2013 Books in Review

My goal was to read 52 books this year... so far I have read 37. I don't think it's possible to reach my goal at this point, so I'll be happy with the amount I did read. I highlighted the ones in RED that i really loved, and I'll say a few words about why.


So in the order that i read them...

Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me? By Mindy Kaling

Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler

If You Lived Here by Dana Sachs - Beautiful insight into relationships, the past, the things we carry, and adoption.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos - Another relationship book with all the ugly and the good of friendships

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker -  This book really made me think about my life, my choices and my stuff... and how it's okay to get rid of things and less is more!

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow

Bossypants by Tina Fey

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Summer Rental by Mary Kay Andrews

The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen

The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain

Tigers in Red Weather by Liza Klaussmann - Interesting story  with a murder mystery thrown in... and lots of messed up characters. 

Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld - Twin sisters are able to predict the future, one embraces their gift the other runs from it. Will their big earthquake prediction come true??? It's a page turner! 

If It's Not One Thing, It's Your Mother by Julia Sweeney

The Sinners and The Sea: The Untold Story of Noah's Wife by Rebecca Kanner - I have never really thought much about the story of Noah, let alone his wife, but this fictional account is really great! 

Between You and Me by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala - This is a memoir of a woman who lost her whole family in the 2004 Tsunami in Sri Lanka. We are talking her parents, husband and two boys. How she picks herself up after this and fights to live is beyond me? It is a heartbreaking, beautiful story.

Rescue by Anita Shreve

Coming Clean: A Memoir by Kimberly Rae Miller

Still Points North: Surviving The World's Greatest Alaskan Childhood by Leigh Newman

The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells by Andrew Sean Greer

Someone by Alice McDermott

At the Bottom of Everything by Ben Dolnick

Tapestry of Fortunes by Elizabeth Berg

The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan - The author intertwines 4 different stories set around love, engagements and the diamond industry. Well written and lots of great characters. 

Cold Tangerines by Shauna Niequist

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple - I loved how quirky the character Bernadette was, she is crazy and weird and neurotic. My kind of gal. 

Ready for Air: A Journey Through Premature Motherhood by Kate Hopper - This book hit home for me because I also had a preemie. And not only that, but the author had her baby at the same hospital I did. Reading it was hard and very cathartic. It's good to read something that someone else has been through. But even if you don't have a preemie in your life, Kate Hopper is just a great writer!

No One Could Have Guessed the Weather by Anne-Marie Casey

What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love by Carole Radziwill 

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes - This book was definitely my favorite this year. A quadriplegic and his caregiver develop an unlikely friendship. But what they learn from each other is what makes it so beautiful. Heartbreaking and funny... it's a winner! 

Desperate: Hope for the Mom who Needs to Breath by Sarah Mae and Sally Clarkson

Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Woman's Prison by Piper Kerman- I actually first saw the Netflix original show Orange is the New Black before I read the book. So of course I was expecting the book to be just like the show. It's not. But it's just as good and definitely gives more real insight into life in a woman's prison. Full of triumphs, heartbreaks, and laughs. 

The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult - I've never read a Jodi Picoult book because I assumed they were all Life Time Original movies in the making. This book was far from it. A young girl strikes up a friendship with an old man who asks her for a favor. But what happens when she discovers the man is not who she thinks she is? Set partially during the Holocaust  this book has some real sad and disturbing moments. But the story is phenomenal and worth reading! 

Little Bee by Chris Cleave 

Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed by Glennon Doyle Melton - I Loved this book and I love Glennon Melton! She writes so beautifully and delicately about life, addiction, motherhood, love, and forgiveness. I read it in one sitting! 

My book picks of the year would have to be: Me Before You, Orange is the New Black, and Carry On, Warrior. 

What are some of your favorite books you've read this year? 

Comments

Rachel said…
Great Post! Thanks for writing this...I have some new ideas for my ever-growing to read list.
vmichelle said…
Thanks for sharing! I follow you on Goodreads, but it's different to see a synopsis over time summing up what your favorites were and why. We all read so differently for different reasons, but I love book talk with friends.

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