Best book of the year?

[charlatti]

What are the best books you've read this year? Do you have anything you're likely to read in the next two weeks that you think could change your pick?

[duckduck]

I read some good stuff this year! A few of my 5-stars, in no particular order:

The Fever series by Karen Marie Moning (awesome on audio)
Handling Sin by Michael Malone
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
On the Road by Jack Kerouac (awesome on audio)
Game of Thrones and A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (also a great audio)
The House at Riverton and The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline

[charlatti]

My top three, not in order:
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

I have nothing spectacular to read before the year ends, so I doubt I'll change my picks. I'm mostly sticking to brain candy while everything is so busy.

[writingwithheld]

The Taqwacores by Michael Muhammad Knight was probably the best thing I read. It was completely different than anything I have read. It focuses on life in a Muslim Punk house in Buffalo. It really made me think about what religion is and also brought in many feminist concerns. Warning: it is pretty explicit at parts and has pretty much every kind of debauchery imaginable.

[msmerymac]

The two best books I read this year came out last year and in 2004, I think. Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Cloud Atlas.

[bluelikejazz]

The Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

I also loved
The Bronze Horseman
The Fault in Our Stars

[sparrowsong]

Ahab's Wife or The Star Gazer - Sena J Naslund

I'm also really enjoying this biography of Catherine the Great I'm reading right now by Robert K Massie. But it's more just really interesting history, whereas the other book was really beautiful written literature, if that makes sense.

[bluelikejazz]

How could I forget: 11/22/63 by S. King! I feel like I read this book years ago, not just a few months.

[secretlyevil]

It's been a rough year for me reading wise. A few that I remember enjoying a lot include:

The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great
A Dance with Dragons
Lady of Devices, Her Own Devices and Magnificent Devices
Black Dagger Brotherhood series

2013, I'm going to try to get back into my grove reading wise. It's the damn KINDLE.

[secretlyevil]

I loved Ahab's Wife when I read it. So good.

[mel726]

My favorite reads this year have been:

11/22/63 by Stephen King
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

I am currently 3/4 done with A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin and it already ranks as one of the best this year.

[marytini]

My 5* Books this year:
These Is My Words by Nancy Turner
Divergent by Veronica Roth
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Wow, I can't believe that's it. I thought there were a few more at least. I really only rate books as 5 star if it is something that I tell people they *have* to read.

[2curlydogs]

Fiction: Bring up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel.
Non-Fiction: Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert Massie.

[sparrowsong]

It is strange that there are at least three of us reading about Catherine the Great?? Coincidence?

[whitepicketfence]

The Subtle Knife (His Dark Materials #2) by Philip Pullman
The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicles #2) by Patrick Rothfuss
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon
Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth
Salem's Lot by Stephen King
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
11/22/63 by Stephen King
The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner #2) by James Dashner
Days of Blood and Starlight (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #2) by Laini Taylor
The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

Either I've had a really good reading year, or I'm very liberal with my ratings as I gave all of these 5 stars ;D

[ThirdandLong]

Storm of Swords (Song of Ice and Fire #3) by GRR Martin
Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth

[5kcandlesinthewind]

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt was my favorite book of this year. As a friend of mine said on her Goodreads review, "this book makes you feel all the feelings." It was so amazing.

The only other 2 five-star books I had this year were Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, and Rules of Civility by Amor Towles.

[onwisconsin]

11/22/63 by Stephen King!

[nookworm]

Outlander series (I just finished the 3rd book so I'm not done with the series yet)
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
Alice I Have Been
The Bronze Horseman series

[krystee]

I liked 11/22/63 and Night Circus best this year. I am reading Flight Behavior now and feel like that has promise...there have been a few phrases where I just stopped and reread them because they were beautiful. I love when that happens.

[charlatti]

Dec 27, 2012 0:00:52 GMT -5 krystee said:

I liked 11/22/63 and Night Circus best this year. I am reading Flight Behavior now and feel like that has promise...there have been a few phrases where I just stopped and reread them because they were beautiful. I love when that happens.

That's what I love about Barbara Kingsolver's books. I think the main reason that one didn't make my best-of list was that it's a little preachy. But it's Barbara Kingsolver, so of course it's preachy. That's how she rolls and I love her for it.

[moreace01]

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter was the only 5 star I had this year. And it was pretty awesome. Highly recommended to anyone interested in food or growing your own food.

[er2125]

Dec 19, 2012 13:13:52 GMT -5 bluelikejazz said:

How could I forget: 11/22/63 by S. King! I feel like I read this book years ago, not just a few months.

Seconded. Best SK book I've read in YEARS.

[kirstinb]

We Need To Talk About Kevin was the best book I've read in years.
The only other book I really loved was State of Wonder by Ann Patchett.
Think I'm the only one in the universe who did not like Beautiful Ruins. Had to force myself to finish.

[ChillyMcFreeze]

11/22/63 tops my list. I also loved Silver Sparrow, The Kitchen House, The Night Circus, Room, and The Handmaid's Tale.

[AJL]

Dec 27, 2012 13:06:11 GMT -5 moreace01 said:

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter was the only 5 star I had this year. And it was pretty awesome. Highly recommended to anyone interested in food or growing your own food.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I started vegetable gardening because of this book. I'm hoping to add chickens to my little urban farm some day.

[pthermal]

Divergent, The Fault of Our Stars, The Night Circus, 11/22/63 and Gone Girl for me.

[aurora]

It's hard to pick just one, but I read The Color Purple by Alice Walker for the first time and was incredibly moved. I couldn't believe how quickly I got sucked in to the story, esp. given the unique narrative style.

For non-fiction, I really enjoyed A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.

[abitofashout]

My favorites that were released in 2012, in no particular order:
The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan
Dare Me by Megan Abbott
The Diviners by Libba Bray
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

[secretlyevil]

Jan 15, 2013 18:10:35 GMT -5 abitofashout said:

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

I forgot about this one! Very good.