remembering what else I read in 2013

My last reading recap post for 2013 was in July (see post) at which point I had read 70 books so far that year. Shortly thereafter the stress of everyday life left me without the will to keep track of my reading (the last book I actively noted down was #71).  I'm doing my best to reconstruct my books-read-in-2013 list (as seen below), but I am certain that I've missed more than a few (particularly library books).  I will come back and edit this post as I remember books I've neglected to add to the list.

Posts on many of the books listed below will be forthcoming in the next weeks.  Any my 2014 blog-related resolution is the same as my (failed) goal for last year:   to post at least something about every book that I read this year, preferably immediately or shortly after I either finish or officially give up on it. Let's hope I'm more successful this year.

Books read August-December 2013 (incomplete)

? Tesla's Attic by Neal Shusterman and Eric Elfman - Netgalley
? The Archived by Victoria Schwab - personal collection (gift)
? The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley - Netgalley
? Phoenix Island by John Dixon- Netgalley
? Defy by Sara B. Larson - Netgalley
? Sleighbells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan (see post) - Netgalley
? Children of Men by P.D. James - BookMooch
? Reality Boy by A.S. King - Netgalley
? How Sweet It Is by Melissa Brayden - Netgalley
? Curtsies and Conspiracies by Gail Carriger - personal collection (purchased)
? Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger (reread; see post) - personal collection (purchased)
? A Wicked Pursuit by Isabella Bradford - Netgalley
? The Colors of Blue by Lance McCulloch - Netgalley
- Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell (I should never have attempted this on a 7-day "speed read" checkout; of course I didn't manage to finish it within that timeframe) - public library
? The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani - public library
? The Caged Graves by Dianne K. Salerni - public library
? Little Joe by Michael E. Glasscock III - Netgalley
? Tin Star by Cecil Castellucci - Netgalley
? A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier - Netgalley
? Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell - public library
? The Hollow by Jessica Verday - public library
? Sekret by Lindsay Smith - Netgalley
- If Only You People Could Follow Directions by Jessica Hendry Nelson (I found the title of this book particularly appealing, but there was just too much difficulty in this memoir for me to handle given the amount of stress I was under) - Netgalley
? The Hanging Judge by Michael Ponsor - Netgalley
? Allegiant by Veronica Roth (see post)- personal collection (gift)
? Insurgent by Veronica Roth (reread; see post) - personal collection
? The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert - Netgalley
? Divergent by Veronica Roth (reread; see post) - personal collection
? Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (see post)- personal collection (gift)
- One Great Year by Tamara Veitch and Rene DeFazio (I gave up on this book after two valiant efforts, not my cup of tea) - Netgalley
? Delectable by Adrianne Lee (see post) - Netgalley
? Heavens Rise by Christopher Rice - Netgalley
? Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell (see post) - public library
? Fundraising the Dead by Sheila Connolly (see post)- personal collection (gift)
- One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan al-Shaykh - public library
(read 100 pages before I had to return it to the library)
? Escaping Reality: The Secret Life of Amy Bensen by Lisa Renee Jones - Netgalley
? The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstol - Netgalley
? Louisiana Fever by D.J. Donaldson - review copy from publicist
71. Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves - personal copy (purchased at the Strand)

July recap and 2013 (so far) in books

Books read in July

70. The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti (review forthcoming) - Netgalley
69. Under the Jeweled Sky by Alison McQueen (review forthcoming) - Netgalley
68. White Trash Beautiful by Teresa Mummert (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
67. Afloat by Erin Healy (see below) - Netgalley
66. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (reread; see post) - personal copy
65. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (reread; see post) - personal copy
64. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (reread; see post) - personal copy
63. The Golden Tulip by Rosalind Laker (post forthcoming) - public library
62. Blue Monday by Nicci French (see post) - public library
61. Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole (post in progress) - Netgalley
60. Three Lives of Tomomi Ishikawa by Benjamin Constable (see post) - Netgalley
59. Of Poseidon by Anna Banks (see post) - Sync free audiobook program
58. A Fatal Likeness by Lynn Shepherd (see post) - Netgalley

I gave up on -
Afloat by Erin Healy, but I'm counting it as a read book because I read about 140 pages before I gave up on the book.  Afloat is a strange combination of Christian fiction and supernatural suspense that highlights the irritating (to me) aspects of both the genres.  I gave up on it once (somewhere around page 90), but then had second thoughts.  I hoped a different day might give me a different perspective on the book.  Unfortunately that was not the case and I ended up throwing in the towel after I got to the end of chapter 16.


Books bought and/or acquired in July¹

- Echo A La Mode by Echo Chernik (purchased via Kickstarter)
- Maurine and Thérèse by Patrick Ahern (purchased at G. Siccardi & Family)
- Orgasmic by Rachel Kramer Bussel (gift from Russell, which I'm sure was purchased at Amazon)
- Slice of Cherry by Dia Reeves (purchased for half price at the Strand)
- A hand-me-down mitten pattern book from an acquaintance


Notes from the field
or, the not-so-secret travels of BookCrossing books
(see this post for more information about this feature)

- this copy of Into the Wild was traded on Paperback Swap. It was sent from Florida, where it's been since November 2007, to a new reader in Washington state.


2013 (so far) in Books

books finished / abandoned - 69 / 5
- library books - 20 (18 finished, 2 abandoned)
- review copies - 33 (31 finished, 2 abandoned
- personal copies - 13 (12 finished, 1 abandoned)
- bookcrossing books - 5
- borrowed copies - 2
- non-review ebooks / e-audiobooks- 2

books purchased
- for self - 13
- as gifts - 5

books (physical) otherwise acquired
- as gifts - 4
- via BookMooch - 2

bookcrossing
- books read - 5
- books registered - 1
- books wild-released - 11


footnotes:

1. E-books don't count here because (1) I don't buy them and (2) they are substantially more transitory that the physical specimens.

June recap and 2013 (so far) in books

Books read in June

57. The Elite by Kiera Cass - public library
56. Blood of the Lamb by Sam Cabot (see post) - Netgalley
55. The Death of Bees by Lisa O'Donnell (see post) - public library
54. Scarlet by Marisa Meyer (see post) - public library
53. Far, Far Away by Tom McNeal (see post)- Netgalley
52. Sisterland by Curtis Sittenfeld - Netgalley
51. The Way Back to Happiness by Elizabeth Bass - Netgalley
50. The Sweetest Hallelujah by Elaine Hussey - Netgalley
49. Plague in the Mirror by Deborah Noyes - Netgalley
48. Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (see post) - public library
47. Tumble & Fall by Alexandra Coutts - Netgalley


Books bought and/or acquired in June¹

- Already Pretty: Learning to Love Your Body by Learning to Dress it Well by Sally McGraw (purchased 2 copies from Amazon, one for self, one to give)


Notes from the field
or, the not-so-secret travels of BookCrossing books
(see this post for more information about this feature)

- this copy of The Blind Assassin was released at a company picnic in Ontario by a reader who received the book in 2009 and read and enjoyed it in late 2012.
- this copy of Driving Mr. Albert was wild-released at a Panera Bread in North Tonawanda, New York by a reader who got the book (from a different local Panera) in September 2009.
- this copy of The Last Suppers is being wild released on a cross-country road trip by a reader who selected it from a book box last year.
- this copy of Nathaniel's Nutmeg was wild-released at that Panera as well after hanging out with that reader since 2008.


2013 (so far) in Books

books finished / abandoned - 57 / 4
- library books - 18 (16 finished, 2 abandoned)
- review copies - 26 (25 finished, 1 abandoned
- personal copies - 10 (9 finished, 1 abandoned)
- bookcrossing books - 5
- borrowed copies - 2
- non-review ebooks - 1

books purchased
- for self - 10
- as gifts - 5

books (physical) otherwise acquired
- as gifts - 2
- via BookMooch - 2

bookcrossing
- books read - 5
- books registered - 1
- books wild-released - 11


footnotes:

1. E-books don't count here because (1) I don't buy them and (2) they are substantially more transitory that the physical specimens.

May recap and 2013 (so far) in books

Books read in May

46. Glass House 51 by John Hampel (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
45. The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann (see post) - library book
44. Tam Lin by Pamela Dean (see post) - personal copy
43. The 7th Woman by Frederique Molay (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
42. Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans (post forthcoming) - personal copy
41. Codex by Lev Grossman (see post) - Bookcrossing book
40. Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (post forthcoming) - library book
39. Seduction by M.J. Rose (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
38. Ink by Amanda Sun (post forthcoming) - Netgalley

did not finish:
- Tersias the Oracle by G.P. Taylor (personal copy purchased at the Field Library Bookstore)
I gave it the old college try, but it didn't grab me


Books bought and/or acquired in May¹

- The Book of Loss by Julith Jedamus (acquired for self via BookMooch)
- Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie (purchased for Russell at the 2013 Washington Irving Book Awards ceremony from The Village Bookstore)
- Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans (purchased at a bricks-and-mortar Barnes and Noble)
- The Orphanmaster by Jean Zimmerman (purchased at the 2013 Washington Irving Book Awards ceremony from The Village Bookstore)
- Still Water Saints by Alex Espinoza (acquired for self via BookMooch)
- The Stockholm Octavo by Karen Engelmann (purchased at the 2013 Washington Irving Book Awards ceremony from The Village Bookstore)
- What Do People Do All Day by Richard Scarry for my youngest nephew (purchased from Amazon)
- A book I'm giving my dad for father's day (purchased at a same B&N)
- A book I'm giving Russell for his birthday (purchased from Amazon)


Notes from the field
or, the not-so-secret travels of BookCrossing books
(see this post for more information about this feature)

- This copy of A Spectacle of Corruption, which I read in May 2006, was reviewed by a reader in Mars, Pennyslvania, who's had it on her shelves since November 2006
- This copy of Winner of the National Book Award was wild released at the Gaithersburg (Maryland) Book Festival by a Bookcrosser who's had it in her possession since December 2011.


2013 (so far) in Books

books finished / abandoned - 46 / 4
- library books - 14 (12 finished, 2 abandoned)
- review copies - 19 (18 finished, 1 abandoned
- personal copies - 10 (9 finished, 1 abandoned)
- bookcrossing books - 5
- borrowed copies - 2
- non-review ebooks - 1

books purchased
- for self - 9
- as gifts - 4

books (physical) otherwise acquired
- as gifts - 2
- via BookMooch - 2

bookcrossing
- books read - 5
- books registered - 1
- books wild-released - 11

footnotes:

1. E-books don't count here because (1) I don't buy them and (2) they are substantially more transitory that the physical specimens.

April recap

Books read in April¹

37. The S-word by Chelsea Pitcher (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
36. The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
35. The Diabolist by Layton Green (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
34. Pandora's Bottle by Joanne Lessner (post forthcoming) - personal copy
33. Twenties Girl by Sophie Kinsella (post forthcoming) - personal copy
32. Treachery in Brodeaux by Jean-Pierre Alaux and Noël Balen (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
31. Madenksy Square by Eva Ibbotson (post forthcoming) - Bookcrossing book
30. The Diviners by Libba Bray (audio; post forthcoming) - library book
29. The Girl with the Botticelli Eyes by Herbert Lieberman (post forthcoming) - personal copy
28. Clockwork Angels by Kevin Anderson (post forthcoming) - library book
27. The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
26. India Fan by Victoria Holt (post forthcoming) - Netgalley

Notes from the field
or, the not-so-secret travels of BookCrossing books
(see this post for more information about this feature)

- This copy of Divided in Death was read a reviewed in Ontario on April 15th before being given back to the bookcrosser from whence it came.
- This copy of The Garlic Ballads was wild-released in Israel mid-month.
- This copy of The Space Between Us was given to one bookcrosser by another in Ontario on April 7th.

2013 (so far) in Books

books finished / abandoned - 37 / 3
- library books - 12 (10 finished, 2 abandoned)
- review copies - 15 (14 finished, 1 abandoned
- personal copies - 7
- bookcrossing books - 4
- borrowed copies - 2
- non-review ebooks - 1

books purchased
- for self - 6
- as gifts - 0

books otherwise acquired
n.b. ebooks don't count here as they don't take up physical space
- as gifts - 2

bookcrossing
- books read - 4
- books registered - 1
- books wild-released - 11

Foot notes

1. full disclosure - I'm not 100% sure whether I finished The S-word in April or May, but it's going on April's list rather than May's

March recap

First of all, my sidebar widget lists aren't up-to-date because (1) I've been neglecting the blog and (2) I got an inexplicable error message each time I've tried to update them today. With any luck this issue will get resolved sometime in the near future.

Now for a bit of disclosure -

BEWARE!
1. affiliate links (for more information see this post)
2. mentions of books I may have received for free

Books read in March

25. A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
24. The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress (post forthcoming) - library book
23. The James Joyce Murder by Amanda Cross (post forthcoming) - BookCrossing book
22. Currant Creek Valley by Raeanne Thayne (post forthcoming) - Netgalley
21. Green Corn Ceremonialism in the Easter Woodlands by John Witthoft - library book via interlibrary loan
20. Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi (see post) - borrowed from my dad
19. Grave Consequences by Lisa Bergren (see post) - Netgalley
18. Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger (post) - personal copy

I gave up on -
The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
reason: I hit my renew limit before I finished it so I had to bring it back to the library unfinished


Notes from the field
or, the not-so-secret travels of BookCrossing books
(see this post for more information about this feature)

- This copy of Divided in Death found a new reader is Mississauga, Ontario on March 29th.
- This copy of Possession by A.S. Byatt was handed from one friend to another in W. Henrietta, New York on March 16.
- This advance-reader copy of Kabul Beauty School was wild-released in Hamilton, Ontario on March 10.
- This advance-reader copy of The Space Between Us was reviewed by a reader who's had it since May 2007 on March 24th.
- This copy of Time's Arrow arrived in Marshfield, Wisconsin on March 11th.



2013 (so far) in Books 

books finished / abandoned - 25 / 3
- library books - 10 (8 finished, 2 abandoned)
- review copies - 9 (8 finished, 1 abandoned)
- personal copies - 4
- bookcrossing books - 3 
- borrowed copies - 2
- non-review ebooks - 1

books purchased
- for self - 1
- as gifts - 0

books otherwise acquired
n.b. ebooks don't count here as they don't take up physical space
- as gifts - 2

bookcrossing
- books read - 3
- books registered - 1
- books wild-released - 11

February reading recap, notes from the field, and statistics

Still not doing so well on the post-about-books-as-soon-as-I've-read-them resolution, but c'est la vie. 
I bought one book for myself this month (Etiquette and Espionage by Gail Carriger) and received two as gifts (Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore and Literary Knits by Nikol Lohr).

Books read in February

17. The Kashmir Shawl by Rosie Thomas - public library
16. Lady Gone Bad by Sabine Starr - free ebook
15. Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende (post) - bookcrossing book
14. Knitting Through It edited by Lela Nargi (post) - borrowed copy
13. The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde (post) - personal copy
12. A Student of Weather by Elizabeth Hay - bookcrossing book
11. The Perfect Ghost by Linda Barnes (post partially written) - Netgalley
10. Astray by Emma Donoghue (post) - public library

I gave up on
- Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath - public library
reason: only because I'd hit my renewal limit on it.


Notes from the field
or, the not-so-secret travels of BookCrossing books

background: The neatest thing about Bookcrossing is that the site sends you notifications whenever any of the books that you've logged gets a new journal entry. I thought it might be kind of fun to share these on the blog since I always enjoy hearing back from one of my books.
In case it isn't obvious, my posts appear under the name morsecode on the Bookcrossing site.

- This copy of The Swallows of Kabul was sent from Queensland, Australia (where it had been since January 2010) to New South Wales (arriving on February 16).


2013 (so far) in Books 

books finished / abandoned - 17 / 2
- library books - 7 (6 finished, 1 abandoned)
- review copies - 6 (5 finished, 1 abandoned)
- personal copies - 2
- bookcrossing books - 2 
- borrowed copies - 1
- non-review ebooks - 1

books purchased
- for self - 1
- as gifts - 0 (I did give a book this month, but it was purchased last year)

books otherwise acquired
n.b. ebooks don't count here as they don't take up physical space
- as gifts - 2

bookcrossing
- books read - 2
- books wild-released - 5

January reading recap and notes from the field (a new feature!)

It's quite obvious that I'm failing at my 2013 blogging resolution.¹ I also failed to get to the Morgan Library before the Beatrix Potter exhibit closed.² As for the former - I intend to deal with the January backlog in the coming month and to try to better keep on top of things going forward. As for the later - viewing the online version is better than nothing (and a little birdie told me that they didn't have exhibit catalogs to purchase anyway).

Books read in January

9. Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines - public library
8. White Horse by Alex Adams - Netgalley
7. Sneak by Evan Angler - Netgalley
6. Summerset Abbey by T.J. Brown (mentioned here) - Netgalley
5. The Culling by Steven Dos Santos (mentioned here) - Netgalley
4. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (post) - public library
3. After the Storm by Sangeeta Bharava (post) - public library
2. The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry (post) - personal copy
1. The Twelve Rooms of the Nile by Enid Shomer (post) - public library

I gave up on
- The Lives We Lost by Megan Crewe - Netgalley
reason: Every time I tried to read it the file made my Nook crash. I deleted it from the device and downloaded a fresh copy, but the problem still persisted. I can't bear the idea of reading an entire book on the computer so I probably won't read this properly until I can get a copy from the library. 

Notes from the field
or, the not-so-secret travels of BookCrossing books

background: The neatest thing about Bookcrossing is that the site sends you notifications whenever any of the books that you've logged³ gets a new journal entry. I thought it might be kind of fun to share these on the blog since I always enjoy hearing back from one of my books.
In case it isn't obvious, my posts appear under the name morsecode on the Bookcrossing site.

- This copy of Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie was read by someone who's had it since August 2005.
- This copy of A Mortal Glamour by was mailed from Ontario, Canada (where it had been since May 2007) to Essex, England (arriving on January 25).

footnotes!

1. There have been extenuating circumstances, but still.
2. See footnote #1. It would have helped, though, if I'd planned to go right when it first opened.
3. "Journaled" in Bookcrossing-speak.

for what it's worth

My blog-related resolution for 2013 is to post at least something about every book that I read this year, preferably immediately or shortly after I either finish or officially give up on it.