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.