2014’s books, the good and the bad

2014books
In 2014 I set myself a challenge to read 50 books, and kept track of my progress on Goodreads. I’m fairly chuffed with myself because I actually exceeded it by 3, finishing 53 books. Above are some of the books I read throughout the year, and if you want to add me as a friend on there just click the button below!

Lauren's book recommendations, liked quotes, book clubs, book trivia, book lists (read shelf)

I’ve reviewed a few books throughout the year in monthly-ish roundups (reviews are here) but wanted to highlight my favourites, and a couple that I think were over hyped a bit!
Overhyped:
John Greens books in general. I sort of enjoyed The Fault in our Stars, but everything else I read of his was just so formulaic and repetitive. Maybe I should stop reading young adult books, eh?
Stephen Fry’s More Fool Me. I liked his earlier autobiographies and was just about able to put up with his wandering mind and deviations… but this book was half a diary from a few (not particularly debaucherous, as stated) years and a few other memories flung together. Maybe he had to get the book written quickly to jump on the bandwagon after his coke ‘scandal’ came out… who knows. I do know that if he thinks his life was debaucherous then he should have come and partied with me in my earlier twenties! From the rating on goodreads it seems most people agree with me!
Audrey Niffenegger: Her Fearful Symmetry. I love the Time Traveler’s Wife, and I loved the first two thirds of this book, then it ended and I sat starting at the book for 5 minutes thinking WTF! I even turned to internet forums to see if anyone else felt the same, and they mostly did! let me know what you thought if you read it!
Karen Joy Fowler: We are all completely beside ourselves. I just didn’t like the characters, the plot or the way it was written. After several recommendations I thought I might really like it, everyone else seems to but I just didn’t. Ce la vie!
Top three
This year I am aiming to read 30 books, as I figure a new baby will be using up a lot of my spare time, perhaps I should invest in one of the snazzy kindles with a built in light doobrey (paperlight? what are they called…) so I can read during night feeds!

 

Let me know your favourite recent reads, I’m always on the lookout for more!

3 thoughts on “2014’s books, the good and the bad

  1. I quite liked “More Fool Me”. I was surprised that so much of it was the diary section, although once I got used to it I found it very interesting. I agree it wasn’t as good as his first volume, although I liked it more than the second.

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