1.02.2014

2013 book list


technically, I suppose this isn't a 2013 book.  it was started right there at the end, and is nearly finished, so it will be the first of 2014.  I am liking it very, very much.

inspired by Amanda, I've started to keep a running list of books as I read them (instead of allowing them to fly around, untethered in my mind, dodging capture when I wish to remember one of them).  and so, here is my list of books read in 2013:


-House at Tyneford
-Divining Women
-The Life of Objects
-The Facility
-The Happiness Project
-Gone Girl
-Hannah Coulter
-Happiness for Two
-Flight Behavior
-Hanna's Daughters
-Farm City
-The Kitchen House
-Telling the Bees
-The Secret of the Nightingale Palace
-He's Gone
-The Cassoulet Saved our Marriage
-She Rises
-The Snow Child
-The Light Between Oceans
-The Language of Flowers
-The Shipping News
-Garden Spells
-The Sugar Queen
-The Movement of Stars

(read aloud to Claire, at bed time):
-Little House in the Big Woods
-Little House on the Prairie
-Farmer Boy
-On the Banks of Plum Creek
-By The Shores of Silver Lake
-The Long Winter
-Little Town on the Prairie
-These Happy Golden Years

(unfinished as of yet):
-Anna Karenina (over 300 pages in and just not as excited about it as I feel I probably 'should' be)
-The Lacuna (had a feeling about what was coming, and haven't had the heart to continue with it)



My favorite was easily The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey.  Others that stand out beyond the rest for me were Hanna's Daughters, The Language of Flowers, and Flight Behavior.  I also loved Farm City.  My list for 2014 is already long and includes some re-reads (The Birth House, The Dirty Life), along with many others.

please do share your own favorites..... I'm always keeping an eye out for ones to add to the list~

16 comments:

  1. I would share mine with you, but somehow I think your list probably trumps mine. I don't like to read really heavy stuff...I prefer light fiction and I read a lot of Christian fiction. Karen Kingsbury is one of my favorites of all time...her books are called "Life Changing Fiction" for a reason! I love Robin Jones Gunn, Melody Carlson, Francine Rivers, Luanne Rice, Kristin Hannah...

    One of the best books I have ever read was Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. It's fiction, but there's a lot of truth to it. It's about a young girl's childhood in Russia.

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    1. what?! that's not really possible, is it? one person's preferred reading trumping another's? I go in and out of phases of preferring lighter fiction over heavier, historical fiction, memoirs and travel writing over cookbooks and other nonfiction. and vice versa. this was a year with a lot of historical fiction. I'll look at Winter Garden. My favorite from this year, The Snow Child, is based on a Russian folk tale. not that that means they're connected, but... well, sort of maybe.
      xo

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  2. Oh, and I do also want to read Gone Girl. :)

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    1. that one was so very different from my typical preferred genre(s). very good. pretty (very) twisted.

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  3. Anna Karenina is one of my favorite novels of ALL time. I hope it gets better for you.

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    1. you know what's funny- it isn't that I don't necessarily like it, because I do. I find several of the characters enjoyable and the setting as well..... I think maybe it's got to do with mothering a toddler and reading in spurts here and there, and just not feeling like I'm getting anywhere with it. I've not given up, and I may have to reread a bit. I think just about everyone I've talked to about it is a fan!

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  4. I struggled with The Lacuna, although I did finish it. It is my least favorite of her books.

    We had two books in common for 2013 (you can see my list here: http://inblueink.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-year-in-books.html). Happy reading!

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    1. had I not picked it up after a string of very good novels, I'd have probably had more patience for it. but it just wasn't doing it for me at the time. Poisonwood Bible is one of my very favorites of all time, and I love several of her others, so to not like one right away feels strange.

      Ah, Flight Behavior and The Happiness Project. loved the first, and I liked the way the author devoted a whole month at a time to her goals and such in the Happiness Project. it all seemed so simple, but the reminder to be mindful about the basics that affect our quality of life is an important one, for sure. one I could use hearing time and time again. Also- I loved COOP- I really like Michael Perry. Truck: A Love Story, is another one of his I enjoyed. My daughter's middle name is Annelise, inspired by his wife's name after my husband and I read those two books together.
      cheers!

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  5. Thanks for the list....always love suggestions! The language of flowers and garden spells were such good reads! Snow child is next on my list! Happy New Year to you and your little family!

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    1. thanks, Megan! oh I loved those two very much, and I bet you'll enjoy The Snow Child very much if you liked them. 'Magical Realism' was the way someone described Garden Spells and The Snow Child to me. Happy New Year to you and yours as well!
      (and it's nice to see your photo ;)
      cheers from NC!

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  6. Thanks for the list - always good to get recommendations. I realised recently I just don't have enough life left to read all the books I want to. Reading Ursula Le Guin books has spoiled other authors for me though thankfully as she is so seriously good, so that takes care of that problem ;-) Nice photo - ever think of doing a photo tip sheet (guess that's not what your blog is about...)

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    1. you are very welcome. (thanks to amanda for inspiring me to do this in the first place!) I've not yet read any of her books, but I recall you recommending her once before. any favorites?

      thank you~ I am flattered that you'd suggest I put together a photo tip sheet, yet I honestly don't think of myself as one fit to write such a thing. it'd be full of amateur guesses at proper photography lingo and such ;)

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    2. The dispossessed. Prefer your photos to many of the pros.

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    3. I'll add it to my list. thank you very much~ that makes me feel quite nice ;)

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  7. I read Hanna's Daughters a few years back and REALLY liked it! I recognize a few other titles on your list that I've read, too. And we share the same favorite read of 2013 - TWINS!

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    1. I loved Hanna's Daughters. the same neighbor recommended both it and The Snow Child. and gosh, that one just left me floored. I already want to reread it.

      also- if you're recognizing titles that you've read as well, there's a mighty good chance I went seeking them after reading one or another of your reviews. so, thanks!!

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thanks for taking the time to read and comment~