Giveaway: Five Copies of Libriomancer (Audio Book)
ETA: The contest is now closed. The five winners, picked at random, are:
- huit
- Ralph Seibel
- pawdua
- slhuang
- Jonathan Wessner
I’ll be emailing you your download code and instructions for getting your audio book. Thanks to everyone who entered!
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As my last official bloggery act of 2013, I’m giving away five copies of Libriomancer [Amazon | B&N | Mysterious Galaxy] – the audio book from Audible.com. My only request is that if you’re one of the five winners, you post a review somewhere when you’re done listening.
To enter, leave a comment talking about the best book you read in 2013. Make sure I have a way to contact you. I’ll draw five winners at random in a week or so.
Winners will receive a code to download the book from Audible. And since there’s no shipping costs, that means there are no geographic restrictions on who can enter.
Please spread the word, and start out the new year with a new book to listen to!
#SFWAPro
Jonathan Wessner
December 31, 2013 @ 2:48 pm
The best book I read in 2013? This is tough, because I reread a favorite book (and couldn’t put it down!) as well as some new ones. I will go with The Long Earth, by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter. It was a science fiction novel with a new perspective, an engaging read and interesting storyline. They even covered all the bases on how to use the new “tech” for both good and bad.
Betty Winslow
December 31, 2013 @ 2:49 pm
I’ll review it on Midwest Book Review as soon as I get my spot set up again (let it lie fallow for a while….). I read too many books this year to remember which one was best unless I read it fairly recently, which would mean “Seven Wild Sisters”, by Charles De Lint (which I read recently for a book review column I write, about books for 8-12 yr olds).
Deb Cutler
December 31, 2013 @ 2:52 pm
That is always such a hard question when you read over 200 books a year. The book I looked forward to the most this year was Lover At Last by J. R. Ward. It was a story I had wanted to read for many books and it did not disappoint.
Alex H
December 31, 2013 @ 2:53 pm
It’s hard to pin one down, but I’m giving this year’s best of to Joe Hill’s NOS4A2, followed closely by Off to Be the Wizard. Happy 2014!
Gerard Deveaux
December 31, 2013 @ 3:07 pm
The Intercept by Dick Wolf a pretty good terrorist plot story crossed with detective adventure. With a good few twists added to keep you guessing till near the end. It is also book one in a series
Rob M.
December 31, 2013 @ 3:07 pm
Its a toss up between Monster Hunter Alpha and Go Home Santa your drunk. Fun reads that were hard to put down. I fell asleep several nights with a kindle on my chest.
Amanda G
December 31, 2013 @ 3:11 pm
“Must Love Chickens: 21 Chicken Owners Share Their Tips & Stories” – I’m really interested in having a few chickens around for eggs (and eventually, meat). I enjoyed the stories the owners shared and the insights they gave. Since my family is less enthusiastic about the chicken thing than me, I enjoy it vicariously through others’ shared experiences.
Jenna Bird (@jbird_writing)
December 31, 2013 @ 3:13 pm
The best book I’ve read this year? That’s a tough call. I’ll tell you the book I most enjoyed reading this year (which is still a tough call), which got the most outward reactions from me while reading it:
The Folly of the World by Jesse Bullington.
I’m actually FINISHING reading it today, but it got a shocked gasp out of me where Martin’s “Red Wedding” (text & screen) did not. It made me laugh out loud and make other assorted noises of delight, surprise, and wtf’ery.
Steven Tait
December 31, 2013 @ 3:14 pm
The “best” book I read last year would be Fatherland by Robert Harris. Best from literary and effectiveness as story. Dark enough I wouldn’t recommend it for most people. Especially you, Jim.
The book I liked best in 2013 will become Volume 13 of the Girl Genius series by Phil & Kaja Foglio (I read it a webcomic).
Steve G
December 31, 2013 @ 3:14 pm
I read far fewer books than usual this year (damn this busy year) and far fewer new books than I should have. But my favorite was easily Theatre of the Gods by M. Suddain. That book is fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. And weird. Which is fun.
Serenity H
December 31, 2013 @ 3:14 pm
The best book I read this year was a book I re-read after many years, to my children. It was A Wrinkle in Time. A timeless classic it brought back childhood memories and started a love of reading chapter books in my kids. My daughter now reads many books a week and her love of the genre has been awakened. It has been a wonderful rediscovery.
Daryl M
December 31, 2013 @ 3:15 pm
I’ve been asked this several times, and the best I can come up with is a tie: 1) The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination and/or 2) Queen Victoria’s Book of Spells. They’re both short story collections, but that is about the only thing they have in common. And both are marvelous reads!!
Jim C. Hines
December 31, 2013 @ 3:16 pm
I just started reading that one to my son about a week back 🙂
Jennifer S
December 31, 2013 @ 3:19 pm
Best book this year? That is so hard! One of the best was The Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexi, read by the author. I had been looking forward to reading that one for a few years.
Kristin Taggart
December 31, 2013 @ 3:26 pm
Given that I’m at 188 books read this year, that’s a hard question! 🙂
Um, best nonfiction was “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”. Best fiction was “The Rose and the Thorn” by Michael J. Sullivan.
Laura Price
December 31, 2013 @ 3:26 pm
If only one can be chosen when so many stand out then I have to go with Teal Haviland and her first novel of The Reaping Chronicles series Inception. An angel who wants to save both heaven and earth becomes a Teen in high school where demons seem to be spending a lot of time including her former heavenly partner. Riveting. Hard to put down and easier to pick up.
Erin Channell
December 31, 2013 @ 3:28 pm
I’ve read too many books to be able to list just one…but three in particular come to mind for very different reasons. First, on a serious note: ‘A Child Called It’ was a book my Mom had recommended I read and was able to finally do so; second, on a very silly note: ‘How Not to Kiss a Toad’ for a fun look at relationships between the ‘fantastical’ while trying to live in the mundane world; and third, finishing the long-running The Wheel of Time series with ‘A Memory of Light’ which was a satisfactory end to the series even with Brandon Sanderson filling in the blanks that Robert Jordan left.
carriep
December 31, 2013 @ 3:31 pm
The Momofuku Cookbook. one of those rare cookbooks and actually teaches you stuff including, but not limited to, how to cook. it’s also funny as hell and a lot like a memoir in some places.
Michael Phillips
December 31, 2013 @ 3:43 pm
Best of the year is split between Cold Days by Jim Butcher and Wise Man’s Fear. Cold Days is a return to the sort of Dresden that the last two books lacked for me. Wise Man’s Fear is the best What if Le Guoan were someone completely else when she wrote the Earth Sea books.
Karen C
December 31, 2013 @ 3:45 pm
Wow, best book I read in 2013? Unbelievably hard question! My favorite was probably ‘Magic Rises’ by Ilona Andrews, or ‘Chimes at Midnight’ by Seanan McGuire..waited very IMpatiently for both of them! Best book I re-read was the Codex Alera series by Jim Butcher; love that series. I do have to say, and I know this will seem like kissing up to you, but honestly Libriomancer was the most original concept in a book I read this year! I can’t tell you how many people I told about your book, and thank goodness you included a bibliography at the back, because I kept thinking the entire time I was reading that I would have to re-read it just to write down all the books you named!
Brandy
December 31, 2013 @ 3:53 pm
Gah, best book?!?! So hard to pinpoint!!! I found a book in my post Christmas mall pilgrimage that ended up being a dark horse: “Library of the Dead” by Glenn Cooper. It really surprised me…I’ve read a couple more of his books since picking that one up, but that’s been the best so far. The mixing of medieval history with modern sleuthing is interesting. Also, I have to say, your book “The Mermaid’s Madness” was pretty darn great, and I just ordered “Red Hood’s Revenge” and “The Snow Queen’s Shadow”…now I just have to hope you’re at SIWC 2014 to sign them!! 😉
CyberLizard
December 31, 2013 @ 3:56 pm
Favorite, hmmm. Well, my biggest unexpected pleasant surprise with books was the Wool series by Hugh Howey. Extremely creative premise and kept me turning the pages. My most anticipated sequel was probably tied between your Codex Born and Kelly McCullough’s Blade Reforged.
Heather W.
December 31, 2013 @ 4:13 pm
The best I read this year was Royal Airs by Sharon Shinn. It’s a sequel to Troubled Waters. Royal Airs had an excellent story and a great romance to spice it up. It also had steampunk elements that were treated as just part of the story not as the whole point. I was intrigued by the magic system and the world building.
Jim C. Hines
December 31, 2013 @ 4:21 pm
Thank you! Kelly’s Blade series is on my wish list, but I haven’t gotten to them yet. Too many books, too little time!!!
Jim C. Hines
December 31, 2013 @ 4:21 pm
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it, and I hope so too! 🙂
Jim C. Hines
December 31, 2013 @ 4:22 pm
Thanks so much!
Chris
December 31, 2013 @ 4:37 pm
I’d have to say Pratchett’s Raising Steam. But I’m a softie when it comes to his Moist series, since Going Postal was the first book I read by him. Unfortunately your Goblin Grimoire hasn’t come in the mail yet, so maybe for 2014!
JM
December 31, 2013 @ 4:54 pm
I read a few good ones but these two really stood out.
Wise Man’s Fears – Patrick Rothfuss
The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination – John Joseph Adams
Ralph Seibel
December 31, 2013 @ 4:54 pm
A classic I only read this year, Haldemann’s Forever War.
But Libriomancer was in the top ten 😉
Jim C. Hines
December 31, 2013 @ 5:01 pm
Thanks, Ralph 🙂
Jessica
December 31, 2013 @ 5:16 pm
Other people are flouting the rules by posting more than one, so…
It’s a tie between Sacre Bleu by Moore and The Player of Games by Banks. (I know the Banks book isn’t the newest thing, but I just now discovered his writing.)
IvoryDoom
December 31, 2013 @ 5:24 pm
Oh hard question. *goes to goodreads, judges reading selection of the year*
hmm….
I think I most enjoyed Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, mostly because I really liked how the pictures were what he used to drive the story forward. It was had an amazingly unique presentation that really stood out.
As far as on writing merit though, I got a free e-book from an indie author, Eternal Knight, by Matt Heppe. Easily the best book I read this year, and he’s self published. Really looking forward to his next installment. Very good writer in my opinion, EVERYONE should download it from Amazon and give it a read, especially since, you know…its free.
Cliff S
December 31, 2013 @ 5:31 pm
The best book I read in 2013 is a reread from a number of years earlier that had gotten lost on my bookcase. Douglas Adams “Last Chance to See” Adams travels with photo journalist around the world to see endangered animals
Kris Wiegand
December 31, 2013 @ 5:46 pm
I read so many books this year there is no way I can pick just one! I did finally read Codex Born which was, of course, awesome. I re-read the Dark is Rising series because of a readathon. I’ve read a number of fun romance novels, many other fantasy books, just aoooo many books! I love books. 🙂
Suelder
December 31, 2013 @ 6:05 pm
The best book I read this year was Magic Rises by Ilona Andrews. It has the best fight scene EVER.
Emotional, focused, great bad guy. And it had building up for several books.
Mels
December 31, 2013 @ 6:12 pm
ooh, I heart audiobooks! The best book I read was Neil Gaiman’s Ocean at the End of the Lane. It was very scary and moving and magical.
sean
December 31, 2013 @ 7:04 pm
best book i read in 2013 was “Pandora’s Star” by Peter F. Hamilton. why because it was epically epic. i mean you literally cannot get anymore epic. if there was a word bigger than epic i would so use it, is giepic a word. i mean the universe created for the book is just so vivid and really thought out. everything just seems to come together very well. tons going on but not overwhelming. working on the sequel “Judas Unchained” right now.
sean
Denise
December 31, 2013 @ 7:15 pm
Best book – wow, tough. I’m going with a series that I discovered this year, with the third (and best yet) published this year. The Gentlemen Bastards books by Scott Lynch (The Lies of Locke Lamora, Red Seas Under Red Skies, and The Republic of Thieves) are the best example of seamless world-building I’ve seen since I first read Tolkien and Pratchett. The differences between our world and theirs is always shown, never just stated or explained. Characters are deeply complex and fabulous. I tried to read Republic of Thieves slowly, to savor it, but it was impossible to put down.
Asylos
December 31, 2013 @ 7:51 pm
Sadly my grand plans to read a book a month fell to a ton of editing and other work, so I only finished two published books this year. I read a fair bit of unpublished stuff though. Of the two I found time for City of the Lost by S. Blackmoore takes the top for pure fun action. I need more audiobooks so I can read WHILE I work!
Stephanie Whelan
December 31, 2013 @ 8:04 pm
Too many to choose a best, but one of them was Sidekicked by John David Anderson in my middle grade reading. In my young adult it was The Perilous Guard (seriously wondering why I missed that book before now!) Adult reading . . . I daresay both your Libriomancer and Codex Born were at the top. I got a copy of Libriomancer from you at Book Expo to give away at the library, and had the temptation to keep it. Codex Born was one of the books that inspired the “happy book dance” in front of my coworkers when it landed in on my holds at the library.
Holly
December 31, 2013 @ 8:09 pm
The best book I’ve read this year was a surprise to me, John Jackson Miller’s Kenobi. I only casually read Star Wars books, but this one blew me away. It wasn’t just good Star Wars, it was a great book, period.
Kathleen MT
December 31, 2013 @ 9:01 pm
You ask tough questions! Joe Hill’s NOS4A2, Scalzi’s Fuzzy Nation; NG’s Ocean at the End of the Lane…
A debut “Letters from Skye” may have been my ultimate favorite – and I’m not usually a historic fic fan.
Loved both Libromancer & Codex Born – I found you via twitter when you were doing the cover poses, had to read these asap.
LOVE you for those, BTW! A calendar is headed my way – and I work in Circulation at a library… I’ll be sure you are in the public eye!
Steve Buchheit
December 31, 2013 @ 9:09 pm
My Radiographic Positioning book, it helped me get A’s from Intro to Positioning and Advanced Positioning to Special Modalities. The chapter on barium studies of the colon was the most fun.
James
December 31, 2013 @ 9:15 pm
I think one of the best books I read this year (not written by Jim C. Hines) would have to be London Falling by Paul Cornell.
It was a twisted look at London, filled with cops getting supernatural powers and then doing what cops would do with said powers. (Reminded me of a much more serious Pratchett that way.)Had some very fun scenes with talking baby heads and a cat straight out of Russian Folklore.
Michael Holley
December 31, 2013 @ 9:20 pm
The best book I’ve “read” (I consume fiction via Audible) this year is a toss up between Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson or Freedom TM by Daniel Suarez. I like Way of Kings better (I love the magic system) but I read Freedom TM more recently and it’s topic feels more inline with what’s going on in the world right now.
Trudy North
December 31, 2013 @ 9:26 pm
The best book I read in 2013? It was part of a bookswap, and arrived as an e-book, so I had no idea what I was getting into until I started reading. It was called ‘The Rook’ by Daniel O’Malley. ‘On Her Majesty’s Supernatural Secret Service.’ It started with violence and lost memories and proceeded on through all sorts of deadly serious (and still somehow hilariously funny) shenanigans. I adored it, and it is more than merely the best book I read in 2013 – it has become a permanent favorite.
Chris Hoving
December 31, 2013 @ 9:59 pm
It is a tough call. I am currently re-reading To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis, but I am only on page 12 and unlikely to finish it this year. Ender’s Game and The Foundation series were better than I remembered, but the book I enjoyed most while reading it was The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde.
Kate Larking
December 31, 2013 @ 10:15 pm
I really enjoyed A Study in Silks by Emma Jane Holloway. But I also found a lot of new animes that I love like Sword Art Online and Attack on Titan.
Deirdre Murphy
December 31, 2013 @ 10:23 pm
If re-reads count, probably Sunshine. Otherwise, that’s really hard. Perhaps Still Life With Shape-Shifter? Or the last of Mira Grant’s trilogy? (It’s hard to compare those two, they’re so different!) Or maybe something else–I really don’t remember books by when I read them.
Mariann Asanuma
December 31, 2013 @ 10:55 pm
Best book I read? That’s really hard. I love too many. One of my favorites was definitely Libriomancer — and no, that’s not because I want to win. It’s an awesome concept! If I had to chose a non Jim Hines book, one of my all time favorites is the Alien Series by Gini Koch. 😉
David Ridout
December 31, 2013 @ 11:08 pm
I think it would have to be John Scalzi’s “Old Man’s War.”
Ian C
December 31, 2013 @ 11:56 pm
Ah, this is hard… maybe Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey. Or maybe Endymion by Dan Simmons.
Matt Ranlett
January 1, 2014 @ 12:26 am
I think the books I enjoyed reading most this year were Red Shirts, the entire Dresden series and Wool, but if I’m going to pick my mood for best of the year (and racing into a slightly different genre) I’d have to say it was The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared.
Matt Ranlett
January 1, 2014 @ 12:30 am
How could I forget Night Circus? That was fantastic as was Kross e’s Mercury series.
rinib
January 1, 2014 @ 1:30 am
Well, I have to say that it would be the re-read of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone as it is being read by my 9-year-old, who started reading the series this fall.
Paige Vest
January 1, 2014 @ 1:45 am
So many to choose from! But I think I’ll have to go with A Memory of Light by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. It was the final book in an epic series that I’ve been reading and re-reading for a decade and the ending was extremely bittersweet for me. But I’ve made so many amazing friends through the Wheel of Time series so it has a very special place in my heart!
Thanks for the giveaway, Jim! And have a fantasticc 2014!!
Kara
January 1, 2014 @ 1:56 am
So tough to pick. I loved the Hundred Thousand Kingdom trilogy by N K Jemisin, but the second book, The Broken Kingdoms was my favorite. I also run a kids book club and have to add The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate as a huge favorite for both the kids and adults this year.
Dino Mascolo
January 1, 2014 @ 2:37 am
NOS4A2 was my favorite book of 2013. I actually listened to it, and thought Kate Mulgrew was fantastic. Libriomancer was my 2nd favorite fantasy, barely being beat out by A Thousand Perfect Things. I listen to a lot of books while I’m working. (more than 40 this year) Would love to listen to Libriomancer, (I read it) before picking up Codex Born in early 2014. Thanks for writing them!
Beth Mitcham
January 1, 2014 @ 4:19 am
The book that has resonated the most with me this year is _Code Name Verity_ by Elizabeth Wein. I don’t know whether that’s because I avoided it so much until I read it, but whatever, it worked.
My sons and I are huge Libriomancer fans, so if we win the whole family will be happy.
Karen E
January 1, 2014 @ 9:20 am
This year’s best read was Pure by Julianne Baggott. While it followed the trend of a dystopian future the world and characters she created were very unique and creative.
Jonathan
January 1, 2014 @ 9:56 am
Really tough but have to go with “Name of the Wind” by Pat Rothfuss. Close in the race was “The Lies of Locke Lamora” by Scott Lynch and Libriomancer. As other have said, one of the most original concepts in a book that I have seen in a long time. And being a librarian/archivist, it really hit home.
Thanks!
sheila babcock
January 1, 2014 @ 10:01 am
Such a hard choices as I have read so many good books, including Libriomancer but I would have to say the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. That was new for me. Other runner ups would be the Game of Thrones series, Elle Jasper books, Patrick Rothfuss and of course the new ones by Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne. See, how can you choose, really??
Jim C. Hines
January 1, 2014 @ 11:19 am
Thanks, Jonathan 🙂
Anton Cancre
January 1, 2014 @ 2:56 pm
I’m stuck between Douglas Warrick’s Plow the Bones and Tom Piccirilli’s The Last Whisper in the Dark. PtB was a marvelous collection of short stories that were some of the most bizarre I have read in a long time wand a few hit closer to home than I was expecting.TLWitD was an incredibly personal experience for me that I very much needed at this point in my life. Because of that, I tend to lean towards T Pic, but Warrick rocked me silly as well.
Corrina McGill
January 1, 2014 @ 7:29 pm
I’m going with John Scalzi’s Redshirts, with a shout-out to Gail Carriger’s Parasol Protectorate series.
Quinalla
January 2, 2014 @ 7:59 am
It’s a tough call, but I think I have to go with Among Others by Jo Walton. Just a very different and wonderful fantasy novel and to paraphrase one of the reviews, it is a fantasy novel that is a love letter to fantasy/sci-fi novels as the main character is an avid reader of both genres.
Allison
January 2, 2014 @ 12:56 pm
There are a mere seven books that I marked 5-star on my goodreads account this year. Of those, I think the best of the best were The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, Angelfall by Susan Ee and The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle by Christopher Healy. All three I think are somewhat underrated but awesome books that don’t get the attention or publicity they deserve. They are all very different. Jemisin’s is sort of epic/high fantasy with gods and demons and universe-ending stakes, Ee’s is post-apocalyptic with angels, and Healy’s is a fairy tale update focused on the oft-unnamed princes (if you liked Mr. Hines’ Princess books you’ll probably like this series). In case anyone is curious, the four other 5-star ratings were Scalzi’s Redshirts, McGuire’s Midnight Blue-Light Special, Riordan’s The House of Hades, and LaFevers’ Dark Triumph.
Johanna Karlsson
January 2, 2014 @ 2:03 pm
Libriomancer was the best book I read last year (actually best new book I’ve read in a couple of years. When I read it I relised I’d almost forgotten how it felt to fall in love with a book).
mazarin
January 2, 2014 @ 8:21 pm
Best Book I read last year: Tooth and Claw, Jo Walton. Obligatory shout out to Libriomancer, that isn’t actually at all obligatory because it was great: I giggled at the book references and spent many happy hours thinking up other neat book weapons a libriomancer hero could use.
Jim C. Hines
January 2, 2014 @ 8:24 pm
Thanks so much, Johanna!
Marian
January 3, 2014 @ 5:48 am
The best book I read this year was The Warrior Sheep Down Under by Christine and Christopher Russell. It’s about a flock of rare breed sheep and the improbable adventures that they have. Loads of fun for both kids and adults
Amanda
January 3, 2014 @ 3:13 pm
Finally read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for the first time last year. I think it’ll have to take the top spot.
pawdua
January 3, 2014 @ 8:56 pm
The new Immortal Empire Series by Kate Locke. God Save The Queen, The Queen Is Dead, and Long Live The Queen. We raced through these, but switched from audio to print. The books move pretty fast and the heavy English accents made it difficult to follow. Loved the steam punk at a fast pace since much steampunk seems to be paced more languidly and use the excessive wordiness of the period they emulate, IMHO. That maybe an ADHD point of view. Very original.
ilazria
January 6, 2014 @ 10:29 am
Really, it’s hard to pick one book as the best book I’ve read all year. Heck, just trying to remember which ones I’ve read in 2013, versus what may have been 2012 is hard. I read and listen to a LOT of books, probably 2-3 a month at least. Audio-books have been a godsend when it comes to trying to get my normal daily tasks done, yet still get in my book time.
I’m not being facetious when I say that Libriomancer and Codex Reborn were high on my list of favorites. I find the magic system to be quite unique and engaging. I think the premise would be excellent as a pen and paper RPG. My manic side just spins off this whole idea of other authors releasing book copies with stat cards and cheat sheets outlining the basics of their magic systems and technology.
As for books other than yours, I really liked Peter V. Brett’s demon cycle series. I had never read them before this past year, and was hooked from the first book.
Tim
January 6, 2014 @ 4:07 pm
Well, the most anticipated book I read was ‘A Memory of Light’. Finally, after years of waiting I was able to finish that wonderful series. But, not to sound like I am trying to butter you up, but Codex Born was my favorite. I didn’t get a chance to read that much, but the fact that I lost a lot of sleep reading it shows me how much I liked it, or how much I need to learn self control. One of the two. Oh, and thanks for releasing it on my birthday!
Ralph Seibel
January 14, 2014 @ 9:39 am
Thank you very much, Libriomancer has already cheered my up on this morning’s commute, just a few hours after the download!
Isn’t this a great world, where one’s listening to some young authors reading their latest stories to each other at a friend’s house leads to me winning an audiobook from one of these authors right at the start of a new year more than a decade later!