Sunday, December 29, 2013

The 2013 Read List

Way back in the year 2012, I made a resolution to make the time to read more in 2013.  I'd set a goal of 52 books in the year.  I felt like it was a good goal, and one that was doable.  I felt that if I'd dedicate the time I did to watching the same episode of SportsCenter three times in a row, I'd be able to mow through a few more books than I had the previous year, and easily.

Audible.com helped me with that.  My commute is about 30-40 minutes to work, so I end up driving a good bit of my day.  Instead of listening to the radio, I popped an audiobook in.  I listened to 18  books this way, including 5 or 6 pretty bulky, time eating listens.

Counting those listens, I either read or listened to 42 books this year.  Short of the goal, but better than 2012 by 17.  Progress was waylaid by work, more often than not.  June and July got busier than I'd predicted, and only read a couple books in that time period.  And from the middle of October forward, it's been craziness.  Not much read in that time.

Anyway, what I read in 2013:

January:

The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien 
Under the Dome, by Stephen King
Team of Rivals, by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Gun Machine, by Warren Ellis
Star Island, by Carl Hiassen

February:

Clementine, by Cherie Priest
The Passage, by Justin Cronin
Moscow but Dreaming, by Ekaterina Sedia

March:

John Dies at the End, by David Wong
The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break, by Stephen Sherrill
Double Feature, by Owen King
Devil Red,  by Joe R. Lansdale

April:

My Custom Van, by Michael Ian Black
A Clash of Kings, by George R.R. Martin
Civil War, by Stuart Moore

May:

Nos4a2,  by Joe Hill
Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, by David Sedaris
Rythm Oil, by Stanley Booth
Intruder in the Dust, by William Faulkner
the Land of Laughs, by Jonathan Carroll

June:

1775: A Good Year for Revolution, by Kevin Phillips
Joyland, by Stephen King
Wisp of a Thing, by Alex Bledsoe
The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman

July:

Power Moves, by Karl Welzein
The Golem and the Jinni, by Helene Wecker

August:

Dreamland,  by David K. Randall
Finn, by Jon Clinch
Beautifully Unique Sparkleponies, by Chris Kluwe
the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Revolutionary Summer, by Joseph J. Ellis

September:

Cardboard Gods, by Josh Wilker
Death by Black Hole, by Neil DeGrasse Tyson
The Thicket, by Joe R. Lansdale

October:

Doctor Sleep, by Stephen King
Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, by Dee Brown
The Twelve, by Justin Cronin

November:

A Storm of Swords, by George R.R. Martin
Rob Delaney: Mother. Wife. Sister. Human. Warrior. Falcon. Yardstick. Turban. Cabbage. by Rob Delaney
Swamplandia, by Karen Russell

December:

A Feast for Crows, by George R.R. Martin
The Passing Stories, by Ferrol Sams