a bit of a weak-link in the series (though far from bad, it just doesn't quite measure up) The Round House by Louise Erdrich. A coming-of-age story set on a Native American reservation in the 1980's. Charming and harrowing in about equal measure. Erdrich should be a much bigger writer than she is. The Sisters Brothers by Patrik DeWitt. A funny western about two murderous brothers. Enjoyed it a lot but in retrospect Im not sure if it's really up there with the other books on this list. The Sinai Tapestry by Edward Whittlemore. The first book in the Jerusalem Quartet, a little known and hard to find series that has finally been released on kindle. Regarded by many as a lost cult classic. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears. A murder-mystery set in Oxford in the early 1660's, told by multiple unreliable narrators. Each new character's account throws doubt over the previous one as the story becomes more complex and larger in scope. Amazingly well done. Don't worry, Pears doesnt leave you hanging, but he also doesn't lay all his cards on the table either. Somehow he manages to have his cake and eat it too. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman. An excellent and thoroughly entertaining account of the lead-up to, and the first month of, the first world war. Looking forward to reading more Tuchman in the future. Live By Night by Dennis Lehane. Probably my favourite read of 2013. A terrific gangster story. It might not be hugely original, but everything it does, it does perfectly. This is kinda what I wish Boardwalk Empire was. Nothing that actually came out in 2013, hence this thread. Looking back, it's actually quite a nicely varied list. A good reflection of the refined Rennaisance Man I truly am, imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 To save space I'll just give a brief impression, and link the titles to my Goodreads reviews for anyone who wants to know more. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. One of the most powerfully affecting novels I've ever read. A Bend in the River and Guerrillas by V.S. Naipaul. Naipaul is probably the world's greatest living author, and these are two of his greatest works. Your Republic Is Calling You by Kim Young-ha. A novel about life, change, and choice, set in S. Korea. Hunger by Knut Hamsun. A hugely important and extremely compelling novel. Atomised by Michel Houellebecq. A hateful, filthy, and profoundly moving masterpiece. The Clown by Heinrich Boll. A thought provoking novel about the moral struggles of postwar West Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Replay by Ken GrimwoodA Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster BujoldTalulla Rising by Glen DuncanLondon Falling by Paul CornellThe Sacred Band by David Anthony DurhamThe Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman'Salem's Lot by Stephen King The Sinai Tapestry by Edward Whittlemore. The first book in the Jerusalem Quartet, a little known and hard to find series that has finally been released on kindle. Regarded by many as a lost cult classic. Have you read Quin's Shanghai Circus? If so, how does it compare to the quartet? I read it quite awhile ago, and loved it. I've also already purchased, and plan on reading the quartet but I'm curious about how they match up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biter Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - My second Murakami novel, after Kafka on the Beach, and I absolutely loved it. - White Noise - I had read some pretty good DeLillo novels before, but thought this was amazing. - We, the Drowned - Just finished this. Jensen is a great storyteller. - The Spy Who Came In from the Cold - While Smiley is a great character, the fact that he is only mentioned briefly here didn't lessen my enjoyment of this. Also, I wanted to mention that I'm going to start reading The Honourable Schoolboy today. - Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? - A fascinating autobiography. - The Thin Man - I really enjoyed Hammett's writing style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samsaptakas Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 The warrior prophet by R. Scot BakkerWhite tiger by Aravind AdigaFever Dream by GRRM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pecan Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Anathem by Neal Stephenson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 Have you read Quin's Shanghai Circus? If so, how does it compare to the quartet? I read it quite awhile ago, and loved it. I've also already purchased, and plan on reading the quartet but I'm curious about how they match up. Planning on but I haven't yet. But the foreword to Sinai talked about Quin's a lot and I got the impression they were both pretty similar in terms of tone and style. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorshach Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 I have so far given three novels five stars on Goodreads: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Slow-paced, but I really got into it. Didn't want to put it down. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. Well, I haven't read it before. Why? Beats me. Loved it Syngja (that's "to sing", but without the to for those of you who don't really read Norwegian. Reason I don't translate it as merely "sing" is that in Norwegian, it can't double as imperative) by Lars Amund Vaage. Self-biographical to some extent (how much I don't know) about his autist daughter, and their relationship. Wonderfully written. Poetic at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 If I have to limit the list to five stars reviews from goodreads (and not including rereads), it would only leave: Wool by Hugh Howey, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe by Bill Bryson, and Reamde by Neal Stephenson. But I would also add a few four stars: Police by Jo Nesbo,The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch,Przedksiężycowi #2 by Anna Kańtoch,Dodger by Terry Pratchett,Czarne by Anna Kańtoch,and Dzienniki kołymskie by Jacek Hugo-Bader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palimpsest. Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Not counting rereads, in no particular order:The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. I called the twist a few chapters in but I still cried when it happened. More Than This by Patrick Ness. I loved Chaos Walking, I thought The Crane Wife was pretty meh, and this one was just surprisingly good.Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I strongly suspect this one appealed to me so much because of my personal circumstances and because I identified with the main character to an uncanny degree. It also made me miss Bay Area so much.The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. I know, how on Earth had I not read that before? It's a great book. Read it.Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. It's not a very deep book, but it's a very sweet geeky reverie with enough dystopian undertones to make it interesting. As a person whose greatest wish as a kid was to live in a video game, I thoroughly enjoyed it.The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. I've never read so many 'grown up' books (I don't even know what to call them, lit fic? mainstream?) as I have this year, and while some were a huge miss for me (I have no clue why people liked Gone Girl so much, for example), this one was a hit. Surprisingly, I think I've read more current year books than any time before. Even as a reviewer, I was never so up to date. I blame Kindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OberynBA Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Anathem by Neal Stephenson I've read this book this year itself. So intense world building and plot developing in 900 pages give or take, with a great deal of mathematics and science. Definitely inspiring. It's my favorite too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nerolunar Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 "Misery" by Stephen King - a true masterpiece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 At least two people have books on here that I thought were dreadful :) My Name is Asher Lev - Chaim Potok (thanks to HowdyPhillip)The Golden Age - Michal AjvazInvisible Cities - Italo CalvinoGormenghast - Mervyn PeakeChina Mountain Zhang - Maureen McHughSuttree - Cormac McCarthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goodbye World Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 If we're going with five stars only then NOS4R2 and The White-Luck Warrior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted December 5, 2013 Author Share Posted December 5, 2013 It doesn't have to be 5 stars, use whatever criteria you want :) I just went with that because I read a lot of books this year (probably the most books read in a year ever for me, the result of a six week stretch with no tv or home internet) and it was the easiest way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Based on my Goodreads five star rating, it looks like Lois McMaster Bujold was a hit for me!The Curse of ChalionThe Warrior's ApprenticeThe Vor GameAll by Lois McMaster BujoldThe Emperor's EdgeEncryptedBy Lindsay BurokerQuiet by Susan Cain1491 by Charles MannDragon Haven by Robin HobbThe Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch (a re-read)Possibly The Black Lung Captain by Chris Wooding. I'm only a quarter of the way through, but I'm liking it more than Retribution Falls and at this point it is a five star. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delete this account pls Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Another one, didn't give this 5 stars but it's growing on me more and more since I finished it - Gilgamesh by Joan London. Some of the best descriptions of the Australian Outback I've ever read and a really fascinating and memorable heroine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Sheepf*cker Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 FinchCaine's LawBlood SongNecessary EvilThe TroupeCold DaysBlue Remembered EarthJohn Dies at the End Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ebenstone Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Friday Night Lights by HG BissingerBoxers and Saints by Gene Luen YangThe False Prince by Jennifer NielsenFortress Frontier by Myke ColeThe Red Knight by Miles CameronThrone of Glass by Sarah J. MaasBatman: Year One by Frank MillerThe Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spartan64Destiny Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 The Broken Empire series by Mark Lawrence: 1) The Prince of Thorns 2) The King of Thorns 3) The Emperor of Thorns Simply Awesome!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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