Happy New Year!! 2014
was a spectacular reading year for me. On Goodreads I set a challenge to read
47 books, which represented the average number of books that I have read over
the past few years, all while missing the 50 book goal I typically set.
Tracking is so easy on Goodreads, and I spent most of the year ahead of goal. In
the end, I finished 60 books, a record for this millennium certainly. The
luxury of reading time each morning undoubtedly contributes to this increase in
numbers. The boys, unfortunately, no longer want to be read to, and the books
that are “read” on our road trips tend exclusively now to be audiobooks. A few
long flights offered opportunities to read ebooks on my iPad’s Kindle app, many
of which were checked out from the library. I love the library! In 2015, I have
set at 75 book goal, but would like to increase the number of shelf sitters to
10, which is less than 1/6th of my goal. Doable? I think so.
Herewith is a list of the sixty
books I read in 2014. A small list of statistics follows.
1. Uniform Justice, Donna Leon: #12 in
series; death of a young cadet, not Leon’s best but still a comfort to re-visit
Venice and Brunetti
2.
Dark Places, Gillian Flynn: Wickedly
creepy and fast-paced; I hope Flynn writes something new soon
3.
Attachments, Rainbow Rowell: Cute
workplace romance, set obliquely in Omaha, which made me realize I knew the
city better than I thought.
4.
Fangirl, Rainbow Rowell: Charming
coming of age novel in which a first-year college student writes fan-fic about
a Harry Potter-type series, falls in love and has family issues and academic
challenges. Plus, Omaha and Lincoln.
5.
Billionaire’s Vinegar, Benjamin
Wallace: Fascinating blend of wine and history, the inside workings of
traditional auction houses (e.g., Sotheby's), and the follies of those with
more money than good sense (e.g., Forbes family members).
6.
The Goldfinch, Donna Tartt: Hands down,
my favorite book of the year; Consumed in a monster power read. Sweeping and
delicious with loveable and hateable characters in equal measure. I look
forward to reading this again. Perhaps I will finally get around to reading My Little Friend.
7.
Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls,
David Sedaris (audio): Listened to the audio, which is my preferred delivery
system for Sedaris, and nearly peed my pants laughing, as always.
8.
The Dead and the Gone, Susan Beth
Pfeiffer (E): Companion to Life As We
Knew It, but following charaters in New York City. The main characters are
children whose parents are missing and presumed dead after a catastrophic
event, and one of the older children frequently picks the pockets of dead in
the street makes for a dark book.
9.
The World Is a Carpet, Anna Badkhen:
Conversation with Books. About seriously remote Afghan villages and war and
carpets. It's written in a nearly poetic prose that made the book a not totally
quick read.
10.
Blood from a Stone, Donna Leon: #14
in a series. Murder of a Senegalese vu’cumpra,
who sold fake fashion accessories. Meaty with political and social issues.
11.
Drawing Conclusions, Donna Leon (E):
#20 in a series. Brunetti examines all the ways in which he participates in the
system’s corruption while solving a crime that didn’t start out a crime. Victim’s
apartment reminded me of Dorothy and David’s Venetian flat.
12.
Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles, Catherine
Pancol. Impulse purchase quickly consumed. Lighthearted with sly humor, sort of
a pleasant mash-up of Diane Johnson (Paris) and Raffaella Barker (chicklit).
13.
Travels with Alice, Calvin Trillin: Trips
to Europe with his wife and children. Characteristic Trillin humor.
14.
Oishinbo 05: Vegetables, Tetsu Kariya:
Quirky good fun. I love the outrageous expressions on the characters faces. So
far, this is my favorite book in the series.
15.
Longbourn, Jo Baker: I loved from
this Austen pastiche from first paragraph. Like P&P, the writing is clever,
and you get the sense that you're in for something special. Plus, hints of Downton.
16.
Dear Life, Alice Munro: Conversation
with Books, and one of the most talked about books of the year. Mesmerizing and
unexpected and deep stories that were, nonetheless, consumed like potato chips.
Note to self: read more Munro soon.
17.
Oishinbo 06: Rice, Testu Kariya: This
volume feature the most significant component of Japan’s diet.
18.
Ten Years in the Tub, Nick Hornby: A
collection of Hornby’s previous four volumes of book reviews for The Believer, all of which I have read
so here just caught up on the newest ten essays. Hornby’s voice is singular.
19.
Dare Me, Megan Abbott (E): Nick
Hornby told me to read this. It's a sharply written psychological thriller
about a cheer team and their coach. For those who are looking for something
similar to Gillian Flynn.
20.
Tamarack County, William Kent
Krueger: Place and character driven mystery set in Northern Minnesota. Listened
to 2/3 on a road trip, then finished reading the remainder to John. My only
read-aloud book this year.
21.
The Cat’s Table, Michael Ondaatje: My
first Ondaatje, read for book group. Eleven-year-old Ceylonese boy on a ship
from Colombo to England. Relatively plotless book consists of a series of vignettes,
observations, really, that the boy makes while on ship. One of my favorites
this year.
22.
Delancey, Molly Wizenberg: Funny,
frank, and tender memoir about opening a pizza restaurant
23.
Love and Treasure, Ayelet Waldman: Highly
anticipated novel about the WW2 Hungarian Gold Train, but hugely disappointing,
especially after Waldman threw a fit for not being included in the NYT’s best books of the year.
24.
Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Gabrielle
Zevin: Schmaltzy novel but about bookselling with a character modeled on Mark
Gates. I didn’t want to cry but found it unavoidable.
25.
Under the Egg, Laura Marx Fitzgerald
(E): A young adult novel about art—Monuments
Men meets From the Mixed-Up Files of
Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler. I thought it was really well done.
26.
Knots and Crosses, Ian Rankin: Slim,
taut Edinburgh-set mystery featuring a deeply flawed protagonist. One of my
favorites this year. I look forward to reading more from Rankin.
27.
Bobcat and Other Stories, Rebecca
Lee: Sharp, edgy stories compared to early Alice Munro.
28.
The Vacationers, Emma Straub: Read on
the England leg of our summer trip. Light, smart summer read with great
characters and situations. The author has a keen sense of observation, which
comes through in the best way.
29.
The Accident, Chris Pavone (E): Read
on the flight during sleepless, jetlagged Glasgow nights. About publishing,
predicated on a big reveal that forces the plot and dialogue to be vague.
Underwhelming.
30.
The Matchmaker, Elin Hilderbrand (E):
Quick solid summer read even if I felt like shaking the protagonist. Someday, I
will take a vacation in Nantucket.
31.
Under Your Skin, Sabine Durrant:
Impulse purchase at W.H. Smith in the Glasgow airport. A well-done, Gillian
Flynn-like thriller set in London.
32.
The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner.
Book group. Dense, immersive read, which is probably why it was a National Book
Award finalist and received crazy huge accolades from other authors and the
press. Ultimately neither I nor anyone else in book group liked it. My choice,
my bad.
33.
Notes from a Small Country, Bill
Bryson: I find that Bryson’s earlier work isn’t as funny as Walk in the Woods and In a Sunburned Country. His travels
around Great Britain, though, were a great way to prolong my summer trip.
34.
The End of Everything, Megan Abbott.
More Megan Abbott, please.
35.
Fictitious Dishes, Dinah Fried: Clever
photographs of literary scenes.
36.
The Golden Egg, Donna Leon: #22 in
the series. Brunetti investigates bribery in the mayor’s office at Patta’s
request and the untimely death of a Deaf-mute at Paola’s request.
37.
Lethal People, John Locke (audio):
Thriller with outrageous characters and situations. Really enjoyed laughing out
loud as we listened on an Ely road trip to pick up the boys from their
respective camps.
38.
My Salinger Year, Joanna Rakoff (E):
Started while staying at Yew Tree Farm. Enjoyed this very readable memoir for
the publishing references and coming-of-age in NYC.
39.
Morning Glories, volume 1, Nick
Spencer: Chilling Orwellian-supernatural-boarding school mashup.
40. California, Edan Lepucki (e): Because
Stephen Colbert said to. Postapocalyptic.
41.
Oishinbo 02: Sake, Tesu Kariya: I was
least interested in this subject, but this volume turned out to be my favorite
(with sushi remaining).
42. Portage into the Past, J. Arnold Bolz:
Journal of an epic canoe trip tracing the epic canoe trip of another
adventurer. Bought at Piragis in Ely after hearing about Simon’s first portage
through the BWCAW and Quetico.
43.
The Summer Book, Tove Jansson: Twenty-two
vignettes set during the summer on a Nordic island that follow a young girl and
her aging grandmother.
44.
Morning Glories, Volume 2. Nick
Spencer: Continuation of Orwellian boarding school graphic novel.
45.
Knitting Yarns, Ann Hood, ed.: Essays
and stories about knitting. Delightful but always made me want to knit instead
of read.
46. By Its Cover, Donna Leon: This is it! I
have read every book in the Brunetti series. This mystery is set in a library
and involves vandalism against rare books. The Grand Canal is lively and
central to this episode.
47.
Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan: Four
ugly, unsympathetic character, but still enjoyed reading.
48.
Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life,
Marta McDowell: An illustrated biography of Beatrix Potter and her love of
gardening. Reading this was a great way to draw out memories of my summer trip,
which included a stay at Potter’s Yew Tree Farm and a visit to Hill Top.
49.
Delicious! Ruth Reichl: Smart, page-turning
novel set at a defunct food magazine with the author’s carefully chosen
autobiographical reference woven into story.
50.
Lethal Experiment, John Locke (audio):
Book two in Locke’s wildly successful bestselling, self-published series.
Listened to on a road trip to Chicago during MEA break.
51.
Still Life, Louise Penny: Smart
writing, great character, intriguing setting--these are all things I look for
in a mystery series.
52.
Petite Mort, Beatrice Hitchman: Book
group. This novel about a silent film, set in 1913 Paris, is told in
exquisitely layered flashbacks. Gripping with a plot twist and great payoff. I
loved it.
53.
Assassination of Margaret Thatcher, Hilary
Mantel: These stories, one of which seemed to be a study for Eight Months on Ghazzah Street, are a
satisfying hors d’oevres while waiting for Thomas Cromwell volume 3.
54.
The Age of License, Lucy Knisley: Another
delightful graphic novel from Knisley. This time about travel.
55.
Not That Kind of Girl, Lena Dunham: Smart
funny, honest, and sometimes a little raw.
56.
Russ and Daughters, Mark Russ
Federman: Episodic memoir of the fourth-generation Lower East Side appetizing
store. It made me hungry for lox, whitefish salad, and bialys.
57.
The Visitors, Sally Beauman: Death on the Nile meets Downton Abbey was an apt comparison. At
500 pages it was a not quick but comforting read.
58.
Bark, Lorrie Moore: I found this
long-awaited story collection to be lacking.
59.
Winter Street, Elin Hilderbrand (E):
Cozy, quick, seasonal read for the plane to PHL.
60.
Dear Committee Members, Julie
Schumacher: On all the year-end roundups. Local author. I found this short epistolary
novel darkly funny and sometimes really sad.
Total: 60
Fiction: 46
Nonfiction: 14
Women: 42
Men: 18
Donna Leon: 5
Mysteries: 15
Rainbow Rowell: 2
Elin Hilderbrand: 2
Audio: 4
Post-apocalyptic: 2
Travel: 5
Food: 6
Graphic novels: 6
Stories: 5
E-books: 9
Shelf-sitters: 3
Memoirs/bio: 4
Book group: 4
