Best reads of 2013!
 

I always like to go back over the year and pick my faves..

In no particular order :)

City of Women
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Oh this book! I have been reading a lot of WW2 era books recently. This one was beautiful and unique since it dealt more with the German point of view during the war.

The Heretic's Daughter
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A very moving account of Martha Carrier - the first woman tried and hung during the Salem Witch trials. Loved it! (plus there's a prequel)

The First Man in Rome (and really the entire Masters of Rome Series)
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These books are tomes. But I loved every single word. The first two books deal with pre-Imperial Rome..a time that you don't hear much about since most books are about the infamous Emperors of Rome.

The Painted Girls
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Set in Paris in 1878 - two girls, aspiring ballerinas, must shift for themselves after their father dies and leaves them with a drug addicted mother. The youngest finds work modeling for Edgar Degas...and is supposedly his inspiration for his famous work - Little Dancer, Aged 14.

Fever, 1793
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In the late summer of 1793 the city of Philadelphia is struck by a yellow fever epidemic that will kill over 5000 people between the months of August and November. This book is told through the eyes of a 16 year old survivor. Very gripping read..I read it in nearly one sitting.

And if I had to pick my top pick of the year it would have to be this one...

6. The Thirteenth Tale
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I LOVED this book..it's one of those that I kept meaning to read and just never got around to it..and then of course once I started it I was like "why in the world haven't I read this before now??" Wonderful plot, interesting characters, excellent writing..and it's a book about books! What more can you ask for?? Loved loved loved it.

So what were your best reads of the year?

The thirteenth tale is one of my most favourite books!

I didn't read much at all this year! I finished a good read today - the forgotten garden by kate morton.

I'm huge on historical fiction and add in a mystery and i'm even more tempted to read it :)

The Honey Thief was so unique, beautiful, heart wrenching and thought-provoking, it tops my list.

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I also enjoyed 11/22/63. King is an amazing storyteller.

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Louise Penny's latest release always makes my list.
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Great lists, Nikki and Misty! I still need to read a few of those.

I just looked at my Goodreads to see what I had read this year, and I am ashamed to say that I really didn't read much this year at all. :( But, from what I did read, these are my faves:

The Silo Trilogy:

I purchased the first book in this series for my Kindle a long, long time ago, but had never read it. Then, Robin and Libby started going on and on about the series, so I finally broke it out, and I really enjoyed the entire trilogy.

Wool, Shift, and Dust

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The Language of Flowers

I read this for my neighborhood book group, even though I didn't go to the meeting when they actually discussed it. :p I really, really enjoyed this one.

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I hope I'll get to do more reading in 2014. I'm reading Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway right now and really loving it even though it's a sad story. The prose is about as beautiful as it gets.
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My favorite read of 2013 were the first two books in a trilogy (the third is yet to be released).

by Ken Follett
Fall of Giants (about WWI)
Winter of the World (about WW2)

I would highly encourage you to read these if you have not already. They are so engaging and educational!

I only read 12 books this year and I actually really liked most of them. If I had to narrow it down a little bit, here are the ones that stand out the most for me...

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Wool was fantastic. A well written story in a totally fleshed out world that was completely different from anything else I've read. This book truly captivated me.

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I'm a total John Green fan from all of his YouTube videos and he doesn't disappoint in the Fault In Our Stars. A totally sweet YA love story with a heartbreaking twist, I really loved this book. Told Katie (13) to read it too and found her in her room crying one afternoon and when I asked her why she was crying she said because she was reading "that stupid book you told me to read"... she loved it too.

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First Stephen King book I've ever been able to finish and I absolutely loved it. Such a fascinating and unusual take on the Kennedy assassination. I was surprised to be as into this book as I was, but thanks to high praise left by Libby in the forums here, I decided to give it a read and I am so glad I did!

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Read this on a whim because it made several people's top list for last year in this thread here in the forums so I had to check it out. It's well worth the read and deserving of the praise! A really great and interesting read!

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Another book I read thanks to a recommendation here at SSD from Darcy! This is a totally nerdy fun romp through a futuristic game obsessed society. I LOVED this one!

I'll be watching this thread for books to put on my 2014 toead list! Last year it worked out really well for me!

R

Randomly read this one this year too Lydia and I fell in love with it too!

The third book comes out in January..I've been waiting forever for all three to read together. I LOVE Ken Follett!

You just made my day! I thought it was Fall of 2014 and that is so far away! Yeah for January!

Well just double checked and it now says Sept. 2014 :( I had read a coming soon blog and it was in January..guess they had it wrong darn it.

Well poop!

Great suggestions, I've added a bunch to my list on Goodreads!

I love this thread!

I've been wanting to read The Fault In Our Stars, so I'm glad to hear it's a good one.

Many of my faves this year have already been mentioned

11/22/63
Divergent Trilogy
Silo series (Wool/Shift/Dust)

I know I read more than that, but I'm totally drawing a blank right now. I'd have to go get my Kindle and look through it, and I'm much too lazy for that. LOL

I scrapped mine LOL The Thirteenth Tale and Ready Player One were on previous year's faves lists and I had The Fault In Our Stars on my list too, great books. ( I really liked 11-22-63 , and the Divergent series too and I have the Silo series on by TBR list )

A few of mine:

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This one is 3.99 right now for Kindle, it wasn't what I expected but I really enjoyed it.

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I love seeing everyones choices! Adding a few to my list

I felt the same about this one too. Those from the Seattle area with an appreciation of satire will get a kick out of it.

I think I only read 16 books this year. :( I had way too much on my plate to get my mind settled down to read when I did have time. I'm embarrassed to say that I used my Nook mostly for playing Solitaire before I went to sleep each night. *sigh*

And when I checked back at my books, I didn't really love any of them. So I'm glad to see some of these recommendations - I'll add to my list and now that I've switched to Kindle, I'm hoping that will get me going this year.

Is there a way to borrow/lend with Kindle friends like Nook friends?

For me, A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin. I haven't read much else the whole year, I read all five books in January to February and been reeading ever since, LOL. :-) I drop in other books from time to time so as to preserve my sanity, but 2013 was very much a GRRM year for me.

Yes..you can lend with Kindle..some books aren't available to lend but many are.

Just finished the forgotten garden and really loved it! I only read at night so usually I'm pretty slow to finish a book but this one I found myself anxious to get to bed for and up later than I should be to keep reading :)