I do not think I have ever read more varied styles of books in one year than I did this year. The titles just don't seem to belong together at all. Yet, I also cannot remember a year when I awarded more perfect five-star reviews than I did in 2013. Some five-star books did not even make my top five.
I read less books than normal, but a lot more pages (an average of 485 per book through 23). "The Year of The Big Book" has been everything I hoped for even though not at all what I expected.
This time, I'm putting my top five together right at the front. I loved each of these.
1. Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace. I have written a lot about this book. It deserved all the treatment it got. It may end up number two on my all-time list (that's where I'm leaning) by surpassing the great War & Peace. I wrote about Infinite Jest Here, Here, Here, Here and Here. Jen has described my mood while reading this book as "grumpy" and then revised that to "gloomy." Fair. And, it was amazing. It just isn't something a person can share. It's a solitary read and maybe one of the most brilliant pieces of work I have experienced. It is also messed up. Very messed up.
2. (tie) The Last Lion No. 1, Visions of Glory; and The Last Lion No. 2, Alone, by William Manchester. I have written much about this series as well. Without these two books, I could never have rated IJ so high. This was my balance, and it was probably the best written biography series I have ever experienced. I cannot explain how wonderful these books have been. Part three will have to wait until 2014, but I can't wait. What a fantastic series. And, I found the following youtube clip that just gets me every time. When the cranes lower as the boat passes, it gets a little dusty in here. Just saying. I may not have even liked Winston Churchill as a person if I would have met him, but I respect that man so much and consider him a hero of mine.
