I finally did it. I finally hit my reading goal for the year! My goal was 60 and I read 62 books this year! Last year I fell short at 57, if I remember correctly....Overall, it's been a good reading year. Quite a few good books, a couple great ones, and just a handful of stinkers. Actually, a few of the books that fall on my stinkers list are books I had to review for Library Journal...yeesh...
So here it is! Starting at the most recent and going to what I finished first in 2014:
Boy Snow Bird- Helen Oyemi
Finding Jake- Bryan Reardon
Shooting Stars- Jennifer Buhl
Gabriel: a poem- Edward Hirsch
One More Thing: stories and more stories- BJ Novak
The Surgeon- Tess Gerritson
The Rosie Project- Graeme Simsion
The Heist- Daniel Silva
Brain on Fire- Susannah Cahalan
The Cuckoo's Calling- Robert Galbraith
The Ice Queen- Nele Neuhaus
Fun Home- Alison Bechdel
The Steady Running of the Hour- Justin Go
Leaving Time- Jodi Picoult
One Last Kiss- Michael Cuneo
Drinking and Dating- Brandi Glanville
The Skies Belong To Us- Brendan Koerner
The Yellow Birds- Kevin Powers
The Camel Club- David Baldacci
Carsick- John Waters
The Orphan Sky- Ella Leya
Revenge Wears Prada- Lauren Weisberger
Amity and Sorrow- Peggy Riley
Jennifer, Gwyneth, and Me- Rachel Bertsche
City of Thieves- David Benioff
Bared to You- Sylvia Day
Love Life- Rob Lowe
Secret- L. Marie Adeline
The Good Girl- Mary Kubica
That Night- Chevy Stevens
The Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls- Anton Discalafani
The Alienist- Caleb Carr
Her Royal Spyness- Rhys Bowen
The Leftovers- Tom Perotta
One Kick- Chelsea Cain
Every Dead Thing- John Connolly
The Aviator's Wife- Melanie Benjamin
Hidden- Catherine Mckenzie
Cop Hater- Ed McBain
The Snowman- Jo Nesbo
Grapes of Wrath- John Steinbeck
Fear Nothing- Lisa Gardner
The Frozen Dead- Bernard Minier
The Dinner- Herman Koch
The Number 1 Ladies Detective Agency- Alexander McCall Smith
Missing You- Harlan Coben
The Body in the Library- Agatha Christie
Uganda Be Kidding Me- Chelsea Handler
The Spellman Files- Lisa Lutz
Dare Me- Megan Abbott
Lesson Plans- Suzanne Greenberg
The Bear- Claire Cameron
The Lock Artist- Steve Hamilton
Bellman and Black- Diane Setterfield
Gulp- Mary Roach
Full, Upright, and Locked Position- Mark Gerchick
Casino Royale- Ian Fleming
Tell the Wolves I'm Home- Carol Rivka Brunt
The Forgotten Garden- Kate Morton
The Art of Hearing Heartbeats- Jan-Philipp Sendker
The Snow Child- Eowyn Ivey
A House in the Sky- Amanda Lindhout
13 Nonfiction
49 Fiction
5 Reviewed for LJ
6 for Readers Advisory Interest Group
12 for Adult Reading Round Table
7 for Deerfield Book Discussions
8 for Books and Babes
3 Audiobooks
38 books for work
24 of my own choosing
(this is just depressing)
Top 5 (in no particular order)
1) The Bear- Claire Cameron (This is written so incredibly well but is absolutely heartbreaking. I don't think I've ever read anything like it. Or at least nothing that has accomplished what this was able to do)
2) Leaving Time- Jodi Picoult (When she is ON she is ON. I think this is my favorite book that she's written and it actually made me cry at the end...which is pretty hard to do)
3) The Snow Child- Eowyn Ivey (This book is simply magical. That might sound dramatic but it just is. Read it in the winter when it's snowy and cold.)
4) The Skies Belong To Us- Brendan Koerner (I found this book absolutely fascinating. I don't know if it's the best written out of the great NF that I read this year but considering how much I found myself talking about it, that counts for something)
5) The Leftovers- Tom Perotta (He's just one of my favorite authors and this book is a classic example why-- his depiction of the suburban life has such a great dark humor and it is full force in this book. It also made watching the HBO show even better. A great book discussion title too)
Close runners up: The Good Girl, A House in the Sky, The Dinner...really, #4 is the one I consider trading out for one of these but it just taught me so much and it's probably stuck out just a little bit more than any of these....
Bottom 5 (in no particular order)
1) The Orphan Sky- Ella Leya (LJ review-- bbbboooooorrrrriiiiinnnnngggg)
2) Bared to You- Sylvia Day (I'm sorry but this is the most unsexy thing since 50 shades of grey)
3) The Alienist- Caleb Carr (This book is the reason why I hate most historical fiction. 9000 pages of crap that the author just wanted to show that he knew about the time period. I almost died reading it)
4) Lesson Plans- Suzanne Greenberg (LJ review--the most ridiculous stereotypical depiction of homeschooling families I've ever read or seen. While I'm not particularly into homeschooling ideas, people who homeschool should be offended by this piece of crap)
5) Bellman and Black- Diane Setterfield (I LOVED 13th Tale..this was the biggest followup letdown..boring and tedious to read)
Overall, a good year of reading. Looking at this list I realize that left to my own devices, chances are I'll pick a thriller to read for fun...I'm pretty inclined to pick up nonfiction too...I also realize there there are still so many books that would professionally benefit me to read...when the majority of my reading is professionally centered, it's frustrating to realize that it still isn't enough...but I guess that's the librarian's dilemma?
So to all of you non-librarians, read what you want to read and not what someone tells you to read (unless that person is a librarian..then listen to them)...If you ask me for recommendations, I'm happy to give them but it's easiest if you tell me what books you've liked recently, authors you enjoy, and what sort of book you're looking for now. If you say "just something good", chances are I'll just give you whatever I feel like with no regard to your interests as "just something good" is the equivalent of a teenager answering "whatever" to anything you say...it's empty and thoughtless...so think about what you like and why you like it! There are no wrong answers! It might take some work to pinpoint your reading hot spots but it's worth it! :)
On to 2015!
p.s. if you want to see my quick blurb reviews of each title go to my Goodreads page HERE
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