Blogocentric Formulations

2013 Reading List

Another year has come and gone and, since I don't anticipate finishing any books today, it's time to look at the year in review, at least as it applies to my reading activity. I failed to reach my goal of fifty books (again) this year, but I did listen to and read a huge volume of work including comic books, screenplays, and podcasts. Hitting fifty books in a calendar year is fast becoming my white whale, but I'll continue to make it a goal of mine until I reach it!

But I can't do anything about it this year, so here's the final tally for me in 2013:

FICTION
The 7th Month by Lisa Gardner
14 by Peter Clines
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
Atlantis God by David Gibbins
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
The Cricket on the Hearth by Charles Dickens
Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet
The Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Heat Wave by Richard Castle
The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Steven Chbosky
Ringworld by Larry Niven
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy: Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Vampire Academy: Blood Promise by Richelle Mead
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

NONFICTION
The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived by Dan Karlan, Allan Lazar, Jeremy Salter
Antifragile: Things That Gain From Disorder by Nicholas Nassim Taleb
The Art of Public Speaking: Lessons from the Greatest Speeches in History by John Hale
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Art Forger by Ken Perenyi
The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
I'd Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I've Ever Had by Tony Danza
More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell & Sean McDowell
This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral - Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking! - in America's Gilded Capital by Mark Leibovich
Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

COMICS
Alpha Girl #1-5
Avengers Academy #1-28
Danger Girl #1-7
Danger Girl/G.I. Joe #1-5
Gotham City Sirens #1-7
Grimm Fairy Tales #1-75
Grimm Fairy Tales: Inferno #1-5
Hack/Slash #1-20
The Mighty Avengers #1-8
The Red Ten #1-5
Salem's Daughter #1-5
Ultimate X #1-5
X-23 #1-6
X-Men: Legacy #208-218
X-Men: Psylocke #1-4

PODCASTS
/Film (6 episodes)
Freakonomics Radio (33 episodes)
Grammar Girl (61 episodes)
Hollywood Bound & Down (9 episodes)
How Stuff Works (32 episodes)
Nerdist (17 episodes)
Nerdist Writer's Panel (36 episodes)
The Q&A (4 podcasts)
Scriptnotes (52 episodes)
Slate Culture Gabfest (16 episodes)
Slate Political Gabfest (63 episodes)
Stuff You Missed In History Class (31 episodes)
TED Radio Hour (4 podcasts)
Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (24 episodes)
Welcome to Night Vale (13 episodes)

SCREENPLAYS
11 Produced Movies & TV Pilots
22 Unproduced Scripts

TOTALS: 36 books, 196 comic books, 342 podcasts, and 33 screenplays.


As far as favorites go, there weren't many in the nonfiction category that I absolutely loved. Bossypants was hilarious and The Disappearing Spoon was fascinating, but I think my favorite of the nonfiction would have to be Caveat Emptor. If you're a fan of the TV show "White Collar" like I am, reading about a real-life Neil Caffrey is a real treat. That guy had an amazing life.

In the fiction department, I'm hard-pressed to choose a favorite. The Night Circus was fantastic and probably would have been my pick for the favorite thing I read this year... if it weren't also the year that I read Thirteen Reasons Why and The Fault in Our Stars. Those were two outstanding books, and not just outstanding for YA fiction; outstanding for ANY fiction. John Green is ridiculously talented, and Jay Asher wrote a book that was so compelling I finished it and immediately told my wife, "You have to read this. Like, now." I rarely insist that she read anything, but this was one of the exceptions and she must have agreed with me because she brought it into the classroom and is reading it with her high school English students!

I'm beginning to realize that maybe reading fifty books in a year is too lofty a goal... and might explain why I binge on podcasts, comics, and screenplays toward the end of the year... but I'm stubborn and I refuse to give up on the goal until I reach it (or die trying!). So my goal for 2014 is the same as it was this year... fifty books or bust!