In no particular order, here are my favorite books of 2013:
1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (5/5)
2. The House Of Gentle Men by Kathy Hepinstall (5/5)
3. Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay (5/5)
4. Into The Forest by Jean Hegland (4/5)
5. The Iron Druid Chronicles: I. Hounded by Kevin Hearne (5/5)
6. Das Labyrinth erwacht (The Maze Awakes) by Rainer Wekwerth (5/5)
7. The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman (5/5)
8. Joyland by Stephen King (5/5)
9. Silber: Das erste Buch der Träume (Silver: The First Book Of Dreams) by Kerstin Gier (5/5)
10. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (5/5)
Do we share any favorite books? By the way, Rainer Wekwerth and Kerstin Gier are German authors, hence the English translation of the book titles in brackets. You might know Ms. Gier's gem trilogy about time traveling starting with Ruby Red. The first book of her new trilogy has such a great cover, I couldn't resist making a little photo session.
Another great read last summer was Dan Brown's new thriller Inferno.
Today is World Book Day, so I want to show you another favorite book from my childhood -- The Neverending Story by Michael Ende. What better way to show the story's character than to present it in a mirror? I was delighted to win a voucher for a photo book for this photo.
Last but not least, I have to show you something which I oddly miss. As some of you know, I often borrow books from the Book Bus which comes to my neighborhood once a week. Until February 2013, no computers were used for the lending process. You just had a paper library card with a number (my number was G 163), and the librarian wrote that number on a card which could be found at the back of each book in a little pocket. Then you got a blue card with a due date in exchange for the book card.
The last date was always the one you had to keep in mind. A simple system -- and it worked like a charm! Now each book is scanned, and you get a printout with the due dates -- that feels colder and less personal. Gone are the days of book cards, blue due date cards, and paper library cards. Instead I have to take along a piece of plastic each time -- I am no longer G 163. Oh well...
Great post, Birgit. I, too, miss that old way of loaning books, the slip at the back with the stamped date and the card removed from the book whenever we borrowed a book
ReplyDeleteFunny, I haven't read any of those on your list!
ReplyDeleteMy library hasn't used book pockets for years and years, but the school libraries around here did for much longer. I am a little bit techie, though--I love that I can reserve a book on my library's website and have it waiting for me by the front door. ;)
Hmmm...I haven't read a single book on your list. I see I need to get busy. =) And those little pockets? Miss them.
ReplyDeleteI loved those cards. When I would pick a book I'd not heard of, I would go straight to the card. If it had a lots of dates, I knew it was a good one!
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