The best books we read in 2013

This has been a wonderful year for the literary world. From J.K. Rowling to F. Scott Fitzgerald, 2013 saw an abundance of awe-inspiring new releases and exciting revivals of classic tales. With New Year’s Eve right around the corner, all of us here at Scholastic wanted to take a moment amidst resolutions and end-of-the-year frenzy to reflect on one of our favorite things, books! No matter what we remember from this year, one thing is for sure: we did a lot of reading.

My fellow OOMers divulged the top three best books they read in 2013. From Donna Tartt to Sheryl Sandberg, our top picks represent a wide range of authors and genres, published both this year and in years previous. If you haven’t had a chance to read some of our favorites, why not add them to your list for 2014? Happy reading everyone!

Brittany:

• World War Z by Max Brooks
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman
• Two Graves by Preston and Child

Alex:

• The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson
• Gorgeous by Paul Rudnick
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Tyler:

• Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
• Thunderstruck by Erik Larson
• The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin

Emma:

• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Nadia:

• The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri 
• The Book Thief by Mark Zusak
• Since You Asked? by Maureen Goo

Michael B.:

• Jim Henson: A Biography by Brian Jay Jones
• The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
• The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel

Morgan:

• The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani
• A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams
• The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Jessica:

• Night Film by Marisha Pessl
• Burial Rites: a novel by Hannah Kent
• Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and Tom Lichtenheld

Megan:

• Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
• Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer
• Home by Toni Morrison

Lia:

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
• On Writing by Stephen King
• The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards

What were the top three books you read this year?