I don't think I mentioned it on this blog, but I participated in NaNoWriMo in November, which is a 30-day effort to write 50,000 words of a novel. It's an ambitious undertaking, but I did it! I'm happy that I did and I plan to do more in the future.
Books read in 2013:
Pages read in 2013:
But this post is supposed to be about books! So here are my favorites from 2013 (specifically, books that I read in 2013, not necessarily published in 2013).
15 Favorites From 2013
It kind of goes without saying that Brandon Sanderson will be on my list. Steelheart is brilliantly imagined, turning the notion of superheroes on its head and imagining what a world would be like if people who got super powers turned evil. Featuring a likable main character who just can't make a good metaphor to save his life, and a team of normal people who are trying to take the "Epics" down, the ending of this book just might blow your mind.
This goes on the list because it's a mystery that I really liked, and I don't like mysteries! Set in WWII London, Maggie Hope takes a job as a secretary for Winston Churchill. But as she tries to navigate her new position, a conspiracy is closing in on London. There are now three books in the series that I have read, and the story keeps getting better.
I mentioned this book last year on my blog. It's sort of achingly beautiful, good for fans of literary fiction. I don't think I'd rank this in my top 5 anymore, but it definitely deserves recognition.
This book is getting a lot of buzz right now. It takes place in the Longbourn household during the events of Pride and Prejudice, but is from the point of view of the staff. It's sort of a downstairs version of Pride and Prejudice, and has a lot going for it. It's sort of irresistible to see bits and pieces of P&P, and also the description of life for the lower classes in that era is fascinating. It definitely pulls back the curtain from our idealized notions of idyllic English countrysides and society. This book doesn't quite hit it out of the park for P&P lovers, but is a substantial contribution to Austen spinoff literature.
I keep telling people about this book and I get blank stares, and I don't get it! This book was awesome, full of swashbuckling adventure, romance, and adventure. Here is the synopsis I wrote for my library's staff blog:
Owen Wedgwood, famed chef, has been kidnapped and is being held aboard the Flying Rose, captive of the notorious captain Mad Hannah Mabbot. Mabbot informs him that he will cook a sumptuous meal for her each Sunday or he will be killed, a dismaying challenge considering the pirate ship's meager, weevil-infested stores. Dreaming up ways to escape, Wedgwood works wonders in the kitchen while the ship hunts for the notorious Brass Fox and flees from a deadly privateer. Wedgwood comes to rely on the gruff crew he once feared and begins to see something softer behind Mabbot's swagger and threatening power.
I loved this book. It's a swashbuckling adventure that doesn't gloss over the grim reality of life on a pirate ship. Told from Wedgwood's perspective, the story is sprinkled with delectable descriptions and metaphors drawn from his culinary experience; food is the dialect by which he speaks. The plot is fast-paced and action packed, and you come to love some and fear other characters through the course of their adventures. The real star is Wedgwood himself, a likable and talented fellow whose expertise and lifetime of experience still hasn't quite prepared him for all that he is about to face.
Elevator Pitch: Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory falls in love. (Okay, it's not really Sheldon Cooper, but Don Tillman is his doppelganger).
This is the final book in the Delirium series, and I have to say, it's how I wish the Hunger Games series would have ended. If you were dissatisfied with Mockingjay, reading this series might be therapeutic for you. It's also one of the rare series where I thought the second book was better than the first. There is a bit of fan anger at some plot threads left untied at the end of the third book, but I think that doing so would have left a too-perfect bow on the end of everything. Many things in life don't have resolution. The author gave an interview where she said this:
Part of what adults have to live with is ambiguity. It's not like you make a choice and find happiness hiding behind one of three doors looking like Kim Kardashian. You have to choose what you want every day. There is no one point at which you get your happy ending.That may sound like nothing good comes of the ending, but Oliver weaves redemption into her final chapters that, in my opinion, will leave many readers more satisfied than they were at the end of Mockingjay.
This is a fun YA steampunk series that mostly shines for the likable, clever main character, Sophronia. Sophronia is sent to a "finishing" school for young ladies where she will learn dance, dress, and etiquette, as well as deceipt, diversion, and espionage. A fun concept and an entertaining if simple YA series.
Another rare instance of a second book in a series outshining the first. This is the second book in Marissa Meyer's science-fiction series retelling classic fairy tales. The first book was Cinder, the cyborg Cinderella of her time who is caught up in a conspiracy relevant to the entire kingdom. Book two follows Scarlet, whose grandmother has gone missing and the only person who seems willing to help her is an enigmatic street fighter named Wolf. The relationship between these two was absolutely mesmerizing for me, and I honestly didn't know how to peg Wolf for most of the book. Their story also interweaves with Cinder's continuing story from book 1, and we are introduced to a few new characters who I loved.
This was a really interesting nonfiction book by writer and MMA fighter Sam Sheridan. Sam takes one question: "How would I survive the apocalypse?" and trains for various life-threatening scenarios. Need to outrun the aliens? Better take a course on stunt car driving. Need to hijack a car first? Better train on hot-wiring with an ex-con from south central LA. Running low on ammunition? Better train in knife fighting. One of your crew has been injured? Better brush up on emergency medicine.
This was fascinating, and was woven together with a hypothetical narrative of things that could happen in an end-of-the-world situation. Fun reading.
If you needed any inspiration for putting all of those apocalyptic skills to good use, you will find it in this book. This is a great read for fans of Divergent, The Hunger Games, basically anything exciting. Here's a quick summary:
Cassie Sullivan is trying to survive after crippling attacks have wiped out the majority of humanity, and she's not sure if she can trust anyone still left alive. Great tension and a quick moving plot keep you turning pages, but the vulnerability and humanity of the characters really make this novel hit home.
This book is an easy one to recommend to anyone in your Relief Society! And by that I mean it's 1. squeaky clean, 2. historically significant, and 3. inspiring for women. This is about Elizabeth Keckley, a black woman who was born a slave but bought her freedom and built a successful business as a dressmaker, with her crowning achievement being her time working for Mrs. Lincoln and also acting as her confidant during all of the drama and heartbreak of her years in the white house. Keckley was present during intimate moments of triumph and grief for both Mrs. and Mr. Lincoln. Later in her life, she wrote a book describing her time working there, which led to an estrangement of her friendship with Mrs. Lincoln. I need some friends to read this so we can discuss whether it was right for Keckley to write such a book, and if Mrs. Lincoln's reaction was called for. This was a really good book, interesting, thought-provoking, and enjoyable.
A haunting true life dystopia describing the situation in North Korea from the perspectives of six people who lived most of their lives there. Pieced together from many interviews, this is a glimpse into a world that I can hardly believe exists on our planet today. I read this almost a year ago and I am still haunted by it. But rather than leaving you feeling bereaved, Demick renders these peoples' lives in not a tragic light but one that is meaningful, vibrant, showing you their passion and purpose. A full 5 stars for this one.
This is a love story that will make you remember your first love and all of the little moments from it that you may have forgotten, all wrapped up in a surprisingly engrossing story. This is set in 1986, and brings to life the agony of having to wait whole weekends before you could see or talk to that person again (kids today and their cell phones... grumble grumble). The real magic of this story was how it made me feel. The first time they talk on the phone my heart was pounding, and the first time they touched I couldn't breathe. I also listened to the audiobook, and the performance of the two people reading for Eleanor and Park was stellar. Seriously, it's won awards. All in all, this is my #1 favorite from 2013. I've read one other book by this author and I'm excited to see more from her in the future.
So how was your 2013? What would you classify it as "The Year Of..."?
Do you have any favorite books from 2013?
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