JenMDB hits the ground running

Discussie75 Books Challenge for 2014

Sluit je aan bij LibraryThing om te posten.

JenMDB hits the ground running

Dit onderwerp is gemarkeerd als "slapend"—het laatste bericht is van meer dan 90 dagen geleden. Je kan het activeren door een een bericht toe te voegen.

1JenMDB
Bewerkt: jan 2, 2014, 10:27 am

2014 will be my second year doing this challenge. When I started last January, I had no idea what my annual average number of books read would be. I now suspect, given the heroic efforts I made to finish books before the end of many months of 2013, that 75 is more than I've read on an annual basis for many, many years. So, I would like to read 81 in 2014 - beat my own PB by 1.

Looking around at other people's threads, I am amazed at the amount of planning that goes into some people's reading. I'm not sure I could do that - my life lacks in too little fun and too few serendipitous moments. Having analyzed my "stats" for 2013, I am happy with the balance of the nationalities and genders of the authors I read, and I loved that thanks to a few challenges, I re-read books that I hadn't looked at for more than 20 years. I suppose I could resolve to read more non-fiction, say maybe one book a month? And in the interests of my finances, I will also resolve to read at least one borrowed book each month but I think those constraints will suffice.

So, here I am, ready to go and it's not even 2014 yet and I still have 100 pages of my last book of 2013 to go. Happy New Year everyone.

2drneutron
dec 30, 2013, 10:56 am

Welcome back! I'm with you on the planning. It's tough for me to even commit to a group read, although miraculously, I've been able to keep up with the US Presidents challenge over the last 4 years or so.

3rosalita
dec 30, 2013, 12:30 pm

Hi, Jen! The planning is only fun if you like to plan, I think. This is the first year I've even attempted to plan, and I have no idea how successful I'll be. But I certainly managed to read plenty of books when I wasn't planning the past few years, and I'm sure you'll do just fine, too.

4JenMDB
Bewerkt: feb 2, 2014, 7:49 pm

January

N=non-fiction L=library R=re-read (#)=rating out of 5

5= excellent, highly recommended, definite keeper
4= very good, a couple of things I would change
3= fine, nothing particularly wrong with it but nothing excellent either
2=boring, not very well written, a struggle to finish
1=too many problems to list, large portions skipped or skimmed

N#1 The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. Fascinating backdrop to a very exciting sporting story. (5)

#2 Hidden Talents by Erica James. Predictable & long but pleasant enough company for a writing group. (3)

#3 Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson. Clever and playful but I'm not a fan of magic realism. (3.5)

L#4 Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear. Not very interesting really. Maisie seems too modern. (2.5)

#5 The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker. Complicated start. Compelling middle re: war, split personality. (3.5)

#6 From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by E.L. Konigsburg. Unrealistic characters. (2.5)

R#7 The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret Laurence. I can't believe I liked this book when I was 20something. (3)

N#8 Sisters in Two Worlds by Michael Peterman. Illustrated version of local heroes' lives.

#9 Hamlet by W Shakespeare. Hamlet so much wittier than I remembered him.

#10 Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. Witty dialogue, of course, cool idea. The rest?

5JenMDB
jan 14, 2014, 8:40 am

My local library has a well-stocked Large Print book section and most of their new picks are found in it (tells you something about the client base). The only Maisie Dobbs book they had was in this section so I grabbed it thinking it would be irritating to read large print only to discover how wonderful it is to read such visible text specially at bedtime!

6JenMDB
jan 22, 2014, 4:58 pm

So I just re-read The Fire-Dwellers - last read in 1987, I think. Anything I remembered it being about or like was incorrect. Even how I visualized the setting was completely different. So much depends on the reader. Then - I was 20 something (younger than the main character, Stacey), just finishing university, looking forward to an interesting life, and a happy marriage & family life. I saw the book as a story of a strong woman stepping out of a bad marriage. My memory tinted it with an optimistic hue. Now - I'm 40 something (older than Stacey), with kids in university, a rather ordinary life, having been through some testing times both in marriage and life. I now see the book as a story of a trapped woman in survival mode, getting through a life she never envisioned for herself, facing fears she never imagined. I found it a difficult read.

7Cait86
jan 23, 2014, 5:24 pm

I really like Margaret Laurence, but I haven't read The Fire-Dwellers. My favourite by her is A Jest of God. I agree that her writing tends to depend on the life stage of the reader. I read The Stone Angel in high school and hated it; I found the main character, an elderly woman, totally unsympathetic.

8JenMDB
jan 25, 2014, 10:00 pm

I really liked The Diviners when I first read it - also 20+ years ago. I remember a lot more about it but I'm now afraid to re-read it in case I'm disappointed!

It always baffles me when teachers assign books like The Stone Angel to high school students. Great book - just not quite right for most teenagers - especially the boys.

9JenMDB
jan 26, 2014, 8:54 pm

So now I'm reading Sisters in Two Worlds a book set very close to home. In fact, today, by coincidence, we went to look at a rental house on the old Moodie property. Very cool to imagine Susannah Moodie roughing it there almost 200 years ago. Speaking as one who only has an old wood cookstove for heat in the house this week, I can imagine how cold those winters in her log cabin must have been.

10jennyifer24
Bewerkt: jan 27, 2014, 6:43 pm

Hi Jen! I used to do a lot of planning in the category challenges, but I've always been a library browser, so they never quite meshed. I'm going plan-free this year. I'm excited to read The Boys in the Boat. Looks great!

11JenMDB
Bewerkt: jan 27, 2014, 5:03 pm

Hi are you a Jen too?

Boys in the Boat is fantastic. It reads like a novel. I am biased because I did row once upon a time but I think it works for a broader audience. Let me know when you've read it!

I never know what to do when someone posts on my thread. Do I reply here or on their thread?

12jennyifer24
jan 27, 2014, 6:44 pm

I'm a Jenny :-) I think replying here works well- it's easy to find and refer back to the first post.

I was a swimmer, but I watch any sports so I'm excited to learn more!

13JenMDB
feb 1, 2014, 8:48 am

So Jenny, if you were a swimmer, have you read The Bone Cage?

14jennyifer24
feb 1, 2014, 6:58 pm

No, I'll add it to my list! Thanks. Way back when, I read Tessa Duder's In Lane Three, Alex Archer which is about a swimmer from New Zealand. I reread a year or so ago, and discovered that there were sequels! I haven't tracked them down yet but it was a pleasant surprise.

15JenMDB
feb 2, 2014, 12:56 pm

Not heard of those ones. The Bone Cage was a rare book in that I enjoyed it last summer, left it lying around and both my sons picked it up and enjoyed it too!

16JenMDB
Bewerkt: mrt 3, 2014, 9:32 pm

February

L#11 Far to Go by Alison Pick. Disliked the narrator who reveals herself & her methods at the end though the story of a family sleepwalking to doom is compelling.

#12 A Company of Fools by Deborah Ellis. Only liked it because it was full of choirboys and abbeys. Can't imagine who the actual audience is.

#13 Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Excellent. Truths abound in the little details of peoples' lives. Very real portraits of life.

#14 The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny. Gamache and the other regular characters make these books. Curious reading this series out of order.

#15 The Pearl by John Steinbeck. Read this with trepidation and I was right to be worried. The ending is worse than that of Of Mice and Men.

#16 Doing Dangerously Well by Carole Enahoro. Outrageous (funny but human) characters. Serious subject matter.

N#17 An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield. Excellent read. A bit repetitive in places but that is part of the makeup of an astronaut. Having followed Hadfield on Twitter when he was on the ISS, this book gave the story of the years behind the tweets. Had to listen to his version of Space Oddity again as soon as I finished.

17JenMDB
Bewerkt: mrt 29, 2014, 9:47 am

March

L#18 Blood and Beauty by Sarah Dunant. Epic tale of the Borgias. I only know of them by reputation, not fact, so interesting to get this perspective first.

#19 Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore A fun high tech meets old tech adventure quest with grown up characters.

R#20 Annabel by Kathleen Winter. A re-read.Didn't find it as sad this time round. Much more a coming of age story with hope than what I got out of it first reading a few years back. Says something about my state of mind, I think. Not sure it's as gender focused as some of the Canada Reads debaters argued. I saw it more as a book about embracing that which makes you a whole person.

N#21 The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal. This has been sitting on my TBR shelf for several years. More below.

#22 Camp X by Eric Walters. Good adventure with some local flavour. I do like how Eric Walters always adds the facts behind the story at the end of the book.

18PersephonesLibrary
mrt 9, 2014, 8:49 am

Hello Jen! Nice short reviews and interesting choice of books. I'll come back. :)

19JenMDB
mrt 9, 2014, 8:17 pm

Anytime! my reviews are more for my own benefit than anyone else's but you're most welcome. I know I don't have a lot of time to read long reviews (have to squeeze in time for the books themselves) so the short, Twitteresque reviews suit me. Glad you like them though.

20PersephonesLibrary
Bewerkt: mrt 10, 2014, 3:20 pm

Some people manage to express more in three sentences than I manage to say in a whole essay. ;) But I know what you mean - I'd better use the time to read books than write about them, too... I use my reviews to rethink what I read, to remember it better later.

21JenMDB
Bewerkt: mrt 25, 2014, 10:11 pm

Guess who has a new job? I've really had to force myself to read this month. The Hare With Amber Eyes didn't help. Having been given it by a trusted book source, I expected much better. It went round in circles and was just a patchwork of imaginings based on old photos, and gleanings of meagre source material. Bugged me that pictures of the netsuke at the centre of the story are not included in the book but blurry old maps and family snaps are. Did find the section about the lack of restitution for property stolen from the Ephrussi family and other Jews during WWII maddening, other than that, no real emotional response to the book.

22PersephonesLibrary
mrt 27, 2014, 4:43 am

I've only heard positive thoughts about the book so far and was thinking about reading it, too. Your review gave a slightly different impression now. Well, it's not very much on top of my reading list anyway and can wait. I hope your next books will be more satisfying!

23JenMDB
mrt 27, 2014, 8:20 am

This line near the end of The Hare With Amber Eyes sums it up well and helps explain my ambivalence:

"I tell Sasha why we've come, that I'm writing a book about - I stumble to a halt. I no longer know if this book is about my family, or memory, or myself, or is still a book about small Japanese things." p. 342

24JenMDB
Bewerkt: apr 27, 2014, 3:15 pm

April

N#23 Kingfisher Days by Susan Coyne. A book of friendship and fairies, summers and letters.

#24 The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton. Great cast of characters and intriguing mystery but ending didn't pay dividends on all that reading.

L#25 The Long Song by Andrea Levy. Born and raised a plantation slave in Jamaica, July's adult journey as a "free" woman is strangely detached and did not compel this reader.

R#26 Hens Dancing by Raffaella Barker. Nice kids shame about their mother and the writing.

#27 The Guilty Plea by Robert Rotenberg. Great courtroom drama.

25JenMDB
apr 11, 2014, 9:25 pm

Just loving that my family is sitting around eating pizza on a Friday night and talking about libraries. My sons who are both at university are rhapsodizing about U of T's library - all that knowledge at their fingertips (and they're not just talking about the digitized stuff).

26JenMDB
Bewerkt: mei 20, 2014, 7:21 pm

May

#28 The Woefield Poultry Collective by Susan Juby . A light-hearted book about a bunch of strangers becoming a family.

L#29 Trespass by Rose Tremain. Brothers & sisters tangled up with their long gone mothers in France.

27JenMDB
Bewerkt: mei 31, 2014, 2:21 pm

N #30 The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country by Charlotte Gray

The murder and trial part are interesting but the contextual historical stuff is familiar and felt like padding.

#31 The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Fast paced, light weight but enjoyable especially for a fan of the Big Bang Theory

R#32 Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
A re-read but very satisfying. Atwood less intrusive as an author (or well disguised as Grace).

R#33 Animal Farm by George Orwell
Deserved a re-read after 35 years. Definitely worth it. Love how so much is said in so few pages.

28JenMDB
Bewerkt: jun 30, 2014, 8:40 am

June-8

L #34 The Dead in their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley Not much of a mystery but a stepping stone for Flavia and her future.

L#35 Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally A fairly epic tale of nurses in WWI. Interesting perspective even if characters feel wooden at times.

R#36 Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge. Flowers and bees, uncles and factotums, tors and caves, dogs and ponies, love and separation.

L#37 Sister by Rosamund Lupton. Really enjoyed this story for the mystery, for the bond of sisters and for the intriguing narrative device.

R#38 Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. Had forgotten time-travel element of this book. Or is it PTSD?

L#39 Exit Lines by Joan Barfoot. Good plot but a little slow in the bits asking all those deep life & death questions. (3)

N#40 6th Guards Tank Brigade by Patrick Forbes. Can't hear it from the horses mouth anymore so had to resort to this. Wish I had recorded more from the source when I could have.

#41 Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. See below. (1)

29JenMDB
jun 14, 2014, 5:54 pm

Just going through an old box of papers that got damaged in a spring flood. Now they've dried out I can read them and throw them away!

Found something from when I was in grade 4 (40 years ago!!!) . It looks like a questionnaire the teacher gave us about reading but the questions about reading are cunningly mixed up with other questions. It was a complete the sentence exercise. Here are some of my answers.

I wish teachers....would let kids only read good books
To me, books are....beautiful if they are good
I'd rather read than....talk
I hope I'll never .....read a bad book
I wish people wouldn't ....talk about dumb stuff
When I take my report card home ....I want to read it
I am at my best when .....I'm reading a good book
When I read aloud....I get a sore throat
I would read more if.....I had more time
I wish I could.....read every good book
I would like to be.....alone for an hour
I like to read when....I'm tired
Most days in this class are....noisy

I knew I was a bookworm when I was a kid (guess I'm still a kid).

30JenMDB
Bewerkt: jun 30, 2014, 8:37 am

Wuthering Heights Aarrgghhh. What a slog. The most work I've done reading a book in ages. Did not enjoy this classic at all though struck by how "modern" it is in a reality TV show dysfunctional family sort of way.

31scaifea
jun 30, 2014, 7:15 am

>30 JenMDB: Ha! Oh, I agree completely with your assessment of WH - just awful, isn't it?

32JenMDB
jun 30, 2014, 8:24 am

>31 scaifea: All I knew about it was the setting, the scratching at the window and the characters' names: Heathcliff and Cathy. I didn't know there were two of each to make it confusing. And everyone was so nasty! Thank goodness I never had to read it for school,or worse, teach it.

33JenMDB
jun 30, 2014, 9:00 am

6 months stats

Total 41
Re-reads 9
Non-fiction 7
Borrowed 11
Canadian authors 16
Female authors 25

January - 10

N The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Hidden Talents by Erica James.
Emotionally Weird by Kate Atkinson
Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear
The Eye in the Door by Pat Barker
From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankenweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
The Fire-Dwellers by Margaret Laurence
N Sisters in Two Worlds by Michael Peterman
Hamlet by W Shakespeare
Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

February - 7

Far to Go by Alison Pick
A Company of Fools by Deborah Ellis
Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Doing Dangerously Well by Carole Enahoro
N An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield

March - 5

Blood and Beauty by Sarah Dunant
Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
Annabel by Kathleen Winter
N The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
Camp X by Eric Walters

April - 5

N Kingfisher Days by Susan Coyne
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
Hens Dancing by Raffaella Barker
The Guilty Plea by Robert Rotenberg

May - 6

The Woefield Poultry Collective by Susan Juby
Trespass by Rose Tremain
N The Massey Murder: A Maid, Her Master and the Trial that Shocked a Country by Charlotte Gra
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood
Animal Farm by George Orwell

June - 8

The Dead in their Vaulted Arches by Alan Bradley
Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally
Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge
Sister by Rosamund Lupton
Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Exit Lines by Joan Barfoot
N 6th Guards Tank Brigade by Patrick Forbes
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

34JenMDB
jul 4, 2014, 10:29 pm

#42 The Bat by Jo Nesbo. Very readable. Too many innocent people were murdered for my liking but I'd try another Harry Hole book.

#43 The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens. Loved this book. Mary Gooch is a fantastically developed character. The kindness of stranger acts that allow the plot to move and Mary to grow are just believable enough. I hope that pain between her eyes goes away. I don't believe Gooch is gone for ever.

35JenMDB
Bewerkt: jul 29, 2014, 10:00 pm

L#44 Mount Pleasant by Don Gillmor. Close to the bone on both the financial and marriage sides of the story. Middle age as many of us know it.

#45 Black Out by John Lawton. Murder mystery in one of my favourite settings - war torn London.

L#46 Dance, Gladys Dance by Cassie Stocks. Down to earth story of a woman searching for herself and finding a "family". Real but refreshing.

L#47 Longbourn by Jo Baker. Obviously no match for Pride and Prejudice but satisfying glimpse of the other side of the staircase.

L#48 Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad. Heartbreaking in places, well lit by toddler Finn throughout.

N#49I Shall Not Hate by Izzledin Abuelaish. Quite a journey. Couldn't not read it with all the destruction in Gaza this week.

36JenMDB
Bewerkt: aug 30, 2014, 12:51 pm

.

37JenMDB
aug 6, 2014, 10:56 pm

#50 Second Violin by John Lawton. More history and backstory than mystery but readable.

#51 The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth J. Duncan. Like a Maeve Binchy book but a mystery set in Wales.

38JenMDB
aug 13, 2014, 9:10 pm

#52 Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese. Best book I've read this year. Beautifully written story of a father and a son facing the truths of their lives.

39JenMDB
Bewerkt: okt 30, 2014, 10:17 pm

July - 8

The Bat by Jo Nesbo
The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens
Mount Pleasant by Don Gillmour
Black Out by John Lawton
Dance Gladys Dance by Cassie Stocks
Longbourn by Jo Baker
Everybody Has Everything by Katrina Onstad
N I Shall Not Hate by Izzledin Abuelaish

August - 9

Second Violin by John Lawton
The Cold Light of Mourning by Elizabeth Duncan
Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese
A Bend in the River by V S Naipaul
Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey
The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson
N Conversations with a Dead Man by Mark Abley
Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell
13 at Dinner by Agatha Christie

September - 6

Fauna by Alissa York
The School at the Chalet by Elinor Brent-Dyer
Kicking the Sky by Anthony De Sa
Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler
Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
Motorworld by Jeremy Clarkson

October - 5

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch.
Planet Lolita by Charles Foran.
Wild: From Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed
Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop.
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

40JenMDB
Bewerkt: sep 1, 2014, 8:08 am

#53 A Bend in the River by V. S. Naipaul. Hard work! confusing, depressing...am I missing something?

#54 Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey. Loved Kit's resiliency. Not sure about her blindspots. Great read.

#55 The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson. Pithy romp from South Africa to Sweden with an atomic bomb in tow. Go Nombeko!

#56 Conversations with a Dead Man by Mark Abley. Fair trial of a Canadian poet now better known for his work for as a civil servant in the Department of Indian Affairs. A plausible ghost.

#57 Instructions for a Heatwave by Maggie O'Farrell. Loved this - especially the real, vivid characters, the tight time frame and the heatwave that makes its presence felt.

#58 13 at Dinner by Agatha Christie. The dialogue didn't drive me crazy in this Hercule Poirot mystery.

41JenMDB
Bewerkt: sep 27, 2014, 11:19 am

September

#59 Fauna by Alissa York. Unexpectedly loved this book. Couldn't wait to get home to read it each day this week. Great cast of characters augmented by animal cameo parts.

#60 The School at the Chalet by Elinor Brent-Dyer. Missed this as a kid. Could have missed as an adult.

#61 Kicking the Sky by Anthony De Sa. Lots of tension in 1977 Toronto coming of age story.

#62 Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler. Well crafted story of a plane crash and the survivors left to mourn the victims.

#63 Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell. First Wallander mystery for me.

#64 Motorworld by Jeremy Clarkson. Better than expected - especially Vietnam.

42JenMDB
Bewerkt: okt 30, 2014, 10:13 pm

October

#65 Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch. Uneven pacing but enjoyable, highly visual mish mash of contemporary London crime fiction meets Harry Potter.

#66 Planet Lolita by Charles Foran. Wanted to like this after hearing an interview with the author on CBC radio but found this confusing and disturbing. May have to revisit.

#67 Wild: From Lost to Found by Cheryl Strayed

#68 Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop. Quirky start but a bit of a slog. I lost interest and sympathy as the characters got too extreme.

#69 Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Cool structure. Distinct voices. Profound parts.

43JenMDB
Bewerkt: dec 2, 2014, 10:58 pm

November

#70 Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani. Beautiful, haunting writing of intense post revolutionary Iran

#71 Balancing Act by Joanna Trollope. Safe pair of hands for another family saga.

#72 What Makes Olga Run by Bruce Grierson. Interesting read for anybody who's aging.

#73 No Relation by Terry Fallis. Reads like a top notch romcom - pacey, visual, peopled with nice characters.

#74 The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman. Great atmosphere to start with but very unsettling for the most part.

#75 The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones. Creepy Downton Abbey meets Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf.

44JenMDB
Bewerkt: dec 2, 2014, 10:57 pm

December

Yay! Have finished #75 with a month to go.

#76 The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. Loved the first part of Harold's walk, got bogged down when he did, ending felt real.

45drneutron
dec 3, 2014, 3:40 pm

Congrats!

46JenMDB
dec 3, 2014, 9:28 pm

Thanks! I'm so glad I joined this challenge last year. It has really pushed me to read more than I have done for a while.

47scaifea
dec 4, 2014, 7:10 am

Yay! Congrats on 75!!

48JenMDB
Bewerkt: dec 17, 2014, 9:55 pm

#77 Frog Music by Emma Donoghue. Missed the mark. Too much sex, not enough action if that makes sense.

#78 Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid. None of Austen's charm. Teen romance, that's all.

49jennyifer24
dec 6, 2014, 11:08 pm

Congrats on getting to 75!!

50JenMDB
dec 26, 2014, 1:43 pm

#79 Ten Lords A-Leaping by C.C. Benison. Long winded start but a satisfying enough mystery in the style of Agatha Christie.

51JenMDB
Bewerkt: dec 27, 2014, 1:41 pm

Boxing Day Bonanza. Finished my second book of the day.

#80 The Afterlife of Stars by joseph Kertes. A book full of questions and sadness but few answers.

52JenMDB
Bewerkt: jan 4, 2015, 6:58 pm

#81 This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper. Almost identical to the movie but unusally for me, I liked the movie more.

So I have officially beaten last year's count.

#82 An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine. Thoughtful.

#83 The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys. Love the imagery like birdshaped bruises.

53JenMDB
dec 30, 2014, 11:17 pm

November - 6

Children of the Jacaranda Tree by Sahar Delijani
Balancing Act by Joanna Trollope
N What Makes Olga Run by Bruce Grierson.
No Relation by Terry Fallis
The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman
The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones.

December - 8

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
Frog Music by Emma Donoghue
Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid
Ten Lords A-Leaping by C.C. Benison
The Afterlife of Stars by joseph Kertes
This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine
The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys

54JenMDB
Bewerkt: jan 24, 2015, 1:19 pm

2014 Stats

total books - 83
most books in a month - January (10)
Canadian authors - 33
women authors - 44
non-fiction - 12
borrowed (from library, friends)

Top 8 New Reads (not re-reads)

Fauna
Cloud Atlas
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry
Medicine Walk
Dance, Gladys Dance
The Wife's Tale
Olive Kitteridge
Boys in the Boat