Top 5 Reads of 2013

[Angie]

Can you believe that today is the last day of 2013? You're bound to have read a whole swag of great books this year. Can you narrow them down to your top five?

[Angie]

For me...

Out of the Easy
The Light Between Oceans
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
Me Before You
The Kitchen House

[Sweetp-1]

Mine..

The MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood:
MaddAddam, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood
Code Name Verity
Tell the Wolves I'm Home
Dark Places
Tuck Everlasting


, &

I also really enjoyed revisiting the Harry Potter books this year on audio (read by Stephen Fry).

[Lesley]

Only five?! That makes it hard but here's my 5(ish)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Kitchen House
Sophie's World
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
The Aviator's Wife
The Keeper of Secrets: A Novel
London

[P.D.R.]

I've read a book a day and I couldn't possibly remember just five.

There've been an awful lot of pleasant reads, well written books with a solid plot and entertaining.

Outstanding ones are so rare because I've read too much and so there seems to be nothing new.

[Antony]

I didn't read as many novels as I usually do this year. Strangers & Journeys kept me busy but would be at the top of my list.

[Angie]

Sweetp-1 wrote: "Mine..

The MaddAddam trilogy by Margaret Atwood:
MaddAddam, Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood
Code Name Verity
[book:Tell the Wolves..."

Tell the Wolves I'm Home was well up there for me too, Sweetp-1. I have Code Name Verity on my to-read list. It sounds fascinating.

[Angie]

Ella's Gran wrote: "Only five?! That makes it hard but here's my 5(ish)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
The Kitchen House
Sophie's World
[book:The Immortal..."

Yep, only five! Aren't I a meanie!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was my favourite read of 2011. Probably time I gave it a re-read. I remember laughing out loud on many occasions.
I found The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks mind-boggling. Another one that almost made my Top 5.
I'm pretty certain The Keeper of Secrets made my Top 10 from either last year or the year before.
And, I've had London on my bookshelf since I was a teenager! I tried it back then, but it was too heavy for my 19 year-old brain. But I simply adore London the city, so I must give it another go. It's a daunting read.

[Angie]

Antony wrote: "I didn't read as many novels as I usually do this year. Strangers & Journeys kept me busy but would be at the top of my list.

[bookcover:Tupaia: The Remar..."

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a very clever book. I've worked with a number of children on the autism spectrum and books such as these really help to give me more of an insight into how their brains work.
I finally got around to reading Ripple a few months ago, and although its not the sort of book I typically read, I found Tui's writing poetic and beautiful.

[[deleted user]]

I have read a lot of average books this year, but there were a few absolute gems...

Wool Omnibus
Hounded
The City and the City
The Windup Girl
Midnight Riot

[Megan]

It's been a while since I last posted - but had a think about this one:

5 top books I read this (now last)year

The Ocean at the end of the Lane - Neil Garman
The Luminaries - Eleanor Carton (which I also have on audio book now)
Behind the Scenes at the Museum - Kate Atkinson
Liar and Spy - Rebecca Stead
The Round House - Louise Erdrich

There are probably some I have left off my list because I haven't been very diligent in updating...

I also really enjoyed

The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan
Monster - Walter Dean Myers
Reach- Hugh Brown
Keeper - Mal Pete
The Unforgotten Coat - Frank Cottrell Boyce

And a ton more...

Most over rated book I read this (now last) year:
The Casual Vacancy - J.K.Rowling

Happy New Year everyone!

[Melinda]

mmm, for me it was , , , and but i enjoyed almost everything else I read. The only thing I didn't like was which is one of very few books that i started but couldn't finish

[Jane]

Surprisingly easy for me:
Life after life - Kate Atkinson
Instructions for a heatwave - Maggie O'Farrell
The luminaries
The raven's seal - Andrei Baltakmans
Life - Keith Richards

[Tui]

How lovely to be mentioned. Ripple was even mentioned as a favourite (of Julie Thomas) in the Listener this year. That was thrill. My list includes Julie's own book,
which showed me aside of the holocaust I had given inadequate consideration to.
I also enjoyed by Antony Millen which showed me a different way of looking at the Kiwi landscape and riverscape.
I also enjoyed some good Kiwi children's Books:
by Mandy Hager
by Sue Copsey
by Lorraine Orman

[Lesley]

Melinda wrote: "mmm, for me it was , , , and but i ..."

Gone Girl seems to be one of those books that people raved about or totally disliked - no in-between. I've not read it myself, but on what I've heard I've not been inspired to read it either.

[Tui]

I'm reading an amazing Kiwi book right now, for the second time. None of you will have read it because it isn't even published yet but it's mind-bogglingly unusual and original.Written by one of my critique group and he might be really angry if I mentioned it here, but one day he might let me. At the moment he's still working on it.

[Lesley]

Megan wrote: "It's been a while since I last posted - but had a think about this one:

5 top books I read this (now last)year

The Ocean at the end of the Lane - Neil Garman
The Luminaries - Eleanor Carton (whic..."

Looks like you've got 5ish there like me Megan :) Hope you join in on the discussion thread for The Luminaries.

[Lesley]

Jane wrote: "Surprisingly easy for me:
Life after life - Kate Atkinson
Instructions for a heatwave - Maggie O'Farrell
The luminaries
The raven's seal - Andrei Baltakmans
Life - Keith Richards"

I bet Keith Richards' book was interesting! Do pop over to the discussion thread for The Luminaries and let us know what you thought of it.

[Lesley]

Tui wrote: "How lovely to be mentioned. Ripple was even mentioned as a favourite (of Julie Thomas) in the Listener this year. That was thrill. My list includes Julie's own book,
[bookcover:The Keeper of Secre..."

Ripple tried to get on my list for this year, along with another couple of titles, until I looked and saw I had read it in 2012 - must be a good one to keep in the forefront of the mind like that eh?

[Lesley]

Tui wrote: "I'm reading an amazing Kiwi book right now, for the second time. None of you will have read it because it isn't even published yet but it's mind-bogglingly unusual and original.Written by one of my..."

Aaw Tui, that's teasing! It's like telling someone you know what they're getting for Christmas/birthday. LOL

[Tui]

I know - it's mean of me, but if he ever publishes it, I'll be shouting it from the rooftops. One of those books you read and then you immediately go back to the beginning and read it all over again.
It had all these re-writes here and there all through it, where he's still re-drafting and when he found I was reading it again, he made me read the newer one with all that removed. But I enjoyed seeing all that "work-in-progress" stuff. Quite an honour and taught me a bit about how his mind works. The author is a true honest-to-goodness genius. I'm so lucky to have read his stuff, which he chooses not to publish because he prefers to choose who he allows to read his work. I'm only in because I did a course he did once.

[Sue]

Thank you Tui, what a lovely start to 2014 for me :)
My top five reads of 2013:
Life After Life, Kate Atkinson
A Casual Vacancy, JK Rowling
The Fault in our Stars, John Green
The Truth, Michael Palin
Wonders of the Universe, Brian Cox

[Angie]

Melinda wrote: "mmm, for me it was , , , and but i ..."

Holes is an incredible read. I have read it to at least three of my Year 5/6 classes over the years. The movie is great too.

[Angie]

It's encouraging to see Life After Life on a couple of these lists. It went on my to-read list when it first came out and that's where it has stayed. I'm going to reserve it right now at my library!

[Sue]

I'm a little bit obsessed with that book Angie, and I also went to one of those "evening with" things in Auckland last year. She was interviewed by an Australian (why?) who asked some pretty dumb questions, but she handled it all beautifully and was very eloquent and intelligent. When I fangirled her at the signing afterwards she told me she was so jetlagged she was afraid she'd spoken nonsense. What a lovely lady. I want to be her.

[Angie]

Sue wrote: "I'm a little bit obsessed with that book Angie, and I also went to one of those "evening with" things in Auckland last year. She was interviewed by an Australian (why?) who asked some pretty dumb q..."

She sounds very cool. What a privilege to meet her. Living way down south, we don't often get to meet authors, but my library held a talk by one of my favourite authors, Lesley Pearse, a couple of years back. She was fascinating to listen to. She's from the UK, but at the time she mentioned wanting to set one of her books in NZ. I see that her new book, Survivor (the third in a series), begins in Russell.

[Melinda]

Sue wrote: "I'm a little bit obsessed with that book Angie, and I also went to one of those "evening with" things in Auckland last year. She was interviewed by an Australian (why?) who asked some pretty dumb q..."

Life After Life is my next read when I finish The Fault in Our Stars. Would love to talk with you about the Kate Atkinson talk Sue!

[Sue]

Knowing the speed at which you read, you'll probably have finished it by the end of the weekend! One of the reasons I couldn't put it down was that during WWII both my parents were well and truly Blitzed, and my grandfather was an ARP warden. When I was a girl I thought this meant he didn't do anything much because he didn't actually fight. This book gave me a deeper appreciation of what they all went through. Love it when books can touch you so personally as well as just being a fantastic read. So while your dad was being herded across Europe, mine was cowering under the stairs. Ain't life strange? Yes let's talk about the talk! Julie went too. I thought I saw you there or am I imagining that?

[Deb]

If you liked The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night Time then I would recommend Speed of Dark which I re-read this year. I read a lot of short stories this year and revisited many. A story I read with greater appreciation was The Lady With The Little Dog. The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver would be my top novel of the year.

[Sweetp-1]

Angie wrote: I have Code Name Verity on my to-read list. It sounds fascinating.

It was the first book of 2013 that I read and it was hard to beat. Was excellent.

[Sweetp-1]

Chris wrote: "I have read a lot of average books this year, but there were a few absolute gems...

Wool Omnibus
Hounded
The City and the City
[book:The Windup Girl|6..."

Hi Chris, I'm going to friend you. Looks like we have similar tastes! Wool and China Mieville have been on my to read lists for ages. I really enjoyed Bacigalupi's YA books and need to give Wind Up girl another go (I got a little way through the audio but found it too confusing with the names, need to read in print I think).

[Sweetp-1]

Ella's Gran wrote: "Gone Girl seems to be one of those books that people raved about or totally disliked - no in-between. I've not read it myself, but on what I've heard I've not been inspired to read it either. "


I enjoyed it but Dark PLaces and Sharp Objects are better - darker and more gritty. GG is a little too clever and reads at times like it was written for the screen.

[Sue]

I enjoyed GG, but it was definitely overhyped. Funny, there were three rave-reviewed US novels I read last year that left me underwhelmed. The other two were The Signature of All Things (haven't finished yet, but after a fantastic start it has lost its way and is currently hurtling downhill) and The Last Runaway, which I thought was about slavery but turned out to be about quilts.

[Tui]

Sue wrote: "there were three more rave-reviewed US novels I read last year that left me underwhelmed..."

It's so disappointing when you are expecting big things and are underwhelmed. I had that with a certain famous Kiwi book this year, but some lesser known Kiwi authors made up for it well and truly.

[Lesley]

Tui wrote: "Sue wrote: "there were three more rave-reviewed US novels I read last year that left me underwhelmed..."

It's so disappointing when you are expecting big things and are underwhelmed. I had that wi..."

Perhaps you could tell us what they are and share them with the group Tui. Maybe they would be titles you could nominate for group reads.

[Tui]

Ella's Gran, they are in my list of five posted above already. The disappointment is not there obviously (let's not focus on the negative,) but my favourites of the Kiwi authors year are there. There are two adult books included, two YAs and the children's novel by Sue Copsey.

[Erica]

My top five (in no particular order) have to be:
The Denniston Rose
The Girls
Call the Midwife (book#1)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Watership Down

I read the first two of the Hunger Games series as well, they'd be up there too.

[Angie]

Erica wrote: "My top five (in no particular order) have to be:
The Denniston Rose
The Girls
Call the Midwife (book#1)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
Watership Down

I read..."

Your first three are on my TBR list and I have read the other two. Agree! They are both great books. I actually didn't rate Watership Down as high after initially reading it, as I would now. It is a really clever book. I must re-read it in the near future.

[[deleted user]]

I loved Hounded but Mr Hearne is responsible for my dog getting a taste for sausage!