Best Books of 2013

As I look back at 2013, I’ve read a lot of good books.  The books below weren’t all published in 2013, but they were some of the best that I read this year.

Best Non-Fiction:  Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

Best Poetry Collection:  Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey

Best Young Adult (tie):  Mexican WhiteBoy by Matt de la Pena

Best Young Adult (tie):  The Fault in our Stars by John Green

Best Young Adult (tie):  Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Best Novel (tie):  The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Best Novel (tie):  The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Best Novel (tie):  The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Hope your year was filled with good books!  I’m looking forward to all the books in the year ahead.

 

Best Books of 2012

As 2012 draws to a close, I scrolled through my reading from the past twelve months to select a few favorites.  These books weren’t all published in 2012, but they were on my reading list this past year.

Best Non-Fiction:  Just My Type by Simon Garfield
An informative and surprisingly entertaining book about fonts.

Best Graphic Text:  Maus by Art Spiegelman
The powerful story of Spiegelman’s father and the Holocaust.

Best Short Story Collection:  The Road from Prosperity by Nancy Welch
Authentic stories about middle Americans down on their luck.

Best Poetry Collection:  Life on Mars by Tracy K. Smith
The Pulitzer-winning collection contemplates our place in the universe.

Best Novel (tie):  Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander
A darkly comic, wise, audacious debut.

Best novel (tie):  The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
A contemporary Western about a gunslinger who wants to quit the business.

Best novel (tie):  11/22/63 by Stephen King
The time-traveling best-seller set against the Kennedy assassination.

Best novel (tie):  This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
Hands down, the funniest book I read this year.

Hope that 2013 is another lucky year for books!