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

[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