What I Read in 2013

On By Luther M. SilerIn Reading, Reviews

UnknownIf you’ve been reading for a while, you know this already:  at the beginning of this year, I decided to keep track of everything I read in 2013.  This started off just as a curious exercise; I am a data nerd by nature, and I like keeping track of things.  However, at some point it became clear that I had a good chance of reading 200 books in the year– at which point the list became about reading 200 books this year, and became some sort of odd running contest with myself.

At any rate, once I finish The Return of the King today– probably within an hour of the end of this post– I’m going to start Gone with the Wind, which is over a thousand pages long and thus will probably take me through to the end of 2013, if not much longer than that, since I’m on vacation and all.  Gone with the Wind will be the 201st book of the year.  This doesn’t count articles, comic books, short stories, and a whole host of other things; while I left my definition of “book” rather vague– basically, it had to be either a novella-sized ebook or something that was bound to qualify, which meant comic issues didn’t count and neither did short stories– amazingly, the 201 books only represents a fraction of the reading I did this year.

I, uh, like to read.

Some numbers:  before you look at some of the titles and accuse me of cheating, know that the books averaged 331.621891 pages each, which I feel is a respectable length.  The longest book on the list will be Gone with the Wind; the shortest, Batman: the Killing Joke.  The shortest that wasn’t a graphic novel was the 89-page Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, way back in January.  I read a total of– whoa, weird– 66,656 pages in 2013, which is an average of 182.619178 pages every single day, all year long.  65 of the 201 books were rereads; the rest were new to me.  I choose to not attempt to figure out how much I spent on the 136 new books.

I will not, by the way, be doing this again; I suspect in a regular year where I’m not pushing myself to finish stuff and paying attention to numbers I probably read around 150-175 books a year, and my plan for 2014 is to mostly read huge books, so the number will be even smaller than that.

At any rate, here’s the list.  Hopefully this will paste in a format that’s actually readable:

Book Author Page count
1 The Emperor’s Soul Brandon Sanderson 167
2 Wool Omnibus Hugh Howey 548
3 Throne of the Crescent Moon Saladin Ahmed 367
4 Legion Brandon Sanderson 114
5 Lincoln’s Battle with God: A President’s Struggle with Faith and What it Meant for America Stephen Mansfield 211
6 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Lewis Carroll 89
7 Gun Machine Warren Ellis 308
8 Dune Frank Herbert 511
9 The Pilgrim’s Progress John Bunyan 189
10 Pasquale’s Angel Paul McAuley 374
11 Crooked Little Vein Warren Ellis 277
12 Rise to Greatness:  Abraham Lincoln and America’s Most Perilous Year David von Drehle 379
13 The Signal and the Noise: Why so many predictions fail–but some don’t Nate Silver 454
14 The Book Thief Markus Zusak 550
15 The Human Division John Scalzi 432
16 Ethan Allen: His Life and Times Willard Sterne Randall 535
17 T. Rex and the Crater of Doom Walter Alvarez 185
18 Clementine Cherie Priest 235
19 Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power Jon Meacham 505
20 The Walking Dead: Rise of the Governor Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga 328
21 The Neon Bible John Kennedy Toole 162
22 As a Driven Leaf Milton Sternberg 480
23 Eclipse John Shirley 278
24 Sandman Slim Richard Kadrey 388
25 Penny Arcade 8: Magical Kids in Danger Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik 112
26 The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger 214
27 Grendel John Gardner 174
28 Lord Foul’s Bane: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, Book 1 Stephen Donaldson 480
29 The Illearth War:  Thomas Covenant 2 Stephen Donaldson 518
30 The Power that Preserves: Thomas Covenant 3 Stephen Donaldson 480
31 Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing “Hoax” Philip Plait 262
32 The Explorer James Smythe 264
33 Franny and Zooey J.D. Salinger 202
34 Albion’s Seed:  Four British Folkways in America David Hackett Fischer 902
35 John F. Kennedy Alan Brinkley 152
36 The Eyes of Willie McGee:  A Tragedy of Race, Sex and Secrets in the Jim Crow South Alex Heard 349
37 Ubik Philip K. Dick 227
38 Wuthering Heights Emily Bronte 370
39 Mad Like Tesla:  Underdog Inventors and their Relentless Pursuit of Clean Energy Tyler Hamilton 243
40 How to be Black Baratunde Thurston 254
41 Embedded Dan Abnett 430
42 The Lathe of Heaven Ursula K. Le Guin 175
43 Sunshine Robin McKinley 405
44 The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks Jeanne Theoharis 302
45 Omon Ra Victor Pelevin 154
46 The Gate to Women’s Country Sheri S. Tepper 315
47 Apostles of Disunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War Charles B. Dew 124
48 Ida: A Sword among Lions Paula J. Giddings 800
49 Kill the Dead Richard Kadrey 434
50 Slow River Nicola Griffith 343
51 A Scanner Darkly Philip K. Dick 289
52 The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin 330
53 Fade to Black Francis Knight 367
54 The Algebraist Iain M. Banks 434
55 Whole Wide World Paul McAuley 399
56 Kill Anything that Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam Nick Turse 370
57 Joseph Anton: A Memoir Salman Rushdie 633
58 Redemption in Indigo Karen Lord 180
59 Shine Shine Shine Lydia Netzer 309
60 The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch Philip K. Dick 233
61 The Satanic Verses Salman Rushdie 561
62 Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Hunter S. Thompson 204
63 The Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame 165
64 Dragons of Summer Flame Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman 568
65 Passion’s Howl: Penny Arcade Vol. 9 Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik 120
66 The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald 171
67 Consider Phlebas Iain M. Banks 514
68 The Second Generation Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman 434
69 Iron Man: Extremis Warren Ellis and Adi Granov 150
70 NOS4A2 Joe Hill 692
71 The New American Militarism: How Americans are Seduced by War Andrew J. Bacevich 252
72 Time Out of Joint Philip K. Dick 232
73 A Rumor of War Philip Caputo 356
74 Cain Jose Saramago 157
75 Inferno Dan Brown 480
76 Seward: Lincoln’s Indispensable Man Walter Stahr 703
77 The Arabian Nights, Vol. 1 Malcolm C. Lyons 974
78 Declare Tim Powers 591
79 Lincoln Gore Vidal 712
80 The Walking Dead: What Comes After Robert Kirkman 168
81 Joyland Stephen King 283
82 Dragons of a Fallen Sun Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman 627
83 Cruddy Lynda Barry 320
84 The Shining Girls Lauren Beukes 368
85 Triangle: The Fire that Changed America David von Drehle 268
86 Gibbon’s Decline and Fall Sheri S. Tepper 465
87 Who Killed Martin Luther King? James Earl Ray 277
88 The Dark Crystal A.C.H. Smith 186
89 The Dispossessed Ursula K. Le Guin 387
90 The Golem and the Jinni Helene Wecker 484
91 Blindness Jose Saramago 326
92 Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Choisin Reservoir Joseph R. Owen 276
93 Slammerkin Emma Donoghue 410
94 Craven Place Richard Wright 238
95 The Sealed Letter Emma Donoghue 397
96 The Lies of Locke Lamora Scott Lynch 722
97 The Ocean at the End of the Lane Neil Gaiman 178
98 To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee 281
99 Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe 299
100 The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams 225
101 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe Douglas Adams 256
102 Life, the Universe and Everything Douglas Adams 232
103 So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish Douglas Adams 224
104 Mostly Harmless Douglas Adams 240
105 The Magician’s Nephew C.S. Lewis 221
106 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe C.S. Lewis 206
107 The Horse and his Boy C.S. Lewis 241
108 Prince Caspian C.S. Lewis 238
109 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader C.S. Lewis 271
110 The Silver Chair C.S. Lewis 257
111 The Last Battle C.S. Lewis 228
112 On the Road Jack Kerouac 307
113 Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck 113
114 In Cold Blood Truman Capote 343
115 Crucible Troy Denning 316
116 Math Doesn’t Suck Danica McKellar 295
117 Kiss My Math Danica McKellar 331
118 The Thousand Names Django Wexler 513
119 The Call of the Wild Jack London 72
120 Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth Reza Aslan 296
121 Batman: The Killing Joke Alan Moore & Brian Bolland 64
122 Red Seas Under Red Skies Scott Lynch 760
123 Grimoire of the Lamb Kevin Hearne 119
124 Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority Tim Wise 190
125 The Fault in our Stars John Green 318
126 Hunted Kevin Hearne 400
127 Scatter, Adapt and Remember: How Humans will Survive a Mass Extinction Annalee Newitz 305
128 Kenobi John Jackson Miller 380
129 Space Prison Tom Godwin 257
130 And the Mountains Echoed Khaled Hosseini 404
131 Red Moon Benjamin Percy 533
132 Terminated Rachel Caine 304
133 The God Engines John Scalzi 137
134 An Abundance of Katherines John Green 227
135 The Warded Man Peter V. Brett 459
136 Death in the Skies!  The Science Behind the End of the World Philip Plait 326
137 Looking for Alaska John Green 221
138 Slouching towards Bethlehem: Essays Joan Didion 238
139 Rosemary’s Baby Ira Levin 256
140 Paper Towns John Green 305
141 The Crown Tower Michael J. Sullivan 375
142 The Rose and the Thorn Michael J. Sullivan 351
143 The Shining Stephen King 447
144 Oddly Normal John Schwartz 300
145 Confederate Emancipation Bruce Levine 252
146 Doctor Sleep Stephen King 531
147 Confessions of a Bad Teacher John Owens 245
148 Reign of Error Diane Ravitch 397
149 Avengers: Endless Wartime Warren Ellis, Mike McKone, and Jason Keith 120
150 Dawn Octavia E. Butler 249
151 Lord of the Flies William Golding 256
152 The Mallet of Loving Correction John Scalzi 484
153 Adulthood Rites Octavia E. Butler 270
154 Public Enemy: Confessions of an American Dissident Bill Ayers 228
155 Shatterpoint Matthew Stover 419
156 Imago Octavia E. Butler 229
157 Blue Remembered Earth Alastair Reynolds 576
158 Jonathan Livingston Seagull Richard Bach 127
159 Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah Richard Bach 192
160 The Sword of Shannara David Brooks 736
161 Carrie Stephen King 290
162 Who Wrote the Bible? Richard Elliott Friedman 299
163  ‘Salem’s Lot Stephen King 427
164 Rage Stephen King 211
165 Ancillary Justice Ann Leckie 409
166 Discount Armageddon Seanan McGuire 352
167 Seven Forges James A. Moore 398
168 Midnight Blue-Light Special Seanan McGuire 353
169 Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes Neil Gaiman 240
170 Sandman: Doll’s House Neil Gaiman 232
171 Sandman: Dream Country Neil Gaiman 160
172 Sandman: Season of Mists Neil Gaiman 192
173 Sandman: Game of You Neil Gaiman 192
174 Sandman: Fables & Reflections Neil Gaiman 168
175 Sandman: Brief Lives Neil Gaiman 168
176 Sandman: World’s End Neil Gaiman 168
177 Sandman: The Kindly Ones Neil Gaiman 320
178 Sandman: The Wake Neil Gaiman 192
179 The Daedalus Incident Michael J. Martinez 388
180 Fiddlehead Cherie Priest 366
181 Kabu Kabu Nnedi Okorafor 260
182 Engraved on the Eye Saladin Ahmed 142
183 Parasite Mira Grant 504
184 The Pastel City M. John Harrison 174
185 The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien 398
186 Afrofuturism:  The world of black sci-fi and fantasy culture Ytasha Womack 214
187 City of Bones Cassandra Clare 485
188 The Two Towers J.R.R. Tolkien 327
189 Haroun and the Sea of Stories Salman Rushdie 216
190 The Maltese Falcon Dashiell Hammett 216
191 Conan the Invincible Robert Jordan 284
192 Conan the Defender Robert Jordan 288
193 Conan the Unconquered Robert Jordan 286
194 Snow Crash Neal Stephenson 440
195 The Hunger Games Suzanne Collins 374
196 Catching Fire Suzanne Collins 391
197 Mockingjay Suzanne Collins 390
198 Watership Down Richard Adams 478
199 Nutcracker Sweetest Delaney Starr-West 102
200 The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien 432
201 Gone with the Wind Margaret Mitchell 1027

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17 thoughts on “What I Read in 2013”

  1. What a great idea. I applaud you for sticking to your goal. I keep track of my books read and while not nearly as impressive as your list, I try to read as many as I can. Since I left graduate school, I am back to approximately two book a week and it has been absolutely marvelous. You’ve inspired me to do a similar post on my blog. Thanks!

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  2. Ah, yes. I used to do this at the end/beginning of the year on my former blog. I’m finally back up to 50 for the year now that my child is older and I’m less exhausted at day’s end. I probably haven’t read 200 in a year since elementary school. While I’ve read quite a lot of the ones you have, there’s only 1 we have in common for the year: The Wool Omnibus. I just finished that one last night actually. It had too many horrendous fallacies for me to end up enjoying it. Just to start off … it wouldn’t take 2 days 2 go down 100 floors of a silo. Blah blah.

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  3. Fun to read this post! Good for you for keeping track of all this! My problem is I forget everything i read immediately, even the title and author, so that I’m no longer even sure I read it. I think I need to keep a list like this with summaries, too. Or just try to enjoy re-reading things without knowing it 😛

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  4. Your picture reminded me of a poem my sister, Sheila, wrote when she was in grade school. Thought I would share it with you.

    Once upon a time I spied
    a book up on a shelf.
    I saw there wondrous worlds of words
    and kept it for myself.
    ©Sheila Leer

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  5. @kcinaz – that was great, thanks!

    I’m wondering how complex it got to keep track of all the variables. I want to track my reading in 2014, but I want to tag or label the books somehow instead of just making a spreadsheet of titles & authors. Maybe I could do it in Goodreads? Food for thought, thanks!

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  6. Just three cells in the spreadsheet– one to total the page counts, one to average them, and a third to keep track of average pages per day that I updated once a month. There was a fourth “notes” column where I kept track of rereads and things like that.

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  8. holy shit! you read so many books, it’s a marvel you’re able to find time to do anything else. what are you trying to do, make up for all the people who don’t read books anymore? thanks, by the way, for liking my latest post.

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  10. Wow… In all the books you listed, I read one, and that was many years ago… and I read about four hundred books this year (including short stories though…). It was Wuthering Heights. I noticed that you read many classics: is this a goal you set for yourself?
    Also, I noticed you read books by Danica McKellar: she was the young love interest in Wonder Years, no?

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    1. Yes, that’s her; she’s a mathematician now and has written several books trying to demystify math for seventh and eighth graders– which is the age I teach. And I’m slowly working my way through a 100 Greatest Books list right now, so yes on the other question too. 🙂

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  13. Well, I’ve only read about ten from this list– but they were an enjoyable ten… and very spread out as far as reading time periods go. Many thanx for sharing your site with us and for visiting my blog. Have a wonderful day.

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  14. Pingback: What I’m re/reading in 2014: The Crazy Man Chronicles | Infinitefreetime

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