Every year, Goodreads manages to lure me in with that most simple of reading challenges: how many books can you read in a year? I set my target at 40 for 2013. As of today (December 30th), I have read 79 (although Goodreads claims 80, because I couldn't help but rate a terrible book that I DNFed).
2013 has been a pretty big year for me, not least because it was the year that I finished my PhD, became a "Dr." (a Ross Geller "Dr.", not a Gregory House "Dr."), got a job doing the thing that I have been wanting to do for at least the last 10 years, and survived the inevitable madness that comes with doing all of those things. At the beginning of the year I wasn't sure I'd have time to read four books, let alone forty, but all good procrastinators need a hobby, and this happens to be mine, so...
This might go some way to explaining why Bibliotekit has been so quiet over the last few months, but I wanted to do an end-of-year round-up, and hopefully mention some of those books that I haven't yet had chance to review. I'm using
Jamie's End of Year Book Survey, as I've enjoyed reading other people's over the last couple of weeks. So, here goes!
1. Best Book You Read In 2013?
Adult fiction: Sisterland, Curtis Sittenfeld
YA fiction: Life in Outer Space, Melissa Keil
Non-fiction: I Feel Bad About My Neck, Nora Ephron
2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?
Three Cups of Deceit, Jon Krakauer - one of my favourite authors, but the book never grabbed me like his others. And The Hive, by Gill Hornby - sounded like a great premise, but very disappointing.
3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013?
The Dinner, by Herman Koch - a Dutch novel about four people at dinner in a restaurant, which turned out to be one of my favourite books of the year.
4. Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013?
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn, and Be Awesome, by Hadley Freeman.
5. Best series you discovered in 2013?
I didn't read more than one book in an individual series at all this year (except for re-reading Harry Potter), but those that I am tempted to go back to: the Tony Hill/Carol Jordan books by Val McDermid, and the Divergent series, by Veronica Roth.
6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2013?
Probably Gillian Flynn, as I read and enjoyed all three of her novels this year. I'm also excited to see more from Natalie Whipple.
7. Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you?
I don't think I ventured too far out of my comfort zone this year, but I did read Misery by Stephen King, and I don't normally read much horror.
8. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013?
9. Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?
I am not much of a re-reader, but high on the list would be Doppler by Erlend Loe, and Lola and the Boy Next Door, by Stephanie Perkins.
10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013?
11. Most memorable character in 2013?
Charles Pooter from Diary of a Nobody. Mostly for the bath of paint.
12. Most beautifully written book read in 2013?
Sisterland.
13. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2013?
This is shared between three non-fiction books I read: Be Awesome, I Feel Bad About My Neck, and The Purity Myth.
14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read?
Probably the two Ira Levin novels I hadn't read: A Kiss Before Dying and The Boys from Brazil.
15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2013?
"In the evening, Cummings unexpectedly dropped in to show me a meerschaum pipe he had won in a raffle in the City, and told me to handle it carefully, as it would spoil the colouring if the hand was moist. He said he wouldn’t stay, as he didn’t care much for the smell of the paint, and fell over the scraper as he went out. Must get the scraper removed, or else I shall get into a scrape. I don’t often make jokes." - George Grossmith, Diary of a Nobody
16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?
Longest: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire, J. K. Rowling (re-read); Grimms Fairy Stories
Shortest: Voice of the Violin, Andrea Camilleri
17. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
Gone Girl had a ton of these moment, when I was dying for other people to have read it so I could talk about it.
18. Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc).
Romance: Fiona & Seth from Transparent, by Natalie Whipple; Tris & Four from Divergent, by Veronica Roth; Michael & Ben from Michael Tolliver Lives, by Armistead Maupin.
Friendship: Tony & Carol from Wire in the Blood, by Val McDermid; the guys from Life in Outer Space, by Melissa Keil.
Family: Harriet and her family in Geek Girl, by Holly Smale.
19. Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You’ve Read Previously
Doppler, by Erlend Loe. Runners up: A Kiss Before Dying, Lola and the Boy Next Door, Nemesis by Philip Roth.
20. Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else:
A few have already been mentioned, so I'll say Persuasion, by Jane Austen, as recommended by a friend of mine.
21. Genre You Read The Most From in 2013?
Probably crime/thriller, although quite a good mix this year!
22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013?
It was all about Four (Divergent), until Seth (Transparent) came along.
23. Best 2013 debut you read?
Two I have mentioned a lot here - Life in Outer Space and Transparent - and I will add to that Emily Gale's Steal My Sunshine.
24. Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013?
Jakob Ejersbo's Exile does an amazing job of bringing the lives of international ex-pats in Tanzania alive.
25. Book That Was The Most Fun To Read in 2013?
My Mad Fat Diary, by Rae Earl.
26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013?
Life After Death, by Damien Echols.
27. Book You Read in 2013 That You Think Got Overlooked This Year Or When It Came Out?
I would love to see Erlend Loe's books get more recognition, as I wait patiently for more to be translated into English!
My love for Erlend Loe's books - and my general impatience at waiting for English translations (*has not yet learnt Norwegian*) - is no secret here, and Lazy Days does nothing to dampen either love or impatience. This is a short book, and the language is often sparse, with one-page chapters in places. It is also characteristically funny, often in rather bleak, blackly comedic ways, and strangely optimistic, despite the fact that the book focuses on one man's faltering marriage, his strained relationship with his family, his hatred of holidaying in Germany (where the book takes place) and his obsession with Nigella Lawson. (Odd, to read this book at a time when Nigella and her ex-husband were all over the news, as protagonist Telemann muses on their marriage at length.) The Nigella obsession is where a lot of the humour comes from (although for me, the funniest part involves his wife's toothbrush and Telemann's seeming determination to be ever-so-slightly annoying at every turn). It is difficult to explain to appeal of Loe's books, but for me this was as joyful to read as his other novels, and it's good to see his books popping up in bookshops more and more in their great Head of Zeus covers.
Another translated piece of fiction, this time the Danish novel Eksil (Exile), by the late author Jakob Ejersbo, who died before he saw the publication of the Africa trilogy, of which Exile is the first installment. It follows the lives of European ex-pats and wealthy Africans living in Tanzania, privilege rubbing up against poverty, in a society where corruption and apathy are rife. The main focus is on schoolgirl Samantha, who is dealing with a father eyeballs-deep in shady business deals, a sister who wants to get married so she can escape their family, and a mother who has moved back to England. Stuck at boarding school, Samantha is bored, rebellious, and without responsibility, spending her time drinking, doing drugs, experimenting sexually, and trying to inject some excitement into her life. The sense of disaffection is reflected in the writing style, and the ending is both shocking, and delivered in a deliberately flat way, that sums up the overall feel of the book - a kind of bleak inevitability hanging over the events, which are often related in quite a detached way. The book deals with belonging, and not belonging, and the fear of falling between the two places - a place that Samantha is in danger of landing.
