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What are the best books you have read this year irrespective of when they were published. I myself have only managed to read one book published this year which was 2121: A Tale From the Next Century by Susan Greenfield. It had good ideas but was not a great book.

The sci-fi books I most enjoyed were Mockingbird by Walter Tevis, Tau Zero by Poul Anderson, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card and finally Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky. All quite classic books really. I think from the group reads it had to be The War of the Worlds.

Hopefully you can give me some ideas for what to read next year.

I've read 214 books this year & gave over 30 of them 5 stars. They're listed here:
/review/list...

Some were re-reads. I revisited To Kill a Mockingbird in a group. Reading the story now when I'm Atticus' age rather than Jem's was an eye opener. I also listened to Old Yeller for the first time in decades. Wow.

Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb is a baby book that we read so many times with our children that when we bought for it for our grandchild, we wound up reciting much of it over the phone with them when we told them about it. Even the baby is 24 while her brothers are around 30, so the book has stuck with & delighted us all for a long time.

In SF, I finally managed to 'read' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War as an abridged audio book & found it was great. I've abandoned it twice in HB. Ditto with A Canticle for Leibowitz.

I also listened to Ender's Game read by several different people, including Card. I loved the book when it first came out, but this rendition was even better. A couple of Heinlein's classics, Double Star &Tunnel in the Sky also got 5 stars as audio books while The Door Into Summer creeped me out due to the love interest.

For nonfiction books, Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach & On Guns and Hunting by Donald Hamilton were new to me by favorite authors. Growing Up Humming by Mike Spinak was new all the way around. I love hummingbirds & his photography was incredible.

That Way Lies Camelot by Janny Wurts was a great collection of fantasy & SF short stories by an author best known for her epic fantasy. A real eye opener as was The Williamson Effect, short stories written by some of the best SF authors to honor Jack Williamson.

It's been another great year for reading. While I've always been lucky to have plenty of books to read, this year I've really hit up my local libraries for their downloadable audio books since I haven't had much time to just sit & read.

I haven't read a lot of science fiction this year outside the our group reads.
My best books of 2013 are:

The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin. Also read The Dispossessed. Thought Lathe was the better of the two.
The Body by Stephen King
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! by Richard P. Feynman
A Dry White Season by André Brink
Of Mice and Men/Cannery Row and The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein. Noted the two Heinleins listed by Jim, which I haven't read yet.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers by Jack Finney
Endymion and The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons. I had read the two Hyperion books the previous year.

I've read some of the ones Jo and Jim listed, and made a mental note to read some of the others they listed.

Thanks Jim and Buck you have read some great books this year and given me lots to think about. I'm going to have to read some Robert A Heinlein and Ursula Le Guin. I am also going to read Invasion of the Body Snatchers, I always loved the original film.

I had a quick look at Jim's list and noticed he gave the book I've just started reading Cloud Atlas one star. Really hope I will enjoy it more!

I didn't put any non sci-fi books on my list but there is one book i read that I should have mentioned The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson. Very funny.

Jo wrote: "I had a quick look at Jim's list and noticed he gave the book I've just started reading Cloud Atlas one star. Really hope I will enjoy it more!"

I just finished Cloud Atlas yesterday. I felt generous giving it three stars.

I was listening to "Cloud Atlas", so that might not have helped it.

"The Lathe of Heaven" was also one of my 5 star reads this year, so that should have been on both our lists.

Jim wrote: "I was listening to "Cloud Atlas", so that might not have helped it.

I also heard the audiobook version. Occasionally I find the quality of an audiobook detracts, usually if read by the author for example. One of Card's Ender series had been poorly edited. I found no fault with the audio quality or narration of Cloud Atlas. It was the book itself that didn't live up to expectations.

I read Jock of the Bushveld by Percy FitzPatrick. It was good and put me in mind of Old Yeller which you rated 5 stars and which I do think I'll read soon.

The books i read this year for the first time and would recommend are:

Drawing of the Dark
Morlock Night
The Postman
Spock Must Die!
The Ragged Astronauts
The Chronicles of Amber

Pickle wrote: "The books i read this year for the first time and would recommend are:

Drawing of the Dark
Morlock Night
The Postman
Spock Must Die!
[book:T..."

I must admit I don't know any of the books on your list but it's a very interesting mix. I really quite like the sound of The Postman though so I've just put it on my kindle for next year's reading.

Buck wrote: "...Cloud Atlas. It was the book itself that didn't live up to expectations..."

Good to see your opinion on that. I won't bother with the book then.