2013 brought fifty-six adventures in reading; history, biographies, memoirs, fan fiction and inspiration.
56 books with an average of 382 pages, way short of last years list of 102 books read.
I started last year reading a book I hadn't read before. Rarely do I re-read books, in fact I believe I've only re-read maybe one or two over the years.
This book was voluminous. A classic. 1,436 pages(paperback edition) and is also known by these four letters: GWTW, spelled out, it is Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind. Shortly after reading the book, I watched the movie. A movie that again had yet to see. I was surprised and not surprised at how the book was different from the movie. It most often is. ( Speaking of which, I also read M*A*S*H by Richard Hooker this year. A book, a movie and a TV series - all a little different)
So, 2013 volume wise got off to a slow start. Took me a month to read GWTW.
The most inspiring and overall, the best book I read this year was I am Malala, by Malala Yousafzai. Malala stood up to the Taliban for education equality and was shot, in the head, and survived. Truly an inspirational young woman. A must, must read. If you read any book in this new month and year, I am Malala should be one of them.
Most interesting book this year was a peek into the world of The Dude aka Jeff Bridges in The Dude and the Zen Master. It wasn't as much about The Dude as in, Lebowski, but more so into the inner thoughts, ideas and life of Jeff Bridges.
Most entertaining book was by far Billy Crystal's Still Foolin 'Em. Crystal brings a self deprecating look at growing old, his life and reflection. Highly recommend to readers of all ages. Young or Old. For the young so they can understand life as we age. For the old, to laugh at ourselves. All with a humorist spin. Laughter starts on page one!
Most educational, eye opening book was David Brinkley's The Great Deluge. A meticulously exhaustive research into the bureaucratic armageddon that our country experienced in the days prior to, during and after Katrina. It could be argued that The Great Deluge is the authoritative book on some of the darkest days of this nation. Blatant irresponsibility and unaccountability at all levels of government; local, state and federal intermixed with first hand accounts of the human condition at its best through heroism and its worst through pillage, murder, racism, ignorance and violence.
Authors new to me this year include mystery writer, CJ Box. Rarely do crime mysteries and thrillers make one smile, but Lucy and Sheridan the daughters of Marybeth and Joe Pickett are truly endearing characters. The Pickett series(Open Season being the first) is one of the best I've ever read. A family you'd be privileged to call "your neighbors".
Lisa Scottoline, a legal based thrill writer with a bit of humor mixed in. One highlight of this year was meeting her at a book signing. I love listening to authors not only talk about the books they've written and the characters they've developed, but learning what inspires them to write, how they write, how much do they write on a day to day basis and how their characters and subject matters somewhat echo the authors personality and life. It was a privilege to meet Ms. Scottoline. (little did I know until I attended this signing that her last name is pronounced, Scotto-lini and not Scotto-line as I had been doing. :))
Other authors include, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, Iris Johansen's Eve Duncan series(started), Agatha Christie, Lee Child, Carl Haissan, Meg Gardiner and Greg Iles. Thanks to the magic of twitter, I'm able to connect with a few including Meg, CJ, and Lisa.
On the sports front, One Shot at Forever by Chris Ballard will have you reflecting back to your childhood/teenage days of baseball. It could be considered the "Hoosiers" book of Baseball. A true story about the high school baseball team of a small central Illinois town. I loved this book.
Musically, Linda Ronstadt's Simple Dreams memoir gave us more of a glimpse into the woman's musical talent, inspiration and...her simple dreams.
And sadly, 2013 saw the loss of some great authors: Vince Flynn, Tom Clancy, Elmore Leonard, Chris Kyle, Stanley Karnow, Doris Lessing and Richard Matheson to name a few.
Listed alphabetically by author, the books below offer a view into what a wonderful world reading provides us. Recently, it was reported that brain function is 'boosted for days after reading a novel. '
With that in mind, boost your brain and happy reading!
*please note as you browse through my blog you have the opportunity to purchase books directly from this website. However, I no longer earn any income from this particular site as when the state of MN required websites to pay taxes on their affiliate programs, Amazon abruptly ended theirs. Although I don't blog that much anymore, I do so now purely for the enjoyment of writing and promoting reading.
Books read in 2013:
Albom, Mitch
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The Time Keeper
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Baldacci, David
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Stone Cold
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Baldacci, David
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The Camel Club
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Baldacci, David
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The Collectors
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Ballard, Chris
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One Shot at Forever
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Box, C.J.
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Blood Trail
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Box, C.J.
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Free Fire
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Box, C.J.
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In Plain Sight
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Box, C.J.
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Open Season
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Box, C.J.
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Out of Range
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Box, C.J.
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Savage Run
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Box, C.J.
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Trophy Hunt
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Box, C.J.
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Winterkill
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Bridges, Jeff and Bernie Glassman
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The Dude and The Zen Master
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Brinkley, Douglas
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The Great Deluge
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Child, Lee
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Killing Floor
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Christie, Agatha
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The Mysterious Affair at Styles
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Christie, Agatha
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The Secret Adversary
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Clancy, Tom
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Dead or Alive
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Coben, Harlan
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Six Years
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Connelly, Michael
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Trunk Music
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Cornwell, Patricia
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Port Mortuary
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Crystal, Billy
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Still Foolin' 'Em
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Deaver, Jeffery
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Roadside Crosses
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Deaver, Jeffery
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The Devil's Teardrop
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Evanovich, Janet
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Explosive Eighteen
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Flynn, Gillian
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Gone Girl
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Gardiner, Meg
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Ransom River
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Haissen, Carl
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The Downhill Lie
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Hooker, Richard
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MASH
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Iles, Greg
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Mortal Fear
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Johansen, Iris
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Body of Lies
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Johansen, Iris
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The Face of Deception
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Johansen, Iris
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The Killing Game
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Johansen, Iris
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The Search
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Krueger, William Kent
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Blood Hollow
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Mitchell, Margaret
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Gone With The Wind
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Parker, Robert
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Brimstone
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Parker, Robert B.
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Appaloosa
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Parker, Robert B.
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Resolution
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Patterson, James
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Cross My Heart
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Patterson, James
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Second Honeymoon
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Patterson, James & Mark Sullivan
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Private: Berlin
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Patterson, James and David Ellis
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Mistress
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Patterson, James and Maxine Paetro
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12th of Never
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Patterson, James and Maxine Paetro
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Confessions: Private School Murders
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Patterson, James and Michael Ledwidge
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Gone
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Ronstadt, Linda
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Simple Dream, a Musical Memoir
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Sanders, Lawrence
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The Dream Lover
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Sandford, John
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Silken Prey- SIGNED
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Sandford, John
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Storm Front
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Scottoline, Lisa
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Everywhere That Mary Went
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Scottoline, Lisa
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Final Appeal
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Woods, Stuart
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Collateral Damage
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Woods, Stuart
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Unintended Consequences
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Yousafzai, Malala
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I am Malala
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