Top Ten Tuesday #37 - Top Ten Books I Read In 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely people at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is -

Top Ten Books I Read In 2013

So, the top ten books I read in 2013 were quite hard to narrow down to just ten. After a lot of deliberation I came up with a plan and these are the ten books that I gave top marks to in 2013!

Fortunately, the Milk - Neil Gaiman

The Book of Secrets - Elizabeth Joy Arnold

Bitter Greens - Kate Forsyth

The Fairest of Them All - Carolyn Turgeon

Lover At Last - J R Ward

Midwinterblood - Marcus Sedgwick

Golden - Jessi Kirby

Throne of Glass - Sarah J Maas

Among Others - Jo Walton

Six Months Later - Natalie D Richards

End Of The Year Survey 2013

I've seen this survey by Jamie* for a couple of years now but am only now deciding to jump in and take part. I think this is a great way of keeping a record of 'best of' the year so hopefully this will become an annual event for me too. Going through my answers you may come to the conclusion that I only read a handful of books this year as I mention a few titles frequently, it's only because I really loved them and I want everyone to read them!

1. Best Book You Read In 2013? (If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

I've got no idea how to narrow this down, I've read some amazing books but I think I'll go with what I've seen on a few other blogs and choose one adult title & one YA title!

Adult - Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

YA - Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

Thorn Abbey by Nancy Ohlin

I love Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier and was really excited about this one but it was a huge letdown. Whilst I enjoyed it for the story it was I didn't feel it captured the menacing atmosphere or Gothic creepiness that Rebecca has.

 3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? 

Shiloh - Helena Sorensen

Every now and then you come across hidden gems and Shiloh was one of them this year so a huge thank you to Helena for sending me a copy!

4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?

Bitter Greens - Kate Forsyth

5. Best series you discovered in 2013?

I couldn't choose between these two so you get both - Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor and Glamourist Histories by Mary Robinette Kowal

6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?

I'm going to say Laini Taylor but this is cheating slightly as I read the first Dreamdark book, Blackbringer, last year. I think she qualifies though as this is the year I finally got round to reading Daughter of Smoke & Bone!

7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?

Can't really answer this with just one title but I would say YA contemporary which I never used to read at all but this year I appear to have read quite a few.

8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?

Golden by Jessi Kirby, Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, Six Months Later by Natalie Richards and Among Others by Jo Walton

9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth (I know I've mentioned this three times already but I really loved this book!)

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?

 

The Dark Is Rising - Susan Cooper

This is another one that may be a bit of a cheat because I re-read The Dark Is Rising at least every other year but look at that cover!!!

11. Most memorable character in 2013? 

Karou from Daughter of Smoke & Bone, gotta love a girl with blue hair and also Taylor from Second Chance Summer. I have only just read this in the last week but having been through the same thing (with my mum) that she's going through with her dad I knew exactly how she felt.

12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth and Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. There's something about these two authors' writing that gives me chills.

13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013? 

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, First Last Kiss by Ali Harris and Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, any book that makes me cry makes an impact but these three are the books that resonated most with me this year.

14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?  

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor, I am kicking myself for letting it sit unread on my shelf for so long...

15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?

I don't really do quotes very often but this one from The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold is spot-on about book lovers - even if we don't admit to doing it!

“I ran my fingers over the text then held the book up to my face, closed my eyes and inhaled the sweet-sour scent of old paper and binding glue. Did everyone who loved books do this when they encountered a new one? I loved the physicality of books just as much as the stories inside, the feel of pages between my fingers, the intricacies of classic fonts winding along the neatly lined rows of words.” 

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

Longest - Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (864 pages)

Shortest (not including novellas) - The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry (95 pages)

17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!

I feel like this about every book! Too many to narrow it down so that's my answer :)

18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).

The relationship between Chloe and the Sinclair children (Nate, Cecelia & Grace) in The Book of Secrets by Elizabeth Joy Arnold

19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

The Fairest Of Them All by Carolyn Turgeon. I've read a few of Carolyn's books now, mainly the fairy tale-ish ones but this one is my favorite so far.

20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else

If I Stay - Gayle Forman

21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?

According to Goodreads the genre I've read most books from is Fantasy which is probably right, at heart I'll always be a fantasy fan in one form or another.

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?

I've never really done crushes on book characters unless you count Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables when I was younger...

23. Best 2013 debut you read?

If You Find Me - Emily Murdoch

24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?

I could list a lot of books here but I won't! Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor and The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper

25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?

The Humans - Matt Craig

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes and The First Last Kiss by Ali Harris. Both of these had me crying in that big sobbing, snotty mess way - and in public too, as I read both whilst on the train. What worried me though was the fact that everybody around me ignored the fact I was sobbing loudly!

27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?

Among Others - Jo Walton

             

    
 1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014? 

Two books for me, Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer and hopefully before my copy of Cress arrives in February!

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)? 

Two by the same author, The Caller and Dreamer's Pool both by Juliet Marillier. Fingers crossed neither of these get pushed back to 2015...

3. 2014 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

Half Bad - Sally Green

4. Series Ending You Are Most Anticipating in 2014? 

As usual I'm oblivious to what series are ending in 2014 so I'm going to say all the series enders I'm going to read as part of the 2014 Series Challenge I've signed up for!


5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014?   

Just one thing??? I could list dozens but I'll narrow it down to a) being more organized in writing reviews & blog posts and b) finding more great books to share with you!

If you've taken part in the End of the Year Survey leave me a link, I'd love to check out your answers too! 

* End of Year Survey images from Jamie @ Perpetual Page Turner 
      

Best of 2013 Giveaway Hop

Welcome to the Best of 2013 Giveaway Hop hosted by Bookhounds and I Am A Reader, Not A Writer! In this hop you can win any title published in 2013 that you think is one of the best books this year! I've read some fantastic books this year by some great authors so you can choose your own title or, if you're the lucky winner, pick one from a list from some of the books I've loved this year. The book can be either YA or Adult up to the value of $15 from the Book Depository as long as they deliver to your country - find the list of countries here. The hop runs from now through to midnight on December 18th 2013 and simply follow the instructions on the rafflecopter to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out this link to see a complete list of all the other blogs taking part, thanks for entering and good luck!