Year in Review: 2014 Book List
For the third year in a row, I bring you my book list of the past year!
Each year I record the approximate dates that I read a particular book, and then record my opinions on the book. I won’t share all those with you, as this year’s document was 17 pages and 9,690 words long (I think I've found the right profession).
This is the first full list that took place entirely on the East Coast. Here it is.
Fiction
Americanah ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Book Thief ~ Markus Zusak
By The River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept ~ Paulo Coelho
California ~ Edan Lepucki
Cloud Atlas ~ David Mitchell
Down to a Soundless Sea ~ Thomas Steinbeck
Farewell to Arms ~ Ernest Hemingway
Half of a Yellow Sun ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Hand of Thrawn Trilogy ~ Timothy Zahn
The Hound of the Baskervilles ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In Thunder Forged ~ Ari Marmell
Longbourn ~ Jo Baker
Monstrous Regiment ~ Terry Pratchett
Mr. Midshipman Hornblower ~ C. S. Forester
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Volume 1 (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes) ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edited by Leslie Klinger
The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, Volume 2 (The Return of Sherlock Holmes, His Last Bow, The Case Book of Sherlock Holmes) ~ Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edited by Leslie Klinger
Offcomer ~ Jo Baker
The Perks of Being a Wallflower ~ Stephen Chbosky
The Princess and the Queen ~ George R.R. Martin
Red Rising ~ Pierce Brown
Seize the Day ~ Saul Bellow
Shadows of the Empire ~ Steve Perry
The Thing Around Your Neck ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Tortilla Flat ~ John Steinbeck
Two From Galilee ~ Marjorie Holmes
A Walk to Remember ~ Nicholas Sparks
Nonfiction
Blink ~ Malcolm Gladwell
Daily Rituals ~ Mason Currey
David and Goliath ~ Malcolm Gladwell
Flash Boys ~ Michael Lewis
The Glass Castle ~ Jeannette Walls
How to Fight Presidents ~ Daniel O’Brien
Lawrence in Arabia ~ Scott Anderson
Reread
The Hobbit ~ J. R. R. Tolkien
Purple Hibiscus ~ Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Red Rising ~ Pierce Brown (yes, twice in one year)
Here is my Top Ten List:
1. Red Rising
2. Daily Rituals
3. California
4. Americanah
5. By the River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept
6. David & Goliath
7. Lawrence in Arabia
8. Down to a Soundless Sea
9. The Hound of the Baskervilles
10. Two from Galilee
While writing this article, I realized that I justified my dislike of the three books mentioned below, but did not explain why I enjoyed the above ten books. That seemed rather lopsided to me, so I decided for the first time to give readers a brief reason to read the ten books I've recommended above.
1. Everyone needs to read Red Rising. Read it, people! It’s my favorite book of the year. I wrote about it here and here and here.
2. Daily Rituals impacted me in a way I did not expect. It’s a book about the habits of famous creative people, and since I've begun to work from home, I find myself continually mulling over my own daily rituals and how effective they are, or aren't.
3. California was another one of my favorite fiction novels of the year. People complain that modern writers don’t write as well as writers in the past, but they've clearly never read Edan Lepucki. I think she’s a brilliant writer and I can’t wait to read the next book she writes.
4. Americanah…it launched an obsession with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Her writing is flawless and astounding. Americanah opened the door on a whole new world for me.
5. Reading By The River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept was a spiritual experience for me. Yet I need not say more here; I blogged about it several months ago.
6. Malcolm Gladwell’s writing continues to astonish me, and David & Goliath was the perfect read for where I was on my journey when I read it.
7. This was the year of nonfiction for me. I love stories and rarely read nonfiction, yet this year I read seven nonfiction books! Lawrence in Arabia was one of my favorites. It launched a mini obsession with Lawrence – Aaron can tell you that I often inadvertently interrupted his studies to start dialoguing about who Lawrence really could have been. The obsession culminated in the viewing and dissection of David Lean’s 1962 movie, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. I’d seen this movie when I was about 14, and while I was watching it, felt like it would be my all-time favorite movie. Yet I hated the ending, and essentially vowed never to watch it again. After I read the book, though, I realized that I had gained enough perspective on Lawrence’s life to possibly appreciate the film. So I watched it, and enjoyed it, and redeemed my 14-year-old self.
8. I was surprised by how precise and lovely Thomas Steinbeck’s writing was. I would almost venture to say he’s a better writer than my beloved John Steinbeck.
9. I couldn't not include a Sherlock story on this list! Aaron and I discovered the BBC series this fall, and that launched a serious literary obsession with Sherlock. I’m three novels short of completing the entire canon. What happened.
10. My grandma recommended this book to me, and I loved the new perspective it gave to the well-known Christmas story.
I've stated this before, but I try to appreciate every book I read. Having said that, there were three that I didn't enjoy this year:
1. The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling. I felt like Rowling was trying to be as shocking as possible, and while I can appreciate miserable lives and swear words in certain works, they were entirely pointless in Rowling’s disappointing novel. I had to stop this book midway or it would have ruined the Harry Potter series for me.
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I felt like the story had so much potential, but didn't pay off in the end. I expect a character like Charlie to experience some growth or change in his life, and the ending was truly disappointing.
3. A Walk to Remember. Sparks tells but does not show. I loathed Landon in the book, but he’s a good character in the movie. A sad instance where the movie is far more powerful than the book.
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