Monday, December 30, 2013

5 Best Books of 2013

I'm back from my week at home.  I'll tell you more about it later this week, but suffice it to say that I had a wonderful time!

Back to the post topic at hand...  I read a lot in 2013!  As of today, I have read 79 books which is by far the most books I have read in a year.  Between all the flights I took and the extra alone time in a new city, I had a lot of time to read. And luckily, I read some really great books.  Here are my top 5 picks from 2013, in no particular order!

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini - If you haven't read something by Hosseini, I highly recommend that you do.  His writing is beautiful and his books are always such page-turners for me.  And The Mountains Echoed was a little different than his other books as there were several story lines that were all inter-connected.  It got off to a bit of a slow and confusing start for me initially but I am glad I stuck with it as it was truly a wonderful book.  It was one of those books that I was sad to see end as I just really loved the characters.




Still Alice by Lisa Genova - This has been on my TBR list for years and I finally got around to reading it this year.  It was such a great book.  It's told from the perspective of Alice, a Harvard professor who develops early-onset Alzheimer's over the course of the book.  This book was especially impactful for me as Phil's dad had Alzheimer's so it was especially heart breaking to read about this, knowing his dad was suffering from this disease.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes - I loved this book.  It's about a heavy subject as the main character is a care taker for a quadriplegic.  Despite the heavy topic, the author did a great job of introducing humor along the way and I actually laughed out loud occasionally, which doesn't happen very often when I am reading.  This book is a tear jerker, so have some Kleenexes on hand.
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming by Rod Dreher - My aunt/God-mom is a retired English teacher so every time I see her, I ask her about her latest and greatest reads. She recommended this book when I saw her at Julia Child Night so I downloaded it onto my nook for my Paris trip.  I ended up starting and finishing this book on my flight back to Charlotte.  It was so, so good.  It falls under the memoir category as the author writes about the life of his younger sister. But there are other elements in the book such as the decision to live far from family to pursue your career, and whether it's worth the sacrifices (which obviously hit home for me).  Warning:  it's another tear jerker.  I started crying when I got to a really sad part of the book and could not stop!  Which was a little embarrassing since I was in such a public place but oh well!

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum - My best of list wouldn't be complete without a WWII book!  I have owned this one for years but finally got around to reading it for my online book club.  It was such a great book.  There is a modern-day story as the main character, Trudy, researches her family's past and it's potential tie to a Nazi soldier, and then the book flashed back to the time of WWII.  I especially loved that it was partially set in Minnesota as it's always fun to read books that are set in a city you know and love.





What were your best reads of 2013?

15 comments:

Caroline said...

And the Mountains Echoed is definitely on my reading list! My favorite books of 2013 were Allegiant (Divergent series) and The Storyteller. Right now I just started reading the Husband's Secret..

Marlys said...

I love that you give book suggestions, and I will add them to my list. I don't read as fast as you, but hope to get some read in the future! I am enjoying "The Book Thief" right now.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I loved Still Alice. So so so good. It's one I will probably reread eventually but not any time soon. It is a hard read when you know someone suffering from Alzheimer's or dementia. Dementia runs in my family and it's a scary what if looming over all of our heads. I will have to check out The little way... sounds interesting. I would highly recommend The Almond Tree!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

I've read 3 of those books and totally agree they were amazing (those who save us, still alice and me before you). I have to make sure I get to the other two this year!!

melissa said...

Those top 3 books have been on my must-read list for AGES! I'm sad I didn't have much opportunity to read this year, but such is life. Hoping to really get back into it in 2014 :)

Stephany said...

Me Before You was my favorite read this year! My list is going up tomorrow. :) Great list!

Jeanie said...

These all look excellent but I have to say the WWII one has me particularly intrigued. So many books, so little time!

I'll be doing my list soon, but probably early in the new year!

Emilie said...

I am in the middle of Those Who Save Us and I really, really like it so far. I love Holocaust novels! Sarah's Key was my favorite 2013 read.

I've been wanting to read Still Alice for a while now - Alzheimer's runs in my family unfortunately and I find it a fascinating/scary topic. I think I'll add it to my must read list for 2014.

Abby said...

I am loving Still Alice! It's so heart wrenching and almost too close to my heart at times. I love your book suggestions! I think my next book will be either "Me Before You" or "those who save us".

Do you have any books set in Italy? Planning our trip to Italy in October - and I think it'd be cool to read something before going!!

Shoshanah said...

The only one of these books I've read it Those Who Save Us. It was years ago when I read it, but there are still certain passages that have stayed with me.

Of the others, the more I hear about Me Before You the more I want to read it. And while I have yet to read anything by Khaled Hosseini, from everything I've heard I think I'd really enjoy him too.

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

I really loved Those Who Save Us!!! I have not read anything by Khaled Hosseini (shame on me!) and I have had Still Alice on my nightstand for weeks after finding it for an awesome price at a used bookstore. Hopefully I get to it in 2014!!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Thanks for the list! I started a bunch of books in 2013(non-fiction), but never finished any of them ... oops.

Raquelita said...

I love seeing book lists like this as I'm always adding to mine. This year I really loved reading mysteries as they were fun (and quick). I especially enjoyed The Cuckoo's Calling, Case Histories, and several of the Lord Peter Wimsey series by Dorothy Sayers (written in the 1920s-1940s). I also really loved The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye and Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell.

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Funny, I just did my top 5 as well and I also picked Those Who Save us as well as a Khalid Hossieni book! I will have to put your top ones on my To Read list! I always love having good book recommendations from friends!

Amber said...

I actually bought Those Who Save Us on my kobo when you guys read it but then didn't get around to starting it in time for the book club. After I devoured the Storyteller I am really wanting to read another WWII book so I think I'll start that one next. I'm also really intrigued by The Little Way of Ruthie Leming so I'll have to request it at the library!