The Best Books I Read in 2013

A picture of my copy of Elizabeth Stuckey-French’s The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady.

The cover of my copy of The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady. January 1, 2014.

This post closes the loop on the article I penned midyear on the best books I’d read so far in 2013.

I wish I had another three or four to mention. After all, I chew through books, magazines, newspapers, and blogs at a voracious pace. I lost count of my total books read in 2013, but I crossed full well into the dozens.

Alas, I can add only one more book to the list I gave you in July:

• The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady, by Elizabeth Stuckey-French: The author’s lighthearted, amusing tone might fool you into thinking this novel trifling—but not for long. Stuckey-French posits heady questions about the nature of right and wrong, the damage of resentment and the challenge of forgiveness, and the nature of family, from its beauties to its wounds.

Don’t mistake me: I enjoyed a number of the other books I read this year. Some entertained me quite well. Others taught me something. Some gave me perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise have had.

Yet to rank on any “best books” list for me, a title needs to provide fun and a compelling read while gifting me something to consider long after I’ve put the book back in my closet. Even better if, after finishing the tome, I mourn its ending a bit, holding the closed book for a few moments, feeling it in my hands for the first last time.

What books did you read in 2013 that you'd add to my list?