This is an occasional series that chronicles my quest to read 60 books this year. Book reviews 2014: take five. Let’s see how it went, shall we?
Looking back on this batch of books, I’m astounded by how average most of them are.
It would make sense, though, wouldn’t it, to become more discerning the more frequently you read? Does this ever happen to you? Back when I was averaging 30 books a year I thought every book was pretty good. Reading was such a luxury thing that I rarely thought ill of a story (even if looking back now they were pretty awful). Now that I’ve endeavored to make reading a daily habit, it takes a lot more to impress me.
The good news is that not only am I on pace to finish 60 books this year, I’m four books ahead of pace.
(Do you follow me on Goodreads? You should!)
P.S. Book Reviews 2014: Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4
Book Reviews 2014: 50/60
Where We Belong / Emily Giffin
File under: Chick lit, mama drama, depressing
Plot: Woman’s world is torn apart when the daughter she gave up for adoption comes knocking. They set off in search of the father.
Review: An easy enough read, but when you’re done you realize you just binged on something completely unsatisfying.
Amazon Goodreads
The Beginning of Everything / Robyn Schneider
File under: Y.A., romance, John Green
Plot: Jock has accident that makes him not a jock anymore. He falls into a crowd of misfits, falls in love with the quirky girl and learns a lot about life and love and yadda yadda yadda.
Review: Another “smart kid” book in the vein of John Green. You will not be smarter for having read it.
Amazon Goodreads
We Were Liars / E. Lockhart
File under: Y.A., suspense, mystery, mind games
Plot: Girl goes back to her tony family vacation island after a memory-jarring accident and finds that things are not the way they used to be. What happened? Will she be able to sort out all the clues?
Review: If you appreciate authentic teen angst mixed with a Memento-type mystery, this is your book. I loved it.
Amazon Goodreads
The Fever / Megan Abbott
File under: Mystery, suspense, Y.A.
Plot: One by one girls at Deenie’s school are having seizures and ending up in the hospital. Is it the HPV vaccine? Is it the water in the “lake”? Is it witchcraft?
Review: This is like Heathers meets Mean Girls meets American Beauty … but not nearly as good. It’s never a good sign when you’re rewriting the book in your head as you’re reading.
Amazon Goodreads
How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky / Lydia Netzer
File under: Literature, mystery, romance
Plot: The love story of astronomers George and Irene, whose astrologist mothers plotted their births and lives so they would be a perfect match for each other … and they are. Or is it all smoke and mirrors?
Review: I still can’t form a coherent thought around this book except to say it’s a masterpiece. Fans of The Night Circus will like this one.
Amazon Goodreads
The Good Luck of Right Now / Matthew Quick
File under: Quirky, adventure, road trip
Plot: Bartholomew (terrible name) is nearly 40, no life outside of taking care of his now-deceased mom, delusional to the point of writing letters to (and having visions of) Richard Gere. He goes on a pilgrimage to find his father with his newly minted friends and a defrocked priest.
Review: I wonder whether Matthew Quick can write about characters who aren’t severely mentally or emotionally disturbed. Still, I found myself rooting for this quirky dude and his wacky band of misfits. How could you not?
Amazon Goodreads
The Here and Now / Ann Brashares
File under: Time travel, Y.A., chick lit, dystopian
Plot: Teen girl travels back in time to escape a bleak future. Somehow it falls on her and her instaboyfriend to pinpoint the “fork” in how things go wrong and to fix it.
Review: Much like Back to the Future, if you turn a blind eye to all the plot holes, you’re in for a fun ride. Could’ve done without the random breaks for card games. I mean, time is of the essence, and we’re learning to play Hearts?
Amazon Goodreads
Anthropology of an American Girl / Hilary Thayer Hamann
File under: WTF, coming of age, literature, booooooring
Plot: Teen girl grows up in the 1970s.
Review: There is some beautiful prose here. It almost put me to sleep.
Amazon Goodreads
The Painter / Peter Heller
File under: Literary fiction, crime, fly fishing
Plot: In the wake of tragedy, Jim, a well-known expressionist painter, spends his days painting and fly-fishing, trying to find a way to live with the dark impulses that sometimes overtake him.
Review: The action within the book was interesting (murder! investigations! retaliatory threats!) … if only the writing weren’t in the way. The attempt to write a Hemingway-esque character falls flat, in my opinion. It doesn’t work here like it did in The Dog Stars.
Amazon Goodreads
The Little Friend / Donna Tartt
File under: Literary fiction, crime, mystery, Southern
Plot: Harriet is a precocious 12-year-old who is desperate to solve the murder of her brother Robin (who was killed in front of her when she was just a baby). The book follows Harriet’s summer misadventures.
Review: Donna Tartt paints the perfect picture of this small Mississippi town that hasn’t seen good days since before the Civil War. She includes so many heartbreaking coming-of-age moments and sense-of-time/place lessons and beautiful passages with a frank look at life in a dysfunctional family, forever destroyed after Robin’s death. One caveat: the ending.
Amazon Goodreads
In a Nutshell
Three to read: The Little Friend, How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky, We Were Liars
Three to pass: Anthropology of an American Girl, The Fever, The Beginning of Everything
So there you have it. Fifty down, 10 to go! Wish me luck.
P.S. Linking this post with Modern Mrs. Darcy. Check it out for more reading recommendations!
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