A very subjective list, so much depends on how I'm feeling when I read a book. Some of these may have received fewer stars later in the year. Almost all of these were read the first half of the year. And maybe some of the books in the last half would have received more stars if I hadn't already read so many books. I think The Martian was my favorite of the year.
Alex by Pierre Lemaitre - Alex by Pierre Lemaitre - my first book of 2014 and it was a doozy. The
author earned the CWA International Dagger award for this book and it's
his first translated into English. A woman is kidnapped and held
prisoner with the stated intent of being watched until she dies. The
story alternates between her viewpoint and that of the policeman trying
to find her. Lots of plot twists. Pretty gritty and violent, I think
most of my readers would find it too much. There is a previous novel
featuring the same policeman and it would have been nice to read it
first for some important context. I hope more of his novels will be
published here.
Don't Let Me Go by Catherine Ryan Hyde - Billy Shine is a former dancer, now an agoraphobic. He sees 9 year old
Grace sitting on the steps of his apartment and unwillingly becomes
involved in her life. Gradually, all the neighbors in the building are
drawn in and become unlikely friends. I must have been in just the right
mood, loved this book.
The Martian by Andy Weir - an astronaut has an accident and is left behind on Mars by his crewmates
because they believe him dead. Now he must survive 4 years before the
next mission. In spite of all the techy talk, this is quite action
packed. Surprisingly humorous in spots. Some language.
The Son by Jo Nesbo - this is a stand alone, not part of his Harry Hole' series. Sonny has
spent almost half his life in prison when he discovers something about
his father and escapes. He begins revenge killing. The police and
criminals are looking for him. Although Sonny is also a criminal and
does some horrendous things, I somehow found myself rooting for him. A
couple of unexpected twists at the end. I really like the way this
author writes. Would be rated R for violence if it were a movie.
Precious Thing by Colette McBeth - a news reporter is called to a missing person story and finds that is
her best friend. Just when you think you know what's going on there's
another twist. Just the kind of book I like.
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr - a blind girl and her father leave Paris with a priceless artifact as the
Germans are arriving. An orphaned German boy becomes an expert at
finding transmissions made by resistance fighters. Somehow the two meet
in this beautifully written book. Written from different viewpoints and
times but I didn't find it confusing. Most of the chapters are quite
short. Some horrific war passages.
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin - the life of a widowed book seller is changed drastically when a baby is
left in his store. Each chapter begins with a synopsis of a short story.
Some language. I loved the way this was written.
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Clare North - Harry is a time traveler of a different sort, he lives the same life
over and over and remembers his past lives. He gets a message from the
future that the world is ending and must spend many of his lives
figuring out what's going on.
Bird Box by Josh Malerman - something is out there and if you see it you go mad. Malorie decides to
leave the house where she has lived with her children the last four
years to try to find a safe place. And she has to make the trip
blindfolded, using her children as her ears. The story goes back and
forth between the journey and what has lead up to it. This book made me
really nervous, I didn't have a clue how it would end. A little gruesome
in parts. Also, one of the most beautiful dedications I've read.
Reason to Believe by HR Huntsman - an apologetics book beginning with creation and going through to the
historicity of Jesus. Disclaimer - the author is my pastor. This book is
the result of a sermon series a few years ago and that I really enjoyed
at the time. This would have received 4 stars, mostly because the book
layout style is not my favorite, but because of extreme prejudice and
loyalty... 5 stars.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, December 22, 2014
Dec 22-27, 2014
Burning Man by Alan Russell - Detective Michael Gibson and his K-9 partner, Sirius, are severely burned capturing a serial killer during a fire. Two years later, Michael is still dealing with the aftermath and also investigating two different cases. While that part of the book was okay, most of the conversations read like elementary comedy routines. There's very little investigating and lots of drawn out scenes. I'll still read the second in the series because it's on my Kindle.
2 stars
2 stars
Sunday, December 21, 2014
Dec 14-20, 2014
Hope: Entertainer of the Century by Richard Zoglin - a long, but interesting, book about Bob Hope. I only knew him from his tv specials so I found this very informative. The author seems fairly impartial.
3 stars
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3:10 a m by Nick Pirog - Henry Bins is back, the man who is only awake one hour a day, at 3 am. His missing for 30 years mother is tangled up with the CIA. Improbable plot (his cat seems as smart as he is), but it's interesting seeing how he lives his life an hour at a time. This is a to be continued book.
2 stars
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Black Coffee by Agatha Christie - this was not actually written as a book by AC. She wrote it as a play and it was adapted by Charles Osborne. For some reason he left the stage directions in which totally gives away the murderer.
2 stars
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The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie - another stage play adapted by Charles Osborne. A stranger goes to a house looking for help after his car has gone into a ditch and finds a man dead. The man's wife is standing in the shadows with a gun in her hand. Lots of false trails and twists.
3 stars
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In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Laurie King and Leslie Klinger - a collection of short stories. My favorites were the one told by Silver Blaze, the horse from a Holmes story, and the one written as a social media telling of the Hound.
3 stars
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3:21 am by Nick Pirog - Henry Bins is back and he's going on vacation to Alaska in the summer to see the sun for the first time in his life. Can't say anymore without spoiling it, but this book made me mad. We were promised something at the end of the second book and this delivered in only a very roundabout way. I don't know if I'll read the fourth book, coming out next March, or not.
2 stars
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Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller - bad things just keep happening in Acker's Gap. Now it looks like a serial killer is on the loose. And Bell Atkins is not getting along with her sister, recently released from prison.
3 stars
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3:10 a m by Nick Pirog - Henry Bins is back, the man who is only awake one hour a day, at 3 am. His missing for 30 years mother is tangled up with the CIA. Improbable plot (his cat seems as smart as he is), but it's interesting seeing how he lives his life an hour at a time. This is a to be continued book.
2 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black Coffee by Agatha Christie - this was not actually written as a book by AC. She wrote it as a play and it was adapted by Charles Osborne. For some reason he left the stage directions in which totally gives away the murderer.
2 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie - another stage play adapted by Charles Osborne. A stranger goes to a house looking for help after his car has gone into a ditch and finds a man dead. The man's wife is standing in the shadows with a gun in her hand. Lots of false trails and twists.
3 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes: Stories Inspired by the Holmes Canon edited by Laurie King and Leslie Klinger - a collection of short stories. My favorites were the one told by Silver Blaze, the horse from a Holmes story, and the one written as a social media telling of the Hound.
3 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3:21 am by Nick Pirog - Henry Bins is back and he's going on vacation to Alaska in the summer to see the sun for the first time in his life. Can't say anymore without spoiling it, but this book made me mad. We were promised something at the end of the second book and this delivered in only a very roundabout way. I don't know if I'll read the fourth book, coming out next March, or not.
2 stars
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Summer of the Dead by Julia Keller - bad things just keep happening in Acker's Gap. Now it looks like a serial killer is on the loose. And Bell Atkins is not getting along with her sister, recently released from prison.
3 stars
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Dec 7-13, 2014
Never Look Back by Clare Donoghue - I liked the mystery part, a serial killer in London, but the detective was a little iffy for me. He has a shock at the beginning of the story and seems to have trouble concentrating after that. I did like that I had no idea who the perpetrator was. Looks like this is the beginning of a series.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Snow White Red-Handed by Maia Chance - it's 1867 and two down on their luck actresses have managed to be hired by a millionaire's wife as servants. They travel to an old castle in Germany where it is rumored that Snow White's cottage is somewhere on the property. Murder, mystery, and a little romance follow. This was just a little slow in places but I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next in the series.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz *- the author was the ghost writer of Franklin's earlier book and he felt it ended up a puff piece. This book is filled with quotes from family and producers. I only knew Franklin from "Respect", so it was interesting to read about all her albums.
* I would be interested to read a book by the author about himself.From a Jewish family, he says he became a Christian because of his exposure to gospel music in black churches which he attended while researching the many singers he's ghostwritten.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes - a nice book about the joyous time the author had making the movie. Many of the other people in the movie also talk about the experience. The thing I found most touching was how everyone seemed to so love Andre the Giant. No backstabbing! so I gave it
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain - Riley has always believed the sister she can barely remember committed suicide. Now, cleaning out her father's house, she finds evidence to the contrary. Easy to figure out plot and a rather saccharine end.
2 stars
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Snow White Red-Handed by Maia Chance - it's 1867 and two down on their luck actresses have managed to be hired by a millionaire's wife as servants. They travel to an old castle in Germany where it is rumored that Snow White's cottage is somewhere on the property. Murder, mystery, and a little romance follow. This was just a little slow in places but I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next in the series.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respect: The Life of Aretha Franklin by David Ritz *- the author was the ghost writer of Franklin's earlier book and he felt it ended up a puff piece. This book is filled with quotes from family and producers. I only knew Franklin from "Respect", so it was interesting to read about all her albums.
* I would be interested to read a book by the author about himself.From a Jewish family, he says he became a Christian because of his exposure to gospel music in black churches which he attended while researching the many singers he's ghostwritten.
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of the Princess Bride by Cary Elwes - a nice book about the joyous time the author had making the movie. Many of the other people in the movie also talk about the experience. The thing I found most touching was how everyone seemed to so love Andre the Giant. No backstabbing! so I gave it
4 stars
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain - Riley has always believed the sister she can barely remember committed suicide. Now, cleaning out her father's house, she finds evidence to the contrary. Easy to figure out plot and a rather saccharine end.
2 stars
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Nov 30-Dec 6, 2014
An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd - WWI nurse Bess Crawford is asked to accompany a wounded soldier receiving a medal from the king. The next day he has disappeared and she is accused of helping him desert. Then she learns he's suspected of murder and once again she's suspected of being his accomplice. I love the Inspector Rutledge series by this author but this was quite a disappointment. Lots of driving back and forth between small villages with not much accomplished but to muddy the mystery.
2 stars
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On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery by Robert M Poole - besides being a history of the cemetery, the author also briefly covers the conflicts that created the need for the cemetery.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley - when the author was 5, he became separated from his brother on a train and ended up in Calcutta. After surviving on the streets for awhile he was sent to an orphanage and then adopted by a couple in Australia. Twenty-five years later he tries to find his village and his family.
3 stars
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The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - a toddler escapes the murder of his family by going through the fence into a graveyard. The ghosts decide to shelter him until he becomes an adult. A YA book that's just a little bit spooky.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen by Bill Crider - a Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery. A hairdresser is found murdered at her place of employment and soon after there's another murder at an antique store. Are they connected? And what do they have to do with what's going on at the recycling center?
3 stars
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Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan - the comedian writes about his love affair with food.
3 stars
2 stars
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Hallowed Ground: The Story of Arlington National Cemetery by Robert M Poole - besides being a history of the cemetery, the author also briefly covers the conflicts that created the need for the cemetery.
3 stars
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley - when the author was 5, he became separated from his brother on a train and ended up in Calcutta. After surviving on the streets for awhile he was sent to an orphanage and then adopted by a couple in Australia. Twenty-five years later he tries to find his village and his family.
3 stars
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - a toddler escapes the murder of his family by going through the fence into a graveyard. The ghosts decide to shelter him until he becomes an adult. A YA book that's just a little bit spooky.
4 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen by Bill Crider - a Sheriff Dan Rhodes mystery. A hairdresser is found murdered at her place of employment and soon after there's another murder at an antique store. Are they connected? And what do they have to do with what's going on at the recycling center?
3 stars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Food: A Love Story by Jim Gaffigan - the comedian writes about his love affair with food.
3 stars
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