The Book Case

Back in January, we shared our list of 20 most anticipated books of 2013. Now it’s time to see the books that have had you buzzing this year. We’ve compiled the Top 20 books of 2013 (so far!)—based on the number of page views on BookPage.com—and included excerpts from their reviews or interviews with the authors. Click on the links to read more about each book.

What do you think of the list? Any surprises? Or ones you feel are missing? Let us know in the comments.

#20: THE TIN HORSE by Janice Steinberg
“Steinberg, the author of five mysteries, has transcended genre to weave a rich story that will appeal to readers who appreciate multigenerational immigrant family sagas as well as those who simply enjoy psychological suspense.” (February 2013)

#19: THE FEVER TREE by Jennifer McVeigh
“The Fever Tree, Jennifer McVeigh’s riveting debut novel, follows a pampered British woman, Frances Irvine, who leaves her insular life and journeys to the Southern Cape of Africa during the 19th-century diamond rush.” (April 2013)

#18: WHITE DOG FELL FROM THE SKY
by Eleanor Morse
“Some novels percolate in their authors’ minds for years. In the case of Eleanor Morse’s superb third novel, White Dog Fell from the Sky, the brew-time was at least a dozen and possibly as many as 40 years.” (January 2013)

#17: BENEDICTION by Kent Haruf
“There’s no manufactured drama in this novel, and that’s of a piece with Haruf’s previous books. The mastery he displays in this simple, quiet story, and in all his fiction, lies in portraying what one character thinks of as ‘the little dramas, the routine moments,’ what he calls the ‘precious ordinary.’” (March 2013)

#16: THE DEATH OF BEES by Lisa O’Donnell
“This is a dark and mordant novel, yet despite its fighting words, a tender heart beats deep at its center. Although undeniably bleak at times, Marnie and Nelly’s story is not devoid of hope and has much needed punches of humor throughout. The result is a riveting and rewarding read.” (January 2013)

#15: WITH OR WITHOUT YOU by Domenica Ruta
“‘Write me a letter,’ Kathi asks her daughter. In this stunning new memoir, Domenica Ruta writes a love letter to the woman she had to leave behind in order to live.” (March 2013)

#14: THE LAST RUNAWAY by Tracy Chevalier
“Evoking 19th-century Ohio life with a quiet lushness, Chevalier seamlessly seeds vivid period details into her writing. . . . [she] questions the difference between bravery and foolishness and explores whether ideology should displace family ties, and her characters are drawn with satisfying shades of gray.” (January 2013)

#13: CHANEL BONFIRE by Wendy Lawless
“There are bad mothers and there are alcoholic mothers, and then there are bad, alcoholic, psychotic mothers like Georgann Rea. Add glamour, beauty and a rapidly dwindling divorce settlement, and you’ve got Chanel Bonfire.” (January 2013)

#12: THE HISTORY OF US by Leah Stewart
“Stewart is a wonderful observer of family relationships, and she adroitly weaves the stories of Eloise and the children she’s raised—their work, their loves, their disappointments and dreams—while focusing on what ties families together, and what ultimately keeps those ties from breaking.” (January 2013)

#11: INDISCRETION by Charles Dubow
“The complex characters evolve until the final pages, allowing the reader to sympathize and bond with each one. Equal parts passion, heartache and anger, Indiscretion transcends the love story archetype.” (February 2013)

#10: A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING by Ruth Ozeki
“[O]ne of the questions Ozeki explores here is what it means to live in the present. The book began in her imagination, she says, when the voice of a young girl spoke the words that are now the opening lines of the novel: ‘Hi! My name is Nao, and I am a time being.’” (March 2013)

#9: THE SUPREMES AT EARL’S ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT by Edward Kelsey Moore
“The centerpiece of the novel is one year in the lives of the three friends, but flashbacks told from various points of view reveal mileposts along the women’s journeys, both individual and intertwined. . . . Throughout, everyone circles back to Earl’s, where Moore conjures up the events, sounds and scents of the diner with writerly ease.” (March 2013)

#8: THE OBITUARY WRITER by Ann Hood
“Vivien and Claire face individual challenges and quests for meaning in their lives as well as in their romantic relationships. Their compelling stories push the reader forward, to discover both how their lives may intertwine and how each resolves the unanswered questions in her relationships.” (March 2013)

#7: COVER OF SNOW by Jenny Milchman
“The suspense locks you in on every page, and snow piles up everywhere: thick, white, all-encompassing and holding everything in its freezing grasp. You can try to run, but you’ll probably slip and fall in a drift.” (January 2013)

#6: GHOSTMAN by Roger Hobbs
“Hobbs’ thriller has more twists and turns than a 10-yard-long corkscrew. It opens with an early-morning attack on an armored car delivering money to an Atlantic City casino. Things go terribly wrong when the carefully planned heist turns into a scene of epic carnage.” (February 2013)

#5: THE DINNER by Herman Koch
“Koch’s mesmerizing and disturbing novel starts out slowly, as two couples meet for dinner at a pricey, somewhat snobbish restaurant in Amsterdam. . . . Readers will be able to identify with the faults and fears of each of his perceptively drawn characters.” (February 2013)

#4: THE STORYTELLER by Jodi Picoult
“In The Storyteller, [Picoult's] latest, she weaves together two parallel stories from the darkest hours of the Holocaust. She explores, along with the reader, the perhaps unanswerable questions of who has the power to forgive—and are there some acts which are simply unforgiveable?” (March 2013)

#3: THE DROWNING HOUSE by Elizabeth Black
“A page-turning chronicle of grief and memory, The Drowning House is a remarkable blend of human drama and satisfyingly Southern Gothic mystery, propelled by Black’s lyrical, haunting narration.” (January 2013)

#2: ME BEFORE YOU by Jojo Moyes
“Unusually for me—I’ve written 10 books—Lou and Will were both crystal clear in my head before I even started the book. I knew them inside out. That meant that all I had to do was to put them in different situations and sit back and see what happened. It meant that the book was actually a pleasure to write.” (January 2013)

And your #1 pick for 2013 (so far!) is:

#1: THE HOUSE GIRL by Tara Conklin
“[A] rare novel that seamlessly toggles between centuries and characters and remains consistently gripping throughout. . . . Conklin’s debut novel is a quiet book . . . it is that very quietness that makes The House Girl so powerful.” (February 2013)