The First 20 Books of 2014

I started keeping track of the books I read last year (see here and here), and it has already been useful as a reference and fun to look back on. So for future posterity, here are the books read I have read so far as of the midway point of the year: 

1. The Hypnotist's Love Story, by Liane Moriarty -  I read two of Liane Moriarty's books last year, The Husband's Secret and What Alice Forgot, which were both wonderful. This novel was published in between those and I would say that it was solid but nothing extraordinary, although it did offer an interesting narrative from a (female) stalker's point of view. 

2. The Ghost Map: The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic - and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World, by Steven Johnson - This book was later chosen as the K-State Book Network book for Fall 2014, but I read it in January when I was at home with a stomach bug. Word to the wise: Never, ever, ever read a story about a cholera epidemic while you have a stomach bug unless you are absolutely, positively sure you do not have any latent hypochondriac tendencies. 

*3. The Custom of the Country, by Edith Wharton (read 53%, plus Wikipedia and lots of articles) -  I love Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome, but admit that I had never heard of this novel about a provincial Midwestern family whose daughter attempts to climb into New York society life until our book group read it. I liked the book all right but could not get excited about finishing it once our book group discussion had passed, but I did read enough secondary sources about the book that I sort of feel like there is no need to finish it now, either.

4. The Last Anniversary, by Liane Moriarty - This was one of Liane Moriarty's earliest novels and is a different narrative style than some of the others, with shifting viewpoints from an array of characters who all live or who are tied to an Australian island with a famous historic missing baby case at its core. The book itself is light and airy but deals with some heavy themes, although everything is tied up with a nice bow at the end. 

5. Hands Free Mama, by Rachel Macy Stafford - I started reading Rachel Stafford's blog by the same name (Hands Free Mama) after seeing several excellent articles that others had re-posted, particularly the article on "I Love To Watch You Play" (aka, the six most important words you can say in sports). I would say that the book itself could probably be reduced to one long blog post, but I love reading the reminders of living in the moment without distractions when we interact with our children. 

*6. Selected Stories, by Alice Munro (read 10 of 28) - Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature this year and I had never, ever heard of this Canadian short story writer (or had any idea that the Nobel Prize was very often awarded to short-story writers). In this 700+ page book, I only read 10 of the 28 stories before our book group met, but was struck by how beautiful, powerful, and multi-layered her writing is. 

7. Carry On, Warrior: Thoughts on Life Unarmed, by Glennon Doyle Melton - I stumbled across this book while reading an Amazon review for Hands Free Mama that mentioned that this book was a more "real" reflection on parenting. Was it ever! I loved the honest voice and so many of the themes in here - the idea that we are all beautiful warriors, that people who need help don't look like people who need help, that one of the most important gifts we can offer is to be a Radical Truth Teller. Reading this book introduced me to the blog Momastery, which has been life-changing in many ways, including encouraging me to write my "Living a Medicated Life" blog post (see here). 

8. Pastrix: The Cranky, Beautiful Faith of a Sinner and Saint, by Nadia Bolz-Weber - This spiritual memoir of an eccentric ELCA pastor was recommended by blogger Rachel Held Evans as the best book on religion in 2013, and I can see way. Real, honest, and unflinching as the author discusses her faith journey. 

9. Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, and Other Things that Happened, by Allie Brosh - This book is based on the blog by the same name, which is utterly hilarious. A very fast, fun read with hilarious artwork - and the two chapters in the middle on depression are one of the best depictions of this issue that I have ever seen. 

10. All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood, by Jennifer Senior - This is an excellent book that scared the crap out of me. The author combines vignettes with academic studies to paint a picture of why parents today feel so much stress. Chapters include baby years, marriage, middle childhood - and the teenage years, in which I learn that most parents - especially mothers - hate parenting teenagers. Rock on!  

11. Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell - This novel is marketed as a Young Adult book but I think it might be just as, if not more, poignant for adults, particularly its setting in the 1980s. A sweet novel with dark themes that changes narratives between two teenagers who are in love for the first time. And not anywhere near as cheesy as that previous sentence makes it sound. 

*12. A Burnable Book, by Bruce Holsinger - A novel by an academic medieval scholar set in England and Italy in the 1380s, featuring real (but fictionalized) characters such as Geoffrey Chauncer and John Gower. I loved both the story itself (a murder mystery with multiple layers) as well as all of the true-to-life detail of the medieval period; Will is reading it now and loves it, too. We decided that it is similar to a much more readable version of The Name of the Rose. 

*13. The Known World, by Edward P. Jones - A Pulitzer-Prize winning novel that I had never heard of - yet another reason why I am thankful for my book group, since I am sure that even if I had stumbled across this book, I probably would have given up after initially finding it hard to get into. The novel is excellent, rich, well-written, and well worth reading, though, and offers a very interesting perspective on pre-Civil War America: the tale of a black slave-owner in the south, from many different characters' perspective. 

*14. Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn - This non-fiction account of problems faced by women around the world was written by New York Times writer Nicholas Kristof and his wife and former professional colleague, Sheryl WuDunn. The book is depressing but easy to read, with very personal vignettes surrounding women that they have encountered around the world facing issues such as sex trafficking, child marriage, fistulas, genital mutilation, rape, and much more. Eye-opening and a call to action. 

15. The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, by Maria Shriver - This was a free Kindle download for my phone at one point, and I started reading it on a plane when finished with my current reading material. The book makes a good point - lots of statistics and facts about women living in poverty - but is fairly repetitive.  

16. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte - One of my favorite novels, EVER! Why did it take me until this year to read it?!? I started reading it last year on my Kindle and got about 30% of the way through, and then somehow set it aside for other books. I cannot believe it took me this long to return to it. This incredible novel focusing on a coming-of-age, Gothic story of 1850s England with a strong and unconventional (for the time) female character is sometimes classified as the "first modern novel" and transcends time. And I can totally see why. 

17. Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America, by Barbara Ehrenreich - I have read several of Barbara Ehrenreich's earlier works, such as Nickel and Dimed; while her earlier works focused on personal "undercover" accounts, this one is less personal (although the leading chapter focuses on her breast cancer experience) and focuses more on the history and dissemination of the positive thinking movement. I actually enjoyed the book and did not think that it was "negative," just showing the limits of any type of thinking on actual outcomes. 

18. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura Hillenbrand - Another book that I started last year that somehow, inexplicably, took me until this year to finish. Highly recommended - this non-fiction account by the author of Seabiscuit focuses on Louis Zamperini and follows his tale as an Olympian, armed services member, castaway, P.O.W., and ultimately, survivor. 

19. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), by Mindy Kaling - A very fast read written by the comedian Mindy Kaling, famous as a writer on The Office and now as the tour de force behind The Mindy Project. I felt like the book itself was very light and fluffy, but it was a good vacation read with many life-out-loud parts. 

20. Someone Could Get Hurt: A Memoir of Twenty-First Century Parenting, by Drew Magary - A series of essays and personal vignettes on parenting....but written by a father. I feel like fathers' voices are largely absent from our national conversations on parenting, and this hilarious, often crass, always real voice was a welcome addition. Strong language but extremely funny and often quite insightful on so many of the absurdities of parenting, with some of the most poignant passages on his D.U.I. and his premature son's time in the N.I.C.U. 

* = Adult Book Group Book 

What good - or bad - books have you read recently??