Sunday, December 22, 2013

My 10 favorite reads of 2013

The year's favorite reads
(Click to enlarge)
Yes, I know that there are still a few more days till 2014. But with the way things are going, I'm never gonna get any reading done. I'll just be eating. And eating some more.

So 2013 isn't so bad in terms of reading. I finished 60 books, and like every year, I made it a point to have a diverse reading list. This year, there are fiction and nonfiction books, classics and contemporary books, young adult novels and books for children, a few LGBT works, and lots of graphic novels. I had lots of love for the graphic novel format this year.

I have to mention that I don't usually include the classics in my list. Instead, I focus on current (or current-ish) publications. Crime and Punishment is a favorite, and I doubt if there are people who would actually disagree with me on how beautiful that novel by Dostoevsky is. In a way, my annual list of favorite books somehow is a recommendation list of sorts. Besides, I always feel iffy recommending classics. They don't need anyone's good word.

Here are my favorite books for 2013: 2 graphic novel volumes, 1 middle grade novel, 2 young adult books, 2 thrillers, 1 science fiction work, 1 short story collection, and 1 novel in the literary fiction category. Oh, I present them in random order.
  1. Saga Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples – Weird! Interplanetary wars! Romeo and Juliet in space!
  2. Chew Volume 1: Taster's Choice by John Layman and Rob Guillory – Gross! Violent! Fun! Appetizing!
  3. Wonder by R. J. Palacio – Kindness! Beautiful on the inside! No to bullying!
  4. Redshirts by John Scalzi – Dispensable characters, not! The Hugo Award! TV episodes!
  5. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino – That twist! Like Hitchcock! Japanese crime!
  6. Bødy by Asa Nonami - Human body part fetish! Kinky! Short stories!
  7. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan – Romantic! Break-ups! No hate!
  8. The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder by J. W. Ironmonger – Erudite! The Catalogue! Memories!
  9. Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer – Pies! Diners! Bittersweet! Hopeful!
  10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – A sick mind! A-cuckoo! That narrator!
And I realized just now that I made an entry for each book above! Woot woot! You can check these out by clicking on the titles, in case you're curious about my remarks with exclamation points. 

So which of these 10 books is my single favorite read of 2013? That, my dear readers, is for another blog post. Happy holidays!

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I bought a copy of Gone Girl during this year's MIBF. I look forward to reading it soon. Happy holidays! :)

Lynai said...

Oh, Gone Girl! I think this one's going to be in my favorites list for this year too. :)

And Wonder and the on by Ironmonger are up on my wishlist. :)

Will be on the look out for your post about your most favorite read of the year. (Why do I have this feeling it's going to be Levithan's But I could be wrong, too. :))

Happy Holidays, Peter!

Tin said...

Gone Girl! Loony! Bonkers! :) This one will surely make it to my best of 2013 reads too.

I will add the rest of the books in your list to mine, perhaps for next year.

Happy Holidays Peter! :D

Peter S. said...

Hello, Verne! Read it, read it, read it! It's so messed up!

Hi, Lynai! Oh, that would be quite a surprise!

Hello, Tin! Happy holidays to you as well!

Jack Tyler said...

Hey, brother! Hope you had a joyous Christmas, and are looking forward to a 2014 that will be remembered for all the right reasons! Take care of yourself always...

~ J-Man

Peter S. said...

And a happy new year to you too, Jack!