The Reading Challenge Group discussion

I'm sure 2013 has been a busy year for us all reading wise. What has been your favourite reads? What books would you recommend?

For me The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult. I loved this book and it makes you think for long while afterwards. Plus I am not a fan of her works but this book will stay with me always. This is a sign of a good book.

Also Perfect by Rachel Joyce, such a beautifully written and heart felt story.

I know there is a few more but these two I would say straight off without even having to think about.

I love the Thousand Autumns, although I am only about two thirds through and seem to have been reading it forever.

I really need to read some David Mitchell. All of his books that I've heard mentioned all get glowing responses.

This is always a tough choice, so many good books.

For books released in 2013 I would have to pick A Constellation of Vital Phenomena or The Machine.

For books I've read this year that weren't released in 2013 I would say If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, The Virgin Suicides, Lolita, The Bell Jar or Pride and Prejudice

Ahhhh, so hard! I've read a lot of amazing books this year, quite a few duds, and a whole bunch that were enjoyable but not mind-blowingly fantastic. Looking at the 5-star reviews I've given throughout the year, these stand out to me now -

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman - Why did it take me so long to read this? IT WAS FANTASTIC.
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - She really understands introverts and extroverts and what makes each of us tick, so this book is fascinating, eye-opening, and a must-read for everyone.
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy audio book, read by Stephen Fry - A must-listen for every Douglas Adams fan, and for anyone else who has a pulse. HILARIOUS.
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens - It was a re-read, but that still counts, right? It's one of my favourite books of all time, so it was most certainly one of my best reads of the year.
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse - Anything by Wodehouse is always a treat.
Metamorphoses by Ovid - It was amazing how many of these myths and legends I already knew, yet there were always new details to learn from each one.
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Wayne Johnston - I officially became a Wayne Johnston fan this year. This was my second book of his, and I've absolutely loved both.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom - A very moving experience.
The Complete Novels and Plays of Saki by Saki - Saki is FANTASTIC, and everyone should read his short stories, novellas, and plays. He died much too young in WWI, and since then his work has been sadly overlooked.
Eighty Days: Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland's History-Making Race Around the World by Matthew Goodman - I was very pleased to see this nominated in the GR Choice Awards, because it was one of my stand-out reads this year. It's so much fun, and so informative about an event that I never even knew happened.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - A new top 10 favourite book of all time. Absolutely loved it.
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco - This one surprised me with how much I loved it. Eco has such an amazing gift for symbolism.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - It took me way too long to get around to reading this, but I'm very glad I did. Excellent book.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck - Another huge surprise for me this year, since I never expected I would turn into a Steinbeck fan! I absolutely loved this.
Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat - I love wolves, what can I say?
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy - My best read of the year, and a new top 5 favourite. Loved every single word, and hugged the book for a while after I'd finished it. That doesn't happen as often as I would like!

Er... sorry for the massive list! 2013 has been a pretty good reading year, but I've got high hopes that 2014 will be even better.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles has been on my to-read list forever. It will definitely be a 2014 read for me. It doesn't help that my English teacher literally spoiled the whole plot for me... Which was highly frustrating. He just laughed and said I should have read it by now!

Whenever I see anyone mention Dickens, I feel like I'm really missing out. I really need to read some Dickens! Hopefully I'll be able to start A Tale of Two Cities tomorrow...

My favourite books of 2013:

Crime and Punishment - Hands down, it is the second best book I've ever read. It blew my breath away to be honest. I just got so absorbed in Raskolnikov's internal struggle that it just shows how genius some writing can be. It was also my introduction to Russian Literature, and now I really want to read more!
The Book Thief - I had heard many good things about this book, and I absolutely loved it. The narration by Death was fantastic, and I honestly can't wait for the film in Jan 2014!
To Kill a Mockingbird - I know, it's awful I haven't read this until now. It is a wonderful novel, and I loved all the characters. Definitely one of my best reads this year!

I thought I'd limit myself to three. I know otherwise I'd go on and on. Other notable reads: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Arcadia, The Scarlet Letter (it's so beautifully written!), and Rebecca.

Holly wrote: "Tess of the d'Urbervilles has been on my to-read list forever. It will definitely be a 2014 read for me. It doesn't help that my English teacher literally spoiled the whole plot for me... Which was..."

Wait, you're 17 and you're supposed to have read everything by now? Wow. No pressure, right?

Yes! Read some Dickens!! Gah, now I want to read A Tale of Two Cities with you!

My thoughts exactly on Crime and Punishment.

I don't think I've heard of The Book Thief...

Well this is a list of favourite books read not what came out in 2013. That is a little different.

Jools wrote: "Well this is a list of favourite books read not what came out in 2013. That is a little different."

Yes, anything you read in 2013 that you really enjoyed. :)

That's what I meant by books read, Jools!

Faye, in fairness, out of the books I've read, Tess should have been far higher on my TBR list, I've just never gotten round to it. Perhaps this December...

You should totally join me in reading A Tale of Two Cities!

Maybe we could make A Tale of Two Cities the first buddy read for the group!

That's a wonderful idea!

Faye wrote: "Maybe we could make A Tale of Two Cities the first buddy read for the group!"

I have read this book several times, in fact I think there is only a hand full of Dickens I have not read.

The only Dickens I haven't read are a few of his short stories that I haven't yet tracked down. I've read all of his novels, as of 2012. :)

I really need to catch up on Dickens...

It takes a while to get through them! He sure loved writing. ;)

@Faye

Thanks for the great list of books to try ;)

But how could you not have heard of The Book Thief? It's amazing!

Fatima wrote: "@Faye

Thanks for the great list of books to try ;)

But how could you not have heard of The Book Thief? It's amazing!"

You're welcome! You should definitely check them out. :)

I know, almost everyone has read The Book Thief, but somehow I've missed it all these years. I'm on a mile-long waiting list for it at my library!

Let's see ....

I enjoyed "The Picture of Dorian Gray" very much - it's one of the best.
"Wuthering Heights" was great. Along with "To Kill a Mocking Bird", "The Forty Rules of Love", "The Brothers Karamazov", "The Outsider", "A Thousand Splendid Suns", "Animal Farm", "Brave New World", "The Great Gatsby", and "The Ocean at The End of The Lane".

I had a really good time this year:) some of these books have changed my life.
I think I'm lucky:)

That does sound like a good year!

To Kill A Mockingbird is a fantastic novel. Definitely one of my highlights too this year!

The Night Circus was the surprise book of the year for me. I was toying with the idea of reading it because a lot of the reviews left me with the impression that I wouldn't like it. Now it's one of my favorites.

There were soooo many!! Here are a few of my favorites....
The Cuckoo's Calling,
The Husband's Secret, Night Road, Defending Jacob, The Silver Lining Playbook, & my top pick (which I would have NEVER predicted) is The Marriage Bargain!! :)

was my absolute favorite, and is what I'm reading now and I think it is another new favorite for 2013.

S. was my favourite book of the year by a mile. Partly for the concept, and I really loved the book as a physical object - it was so well done, but also the fact it was so multilayered and had a puzzle element to it that I enjoyed. I just loved it.

The entire Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments series both by Cassandra Clare
Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan
Legend series by Marie Lu

Liân wrote: " S. was my favourite book of the year by a mile. Partly for the concept, and I really loved the book as a physical object - it was so well done, but also the..."

I just purchased this book and must show restraint until Christmas.

So, so, so many but would have to say Night Film, Marisha Pessl and Diviners, Libba Bray - both were AMAZING :-)

The Catastrophic History of You and Me
Twenty Boy Summer
Live Through This
Delirium
Fangirl
Doctor Sleep
Six Months Later
Ruby Red obviously I read a lot of YA, lol.

I read the Delirium Trilogy
The Mortal Instruments (about to finish book 5)
The Kissing Booth (wattpad altho it's published now I think)

Here's my best books of 2013 list from the all about books book club that features my fave books of the year. It's updated when I finish a book so definitely check it out. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Ready Player One
The Book Thief
Splintered

I really enjoyed reading 'the culture series' books by Iain M banks, The Wolf Hall series and so many more! 48 books last year then again I had a bit of time off work.

I can add Haroun and the Sea of Stories to my list. Wonderful book!

The Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth, The Legend trilogy by Marie Lu, The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins (this is what got me back into reading), "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green, "Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi, "The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer" by Michelle Hodkin I've read so many books this year after not reading for some many years... and I don't plan on stopping.

One of the best books I read this year was Tomorrow There Will Be Apricots. I haven't seen it written about much, which I find surprising. It's really beautifully and artfully written, with aspects of the plot that might appeal to YA fans. It was the most emotionally engrossing book I've read in a long time.

Woooooooooooooooooooow!!!! Wow until the end of time!!!
I'd like to add The Fault In Our Stars to my 2013-Favorites. I've just finished it .. It's wonderful ^_^

I don't think I read anything that was released in 2013, but my two favourites (tied for first place) were:

Vurt, Jeff Noon - I was just obsessed with this book; I couldn't put it down. I even read it whilst cooking dinner!

The Streets, Anthony Quinn - this book gave me that feeling of being disconnected from the 'real world' because I was so involved with the story. I hadn't felt like that for ages!

Cockroaches by Jo Nesbo and Capital by John Lanchester were both excellent. I finally got around to starting the 'Wheel of Time' series by Robert Jordan. Two books in and I'm kicking myself for not reading them sooner.

I've heard a lot about Jo Nesbo recently...

Jo Nesbo sucks:/

Luffy wrote: "Jo Nesbo sucks:/"

Not in everyone's opinion, so could you please refrain from making antagonistic comments like this when a simple "I don't like Jo Nesbo" would suffice? One of the rules of this community is that we respect each other's differences and don't hold up our own opinion as the only one. Thanks.

My husband and my sister both like Jo Nesbo's books. I think my husband actually has all of his books in our bookshelve. I haven't gotten around to reading any of them yet, but I'm sure I'll try one of them someday to see if they're actually as good as I've heard they are.

Faye wrote: "Not in everyone's opinion, so could you please refrain from making antagonistic comments like this when a simple "I don't like Jo Nesbo" would suffice? One of the rules of this community is that we respect each other's differences and don't hold up our own opinion as the only one. Thanks. "

I was being economical with words, unlike you. I was merely saying: Jo Nesbo sucks IMHO. The imho goes without saying.

Inkeri wrote: "I'm sure I'll try one of them someday to see if they're actually as good as I've heard they are. "

(view spoiler)[They are not. (hide spoiler)]

Luffy, perhaps you could explain why you feel they apparently 'suck'? That might be more useful to other members considering to read books by the author.

Holly wrote: "Luffy, perhaps you could explain why you feel they apparently 'suck'? That might be more useful to other members considering to read books by the author. "

Well the translation of Redbreast, one of the books, blew. The main character was forgettable and bland, the style of the book almost made me physically sick - that's what actually happened. The so called exciting twists were either improbable, or laughable in another sense. But most of all, I am very intrigued by the fanbase of the author. They hyped the author so much that when I was disillusioned by reading him, the fall was harder to take. It didn't help that I nearly puked while reading The Redbreast. If it's adapted into a movie it will be one of those so called so bad movies that they are good. Especially if the movie is a Norwegian movie dubbed in English. Lmao!

No Returnby Zachary Jernigan was pretty good. read it last year and it is one of the best books that I read last year.

Well I've read some awesome books this year!



series
series