Hey, wait for me! I’m jumping into the fray!

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So, I wasn’t going to do this, but I kept seeing these great year-end reading lists so decided to jump into the book fray and satisfy your need to know.

Without further ado, here are the ten books I enjoyed the most in 2013 in order of preference. Be forewarned, many (though not all) involve ghosts of one type or another.

1. The Orphan Master’s Son by Johnson. Because of its subject matter (stark inner workings of North Korea) The Orphan Master’s Son is hard to read (and you may need to take a couple of reading breaks along the way. I suggest digging out your dog-eared copy of Anne of Green Gables for those necessary breathers) but it is so worth it. The writing of this Pulitzer winner is stunning, and the storytelling will entrance you. I’m a cowardly wimp, so if I can do this book, so can you.

2. Wolf Hall by Mantel. We did this one for my reading group. What a delight! An added bonus–you get to learn about Tudor history from a different perspective, so put aside A Man for All Seasons. I recommend the audio version as the narrator did a wonderful job. One drawback of the printed book is a ton of ambiguous “he” pronouns. The audio narrator brings a new voice to each character, so you always know who is on stage. Also, any novel that can weave ghosts into the story earns my vote.

3.`The Robber Bride by Atwood (alas, no relation). Both literary and irreverent, The Robber Bride tells the stories of three women in both the present and the past whose fates are forever altered by Zenia, a ghost who re-enters their lives. Allusions to fairy tales abound, which just adds to the fun.

4. The Art Forger by Shapiro. This one will not win any literary awards, but it is pure page-turning fun about the pretenses of the art world and one artist who tries to turn the tables.

4. Garden of Evening Mists by Eng. Eng’s novel is told in circular flashbacks (a difficult technique to master). A Malaysian judge suffering from a deteriorating memory is determined to recall her time as a Japanese prisoner of war. The writing is lyrical (just as the title suggests), a perfect complement to the narrator’s unfolding love story with a Japanese master gardener.

5. State of Wonder by Patchett. My favorite Patchett novel is Bel Canto. If you haven’t read that one yet, try it first. State of Wonder examines the Amazon rain forest and the warring forces of science, greed, love, and pharmacology. At times the novel dips into magical realism.

6. The Language of Flowers by Diffenbaugh. As someone whose fiction includes issues of adoption, identity, and loss, I couldn’t pass this one up. My reading group found The Language of Flowers too fairytale-esque, but I loved it. As did my mother and my daughter. This was the book I chose to give away when I participated in World Book Night.

7. This House Is Haunted by Boyne. If you’re looking for another Gothic ghost story, you can do no worse. Fans of Jane Eyre and The Turn of the Screw will particularly enjoy this one. You’ll find all the trappings–hidden staircases, attic rooms, drafty corridors, shadowy spirits.

8. Bag of Bones by King. A love story with ghosts told at a leisurely pace. A successful but heart-broken writer fights to protect a child and widow from seen and unseen forces as he learns to re-awaken to love. Not a true romance, but plenty of romantic elements.

10. The Ghost Bride by Choo. This was my second novel ever in a Malay setting (Garden of Evening Mists was the first), so it was fun to be able to read them both in the same year. The Ghost Bride weaves ghosts and Chinese mythology into a tale of arranged marriages and dynastic family politics.

Now it’s your turn. Have you read any of these? What did you think? What are your favorite books of 2013?