Sunday 22 December 2013

Books of 2013


Going through my Shelfari statistics, I discovered that I had read very few books this year. Less than half of my usual number. I cannot explain it. I do not feel that I have been reading less. I read in bed every night. Have I read less every night? Have I read longer and slower books this year? Have I re-read more books this year? I have been writing a lot this year, which involves re-reading that I do not register on Shelfari. But this should not reflect on my bed-time reading. And I cannot say that I watched more movies this year, or did something else that replaced reading. Maybe I have just stopped reading as much as I did before, end of story.

Anyway, here are highlights from my 2013 reading.

Best novel:
Wolf Hall (and Bring up the bodies), by Hilary Mantel

Next best novel: Blindness, by Jose Saramago

Best classic:
Agnes Grey, by Anne Bronte

Best re-read: Oblomov, by Ivan Goncharov

Best humour:
Sleuth on skates, by Clémentine Beauvais

Best young adult novel:
She is not invisible, by Marcus Sedgwick

Best children's book:
A boy and a bear in a boat, by Dave Shelton

Best nonfiction:
Gossip from the forest, by Sara Maitland

Best unexpected:
The diamond age, by Neal Stephenson (thanks to Pontus)

Worst book in any category: Ender's game, by Orson Scott Card

2 comments:

Maria Nikolajeva said...

PS Just to make myself feel better, I went back to Shelfari and added all the books I have on my desk at the moment, reading them here and there as you do when researching. It still didn't help my stats.

Clémentine Beauvais said...

Thanks! and for the idea too. I'm stealing it for a next blog post.