“A Best Friend Is Someone Who Gives Me a Book I’ve Never Read.”

— Abraham Lincoln

For four years now, readers of this website have kindly sent in their lists of books they’ve particularly enjoyed over the previous 12 months. I’ve then compiled those lists and posted them at the end of December in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. The result each year has been a list of widely varying fiction and nonfiction books that has been a useful reference for many of us.

As I ask for favorite reads again this year, here are a few guidelines that may help in drawing your list and in making my compilation easy:

• When I ask for your “Favorite Reads of 2013,” I’m seeking fiction and/or nonfiction books that stood out for you above all you’ve read in the past year. What have been the most enjoyable, the most important, the most thought provoking, the best written, the ones you may go back and read again, the ones you reread this year, and/or the ones you have suggested others read?
• You are welcome to send just one title or up to a half dozen or so.
• List the title, the author, and indicate whether it is fiction (F) or nonfiction (NF).
• If you are willing, please write a sentence or two about why each particular book made it to your list for this year. If you prefer not to add this, no problem, but I’ve found readers enjoy the comments and use them in choosing books to read for the coming year.
• Don’t be concerned about whether others will have the same book(s) on their lists. If we get a number of similar titles, that’s just an indication of the power of a particular book/author.
• Your books do not have to be ones that were written and/or published in 2013, just ones that you read over the past year.
• Also, I’d be interested in knowing how much of your reading is done electronically (vs hardback or paper).
• Send me your list in an email (Samesty84@gmail.com) by Dec. 20 so I will be able to post the entire list at the end of the year.

I am hoping that those of you who have participated in the creation of this list in prior years will take the time to do so again this year.

And I hope if you haven’t contributed in the past, you will considering do so this year.

I often hear that one of the more valuable parts of MillersTime has been this annual compilation.  A number of folks, myself included, use the list to consider titles and authors for books to read in the coming months.

Finally, I dislike haranguing to get readers to send in their favorite reads (tho I will do so if necessary). If you’d like to be spared such nagging, I will do my best not to include you in the ‘reminders’ I send out (once you have submitted your list, of course).

Thanking you in advance.

(PS – If you aren’t quite sure which books you read in 2012 vs 2013, you can check this link to last year’s list.)