Favorite Books of 2013

It's time again to pick my favorite books of the year. My blog production was down this year – my New Year's resolution is to produce more in 2014. But I still have lots of recommendations for books that touched me, surprised me, fascinated me. So here are my top three, with three move runners-up too good to ignore:

A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers surprised me - he managed to encapsulate so many of the themes of America in the twenty-first century into the travails of one decent man.

 

Adam Johnson's The Orphan Master's Son fascinated me – it was an eye-opening glimpse at life in North Korea as well as the heart-warming story of an everyman who became a hero.

Alice McDermott's Someone touched me – McDermott managed to turn the ordinary life of an ordinary woman into a pitch perfect narrative.

Kate Atkinson's Life After Life is an absorbing exploration of second chances.

Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves – What is a family? What does it mean to be human?

Katherine Boo's Behind the Beautiful Forevers – True stories in a Mumbai slum which are far more powerful than fiction.