From the Booking Desk:

It is hard to believe that it is that time again, but as the snowfall on the lawn indicates, winter is coming and along with it, the end of the year.  As you have no doubt noticed, the end of the year also brings out those Best Of lists from every corner of the Internet.  BOLO Books is no different.

As I explained last year, I tend not to like the term “Best Of” because it implies that one has sampled everything.  That just isn’t possible in the publishing industry, so I prefer to use “Top Reads”.  My list will highlight my favorite books from the last year from what I have read in the mystery/thriller genre – after all, that is the focus of the blog.

The main list will be posted tomorrow, Friday December 13, just in time for your last minute holiday buying expeditions.  Today, I would like to highlight three books that I enjoyed, but that for various reasons don’t fit on the main Top Reads list.

Top YA Read of 2013

This likely will be the last year that I separate out the Young Adult title from the main list.  I firmly believe that if a book is strong enough, it crosses age boundaries and simply becomes a good book.  This year’s title certainly does that and you can follow this link to read the full BOLO Books review of this novel: The Testing

Joelle Charbonneau – The Testing

 

Top Non-Fiction Read of 2013

BOLO Books does not typically cover non-fiction as this is not my first choice when it coming to picking up a book.  But when Erin Mitchell insisted I read this book (to the extent that she purchased and sent me a copy), I knew I had to make an exception.  And it was a great decision.

Devil in the Grove

Gilbert King – Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America

Since there is not a full review of this title, let me just say a few words.  While the book is a intensely researched historical document, it reads like the best books in the thriller genre.  There were times when I was so caught up in the action I forgot that everything I was reading had really happened.  The book details Thurgood Marshall’s involvement in an early civil rights case.  When you combine a white rape victim, four black suspects, the Ku Klux Klan, and various civil rights advocates, there is no way that anyone will be the same afterwards – and the same goes for the reader!

 

Top Unclassifiable Read

It is not unusual for it to be difficult to classify a book, but in the case of this book, it is easier to say what it is not.  This is not your typical reading experience.  It will keep you reading, wondering, thinking and hoping long after you close the back cover.  And it will look great sitting on your coffee table to boot.  For a full review of this incredible work of art, follow this link:

S.

J.J. Abrams and Doug Dorst – S.

 

From The Booking Desk:

Join us here at BOLO Books again tomorrow for the official Top Reads of 2013 list.