Racking Up — and Rating — Books Read in 2013 (With Last-Minute Addition)

I read a lot this year, more than I realized: nearly six dozen tomes in all. Now, to be fair, a few were books for younger readers — but that means they were shorter, or more carefully illustrated, as opposed to being less robust and complex. 

Good authors write to the story and trust their audience. Good readers read the story and trust their authors. That perfect match makes for heavenly reading, and I made quite a few good matches this calendar year.

What was my favorite book? As if I could choose one! Well, here are a few (in no particular order) that stayed with me long after I turned the last page:

• Life After Life — what if you could take nearly every path life could offer? (review)
• Dr. Sleep — Finished it in the waning hours of 2013, so right now all I can say is, "Wow." If I can manage more of a response than that, there may be a review.
• Behind the Beautiful Forevers — examine Indian "slums" and poverty through the eyes of the residents of Annawadi (review)
  
• Tiny Beautiful Things — like a hug from a special friend (review)
  
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane — childhood in all its terrifying complexity (review)
  
• Salt Sugar Fat — it's no accident that you love a particular processed food, and this fascinating tome takes a look at how processed foods evolved in America
  
• Let the Great World Spin — the intersection of lives in the shadow of Philippe Petit's daring tightrope walk between the Twin Towers
  
• The Dinner — think you know where the story's going? Think again. (review)
• The Creeps — Return to Biddlecombe at Christmas to see how Samuel Johnson, Boswell, Nurd and a few other familiar characters battle the forces of evil (and a few scary elves)
• The Winter Sea and The Firebird (in that order) — fall in love with history, fiction and one or two independent spirits via these compelling tales 
  

I made a few bad matches, too. One that comes to mind is A Visit from the Goon Squad: I can't understand why it won so many awards when it could not make me care about the characters and tales. Another was Southern Gods, which despite its fascinating concept was way too gory for me. (That means it will be perfect for my husband, David, whose criteria for a good movie is, "Does anybody die?") I wasn't keen on Caleb's Crossing, but its sin was the wrong narrator who couldn't give me the intricacies of the story I really came to the novel to read. (It was as much about the narrator as it was the subject, a sort of bait-and-switch.)

I took a few detours down "juvenile fiction" lane. I'm a huge fan of Cynthia Rylant's Mr. Putter and Tabby series, who join Mrs. Teaberry and Zeke in more than their share of adventures. Neil Gaiman provided more than a few graphic novels or heavily illustrated stories, and I will forever love the father who good-naturedly traveled around town until his son retrieved him. The experiences of Miss Finch creeped me out, and I was able to re-read a few of my favorite animal tales recreated as graphic novels.

After disliking an iconic novel by Ursula K. LeGuin, we both were redeemed by her Catwing series.

My reading took me me to India, North Korea, Ireland, Scotland, England, Russia, Africa, the Netherlands and Hell. I've lived a different life every day, and lived multiple lives in time. I've been to hell, I've been dead, I've been nearly dead and I've known the right neighbors.

I made a summer reading list and promptly abandoned it. I haven't come to terms with the fact that I will not read everything, and maybe not even everything I want to read, but I'll keep trying. Just tonight I found three more books to read. I'll figure it out. Really.

Here is this year's reading list (probably not totally complete, considering I deleted the list by accident in September and had to recreate it from memory). Did you read any on this list? What are some of your year's reads you'd recommend? Tell me!

2013 Reading List

1. Dr. Sleep
2. Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins
3. Caleb's Crossing
4. Mr. Putter and Tabby Clear the Decks
5. Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup 
6. The Poisonwood Bible
7. Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish
8. Mr. Putter and Tabby Dance the Dance
9. Mr. Putter and Tabby Ring the Bell
10. Creatures of the Night
11. Crazy Hair
12. The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish
13. The Arrival
14. Stitches
15. Selected Stories/Open Secrets — Alice Munro
16. The Bookman's Promise
17. Cat Versus Human
18. The Dinner
19. The Creeps 
20. The Vagina Monologues
21. The Seventeen Traditions
22. Humans of New York
23. Bossypants
24. The Winter Sea
25. Sh*t My Dad Says
26. Illusions
27. Ella Minnow Pea
28. Under New York  
29. The Firebird 
30. Catwings 
31. Catwings Return
32. Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings
33. Jane on Her Own: A Catwings Tale
34. Southern Gods
35. Unnatural Creatures
36. Dreamfever
37. Poe's Children
38. The Tarantula in My Purse and 172 Other Wild Pets
39. Salt Sugar Fat
40. The New Yorker Book of Cat Cartoons
41. The Charles Addams Mother Goose
42. If I Stay
43. Inferno
44. The Ocean at the End of the Lane
45. Let the Great World Spin
46. Smut
47. Next
48. Every Day
49. Life After Life
50. Up the Down Staircase
51. Will Write for Food
52. Social Media Marketing
53. Wishes Fulfilled
54. The Tao of Womanhood
55. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Taoism
56. The Winds of Marble Arch
57. An Outrageous Affair
58. The facts in the case of the departure of Miss Finch 
59.  The Dangerous Alphabet
60. Blueberry Girl
61. Notorious Nineteen
62. The Twelve Terrors of Christmas
63.  Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich
64.  M is for Magic
65.  Tiny Beautiful Things
66.  Hello, Goodbye, Hello
67.  The Round House
    
68.  A Visit from the Goon Squad
69.  The Lucky Gourd Shop
70.  Behind the Beautiful Forevers