For each book I finish reading, I usually go through two or three duds. That's not to say those unfinished books aren't good ones, just that I wasn't in the mood or didn't have the mind to finish them. This year I completed 24 books, with about 50 books left on the shelf. Before delving into the memorable books I've read this year, I'd like to highlight the books that I attempted.
The Bible Half Blood Blues Mockingbird Spook Country Zero History The Headmaster's Wager Wolf Hall Me, Who Dove into the Heart of the World Spadework Divergent The Final Solution The Cyberiad reamde Maidenhead
The list goes on and on. Of course, I might go back to one of these books and finish it in the coming year, but the reality is that I read what I like, and it's a rare book that manages to capture my interest, imagination, and loyalty to see it to the end.
This year, I focused on two new kinds of books - ones by female authors and science fiction. Aside from the classics by Jane Austin, Louisa May Alcott, and the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, I've read shockingly few books by women. The same applies to science fiction. Even thought I have about 3000 words in a scifi draft story, I've never read any of the classics such as Asimov, and I know very little about the works of PK Dick.
At the intersection of these two sets is my Book of the Year: vN, from Madeline Ashby.
Best Voice that fused new techniques and brilliant viewpoints, resulting in something entirely different and taught me much about writing: Mr Fox by Helen Oyeyemi.
Most Engrossing Story is a tie between A Discovery of Witches from Deborah Harkness and The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. The Kingkiller Chronicles (Name of the Wind and the Wise Man's Fear from Patrick Rothfuss) deserves honourable mention, but ultimately I felt they were flawed books that didn't live up to the story's potential.
The Best Nonfiction goes to The Sorcerer's Apprentices: A Season in the Kitchen at Ferran Adrià's elBulli, by Lisa Abend.
Unexpected Delight: Legends of Zita the Spacegirl, a graphic novel by Ben Hatke. I liked it so much that I gave the book to my good friend's 1.5 year old daughter.
It's been a great year for reading. I've finally started reading a wider gamut of books, from different kinds of authors, in different genres. Now to continue this good habit into the new year
Most anticipated reads for 2013:
- The Holy Bible
- Alexandre Dumas: The Last Cavalier
- John Irving: In One Person
- Shakespeare: Measure for Measure
- Hilary Mantel: Wolf Hall & Bring up the Bodies
- Hans Fallada: Wolf Among Wolves
- Neil Gaiman: American Gods
- David Foster Wallace: Infinite Jest
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