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I'm an unapologetic book lover. In 2014, I pledged to read 85 books as part of the Goodreads challenge. I hit that goal about two weeks ago, and since have read another, bringing to total to 86. About half of these were audiobooks. I wanted to share some of my hits and some of my misses in several of the categories I read this year.
Literary Fiction
My FAVE: The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt. Yes, it lagged slightly towards the end, but on the whole I loved the beautiful and lyrical writing, the vivid characters, and the journey of a young boy whose life was shattered by tragedy.
Runner Up: The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Sad and joyful, beautifully written.
Second Runner Up: The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion. Completely charming and funny. A very vivid and endearing Don Tillman made this story entertaining and heartfelt all at once.
Disappointing: All Fall Down, Jennifer Wiener. Such a let down! It seems Wiener is turning into a book machine, as each of her new titles seem to have less and less "umph", but her earlier stuff was really great, IMO. This was just flat to me, and very predictable.
WTF, seriously: This One is Mine, Maria Semple. This book was so bad it was insulting. And the worst part was that it was written by the same author as "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" which I found to be charming and wonderful. This One is Mine is full of loathsome pieces of shit who complain about petty crap in a trivial, racist, classist, materialistic, selfish, and judgmental way. It actually made me mad as I read it. Ugh. Awful.
Story Collections/Humor
My FAVE: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situtations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, Allie Brosh. This could also go in "memoir", but the humorous side of it was much more prominent. This collection was memorable and vivid (literally - the hard copy is made up of colorful comic panels from the author's popular website) in that it shared honest depictions of Brosh's struggles with anxiety and depression, but also side-splitting illustrations of moments in her life from stealing and eating an entire birthday cake as a child, to the challenges of moving two loving but not-so-smart dogs across several states.
Runner Up: Tenth of December, George Saunders.
Disappointing: The Book WIth No Pictures, B.J. Novak. I don't know what I was expecting from this but it missed the mark for me. I really enjoyed Novak's short story collection published earlier this year, and while I sort of understood what he was going for in this, I wasn't a fan.
Memoir/Non-Fiction
My FAVE: Yes Please, Amy Poehler. Funny, charming, and insightful. Amy Poehler hit a lot of highs with me in this book - I really enjoyed it and like her even more now!
Runner Up: Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs On Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure, David Rosenfelt. Does this even need a review? A completely dog-devoted couple take their 25 rescue dogs cross country from CA to Maine, where they bought a large home and land for their dogs to enjoy, and madcap adorableness ensues. While the trip was chaotic and required very systematic planning and execution, the volunteers pulled it off without issue and the dogs arrived in their new home unscathed and loved beyond measure. Peppered throughout the account of the build up/planning and the actual trip are stories of various dogs they've rescued and who have graced their lives. Needless to say, I was in tears within the first ten pages but oh, it was so worth it.
Second Runner Up: Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned", Lena Dunham. Gotta admit, this one took my by surprise. I'm not a huge Dunham fan after the second and third seasons of 'Girls'. I don't really think she embodies what "my generation" of women really is - I actually find her to be immature and too ensconced her the "struggles" of annoying mid-twenty-something hipsters in Brooklyn. I have to say, though, that this memoir was pretty funny and seemingly honest in a lot of ways. It was cute and well written, and Dunham's no-holds-barred approach to what she experienced growing up charmed me. I actually like her more now, even if her memoir wasn't my absolute favorite. I did enjoy it, which I wasn't exactly expecting - I definitely thought she'd be way more obnoxious.
Disappointing: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Train, Cheryl Strayed. I expected a lot more from this, especially after all the hype. In the end, I just didn't like it. It bored me far more than it entertained me. I had trouble getting past her self-absorbed tone and her self-serving narrative but yet I never really felt she discovered anything about herself...at what point did she become "found"?
WTF, seriously: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan. God, I wanted to like this book. I looked forward to it. I used an Audible credit! The concept of the memoir was fascinating - I couldn't wait to hear Cahalan's account of what oddities occurred in her body that caused such odd behavior. In the end, I felt very strongly that the entire premise of the story - her pre-illness lifestyle, her family and friends, her descent into illness, the struggle to find a diagnosis, the cure, and recovery - could have been narrated in a much more succinct way. This was a long and drawn out self-serving account of how young and successful she was, how privileged she was and what a journalistic "prodigy" she was. She was grating and obnoxious. I liked about 20% of what she had to say...the rest was dull, irritating, and obnoxious.
Fantasy
My FAVE: Stardust, Neil Gaiman. 2014 was the Year of Gaiman for me - I fell HARD for his stories and his narration of them. Stardust was quite possibly my most favorite book of the entire year. It was completely enchanting, wonderful and vivid - an adventure I still haven't forgotten. Each character was more witty and interesting than the next...ugh...I just can't say enough about it. Gaiman's narration was completely wonderful...IMO it's the only way to listen to his stories!
Runner Up: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams. My husband was right. This book was awesome. Hilarious and dry in a wonderfully British way, I enjoyed every moment of this book.
Disappointing: (braces for tomatoes) The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. Don't get me wrong...I liked it. I just didn't *love* it. I don't know that I fully understand the hype...it just didn't do it for me. I do intend to read the other two but I'm not in a hurry to do so. Perhaps I made a mistake seeing the movies first...I usually never do that but I didn't intend to read the books originally. Overall, just meh for me.
YA
My FAVE: Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell. Oh god, how I LOVED this book. It's just...so warm and wonderful and hopeful. It's a bit sad but also so hopeful and earnest it just...takes you back to those powerful and fervent days with your first love. Ugh...SO GOOD.
Runner Up: Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins. I wouldn't necessarily call this my "runner up", but it was okay enough for me to include here. It was pretty cute and at the very least, I enjoyed the Parisian scenery in the background of the story - even if the story did take some irritating teenage turns in some places!
Disappointing: Paper Towns, John Green. Just "meh" for me. Disappointing...this was the book of Green's that I could really see the formula he uses for his other books and it just rubbed me the wrong way (normal, sort of boring/geeky teenage boy/girl + larger-than-life, mysterious, full-of-metaphors-and-symbols teenage girl/boy + coming of age lesson or hardship or achievement = (insert Green title here)).
So that rounds out the highlights of my 2014 Challenge. Did you read any of these books? Did you like/dislike any of them? What did you read this year that had you saying "wow" or "WTF"?
Wondering if I can do 100 books in 2015...
And finally...be my friend on Goodreads so I can peruse your bookshelves
Literary Fiction
My FAVE: The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt. Yes, it lagged slightly towards the end, but on the whole I loved the beautiful and lyrical writing, the vivid characters, and the journey of a young boy whose life was shattered by tragedy.
Runner Up: The Language of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Sad and joyful, beautifully written.
Second Runner Up: The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion. Completely charming and funny. A very vivid and endearing Don Tillman made this story entertaining and heartfelt all at once.
Disappointing: All Fall Down, Jennifer Wiener. Such a let down! It seems Wiener is turning into a book machine, as each of her new titles seem to have less and less "umph", but her earlier stuff was really great, IMO. This was just flat to me, and very predictable.
WTF, seriously: This One is Mine, Maria Semple. This book was so bad it was insulting. And the worst part was that it was written by the same author as "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" which I found to be charming and wonderful. This One is Mine is full of loathsome pieces of shit who complain about petty crap in a trivial, racist, classist, materialistic, selfish, and judgmental way. It actually made me mad as I read it. Ugh. Awful.
Story Collections/Humor
My FAVE: Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situtations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened, Allie Brosh. This could also go in "memoir", but the humorous side of it was much more prominent. This collection was memorable and vivid (literally - the hard copy is made up of colorful comic panels from the author's popular website) in that it shared honest depictions of Brosh's struggles with anxiety and depression, but also side-splitting illustrations of moments in her life from stealing and eating an entire birthday cake as a child, to the challenges of moving two loving but not-so-smart dogs across several states.
Runner Up: Tenth of December, George Saunders.
Disappointing: The Book WIth No Pictures, B.J. Novak. I don't know what I was expecting from this but it missed the mark for me. I really enjoyed Novak's short story collection published earlier this year, and while I sort of understood what he was going for in this, I wasn't a fan.
Memoir/Non-Fiction
My FAVE: Yes Please, Amy Poehler. Funny, charming, and insightful. Amy Poehler hit a lot of highs with me in this book - I really enjoyed it and like her even more now!
Runner Up: Dogtripping: 25 Rescues, 11 Volunteers, and 3 RVs On Our Canine Cross-Country Adventure, David Rosenfelt. Does this even need a review? A completely dog-devoted couple take their 25 rescue dogs cross country from CA to Maine, where they bought a large home and land for their dogs to enjoy, and madcap adorableness ensues. While the trip was chaotic and required very systematic planning and execution, the volunteers pulled it off without issue and the dogs arrived in their new home unscathed and loved beyond measure. Peppered throughout the account of the build up/planning and the actual trip are stories of various dogs they've rescued and who have graced their lives. Needless to say, I was in tears within the first ten pages but oh, it was so worth it.
Second Runner Up: Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned", Lena Dunham. Gotta admit, this one took my by surprise. I'm not a huge Dunham fan after the second and third seasons of 'Girls'. I don't really think she embodies what "my generation" of women really is - I actually find her to be immature and too ensconced her the "struggles" of annoying mid-twenty-something hipsters in Brooklyn. I have to say, though, that this memoir was pretty funny and seemingly honest in a lot of ways. It was cute and well written, and Dunham's no-holds-barred approach to what she experienced growing up charmed me. I actually like her more now, even if her memoir wasn't my absolute favorite. I did enjoy it, which I wasn't exactly expecting - I definitely thought she'd be way more obnoxious.
Disappointing: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Train, Cheryl Strayed. I expected a lot more from this, especially after all the hype. In the end, I just didn't like it. It bored me far more than it entertained me. I had trouble getting past her self-absorbed tone and her self-serving narrative but yet I never really felt she discovered anything about herself...at what point did she become "found"?
WTF, seriously: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan. God, I wanted to like this book. I looked forward to it. I used an Audible credit! The concept of the memoir was fascinating - I couldn't wait to hear Cahalan's account of what oddities occurred in her body that caused such odd behavior. In the end, I felt very strongly that the entire premise of the story - her pre-illness lifestyle, her family and friends, her descent into illness, the struggle to find a diagnosis, the cure, and recovery - could have been narrated in a much more succinct way. This was a long and drawn out self-serving account of how young and successful she was, how privileged she was and what a journalistic "prodigy" she was. She was grating and obnoxious. I liked about 20% of what she had to say...the rest was dull, irritating, and obnoxious.
Fantasy
My FAVE: Stardust, Neil Gaiman. 2014 was the Year of Gaiman for me - I fell HARD for his stories and his narration of them. Stardust was quite possibly my most favorite book of the entire year. It was completely enchanting, wonderful and vivid - an adventure I still haven't forgotten. Each character was more witty and interesting than the next...ugh...I just can't say enough about it. Gaiman's narration was completely wonderful...IMO it's the only way to listen to his stories!
Runner Up: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams. My husband was right. This book was awesome. Hilarious and dry in a wonderfully British way, I enjoyed every moment of this book.
Disappointing: (braces for tomatoes) The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins. Don't get me wrong...I liked it. I just didn't *love* it. I don't know that I fully understand the hype...it just didn't do it for me. I do intend to read the other two but I'm not in a hurry to do so. Perhaps I made a mistake seeing the movies first...I usually never do that but I didn't intend to read the books originally. Overall, just meh for me.
YA
My FAVE: Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell. Oh god, how I LOVED this book. It's just...so warm and wonderful and hopeful. It's a bit sad but also so hopeful and earnest it just...takes you back to those powerful and fervent days with your first love. Ugh...SO GOOD.
Runner Up: Anna and the French Kiss, Stephanie Perkins. I wouldn't necessarily call this my "runner up", but it was okay enough for me to include here. It was pretty cute and at the very least, I enjoyed the Parisian scenery in the background of the story - even if the story did take some irritating teenage turns in some places!
Disappointing: Paper Towns, John Green. Just "meh" for me. Disappointing...this was the book of Green's that I could really see the formula he uses for his other books and it just rubbed me the wrong way (normal, sort of boring/geeky teenage boy/girl + larger-than-life, mysterious, full-of-metaphors-and-symbols teenage girl/boy + coming of age lesson or hardship or achievement = (insert Green title here)).
So that rounds out the highlights of my 2014 Challenge. Did you read any of these books? Did you like/dislike any of them? What did you read this year that had you saying "wow" or "WTF"?
Wondering if I can do 100 books in 2015...
And finally...be my friend on Goodreads so I can peruse your bookshelves
Thanks for sharing!
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