Thursday, January 16, 2014

Thursday Thirteen 316: 2013 Year-end Book Report



I am a life-time reader who never seems to have enough books or shelves. I believe one can never read too much or have too many books. When not actually reading I can often be found on the boards at GoodReads talking about books, and have joined their year-long reading challenge the last few years. I also tend to read across several different genres, and have found that by doing so I never (or very rarely) become bored or burned out on reading. Here's a look at how 2013 shaped up.


1. Number of Books read: I had a goal of 100 and I met that goal -- barely. Books ranged in length from 30-page novellas to 553 page tomes.

2. Genres read: Classics, Romance, Mystery, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, Literary Fiction — many in the romance, mystery and YA genres also contained paranormal elements.

3. Number of Different Authors: Nearly 70

4. New-to-me authors: Thirty, including: Muriel Barbery, Claudia Bishop, Juliet Blackwell, CJ Box, Ally Carter, Cassandra Clare, Diane Mott Davidson, Gustave Flaubert, Georgette Heyer, Yann Martel, Carla Neggers, Elizabeth Peters, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Maggie Sefton, Mary Shelley, and Kathleen Taylor.

5. Most-read Authors: Vicki Lewis Thompson (6), Ally Carter (4), Kate Collins (4), Julie Miller (4), Amanda Lee (3), Lois Lowry (3), Ridley Pearson (3), Rick Riordan (3), Donna Andrews (2), Nancy Atherton (2), Cassandra Clare (2), Diane Mott Davidson (2), Barbara Delinsky (2), Kay Hooper (2), Joyce & Jim Lavene (2), Carla Neggers (2), Elizabeth Peters (2), Jill Shalvis (2)

6. Authors I plan to read again: All of the above for number five, as well as most of those listed for number four.

7. Best overall read(s) of the year: Life of Pi by Yann Martel, The Giver by Lois Lowry

8. Best overall romance I read this year: Arabella by Georgette Heyer

9. Best overall mystery: Open Season by CJ Box

10. Best overall young adult: The Giver by Lois Lowry

11. Most imaginative world: The Giver series by Lois Lowry

12. Weirdest read: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

13. Reading goal for 2014: As I have the previous three years, I have joined the GoodReads Reading challenge with a goal of 100 books. Within that are mini-goals, such as reading at least 12 classics (already two down on that goal) and -- as with last year -- trying to catch up on some of the favorite authors/series in Mount TBR.


What about you? What was your year in books like? What was your favorite book read?


LINKING TO: Thursday Thirteen



P.S. For a complete list of books read, check out the 2013 Books Page. You'll find links there for every book/author read, should you be interested in picking some up for yourself. Happy reading!


Previous Year





14 comments:

CountryDew said...

I loved The Elegance of the Hedgehog.

Colleen@Looseleafnotes said...

That a pretty high recommendation, best read out of 100!

Anonymous said...

I won an autographed book from Carla Neggers for Christmas, which tickled me to death. Love her books. Happy Thursday, Heather! Keep on reading!

Alice Audrey said...

Except for the Mystery, we read pretty much the same stuff.

Heather said...

Anita: elegance of the Hedgehog was good, though a difficult read for me, what with all the philosophical stuff. It took me a lot longer to read than expected, and the POV of the girl was what, IMO, made it kind of weird. Kind of hated the edning, though, if you know what I mean. ;)

Heather said...

Colleen: There were a lot of books I liked last year, some I really loved, but only a few that I've continued to think about. Part of what made Life of Pi stick out, aside from such a magical story, was discussing it with a friend's 11-yr-old son who hadn't read the book but had recently seen the movie with his dad.

Heather said...

Stephanie: Lucky you! I've only recently discovered her, and am looking forward to reading more of her books.

Heather said...

Alice: We do seem to have some similar reading interests. ☺

Shelley Munro said...

I just can't seem to read classics. I tend to stick with romances and mysteries and read a lot of non-fiction historical reference books. I'm busy researching for a new series.

Unknown said...

Oh wow, this is an awesome post! Lots of new authors for me to check out (yay!). You are by far braver than I am. I like to stick with what I know, though every so often I'll venture out into the literary wilderness for more sustenance. It takes me being in the right mood to read an unfamiliar genre and/or author.

Happy Thursday!

Heather said...

Shelley: I'm the exact opposite. I like reading classics (some more than others), but have a hard time getting through non-fiction. Not that I won't pick one up once in a great while, but it has to be a topic that truly intrigues me or I lose interest.

Heather said...

Hi Dena! I'm glad to introduce you to some new authors. While there's comfort in familiar authors, I also like checking out someone new once in a while. Most new-to-me authors have been discovered through recommendations of friends, or through the weekly Teaser Tuesday posts.

I agree with you that sometimes you have to be in the right mood for something. For example, one of the quarter group reads for a Goodreads group I am in is Lady Chatterley's Lover. I do want to read it, had meant to start it already, but just haven't been in the mood. Besides, it's not like I don't have until the end of March. *Grin*

kayerj said...

congratulations on 100 books. I really liked The Life of Pi as well.

Heather said...

Thanks, Kelley! : )