I haven't been on this blog in literally years, and that's okay. I'm not really a blogger, I think I just really like summarizing what I read each year. Even if it doesn't get read, it's fun. Annual blog? It would seem so. Heck, maybe I should just take up Twitter (I'm old. I don't tweet.) since my "reviews" are mostly pretty short anyway :) I found this 2013 Things I Read 'N' Things I thought that I apparently never posted, so here goes. The 2014 summary isn't too far away.
The Reads
- The Woman in Black by Susan Hill - Pretty definitely creeptastic. I'm a fan. Also, never live in a marsh that floods and traps you daily.
- Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - It's always charming and always makes me glad I don't have to sit on my husband's knee and show him my account book so he can see how thrifty a little homemaker I am.
- Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs - Odd children, odd home, odd photos, oddly enjoyable. To say more is to spoil the plot.
- The Magicians; and The Magician King by Lev Grossman - Cynical Narnia for grown ups. I highly recommend it. (The third book, The Magician's Land, just came out and I'm excited.)
- Brandwashed by Martin Lindstrom - Really don't remember anything except being depressed and horrified. Carl's Jr. is going to own our kids someday.
- 11/22/1963 by Stephen King - Really enjoyed it. His writing is so familiar now it's like settling down on a comfy couch. Even if I don't end up liking one of his books, I just like hanging out with Mr. King.
- Stay Awake by Dan Chaon - Like a companion to The Lottery. As I read from story to story, I thought, "Something seems familiar..." and would scramble back through and realize certain characters or similar situations were casually linked in different stories. Cool, and a little unsettling. I like it.
- Would it Kill You To Stop Doing That? by Henry Alford - Etiquette. It was amusing and I read it it a day and I don't remember much more than that.
- The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey - First: Awesome author name. Second: Great book, excellent characters, like a very quiet, non-magical fairy tale.
- Fear by Michael Grant. The mutant-human-good-evil-stuck-in-a-dome teen wars continue.
- Carrie by Stephen King - Plug it up! Plug it up!
- Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal - Jane Austen with magic. I liked it until it got eye-roll-y. Use of magic as an every day socialite skill? RAD. Annoyingly bland romance? BLAND. Confusing/pointless/blink-and-you-miss-it "villain" "climax"? FACEPUNCH.
- Green Rider by Kristen Britain - Still good.
- Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo - I think I liked it? One of the least vomit/rage/facepalm inducing YA books I've read in a long time. Magicians in a sort of alt-universe fantasy Imperial Russia? I liked that twist. Usual "oh-I'm-so-small-and-bland-and-ugly-but-suddenly-I'M-MAGIC-and-special-and-the-boys-love-me-so-it-MUST-be-a-trilogy" framework was acceptable because she was actually a pretty likeable character and the world was interesting.
- Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart - OH MY GOD, SHE'S AMAZING. She's capable! She's practical! She's earthy! She's hilarious! Read of her homesteading adventures and envy her (in an abstract, she's-great-but-I-totally-love-modern-medicine-and-sanitation kind of way).
- Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - Fiance was appalled I had never read it. We audiobooked it on a long road trip. HI-larioius perfection.
- Bossypants by Tina Fey - I want to go to there.
- The Rich and the Rest of Us by Tavis Smiley and Cornel West - Oh man, I live such a privileged life, I should really be helping to bring more justice to the world.
- A Game of Thrones; A Clash of Kings; and A Storm of Swords; and by George R. R. Martin - So much death. Everyone you love dies. NO ONE IS SAFE!
- The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin - Beautiful writing, sad story.
- Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts by Les Parrott - I totally want to save my un-started marriage! I'm pretty confident.
- Crazy Love by Francis Chan - Francis Chan face-slaps you for 10 chapters and you love him for it.
- A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans - I love this woman. I. Love. This. Woman. I want to be a woman of valor! Also, I love my parents.
New books 88%
Rereads 12%
Fantasy/Sci-fi/Horror 38%
Non-fiction 30%
General Fiction 20%
YA Fantasy/Sci-fi/Horror 12%
Boy, I am proud of myself, mostly new books! Of course, if I'd read more total books that might have changed. I did a lot of start-but-not-finish books this year, which I hate doing but am trying to come to terms with. Woman, you DON'T HAVE TO FINISH IF YOU DON'T WANT TO. It's not like wasting food, the books are still perfectly legible and accessible if you don't finish them; other people can read them or you can even try again later if you feel like it.
2 comments:
yay for book lists! I'd heard of the Magicians but was never convinced to actually read it. Maybe I will sometime. =)
Do it!
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