And another year bites the dust! It feel almost redundant to have placed the can't put down until you finish, "Gone Girl" on this list, but it's here, cause at the end of the day it's really good. I'm also happy to report I didn't even crack open a copy of one "fifty shades..." book, even when it was for sale at my kids elementary school book fair! I'm sure there are things not here that maybe you thought were great and I'd love to hear what they are.
Again, not all these book were published this year, this is merely a sampling of what I thought was best from almost sixty books. And the last review was a book I read in January and posted about it, but was too good not to be repeated here.
Happy Reading book worms!
Again, not all these book were published this year, this is merely a sampling of what I thought was best from almost sixty books. And the last review was a book I read in January and posted about it, but was too good not to be repeated here.
Happy Reading book worms!
1) "The Fault of Our Stars" by John Green
John Green wouldn't be the first author to sensitively tackle the subject of a teen dying of cancer. Jenny Downham's, "Before I Die" comes to mind. But he would write the most provocative, and in my opinion, the best. Our narrator, Hazel meets Augustus in a cancer support group. her lungs have been ravaged by the disease and her constant companion is the oxygen tank she wheels along beside her. Augustus is a cancer survivor, and former basketball player who lost the lower half of one of legs to the disease. These are bright, inquisitive kids, full of the smart quippy dialogue that seemed to be muttered by actresses like Emma Stone, or to date myself Janeane Garofalo. Yet I think what makes the book so poignant is in this current culture of social media, and instant celebrity, faced with ones own mortality, the question is asked, How will I leave a mark, how will I be remembered? Did my life, however long or short, matter? Questions that ultimately go beyond these two young souls and cause you to ask yourself the same.
http://www.amazon.com/Fault-Our-Stars-John-Green/dp/0525478817/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808805&sr=1-1&keywords=the+fault+in+our+stars
2)"Wild" by Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl Strayed's memoir of hiking through the Pacific Coast trail after the death of her Mother, and the dissolution of her marriage iis simply terrific. I won't go on to recount what so many before me have done, especially now, since the book has garnered mass attention due to Oprah Winfrey. I will say personally I had to have a little patience at the start of the book which dealt a lot with the death of her Mother, but a hundred pages in was hooked, and found myself incredibly moved and rooting for her and her journey, both physical and emotional.
http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Found-Pacific-Crest-Oprahs/dp/0307592731/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808832&sr=1-1&keywords=wild+cheryl+strayed
Cheryl Strayed's memoir of hiking through the Pacific Coast trail after the death of her Mother, and the dissolution of her marriage iis simply terrific. I won't go on to recount what so many before me have done, especially now, since the book has garnered mass attention due to Oprah Winfrey. I will say personally I had to have a little patience at the start of the book which dealt a lot with the death of her Mother, but a hundred pages in was hooked, and found myself incredibly moved and rooting for her and her journey, both physical and emotional.
http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Found-Pacific-Crest-Oprahs/dp/0307592731/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808832&sr=1-1&keywords=wild+cheryl+strayed
3)"The Round House" by Louise Erdrich
A beautiful coming of age novel shrouded in the mystery and secret behind a brutal rape, Erdrich has written a book that has the feel of an instant classic. Thirteen year old Joe Coutts is our narrator, who lives on an Indian reservation with his parents. When his mother is attacked and reluctant to give up anything in regards to the crime, Joe takes it on himself to figure out who it was, and why.
http://www.amazon.com/Round-House-Louise-Erdrich/dp/0062065246/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808865&sr=1-1&keywords=the+round+house+louise+erdrich
A beautiful coming of age novel shrouded in the mystery and secret behind a brutal rape, Erdrich has written a book that has the feel of an instant classic. Thirteen year old Joe Coutts is our narrator, who lives on an Indian reservation with his parents. When his mother is attacked and reluctant to give up anything in regards to the crime, Joe takes it on himself to figure out who it was, and why.
http://www.amazon.com/Round-House-Louise-Erdrich/dp/0062065246/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808865&sr=1-1&keywords=the+round+house+louise+erdrich
4) "Rules of Civility" by Amor Towles
I loved every second of this book which literally transports you back to New York in the late thirties, and makes you feel like you never want to leave. Much of the success of that can be attributed to such an intelligent and winning female protagonist in Katey Kontent, the daughter of Russian immigrants who smartly changes her name from Katya as she embarks on her ambitious life in New York. Towles writes with so much confidence and skill it's hard to believe this is his first novel. I loved these characters, this world, and his stark but visually arresting imagery. A pure delight.
http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Civility-Novel-Amor-Towles/dp/0143121162/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808915&sr=1-1&keywords=rules+of+civility
I loved every second of this book which literally transports you back to New York in the late thirties, and makes you feel like you never want to leave. Much of the success of that can be attributed to such an intelligent and winning female protagonist in Katey Kontent, the daughter of Russian immigrants who smartly changes her name from Katya as she embarks on her ambitious life in New York. Towles writes with so much confidence and skill it's hard to believe this is his first novel. I loved these characters, this world, and his stark but visually arresting imagery. A pure delight.
http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Civility-Novel-Amor-Towles/dp/0143121162/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808915&sr=1-1&keywords=rules+of+civility
5) "The End of Your Life Book Club" by Will Schwalbe
Will Schwalbe's lovely tribute to his mother who died in 2009 of pancreatic cancer is so wonderful because you walk away from the book not feeling sad or depressed, but instead entirely inspired and invigorated. This was a remarkable woman who truly understood what is was to be a servant of mankind, which she expressed in numerous ways, but especially in her work with various refugee organizations throughout the world.
Her passion though, was books. She loved reading, sharing, and discussing them. They informed her life, and filled countless hours with joy. As she says to her doctor who is asking her if her appetite has returned: "I'm trying to eat as much as I can. But nothing tastes good, so I eat a lot of Jell-O. I still have enough energy to see friends and and go to afternoon concerts and read. No matter how tired I am. I can always read. But maybe that's because of raising three children while working full time. I think I got used to being tired all the time. If I'd waited till I was well rested to read I never would've read anything."
So she and her son, who spends hours with her while she receives her chemotherapy, start their own book club for two.It was fun to hear them discussing something you've already read, however I found many more I hadn't. Yet the gift of the book is a comprehensive Appendix of all the literature discussed, so you don't need to read with a pen and paper to write down all the great sounding tomes you're going to want to immediately throw in your shopping cart at Amazon.
Of course any book involving death brings about thoughts of ones own mortality, and Schwalbe manages to say it succinctly, and appropriately to this particular book. "We're all in the end-of-our-life book clubs, whether we acknowledge it or not; each book we read may well be the last ,each conversation the final one."
Make them count.
http://www.amazon.com/End-Your-Life-Book-Club/dp/0307594033/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808987&sr=1-1&keywords=the+end+of+your+life+book+club
Will Schwalbe's lovely tribute to his mother who died in 2009 of pancreatic cancer is so wonderful because you walk away from the book not feeling sad or depressed, but instead entirely inspired and invigorated. This was a remarkable woman who truly understood what is was to be a servant of mankind, which she expressed in numerous ways, but especially in her work with various refugee organizations throughout the world.
Her passion though, was books. She loved reading, sharing, and discussing them. They informed her life, and filled countless hours with joy. As she says to her doctor who is asking her if her appetite has returned: "I'm trying to eat as much as I can. But nothing tastes good, so I eat a lot of Jell-O. I still have enough energy to see friends and and go to afternoon concerts and read. No matter how tired I am. I can always read. But maybe that's because of raising three children while working full time. I think I got used to being tired all the time. If I'd waited till I was well rested to read I never would've read anything."
So she and her son, who spends hours with her while she receives her chemotherapy, start their own book club for two.It was fun to hear them discussing something you've already read, however I found many more I hadn't. Yet the gift of the book is a comprehensive Appendix of all the literature discussed, so you don't need to read with a pen and paper to write down all the great sounding tomes you're going to want to immediately throw in your shopping cart at Amazon.
Of course any book involving death brings about thoughts of ones own mortality, and Schwalbe manages to say it succinctly, and appropriately to this particular book. "We're all in the end-of-our-life book clubs, whether we acknowledge it or not; each book we read may well be the last ,each conversation the final one."
Make them count.
http://www.amazon.com/End-Your-Life-Book-Club/dp/0307594033/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356808987&sr=1-1&keywords=the+end+of+your+life+book+club
6) "Live By Night"by Dennis Lehane
I can't even begin to express how continually in awe I am of Dennis Lehane. He managed to create one of the best crime series with Kinsey and Gennaro, wrote the haunting 'Mystic River', and then the twisted 'Shutter Island', followed by his first historical outing, the phenomenal, 'The Given Day'. Now with his eleventh book, he returns back to the Coughlin family of '...Day', but this time turns his attention on the youngest son, Joe, a young man who quickly begins to rise up through the dark underbelly of the pre prohibition gangster world. Lehane is a genius, because he manages to tell a story that's simply epic in a thorough but condensed narrative that's as distilled as the rum his bootleggers are running up and down the eastern seaboard. it's violent, and funny, and packed with emotional punches that make these brilliant characters feel passionately alive, and helmed by a master. Highly recommended.
http://www.amazon.com/Live-Night-Novel-Dennis-Lehane/dp/0060004878/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809047&sr=1-1&keywords=live+by+night+dennis+lehane
I can't even begin to express how continually in awe I am of Dennis Lehane. He managed to create one of the best crime series with Kinsey and Gennaro, wrote the haunting 'Mystic River', and then the twisted 'Shutter Island', followed by his first historical outing, the phenomenal, 'The Given Day'. Now with his eleventh book, he returns back to the Coughlin family of '...Day', but this time turns his attention on the youngest son, Joe, a young man who quickly begins to rise up through the dark underbelly of the pre prohibition gangster world. Lehane is a genius, because he manages to tell a story that's simply epic in a thorough but condensed narrative that's as distilled as the rum his bootleggers are running up and down the eastern seaboard. it's violent, and funny, and packed with emotional punches that make these brilliant characters feel passionately alive, and helmed by a master. Highly recommended.
http://www.amazon.com/Live-Night-Novel-Dennis-Lehane/dp/0060004878/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809047&sr=1-1&keywords=live+by+night+dennis+lehane
7) "Beautiful Ruins" by Jess Walter
An utterly delightful summer escape, Jess Walter has written a story that evokes the same imagery and feelings I got the first time I saw the movie, 'Cinema Paradiso'. Beginning in Italy in a small coastal fishing town in 1962, an American actress arrives on a boat from Rome where she was shooting Burton and Taylor's 'Cleopatra'. The young Italian man who owns the one ramshackled hotel in town, finds himself immediately smitten with the beautiful woman, and from there the story begins. Spanning fifty years, and shifting back and forth in time from modern Los Angeles, to old Hollywood, and the secluded fishing town our hero has spent his life in, Walter has written a poignant story about life, and loss, regret and hope, and mostly, the enduring power of love.
http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Ruins-Novel-Jess-Walter/dp/0061928127/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809115&sr=1-1&keywords=beautiful+ruins
An utterly delightful summer escape, Jess Walter has written a story that evokes the same imagery and feelings I got the first time I saw the movie, 'Cinema Paradiso'. Beginning in Italy in a small coastal fishing town in 1962, an American actress arrives on a boat from Rome where she was shooting Burton and Taylor's 'Cleopatra'. The young Italian man who owns the one ramshackled hotel in town, finds himself immediately smitten with the beautiful woman, and from there the story begins. Spanning fifty years, and shifting back and forth in time from modern Los Angeles, to old Hollywood, and the secluded fishing town our hero has spent his life in, Walter has written a poignant story about life, and loss, regret and hope, and mostly, the enduring power of love.
http://www.amazon.com/Beautiful-Ruins-Novel-Jess-Walter/dp/0061928127/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809115&sr=1-1&keywords=beautiful+ruins
8) "Gone Girl" by Gillian Flynn
The "it girl" of the literary year, she's sparked millions of conversations, and was immediately snapped up by Reese Witherspoon's production company with Flynn penning the screenplay.The seemingly perfect couple, their fifth wedding anniversary, and she disappears without a trace. Told through alternating chapters narrated by him on the day of the disappearance, and her diary entries beginning years before, Flynn creates a portrait of a marriage that is laser sharp in it's precision, which means uncomfortably honest enough you find yourself cringing and giggling at the same time. The first half of the book moves at a measured pace with a slow roll out, but without giving anything away, she suddenly ratchets up the stakes, and straps you in for a wild ride, that I found myself hard pressed to get off of until it all played out.
http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Novel-Gillian-Flynn/dp/030758836X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809177&sr=1-1&keywords=gone+girl+gillian+flynn
The "it girl" of the literary year, she's sparked millions of conversations, and was immediately snapped up by Reese Witherspoon's production company with Flynn penning the screenplay.The seemingly perfect couple, their fifth wedding anniversary, and she disappears without a trace. Told through alternating chapters narrated by him on the day of the disappearance, and her diary entries beginning years before, Flynn creates a portrait of a marriage that is laser sharp in it's precision, which means uncomfortably honest enough you find yourself cringing and giggling at the same time. The first half of the book moves at a measured pace with a slow roll out, but without giving anything away, she suddenly ratchets up the stakes, and straps you in for a wild ride, that I found myself hard pressed to get off of until it all played out.
http://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Novel-Gillian-Flynn/dp/030758836X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809177&sr=1-1&keywords=gone+girl+gillian+flynn
9) Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
I spent so much of this book vacillating between being aghast at what a jerk Jobs was to so many around him,and yet being blown away by his visionary leadership, I found it hard to put down. Frankly the biggest surprise was how moved I was by the time I reached the end of the book, and his life was over. It's exhaustively researched, and utterly fascinating, despite the fact his behavior was simply appalling much of the time. I ended up reading passages aloud to friends so we could all shake our heads in disbelief, yet there's no denying the guy was brilliant.
http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809202&sr=1-1&keywords=steve+jobs+biography
I spent so much of this book vacillating between being aghast at what a jerk Jobs was to so many around him,and yet being blown away by his visionary leadership, I found it hard to put down. Frankly the biggest surprise was how moved I was by the time I reached the end of the book, and his life was over. It's exhaustively researched, and utterly fascinating, despite the fact his behavior was simply appalling much of the time. I ended up reading passages aloud to friends so we could all shake our heads in disbelief, yet there's no denying the guy was brilliant.
http://www.amazon.com/Steve-Jobs-Walter-Isaacson/dp/1451648537/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809202&sr=1-1&keywords=steve+jobs+biography
10) "Afterwards" by Rosamund Lupton
I think if you can get past the device Lupton uses in this novel (which I was able to), you're in for a clever and interesting take on the literary mystery. When she learns her daughter is trapped in her burning school, Grace Covey races in to save her. Ultimately, both she and her daughter wind up in the hospital, Grace with a massive head trauma, and Jenny severe burns both externally and internally. But in a somewhat reminiscent nod to, "The Lovely Bones" both Mother and daughter step outside of their bodies to witness everything that is happening in the aftermath, including the fact that Grace believes this fire was deliberate, and Jenny was it's intended victim. The book seen through Grace's eyes, spends much of the time watching her stoic husband try to wrestle with the fact he might lose two members of his family, while trying to find out what really happened in the school with the help of his police detective sister. I throughly enjoyed the ride, and appreciated that Lupton wasn't satisfied with simple resolves, but kept the story twisting right until it's bittersweet ending.
http://www.amazon.com/Afterwards-Novel-Rosamund-Lupton/dp/0307716546/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809292&sr=1-1&keywords=afterwards
I think if you can get past the device Lupton uses in this novel (which I was able to), you're in for a clever and interesting take on the literary mystery. When she learns her daughter is trapped in her burning school, Grace Covey races in to save her. Ultimately, both she and her daughter wind up in the hospital, Grace with a massive head trauma, and Jenny severe burns both externally and internally. But in a somewhat reminiscent nod to, "The Lovely Bones" both Mother and daughter step outside of their bodies to witness everything that is happening in the aftermath, including the fact that Grace believes this fire was deliberate, and Jenny was it's intended victim. The book seen through Grace's eyes, spends much of the time watching her stoic husband try to wrestle with the fact he might lose two members of his family, while trying to find out what really happened in the school with the help of his police detective sister. I throughly enjoyed the ride, and appreciated that Lupton wasn't satisfied with simple resolves, but kept the story twisting right until it's bittersweet ending.
http://www.amazon.com/Afterwards-Novel-Rosamund-Lupton/dp/0307716546/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809292&sr=1-1&keywords=afterwards
11) "An Available Man" by Hilma Wolitzer
The one thing that seems to be lacking in modern pop culture now is charm. It's so rare we see or read something now that is truly charming, like 'The Artist' for example, or for me, 'Midnight in Paris". We've become a crass Kardashian and Jersey Shore loving wasteland. So how wonderful that this book is overflowing with it. When sixty two year old Edward Schuyler finds himself a widow, the last thing he wants is for his stepchildren to place an ad for him listing him as an available man. Yet that's what they do, and so begins his journey navigating through the treacherous waters of dating over fifty when nothing seems to make sense, and time is at a premium. Brimming with genuine sweetness, author Hilma Wolitzer has written a story for anyone who believes that the heart can love again.
http://www.amazon.com/Available-Man-Novel-Hilma-Wolitzer/dp/0345527542/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809404&sr=1-1&keywords=an+available+man+by+hilma+wolitzer
12) "A Storm of Swords, Game of Thrones Book 3" by George RR Martin
By far the best of the series so far, and able to produce scenes of literally jaw dropping action, Martin turns the whole narrative on it's head, and does things with, and to characters that left me both speechless, and shocked. Already I'm chomping at the bit to see how HBO will shoot some of the more memorable scenes, and can't wait to see all my friends faces who aren't reading the series when they see what happens. A game changer in the series, and sadly probably the highpoint of the series as a whole.
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Swords-Song-Fire-Book/dp/055357342X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356810232&sr=1-1&keywords=a+storm+of+swords
13)"Salvage the Bones" by Jesmyn Ward
The one thing that seems to be lacking in modern pop culture now is charm. It's so rare we see or read something now that is truly charming, like 'The Artist' for example, or for me, 'Midnight in Paris". We've become a crass Kardashian and Jersey Shore loving wasteland. So how wonderful that this book is overflowing with it. When sixty two year old Edward Schuyler finds himself a widow, the last thing he wants is for his stepchildren to place an ad for him listing him as an available man. Yet that's what they do, and so begins his journey navigating through the treacherous waters of dating over fifty when nothing seems to make sense, and time is at a premium. Brimming with genuine sweetness, author Hilma Wolitzer has written a story for anyone who believes that the heart can love again.
http://www.amazon.com/Available-Man-Novel-Hilma-Wolitzer/dp/0345527542/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356809404&sr=1-1&keywords=an+available+man+by+hilma+wolitzer
12) "A Storm of Swords, Game of Thrones Book 3" by George RR Martin
By far the best of the series so far, and able to produce scenes of literally jaw dropping action, Martin turns the whole narrative on it's head, and does things with, and to characters that left me both speechless, and shocked. Already I'm chomping at the bit to see how HBO will shoot some of the more memorable scenes, and can't wait to see all my friends faces who aren't reading the series when they see what happens. A game changer in the series, and sadly probably the highpoint of the series as a whole.
http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Swords-Song-Fire-Book/dp/055357342X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356810232&sr=1-1&keywords=a+storm+of+swords
13)"Salvage the Bones" by Jesmyn Ward
It's your typical story of family sticking together through impossible odds. You know, like The Joads. Only this is a poor black family living in rural Mississippi who are about to face down the Mother of all storms, Katrina.
Like the pit bull China that is featured so prominantly in this story, it'll grab hold of your throat and won't let go. Narrated by a teenage age African American girl named Esch, she so beautifully tells of her bother Skeet, and his unfailing love for his brutal dog and her new born pups, her eldest brother Randall, trying desperately to escape the strangling holds of poverty and break into a new life through basketball, and mostly, her burning, unflinching yearning towards Manny, her brother Randall's friend, and the father of her unborn child. Stunning, poetic writing graces these pages, such as this passage describing her brother and a group of boys playing basketball: "they elbow each other, fall and let the concrete peel the skin off their hands, their knees, their elbows away like petals." The great thing about the book is in the face of such terrible adversity that climaxes with, you know, that hurricane, you'd think the book would be a giant downer. Not so.
Instead, Ward manages to create a brutal, beautiful testament to the bonds family and survival.
http://www.amazon.com/Salvage-Bones-Novel-Jesmyn-Ward/dp/1608195228/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1326674276&sr=1-1
My stinker book for the year would go to Mark Helprin's laborious and overwritten doorstop, "In Sunlight and In Shadow"
