2014 Books - I read 21 books and 9,079 pages (thanks Goodreads Stats)
I didn't have any 5 star book reads these year, but I had a few that I still really enjoyed reading this past year.
Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls
This was probably one of my fav this year! A book by Jeanette Walls telling her grandmother's story - a story about one tough woman who lived through some amazing adventures and persevered through a lot! Jeanetter knows how to tell a great story!
Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
A beautifully written book with layers of symbolism and depth in characters and the stories alike. I am almost embarrassed that I did not know that it was based on a true story of two sisters who were some of the most prominent female abolitionists and female rights advocates of all time (The Grimke sisters! Lets get these ladies in more textbooks!)! I am glad I read it just for that fact alone - that I know more about some amazing women in history as well as for the wonderfully written story.
The Rent Collector by Camron Wright
Wow! First of all, the story is based on the lives of people who actually live and survive and raise children in a toxic dump in Cambodia. That basis alone is enough to make for a fascinating read. To read about the actual living conditions about these people is unbelievable (although the story is fiction, the dump and the way people live in the dump is reality!). With the dump as the backdrop, a beautiful story is woven into the book and it made me fall in love with reading again. The teacher character in this story shares many fabulous tidbits of wisdom about literature and quotes many famous authors in ways that made me appreciate the access to books and stories we have these days!
My Story by Elizabeth Smart
I had never really read much about ELizabeth Smart's story other than a few short newspaper articles, so wow, this was a lot to take in! I did the audio book and Elizabeth Smart reads the book herself. That being said, she is very composed and calm for telling such a horrific story. She does a great job of telling her story and there are no graphic parts (mentions rape several times but never any details) and it is obvious that she could have been a lot more graphic, but she didn't need to be to get the story out. You hear her calm voice throughout the voice which contradicts her telling of her story of fear. In that she can tell her own story, the reader does get the sense how much she has overcome and has not let this time in her life define her.
Edge of Eternity by Ken Follett - The last of the Century Trilogy and a great read. I love all of Follett's books as he is one of my top favorite authors. This book was a bit different than many of his other books as it was in the most recent past, BUT it did reveval a bit more political bias (opposing my views) in places so that was a bit annoying, but otherwise a great historical (current) fiction novel!
The Outlander Series - Each book is very long so I usually read several books between a book in series. I just finished the third book of series and have enjoyed all of them. 4 more books to go!
Honorable Mention: All very good too!
-The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
-The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott
-The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
So there you have it...stay tuned for the 2015 Reading Challenge I am taking part in!
No comments:
Post a Comment