I am a total Best Books junkie.  If you wait all year for the “Best of” lists, have you seen Largehearted Boy’s giant list?  If not, you should totally check it out.  It’s a bit of a time suck; but, well worth it.

One of my personal favorite best list is the annual Powell’s Bookstore Staff Top 5s.  When I worked there, a few years ago, I participated and one of the things I really enjoyed was how seriously the staff who participated took it.  We had so much fun talking about each book and debating before finally handing in our personal 5.  I always come away with a couple of titles I want to read.

I haven’t posted in quite awhile because I took the summer off and then I had surgery on my right hand/wrist again; I really wanted to get another post in before the end of 2013 but it just didn’t happen.  So, I thought I’d start the new year with a little look back to 2013.

5 favorite reads (books) of 2013 (not in order)

1. Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
2. Theory of Everything by Kari Luna {If i had to choose one favorite this one would be it.  Marching band pandas!}
3. Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway by Sara Gran
4. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley
5. Night Gwen Stacy Died by Sarah Bruni

Honorable Mention:  I really loved Reality Boy by A.S. King but I think 2013 was a more whimsical year for me; so,  I had a hard time including it in my fave 5.  But, read it.  It’s one of those brutally beautiful books.

Some Favorite reads (not books) of 2013 (not in order)

1. Senseless by Bruce Barcott (June 2013 Bicycling Magazine) Fascinating article about concussions and helmet design.
2. The Case Against High School Sports by Amanda Ripley (September, Atlantic Monthly)
3. Home is Where the Hockey is (Grantland, December 3rd.)  Katie Baker is one of my favorite sports writers.
4. A Life Too Long (Fall 2013 Tricycle Magazine, paywall) A different Katy Baker writes about how we deal with death and dying and palliative care.
5. Kindness Changes Everything (Shambhala Sun, September 2010 but I just read it this year) by one of my favorite Buddhist teachers, Noah Levine.
6. And really there are just too many New York Times Magazine articles that I loved like this one, this one, this one, this one, this one about Stephen King’s Family business,  and finally this one about the oil boom in North Dakota.

Apparently I really like sports writing.

I don’t believe in resolutions; so, I won’t be giving one here.  I think most resolutions are made with a hidden intention.  I think most resolutions are secretly a desire to be happier but are couched in resolutions like: I’m going to lose 20lbs or I’m going to start jogging or I’m going finish my novel or learn a foreign language.  Why not just resolve to be a little bit happier and a little less stressed in 2014?

I wish you all a joyful 2014.