7/1/13

My favorite books of 2013 so far

So far in 2013 I have read 173 books, 27 of which are by Terry Pratchett (cause of me being a speaker a the Discworld Convention).  Even after such a binge, I am still eagerly looking forward to the next Discworld book on my list--only six more to go, and then I will have read the whole series in order of publication.

73 of the books I read came from the library, 55 were review copies, 8 were presents, and there were only three re-reads on the whole list (The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, by Dorothy Gilman--comfort reading about a grandmother who becomes a CIA agent; The False Prince, by Jennifer Nielsen, and Jinx, by Sage Blackwood).  Which means that only 37 came from my tbr pile, and at that rate I will never get through it, and until I do, re-reading is going to have to keep taking a back seat.  

Here are my favorite books of 2013 thus far, judged by the simple, and very personal, criteria of me imagining re-reading them (because, darn it, I am a Re-reader):

Brat Farrar, by Josephine Tey.    A young man (Brat Farrar) assumes the place in a well-off English family of yesteryear of a boy thought to be dead.    Brat Farrar turns out to be one of the most likable, nay even lovable (I would have crushed on him back in the day, now I feel maternal--that what having sons does to a person) characters I met all year.   There's a mystery too--what really happened to the boy who dies?  Don't read the end before it comes naturally--I did, to make sure Brat was alright, and found out too much.  Note for other end-readers, so as to spare them from my mistake: Brat will be ok.



Astronaut Academy: Re-entry, by Dave Roman.  I love the whimsical humor of this graphic  novel series, and it's another in which I love the characters because of feeling maternal....


Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett.   Although I haven't yet re-read this particular Discworld book, I almost feel as though I have, because it has played itself over in my mind so often while I have been doing other things.  It made me cry.



The Bards of Bone Plain, by Patricia McKillip.    Isn't it lovely when a book by someone who is already a favorite author exceeds your expectations?  This one has everything I look for in McKillip--the old stories and musics, the images, the beauty of the writing, the characters I love, the mystery at the heart of the ancient land.



Jinx, by Sage Blackwood, which I have already read twice!  Fine middle-grade fantasy, and I am so looking forward to everyone of this new author's future books!



There were lots of other books I enjoyed very much indeed--very good books, happy to recommend them, etc.-- but these are the ones I loved.

13 comments:

  1. Night Watch is probably my favorite in the series and I love Jinx too.

    I'm a rereader as well and blogging makes it SO HARD. Why are there so many new books to read? I have old favorites to relax with!

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    1. please can i get this book in my library at http://unn.edu.ng/library

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  2. WOW!

    I just did my faves of the first half of 2013 so far, but I only had 62 to choose from. :)

    And yep, blogging makes me miss re-reading too. I'm going to have to add Patricia McKillip to my list of authors to try though.

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  3. Loved Jinx and The False Prince, both were my favorites thus far and will defiantly read any new books they have coming out.

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  4. Wow! I'm so impressed that you've already read 173 books. That is so amazing. I haven't read any of your favorites yet. I need to read Jinx.

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  5. I bow to your reading power. :)
    I only recognized one book out of this list and it's JINX. But I have yet to read it though.

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  6. Holy cow! 173! I only just today made it to 42 books read. I don't even know if I'll meet my goal of 100 books for this year at this point. Kudos to you! And I have had Jinx on my wishlist forever it seems. I should definitely think about picking that one up now that you've added it to this list. ;)

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  7. I'm so glad to see a McKillip on your list! It reminds me that I got the latest of hers for Christmas and have yet to crack it open. One day soon...

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  8. This is an impressive list, not to mention your voracious appetite for middle grade novels. 173 is an awful lot. I wonder, do you have time for anything besides reading and this blog? You are definitely a force to watch. So glad I jumped on this site.

    )I am not at blogger any longer. I can be found at Kid Lit Reviews http://kid-lit-reviews.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I am a fast reader...fortunatly, because reading and blogging actually take up less time than all the (more important) things of work and family and house!

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  9. I love Night Watch too...and it's very fun on a reread. The first time, I hadn't read the other City Guard books, so it was such a pleasure to come back again after I'd read the rest--and had context!

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  10. I like "Night Watch," too (Timeslip Tuesday for adults?), and I've reread "Brat Farrar" I don't know how many times! Looks like I definitely need to check out "Jinx."

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    1. I'm so glad I finally got around to reading Brat! So many people had recommended it to me that I'm not at all sure why it took me so long...

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