I'm back! I took an unexpected break there to go adopt a baby :) He is healthy and awesome and we are all going a little crazy while we wait in our hotel room for clearance to return to our home state. So now you can understand all my references to "if/when we become parents in 2015." Ta-da!
I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for another Top Ten Tuesday. This week's topic is books released in 2014 that I wanted to read but didn't.
Because of my goal to diversify my reading in 2014, I ignored a lot of 2014 releases that I otherwise would have been all over. Also, because I typically get books from the library rather than buying them, I sometimes have to wait a bit longer to get my hands on a new release, though not as long as you might think.
Here are my top ten 2014 releases that I didn't get to in 2014:
1. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
This first caught my attention when I saw that Entertainment Weekly gave it a rare "A" grade. Then it started popping up in m friends' reviews, and it's been on bestseller lists for a while. I have the ebook on hold on the library now and look forward to diving in.
2. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
After loving What Alice Forgot, I pushed this one to the top of the list in 2015. It did not disappoint. I can't wait to see what she writes next.
3. Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
This one I could have read last year, but I never got to it. I first heard of it from John Green, but it's been recommended here and there since then. I'm not put off by a book in verse (although I may have to take a break after I finish The Canterbury Tales), so I look forward to reading this.
4. The Church of Mercy by Pope Francis
I'm Catholic and a total Pope Francis groupie, so I was excited to see that he'd written a new book. It's a fairly short book, so I don't have any excuse not to pick it up this year.
5. Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour
I like a good LGBT YA book if it's done well. After reading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, I went looking for other recommendations and saw that this one is pretty popular. I can be pretty critical on how these issues are handled (see my scathing review of Sing You Home, for example), so I'm interested to see how I like this one.
6. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet by Kate Rorick and Bernie Su
I was a hardcore fan of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (WATCH THEM) so of course I want to read this companion guide. I was a little hesitant, but the reviews I've seen so far have been positive, so I'm excited.
7. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
This was another one I first saw in Entertainment Weekly, and the organizer of one of my book clubs also recommended it at our last meeting. I'm generally not a fan of post-apocalyptic stuff, but I've heard this one is different, so I'll give it a shot. I have the audiobook on hold at the library now.
8. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I love E. Lockhart (The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is one of my favorite books ever), and this book has been getting rave reviews, so I can't wait to read it. I need to get to it soon before anyone spoils it for me!
9. What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
I love xkcd and this book sounds like the kinds of lunchtime conversations my nerdy friends and I have, so I definitely want to read it this year.
10. Yes Please by Amy Poehler
This was another one I got my hands on first thing in 2015. I highly recommend getting it as an audiobook, as there's a lot of bonus material you just wouldn't get from reading it in print. I really enjoyed it.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to cuddling with my new baby...
Which 2014 books did you not get to last year?
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I have Station 11, Yes Please, and We were lIars on my list too!! I also want to check out Big Little Lies SOON!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you like it as much as I did!
ReplyDeleteCongrats, yo. That's exciting.
ReplyDeleteT gave me Brown Girl Dreaming for Christmas. I enjoyed it. In terms of the poetry, it reads very different from The Canterbury Tales. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on We Were Liars.
-eli
I read Big Little Lies, Yes Please, All the Light We Cannot see, and currently making it through Station 11. Can't wait to read Brown Girl Dreaming! Thanks for this great list!
ReplyDeleteWow, I just saw the part about adopting a baby- congratulations! That's such great news!
ReplyDeleteI just recently read All the Light We Cannot See and I read Yes Please almost as soon as it came out. I read We Were Liars, too, and while I liked it for the most part, if I was going to recommend a YA suspense book, it would be Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas.
I've seen Dangerous Girls recommended a number of times now, but it's not available at any of my local libraries and there's a waiting list on PaperBackSwap. So it may be a while until I get my hands on a copy!
ReplyDelete