{"id":4258,"date":"2013-12-29T10:55:16","date_gmt":"2013-12-29T18:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.209.169.194\/blogs\/paul\/?p=4258"},"modified":"2020-12-31T13:28:29","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T21:28:29","slug":"2013-the-year-in-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sqlskills.com\/blogs\/paul\/2013-the-year-in-books\/","title":{"rendered":"2013: the year in books"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back in 2009 I started posting a summary at the end of the year of what I read during the year (see my posts from\u00a02009<\/a>,\u00a02010<\/a>,\u00a02011<\/a>, 2012<\/a>) and people have been enjoying it, so I present the 2013 end-of-year post. I set a moderate goal of 60 books this year and I managed 56. Next year I want to get through some of the really large historical and biographical books I’ve been putting off so I’m setting myself a goal of 40.<\/p>\n

For the record, I read \u2018real\u2019 books \u2013 i.e. not in electronic form \u2013 I don\u2019t like reading off a screen. Yes, I’ve seen electronic readers \u2013 we both have iPads \u2013 and I\u2019m not interested in ever reading electronically. I also don\u2019t \u2018speed read\u2019 \u2013 I read quickly and make lots of time for reading.<\/p>\n

There were several strong candidates for my favorite book this year (including Cutting for Stone<\/a> by Abraham Verghese<\/strong>,\u00a0The Known World<\/a> by Edward P. Jones<\/strong>, and Great North Road<\/a> by Peter F. Hamilton<\/strong>) but I have to choose The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks<\/a><\/strong>, in honor of my all-time favorite author for the last 25 years who died tragically early in June this year after a short fight with gallbladder cancer. I’ve read all of his sci-fi novels several times and most of his regular fiction (published as Iain Banks) and I wish I could have met him to thank him for his work. I actually cried when I heard he’d died and even writing this I have a lump in my throat. RIP Iain – you are sorely missed by your fans.<\/p>\n

Now the details. I enjoy putting this together as it will also serve as a record for me many years from now. I hope you get inspired to try some of these books \u2013 push yourself with new authors and very often you\u2019ll be surprisingly pleased.<\/p>\n

Once again I leave you with a quote that describes a big part of my psychological make-up:<\/p>\n

In omnibus requiem quaesivi, et nusquam inveni nisi in angulo cum libro!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Analysis of What I Read<\/h2>\n

I read 24800 pages, or 68.0 pages a day, and a book every 6.5 days or so. The chart below shows the number of pages (y-axis) in each book I read (x-axis).<\/p>\n

\"2013lengths\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2013genres\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The average book length was 443 pages, 26 pages shorter than last year. Quite interestingly, I read about half the amount of historical fiction this year compared to 2012, and made up for that with more non-fiction and history, and many more travel books.<\/p>\n

The Top-10<\/del> Top-15<\/h2>\n

Once again I really struggled to pick a top-10 this year as I read a lot of truly *superb* books in 2013. I didn’t want to leave any out of my short list and deny you the chance of having them suggested so I present you with my top-15! If you don\u2019t read much, at least consider looking at some of these in 2014. It\u2019s impossible to put them into a priority order so I’ve listed them in the order I read them, along with the short Facebook review I wrote at the time.<\/p>\n

\"HydrogenSonata\"<\/a> #1\u00a0The Hydrogen Sonata<\/a>; Iain M. Banks; 517pp; Science Fiction; January 5; (True to Banks’ usual form, his latest Culture novel is excellent. Lots of ship and Mind conversation, clever action, and great characters. Strongly recommended, a must for Banks fans.)<\/p>\n

\"EmptyQuarter\"<\/a>\u00a0#2\u00a0Empty Quarter: A Photographic Journey to the Heart of the Arabian Desert<\/a>; George Steinmetz ; 208pp; Photographic; January 8; (Stunning aerial photography of the Empty Quarter of Arabia in Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. I’ve been fascinated by this area of the world since reading books like Thessiger’s Arabian Sands and its on my list of places to see before I die. This is the next best thing – 2– plates shot from a microlight 1000 feet up – just stunning! I’ve got several more of Steinmetz’s photography books in my plans this year. Strongly recommended!)<\/p>\n

\"GreatNorthRoad\"<\/a>\u00a0#5\u00a0Great North Road<\/a>; Peter F. Hamilton; 948pp; Science Fiction; January 31; (Just finished book #5 this year. Absolutely excellent, long, sci-fi romp from one of my favorite authors.)<\/p>\n

\"Stonemouth\"<\/a>\u00a0#6\u00a0Stonemouth<\/a>; Iain Banks; 356pp; Fiction; February 3; (Read most of it on the plane down from Seattle to Tampa – a real page turner. I haven’t read much of Banks’ non-science fiction since I was put off by Dead Air a while back. This book is really excellent though and I’d recommend it to anyone. Reminds me of some of my life in my early twenties.)<\/p>\n

\"Lionheart\"<\/a>\u00a0#7\u00a0Lionheart<\/a>; Sharon Kay Penman; 608pp; Historical Fiction; March 5; (Finished this on the flight from Kushiro to Tokyo. Great part 4 of the series covering the Angevin empire in the 1100s. This book really covers the 3rd Crusade and Richard’s involvement in it – a topic I’ve read a lot on but never read a fictionalized account of. Penman doesn’t disappoint and I strongly recommend this book to historical fiction fans.)<\/p>\n

\"KingHereafter\"<\/a>\u00a0#8\u00a0King Hereafter<\/a>; Dorothy Dunnett; 736pp; Historical Fiction; March 17; (Brilliant fictionalization of King Macbeth in the 11th Century. A very long book (730pp) with very dense writing and small font that made it feel like 1500pp really. Dunnett does an awesome job of describing the people, places, and society and I’m looking forward to reading her Lymond and Niccolo series. Strongly recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"secretum\"<\/a>\u00a0#22\u00a0Secretum<\/a>; Monalid & Sorti; 812pp; Historical Fiction; June 18; (An excellent sequel to Imprimatur that I read last year, this is set 17 years later, in 1700 in Rome, with the same protagonists involved in intrigue, subterfuge, and adventure. Intermingling meticulously-researched history and real characters, the book deals with the wrangling over the Spanish Succession leading up to the death of Charles II of Spain. Highly recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"AmericanRust\"<\/a>\u00a0#28\u00a0American Rust<\/a>; Philipp Meyer; 384pp; Fiction; July 9; (Excellent drama set in recently declining Pennsylvania steel country. Hard to describe the story line except to say it’s told from the points of view of six people linked to single act of violence that sets a bunch of stuff in motion. Great new author for me to discover – recommended!)<\/p>\n

\"KnownWorld\"<\/a>\u00a0#31\u00a0The Known World<\/a>; Edward P. Jones; 432pp; Historical Fiction; July 14; (Really excellent and powerful novel about slavery in mid-1800s Virginia, and one of the best books I’ve read this year, although I stopped midway to read #29 and #30. Barbarous to think of people as property, and that a husband could be freed and then have to work up to paying for the eventual freedom of his wife and children. Runaways, if they were caught, could expect to be ‘hobbled’ by severing one of their Achilles tendons – nasty. Strongly recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"orchardist\"<\/a>\u00a0#34\u00a0The Orchardist<\/a>; Amanda Coplin; 448pp; Historical Fiction; July 18; (Excellent novel, set just outside Leavenworth, WA around the end of the 19th Century. Complicated story, which I’ll spoil if I relate too much here. Based around a man who had his own orchard and his life is interrupted and changed forever when two runaway girls enter his land and his life. Definitely a candidate for best book so far this year and highly recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"cutting\"<\/a>\u00a0#36\u00a0Cutting for Stone<\/a>; Abraham Verghese; 688pp; Fiction; July 23; (Wonderful book! Hard to describe the plot without giving away what happens in the book. Written by a surgeon, with lots of factually accurate descriptions of surgeries and medical issues. Follows the life of a family in Addis Ababa in the ’60s and ’70s, with drama and betrayals. Masterfully written, became a two-day page-turner for me after dithering about buying it since it came out. Very strongly recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"technologists\"<\/a>\u00a0#41\u00a0The Technologists<\/a>; Matthew Pearl; 555pp; Historical Fiction; August 17; (I really enjoyed Pearl’s The Dante Club a few years ago so was looking forward to this book. The story is set in 1868 when the first class of M.I.T. is about to graduate. Boston is rocked by a serious of large-scale terrorist acts and some of the M.I.T. students investigate and bring the perpetrator to justice. Excellent novel – recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"djinns\"<\/a>\u00a0#50\u00a0City of Djinns<\/a>; Walter Dalrymple; 352pp; Travel; December 5; (This excellent book covers a year that Dalrymple and his wife lived in Delhi researching the city’s history and meeting people in it. He nicely weaves in the history of the city’s various rulers, conquests, and cultures, while also vividly portraying the people in his life there. I’m looking forward to reading the next book of his on my list, and visiting some of the shrines and forts he describes on our next trip to India.)<\/p>\n

\"monalisa\"<\/a>\u00a0#52\u00a0I, Mona Lisa<\/a>; Jeanne Kalogridis; 544pp; Historical Fiction; December 14; (The novel is set in Florence in the late 1400s, and covers the time around the downfall of the Medicis and the rise and fall of Fra Savonarola. It centers on Madonna Lisa (the subject of da Vinci’s painting), who becomes intricately involved in all the politics and subterfuge of the time. Excellent and recommended.)<\/p>\n

\"amazon\"<\/a>\u00a0#53\u00a0Walking the Amazon<\/a>; Ed Stafford; 320pp; Travel; December 16; (What an incredible journey this guy did! 8000km over more than two years, going through some of the worst jungle on the planet, and all walking. The book’s very well written and conveys the mental and physical adversities Stafford overcame to complete the journey. A great read and inspiring too.)<\/p>\n

The Complete List<\/h2>\n

And the complete list, with links to Amazon so you can explore further.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The Hydrogen Sonata<\/a>; Iain M. Banks; 517pp; Science Fiction; January 5<\/li>\n
  2. Empty Quarter: A Photographic Journey to the Heart of the Arabian Desert<\/a>; George Steinmetz ; 208pp; Photographic; January 8<\/li>\n
  3. Red Mars<\/a>; Kim Stanley Robinson; 592pp; Science Fiction; January 21<\/li>\n
  4. America: Flying High<\/a>; Jim Wark; 640pp; Photographic; January 30<\/li>\n
  5. Great North Road<\/a>; Peter F. Hamilton; 948pp; Science Fiction; January 31<\/li>\n
  6. Stonemouth<\/a>; Iain Banks; 356pp; Fiction; February 3<\/li>\n
  7. Lionheart<\/a>; Sharon Kay Penman; 608pp; Historical Fiction; March 5<\/li>\n
  8. King Hereafter<\/a>; Dorothy Dunnett; 736pp; Historical Fiction; March 17<\/li>\n
  9. Headhunting in the Solomon Islands<\/a>; Caroline Mytinger; 372pp; Travel; March 28<\/li>\n
  10. Elizabeth’s Spymaster: Francis Walsingham and the Secret War that Saved England<\/a>; Robert Hutchinson; 400pp; History; April 1<\/li>\n
  11. An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power<\/a>; John Steele Gordon; 496pp; History; April 6<\/li>\n
  12. Underwater Eden: 365 Days<\/a>; Jeff Rotman; 744pp; Photographic; April 20<\/li>\n
  13. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?<\/a>; Philip K. Dick; 244pp; Science Fiction; April 28<\/li>\n
  14. The Mongoliad: Book 3<\/a>; Neal Stephenson et al; 716pp; Historical Fiction; May 13<\/li>\n
  15. Burghley: William Cecil at the Court of Elizabeth I<\/a>; Stephen Alford; 432pp; History; May 21<\/li>\n
  16. An American Life<\/a>; Ronald Reagan; 752pp; Autobiography; May 25<\/li>\n
  17. Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China<\/a>; Peter Hessler; 528pp; Travel; May 27<\/li>\n
  18. Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy<\/a>; John Julius Norwich; 528pp; History; May 30<\/li>\n
  19. Among the Russians<\/a>; Colin Thubron; 224pp; Travel; June 1<\/li>\n
  20. In Siberia<\/a>; Colin Thubron; 304pp; Travel; June 6<\/li>\n
  21. The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq<\/a>; Rory Stewart; 432pp; Nonfiction; June 9<\/li>\n
  22. Secretum<\/a>; Monalid & Sorti; 812pp; Historical Fiction; June 18<\/li>\n
  23. Around India in 80 Trains<\/a>; Monisha Rajesh; 288pp; Travel; June 25<\/li>\n
  24. A Bend in The River<\/a>; V. S. Naipaul; 288pp; Fiction; June 28<\/li>\n
  25. Trespassers On the Roof Of the World: The Race for Lhasa<\/a>; Peter Hopkirk; 288pp; History; June 29<\/li>\n
  26. The Marsh Arabs<\/a>; Wilfred Thesiger; 256pp; Travel; July 3<\/li>\n
  27. To a Mountain in Tibet<\/a>; Colin Thubron; 220pp; Travel; July 5<\/li>\n
  28. American Rust<\/a>; Philipp Meyer; 384pp; Fiction; July 9<\/li>\n
  29. Howards End is On the Landing<\/a>; Susan Hill; 240pp; Nonfiction; July 12<\/li>\n
  30. The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop<\/a>; Lewis Buzbee; 224pp; Nonfiction; July 13<\/li>\n
  31. The Known World<\/a>; Edward P. Jones; 432pp; Historical Fiction; July 14<\/li>\n
  32. Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World<\/a>; Lawrence & Nancy Goldstone; 224pp; Nonfiction; July 14<\/li>\n
  33. Tolstoy and the Purple Chair<\/a>; Nina Sankovitch; 256pp; Nonfiction; July 17<\/li>\n
  34. The Orchardist<\/a>; Amanda Coplin; 448pp; Historical Fiction; July 18<\/li>\n
  35. The Victorian Internet<\/a>; Tom Standage; 256pp; History; July 19<\/li>\n
  36. Cutting for Stone<\/a>; Abraham Verghese; 688pp; Fiction; July 23<\/li>\n
  37. Wuthering Heights<\/a>; Emily Bronte; 416pp; Fiction; July 25<\/li>\n
  38. The Old Curiosity Shop<\/a>; Charles Dickens; 608pp; Fiction; July 31<\/li>\n
  39. South Sea Tales<\/a>; Jack London; 384pp; Fiction; August 6<\/li>\n
  40. Great Expectations<\/a>; Charles Dickens; 544pp; Fiction; August 11<\/li>\n
  41. The Technologists<\/a>; Matthew Pearl; 555pp; Historical Fiction; August 17<\/li>\n
  42. Tess of the d’Urbervilles<\/a>; Thomas Hardy; 480pp; Historical Fiction; August 24<\/li>\n
  43. American Gods<\/a>; Neil Gaiman; 624pp; Fiction; September 11<\/li>\n
  44. Lone Survivor<\/a>; Marcus Luttrell; 448pp; Nonfiction; October 13<\/li>\n
  45. Between the Woods and the Water<\/a>; Patrick Leigh Fermor; 280pp; Travel; October 26<\/li>\n
  46. The Joy Luck Club<\/a>; Amy Tan; 288pp; Fiction; November 2<\/li>\n
  47. Hyperbole and a Half<\/a>; Allie Brosh; 384pp; Humor; November 6<\/li>\n
  48. Seal Team Six<\/a>; Howard E. Wasdin; 368pp; Nonfiction; November 25<\/li>\n
  49. Terra Incognita<\/a>; Sara Wheeler; 320pp; Travel; November 30<\/li>\n
  50. City of Djinns<\/a>; Walter Dalrymple; 352pp; Travel; December 5<\/li>\n
  51. Agincourt<\/a>; Bernard Cornwell; 380pp; Historical Fiction; December 10<\/li>\n
  52. I, Mona Lisa<\/a>; Jeanne Kalogridis; 544pp; Historical Fiction; December 14<\/li>\n
  53. Walking the Amazon<\/a>; Ed Stafford; 320pp; Travel; December 16<\/li>\n
  54. Silent House<\/a>; Orphan Pamuk; 334pp; Fiction; December 18<\/li>\n
  55. Brass Man<\/a>; Neal Asher; 528pp; Science Fiction; December 24<\/li>\n
  56. Polity Agent<\/a>; Neal Asher; 562pp; Science Fiction; December 30<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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