january meme: day 3: books in 2013
I'm one day behind, so I'm trying to get caught up. Hopefully there will be another answer later today!
likeadeuce asked me about books I read in 2013.
Uh. ::thinks::
I have a really terrible memory with regards to when I've read things. Like, sometimes I can remember specific instances of where I was when I was reading, but even that is sometimes so generic that it could have been at any time. When I worked at the Book Store, I sort of kept track of what I was reading, but I haven't done that in a few years /o\
So, here are some highlights that I am pretty sure I read in 2013:
1) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - The heartbreaker of the year. This and Eleanor and Park made me cry buckets, but CNV was worse for me. I don't want to give too much away, but it's the story of two girls in World War II, a pilot and a spy, and their friendship love story love story/friendship. It's beautifully told from two points of view, it's intricate, it's historically accurate (the two things that made me go, "That had to be made up!" were apparently actual things that happened, as noted by the author in the afterword), and it's just...devastating. I read this book in the first part of the year--I think it was winter? so EARLY 2013--and I'm STILL too hurt from it to read the companion novel. If you read one book off this list, read this one.
2) I know I read Fangirl as a part of Reblog Book Club. You can read my thoughts on that here. tl;dr: The best portrayal of fan culture I've seen in a mainstream book, though it's still not exactly perfect.
3) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - Another tear-jerker. About the friendship between a half-Korean boy and a chubby girl who are both different sort of outcasts. The book have heavy themes and they go through a lot of shit on their way to first love. But it was absolutely fabulous and I cried buckets ♥
4) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Everyone and their mother has read this in the past eighteen months. Heartbreaking and different enough from his other books (which are all kind of same-y to me) to keep me interested.
5) Wonder by RJ Palocio - This was my Newbery pick, though it did win. A fantastic coming of age story about a ten year old boy who's been home-schooled until fifth grade thanks to medical issues and a facial deformity. It follows his first year in school and all the ups and downs of making friends and fitting in that are amplified by being surrounded by other kids for the first time and having a facial deformity. It was a little too realistic at times. A couple places I had to put the book down for a little bit. But really excellent.
6) Underground by Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber - A comic - a developer wants to buy up and ruin a local caving system to make it more ~*commercial*~ and his goons go after the two park rangers trying to stop it. I bought this at HeroesCon from Steve Leiber after talking to him for a little bit and it was a great read. A lot of it is a chase through the caves and it's really wonderfully done and super creepy, both in the writing and in the art. The art makes you feel claustrophobic, which I mean as a compliment. Available for free from Leiber's website.
I'm seriously having trouble remembering what else I read. I only came up with all those because they were Christmas gifts /o\ Uh, I re-read a lot? I read a book of short stories that I can't remember the title of? (The stories were really good, though.) I'm trying to think of what books I took on planes. I normally do some reading there. I read WAY more MG stuff than just Wonder. What actually won the Newbery? I'm sure I eventually read that. Ugh, my is my memory so terrible?
Uh, I'm gonna take this as a sign that I should take more care in writing down what I read. I KNOW I read more books than that...
eta: I just realized likeadeuce asked for FAVORITE books of 2013, so let's pretend those six are my favorites and move on with less head-scratching, shall we?
likeadeuce asked me about books I read in 2013.
Uh. ::thinks::
I have a really terrible memory with regards to when I've read things. Like, sometimes I can remember specific instances of where I was when I was reading, but even that is sometimes so generic that it could have been at any time. When I worked at the Book Store, I sort of kept track of what I was reading, but I haven't done that in a few years /o\
So, here are some highlights that I am pretty sure I read in 2013:
1) Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - The heartbreaker of the year. This and Eleanor and Park made me cry buckets, but CNV was worse for me. I don't want to give too much away, but it's the story of two girls in World War II, a pilot and a spy, and their friendship love story love story/friendship. It's beautifully told from two points of view, it's intricate, it's historically accurate (the two things that made me go, "That had to be made up!" were apparently actual things that happened, as noted by the author in the afterword), and it's just...devastating. I read this book in the first part of the year--I think it was winter? so EARLY 2013--and I'm STILL too hurt from it to read the companion novel. If you read one book off this list, read this one.
2) I know I read Fangirl as a part of Reblog Book Club. You can read my thoughts on that here. tl;dr: The best portrayal of fan culture I've seen in a mainstream book, though it's still not exactly perfect.
3) Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell - Another tear-jerker. About the friendship between a half-Korean boy and a chubby girl who are both different sort of outcasts. The book have heavy themes and they go through a lot of shit on their way to first love. But it was absolutely fabulous and I cried buckets ♥
4) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Everyone and their mother has read this in the past eighteen months. Heartbreaking and different enough from his other books (which are all kind of same-y to me) to keep me interested.
5) Wonder by RJ Palocio - This was my Newbery pick, though it did win. A fantastic coming of age story about a ten year old boy who's been home-schooled until fifth grade thanks to medical issues and a facial deformity. It follows his first year in school and all the ups and downs of making friends and fitting in that are amplified by being surrounded by other kids for the first time and having a facial deformity. It was a little too realistic at times. A couple places I had to put the book down for a little bit. But really excellent.
6) Underground by Jeff Parker and Steve Lieber - A comic - a developer wants to buy up and ruin a local caving system to make it more ~*commercial*~ and his goons go after the two park rangers trying to stop it. I bought this at HeroesCon from Steve Leiber after talking to him for a little bit and it was a great read. A lot of it is a chase through the caves and it's really wonderfully done and super creepy, both in the writing and in the art. The art makes you feel claustrophobic, which I mean as a compliment. Available for free from Leiber's website.
I'm seriously having trouble remembering what else I read. I only came up with all those because they were Christmas gifts /o\ Uh, I re-read a lot? I read a book of short stories that I can't remember the title of? (The stories were really good, though.) I'm trying to think of what books I took on planes. I normally do some reading there. I read WAY more MG stuff than just Wonder. What actually won the Newbery? I'm sure I eventually read that. Ugh, my is my memory so terrible?
Uh, I'm gonna take this as a sign that I should take more care in writing down what I read. I KNOW I read more books than that...
eta: I just realized likeadeuce asked for FAVORITE books of 2013, so let's pretend those six are my favorites and move on with less head-scratching, shall we?