books of 2013

It seems like 2013 was kind of a slow year for reading -- thank goodness for my two book clubs that kept me reading something. I will also have you know I also read several issues of the New Yorker, so I want credit for that too. But I don't deserve too much credit since I just read a couple of issues from last spring on our Winter Break trip. Better late than never, right?

January:
Gold - Chris Cleve. Ok, I don't really remember this one. This is why I keep a book list, so I don't read this again.
The Wave. Confession - it was for my book club and I didn't finish it. But Bill did -- do I get half credit?

February:
Bring Up the Bodies - Hilary Mantel. This is the sequel to Wolf Hall -- I loved them both. Intrigue in the court of Henry VIII. There's a third one coming - I can't wait.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime - Mark Haddon. This was a repeat for one of the book clubs. It was still good the second time. Interesting point of view.

March:
The Truth About Style - Stacy London. Some parting advice from Stacy at the end of the run of What Not to Wear. What will I do now? When you see me in 5 years I will still be dressing like 2013 because that's when my fashion advice ran out. Who am I kidding -- maybe in 5 years I might be caught up to 2013.
The Book Thief - Markus Zuzak. Everyone else was reading it so I did too. It was interesting and good, but I hear they wrecked it in the movie.

April:
The Power of One - Bryce Courtenay. This one was about an English boy growing up in South Africa during Apartheid. It started interesting enough but became pretty fantastical -- this boy was clearly on track to single-handedly cure cancer and bring about world peace, while winning 5 Olympic medals.
What? That was it for April?!

May:
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald. Another bandwagon read in anticipation of the movie. But still good. I read along with the Cliff Notes, which brought out some of the deeper themes.
Cesar's Rules - Cesar Millan. How in the hell do I handle this dog?!
A Walk in the Woods - Bill Bryson. One of my recommendations for the book club, I have read this one several times. It never fails to entertain.

June:
The Orchardist - Amanda Coplin. Another book club selection, a quiet story about an old man and his family. Beautifully written. I think this was a first novel.
The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein. Sorry mom, but I really hated this one. I did skim it all the way through, though, hoping for some redemption. No dice.

July:
Beautiful Ruins - Jess Walter. Good yarn taking place in Italy and Hollywood in the 60s and the present. I loved this writer from his earlier novel, The Financial Lives of the Poets. Ask me to read you the poem about moms' thong underwear sometime.
The Uninvited Guests - Sadie Jones. Very Downton Abbey, with a twist at the end. A fun read.
The Newlyweds - Nell Freudenberger. I really liked this novel about a Bangladeshi woman who comes to the US as an internet bride.

August:
Elders - Ryan McElvain. I was really looking forward to this, having heard the author interviewed, and given my interest in Mormon subjects. Big disappointment. And I shlepped the library book all the way to Hawaii. And back.
The Marriage Plot - Jeffrey Eugenides. I remember liking this, but honestly I don't remember much else. Not the best review.

September:
Wild - Cheryl Strayed. I spent several hours reading this book. I am never getting those hours back and I am bitter about that. This is one of those examples of Narcissistic Screw-Up memoirs that make me crazy. I found the author pretentious, whiny, and largely unbelievable. Bless her heart. Set fire to this book in the back yard and read A Walk in the Woods again instead.

October:
The Round House - Louise Erdrich. Something else from the book club. Loved it. I haven't read any Louise Erdrich since The Beet Queen long, long ago. This concerns a brutal crime on an Indian reservation, which sounds like a deal-breaker for me, but it was actually compelling, moving, and even funny at times.

November:
Did I really not read anything in November?

December:
In the Garden of Beasts - Erik Larsen. Takes place in Berlin in 1936. Nonfiction about the experiences of the new US Ambassador to Germany and his family. Interesting, but not interesting enough for as long as the book was. This would have made an excellent New Yorker article. Why am I not everybody's editor?
The Source - James Michener. Oh, yeah, this is why there's nothing for November. We read this 900-pager over 3 months in one of the book clubs. It was great. It starts with an archaeological dig in Israel in the 1960s and goes back through time with a story about each level of the site. The stories are loosely connected. The story in the present is pretty darn sexist in its treatment of the female archaeologist, but it works if you just view it as another level in the dig. A fascinating look at the history of the region and the founding of the state of Israel.

Well, that looks a little better when you see the whole list. I hope to read more in 2014!