My First Top Ten Tuesday – Best Books of 2013 so far

I have always enjoyed reading about but never actually attempted these top ten memes because my distracted brain can never think of ten of anything.

But today, the bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish have asked us to list the Top Ten Books we read so far in 2013. I’ve read some AWESOME books this year, and for once, there is enough quantity of books for me to make a meaningful top ten list. So here goes, but watch out for some repetition as a few many of these books are part of a series.

In no particular order, here are my top ten books of the first half of 2013:

1. A Game of Thrones by George R.R.Martin – I did warn you about the repetition earlier didn’t I? All the books from GRRM’s A Song of Ice and Fire make my mid-year top ten list. I suspect they may also appear in my 2013 year-end top ten list. Yes, I love these books that much :).
2. A Clash of Kings by George R.R.Martin – Memorable for the final battle chapters in King’s Landing. Battle scenes usually bore me, but this battle was incredible and visual. I could see it unfolding in my mind’s eye. This is typical of his writing style – very dramatic, passionate, and really fires up all the emotions.
3. A Storm of Swords by George R.R.Martin – This is the best book in the series and the one that broke my heart all at the same time. Ironically, it’s so good that when I reread all the books again recently, I skipped this one because I didn’t want to face the trauma of the Red Wedding.
4. A Feast for Crows by George R.R.Martin – This is probably the weakest book in the series, and I didn’t enjoy it much when I first read it. But on the second read, I loved it a lot. It’s a more subtle and subdued book than the others, but that made me appreciate it all the more.
5. A Dance with Dragons by George R.R.Martin – Phew, we are finally done with George R.R.Martin, and I can finally focus on books by other authors :D. But seriously, these books are that good. They took me out of my regular humdrum world and dropped me into a fantastical, magical, and brutal world populated by some well-written characters. I am officially a GRRM fangirl now.
6. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer – Like I mentioned in my review, one of the saddest books I read, but also incredibly well-written and touching.
7. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez – It’s a classic, incredibly absorbing; enough said. A must-read.
8. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami – Bizarre and entertaining. A fantastic read and one of the year’s surprise packages for me.
9. The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie – Because I love Rushdie’s writing, that’s why 🙂
10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn – I haven’t posted a review of this book yet on my blog. It didn’t work well enough as a thriller, and parts of the book are a little uneven, but it’s a great social commentary on marriage and dating. It’s incredibly dark and twisted and funny at the same time, and I love it despite everything. I have posted some teasers here and here.

What does your top ten book list look like? Do share 🙂