Books Read in 2014

[n3m3sis43]

I thought it would be fun to list the books I read this year. You know, because I don't keep track very well. This is based on my Kindle purchase history (which means I'm missing some I already owned or was given by my lovely book-pirating friends) and my memory (which means I'm missing some because my memory sucks. Anyway, here goes.

The scary thing is how many of these (5?) are books I'd read before. I clearly need new material.

(although my list of Kindle purchases says otherwise--I just need to read what I buy)

More or less in reverse chronological order:
1. Misery by Stephen King
2. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
3. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
4. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
5. Island by Aldous Huxley
6. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
7. Divergent by Veronica Roth
8. Insurgent by Veronica Roth
9. Allegiant by Veronica Roth (don't... just don't)
10. Crank by Ellen Hopkins (why do most of my work friends read YA, arghhhh)
11. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
12. A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin
13. A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin
14. A Feast for Crows by George R. R. Martin
15. A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin
16. The Half-Life of Planets by Emily Franklin
17. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
18. Tiger, Tiger: A Memoir by Margaux Fragoso
19. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
20. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
21. A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
22. Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
23. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
24. The Giver by Lois Lowry
25. A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs
26. The Talisman by Stephen King
27. On Writing by Stephen King

...That list is actually kind of short and sad. Oh well. I've been working 50-hour weeks since April while having a 3 year old and trying to write every day. And reading a million Idol posts. Let's not talk about how much of today's writing time I wasted making this list. Oops.

ETA: I decided I might as well keep updating the list for as long as I remember. And I also found some more books I had read this year and forgotten to note before. Oops.

28. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
29. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern
30. Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami
31. Middlesex: A Novel by Jeffrey Eugenides
32. The Wizard of Oz and Other Narcissists by Eleanor D. Payson
33. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi (bleh)
34. Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
35. A Child Called It: One Child's Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer
36. Mean Mothers by Peg Streep
37. Sharp by David Fitzpatrick
38. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Comments

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

I think that's a fantabulous list! You are so hard on yourself, bb.

I was brutally disappointed with "The Ocean at the End of the Lane". Heartbroken really.

You really love King, don't you? ;)

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I really love King, yes. Misery is still terrible, though, despite what I said in my meta. It probably is intended to be a commentary on character-driven writing, but it's so bad, lol.

The ending of The Ocean at the End of the Lane was a letdown for me.

Actually, quite a few of his books are kind of awful, but I still really love him. :)

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

I read King as he was being released until "It". Something shifted for him and his work really reflected that after "Pet Semetery", imhno. I did read "Misery" a few years post-release...and liked the idea better than the execution. I tried "Gerald's Game" but actually got to frightened to finish it. 0___o

Have you read any Peter Straub?

Ah, I've held forth for reams about how Gaiman isn't the writer we all imagine him to be. Such a cult of personality but I have no shame in admitting my fangirly love for him and read every word he writes. When the Sandman was being written, it was exciting times for graphix and he was like the Second Coming. Really.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I loved IT, but I was also 12 or so when I read it. Totally agree with you on Misery (and when I read it the first time, I was a young teen and had no clue about any of the writer-stuff in it). I didn't like Gerald's Game--it actually bored me. His work did definitely shift (a few times, imo) and some of the shifts have worked for me and some haven't.

My opinions on some of his more recent(ish) books:
- Dark Tower series - fucking awesome with a pretty weaksauce last book (I just ignore the crappy parts)
- 11-22-63 - fucking awesome
- Lisey's Story - I was bored
- Cell - nope
- Joyland - meh
- Hearts in Atlantis - yep
- The Green Mile - hell yes (despite the use of the "Magical Negro" trope oh god)
- The Stand - hell yes (but what is with him and the above fucking trope Jesus fuck)
- Bag of Bones - yep
- Duma Key - pretty good
- Under the Dome - pretty lame

By Straub, I've read The Talisman (of course!), Shadowland, and um... Black House?

Take my geek card away--I never got into graphic novels, mainly because it was either buy those or buy CDs and I chose CDs. I liked Anansi Boys a lot and own a BPAL perfume based on it that I love. Neil Gaiman seems awesome. I cannot stand Amanda Palmer (don't even get me started).

Neverwhere - is it really worth it? I have it on my Kindle and I want to read it, but somehow it never happens.

[bleodswean.livejournal.com]

I love "It", too. You might want to pick up Straub's astonishing "Floating Dragon" and see where King got the inspiration. Also, Straub's "Ghost Story".

I admire King's desire to write through his blocks. Although he is ridiculously verbose, he has been blocked. SNL did a skit on him decades ago in which he just keeps slamming away at the keyboard while doing all sorts of other activities. Very funny.

I'm not a geek and I have thousands of graphic novels and commix. :) The only Gaiman I recommend is the Sandman, of course, and "Good Omens".

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

Oh! I did read Ghost Story. I forgot that one. I'll check out Floating Dragon.

King's ridiculous verbosity is sometimes awesome to me, tbh. This probably explains a lot of things about my own writing (but I am not Stephen King and can't get away with it). Sometimes, the verbosity gets annoying--I think people are afraid to edit him much anymore and that's really not to his benefit in some cases.

That SNL skit sounds hilarious.

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

Those Patrick Rothfuss books - I read the first one shortly after it came out on a friend's recommendation not knowing it was a trilogy. I then kicked the friend and have anxiously been waiting for him to give us more.

How was the Murakami? I read his book on running (surprise, right) but haven't read any of his fiction and am trying to find a good place to start.

I actually keep a little journal where there are lists of all the books I read and all the movies I watch. Partially just to keep things straight in my head and also because lists make me happy. Much as I would prefer to have a shorter commute the time I spend on trains does give me the chance to do a lot of reading.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

I know... I haaaate waiting for new books in a series to come out. Also, I have no idea how he's going to wrap up the story in one more book (did you read the second one?). Also also, there is a new book that is backstory for Auri coming out... next month? It's available for pre-order on Amazon.

Murakami is weird but awesome. I've only read the one book I mentioned in this post and one other (1Q84). Of the two, I'd recommend Kafka on the Shore. I've heard a lot of people like Norwegian Wood, but I haven't read it yet.

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

I have read book two. It might have been the first book I ever read on a kindle, because I wanted to read it ASAP but did not want that brick of a hardcover - heh. I have no idea how he wraps this up in only one more book either, there's just so much left. Ooh I didn't know about the new book, I'll have to go looking.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I would have lost it trying to read the Game of Thrones books if I didn't have my Kindle. It's weird, because I always thought I'd never switch to an e-reader and now the idea of reading real books is actually sort of foreign to me.

BTW, if you are interested in Stephen King stuff that isn't gory, the Dark Tower series is pretty awesome and sort of fantasy-esque. Some readers were not pleased with the way he wrapped up the series, but you won't have to wait a million years for the books to come out like they (and I!) did. :)

[beeker121.livejournal.com]

Interestingly, I read the first four Martin books in paperback, and then Dragons on the kindle (again avoiding the hardcover) and being on the kindle was a little maddening. I wanted to be able to quickly flip back to the last section by the same narrator and never figured that out on the kindle.

Heh, my husband is one who thinks the Dark Tower series ended badly, and then some. But I think they might still be on our shelves so I'll have to look. Mostly King and I have had some unfortunate timing issues. Like, don't read Gerald's Game when you're one of four people living in the entire dorm over the holiday break. Obvious in hindsight, but I didn't know any better.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I... um, I like the actual ending of the final book in the series. King made some pretty questionable choices in the last book or two, though. I mean, fine, discovery writer. But I think he should have considered waiting until he "discovered" a few more things. XD

[stacieann15.livejournal.com]

I, um, don't like to be scared. Is there a Stephen King out there for me?

What did you think about Perks of being a Wallflower. Was it your first time to read it?

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

11-22-63 is scary in a few parts but not gory. It is overall, imo, not a scary book in the typical "horror" sense. The Eyes of the Dragon is more fantasy-ish than scary. Um... let me think on that some more. I am so desensitized to "scary" in some ways.

Perks of Being a Wallflower made me sad. I cried. If I'd read it earlier, when it was super hyped, I might have been disappointed. I get bored with things that everyone likes intensely. As it was, I enjoyed it.

(Yes, this was my first time.)

What did you think of it?

ETA: Hearts in Atlantis is mostly not-scary, too.

[stacieann15.livejournal.com]

I liked it but I read it when everyone was going ape shit about it around 3.5 years or so ago. So when I read it I felt a little let-down (because it was built up SO HIGH) and thought perhaps I was just too old, lol. ;)

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

If I had read it back then, I probably would have felt the same way. It wasn't omg-amazing.

[muchtooarrogant.livejournal.com]

Question, how did you like The Name of the Wind? A friend recommended it to me a few years back, but the beginning didn't "grab" me, and I gave up.

Dan

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I really, really liked it. The beginning didn't grab me, either, but it gets better. :)

[muchtooarrogant.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Clearly I should give it another try. The same thiqg happened when I first tried reading Watership Down as a kid. Funny the books we stick with for NO particular reason, as opposed to the ones which are great, but require multiple tries. :)

Dan

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Try again. *smile* My brother loved it, and he's a hard reader to please. I also liked it, although it's quite lengthy, and it took me two or three days to really settle into it. Once I got going, though, I finished it in another day and a half. Stick it out until the Chronicler arrives at the inn and talks the innkeeper into talking to him -- that's when the real tale starts.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I kind of forgot how much random crap happened at the inn before that part got started. Later in the story, the parts at the inn were way more interesting for me, but that bit at the beginning of the first book was slow in parts.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Yep! I so totally thought it was a book about what was happening now and we'd just get random flashbacks. Then it turned out all about the story of then, and the inn sequences were the framing bit. It... still annoys me a little, honestly. But I am hoping maybe the second or third book will do more with that -- I want to know why the monsters are back and what he's going to do about it. (Alas, I am still waiting on the second book to come in at the library.)

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I like the inn sequences mainly because I like Bast. The second book is... the inn sequences are better in it. It's definitely more character-driven than plot-driven, though, and I have zero clues how this is supposed to wrap up in three books.

Oh, and actually... I was gifted the books for free in Kindle format. I have a don't-ask-don't-tell policy as far as how people obtain free content, so it may not have been strictly legal, but if you can read Kindle-format books and want it, let me know and I can email it to you.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I like Bast, too! The inn sequences definitely got better once the story started and Bast actually got screentime. :) And I can see where the pre-story inn sequences were necessary to set up anything he might be going to do with the "present" of the story; but I felt he set up an expectation with only a very small payoff, so I'm really hoping there's a bigger payoff down the road. Yay better sequences in the second book!

Lol, the third one is probably going to be super humongous, instead of just humongous.

Aw, thank you! Mine's a Nook, though. I thiiiink I can get my computer to read Kindle -- I have Calibre -- but I already have it on order from the library, and it won't kill me to wait another day or two. It should be in early this week -- there's five copies free in the system, it's just that none of them were at my library, and I only just ordered it, since I finished Name of the Wind on like Wednesday or Thursday last week. Honestly it could be in as early as sometime this afternoon -- it never actually takes as long as they say to wait.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I think I was reading Name of the Wind when we were sharing the hotel room. :)

[muchtooarrogant.livejournal.com]

Will do, and I'll keep an eye out for said chronicler. :)

Dan

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

It takes a chapter or two after he shows up, but that's more or less the point at which interesting things begin to happen. *smile*

[muchtooarrogant.livejournal.com]

You realize, if this doesn't work out, I'm going to hold ALL of you accountable. *evil grin*

Dan

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Lol! Worse-case scenario, you end up not liking it, which still puts you ahead of where you were, since you can say you tried then.

[muchtooarrogant.livejournal.com]

Very true. :)

Dan

[i-smell-apples.livejournal.com]

The Divergent three are the ONLY ones on your list I have read! (I agree. Just don't.)

I use goodreads for my book-list-keeping :D

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

The second one was okay but not as good as the first. The third one--nope. I keep meaning to use Goodreads and then forgetting. :)

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I wonder if I can remember 27 things I've read this year. I'd have to scour my library account to do it, I think.

...Now I kind of want to try.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I've read more than 27 things this year, but since I tend to buy stuff on my Kindle and then take forever to read some of it, it's hard for me to keep track unless I bought it and read it within the same year.

I keep meaning to get a library account. I spend way too much money on books. It's a sickness.

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I know I've read more than 27; it's just a matter of remembering what, lol. I don't even have the "bought this a while ago" reason -- I check things out of the library, so there's only a few months to read them in. I just don't remember books well.

Ours has e-books for checkout, too. You should totally Google your local one -- mine even lets you apply for a library card online, so if yours is equally online, you could conceivably check out e-books without ever having to go to the actual building.

[n3m3sis43.livejournal.com]

*goes to look now*

It never occurred to me I might not have to even go to the actual building! I swear I leave my house... I just did yesterday. XD

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

Lol! I am totally in favor of things that allow you to do stuff without leaving the house. I generally order in (or "place holds on", in library terminology) books online and just pop in to pick them up -- they gather them up and put them on a special shelf in the front, and I check for my name and then use the self-checkout for internal holds (from my library system) and just stop by the desk for the others (because other counties' libraries don't scan with our self-checkout, so if you order in from elsewhere in the state it has to be hand-scanned, which uses the library barcode instead of the book chip).

[jem0000000.livejournal.com]

I'm at 23, and that's after checking my library receipt. I think your memory wins. :)