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Best/ worst books of 2014
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Best book of the year for you? Hey Nostradamus! - I was surprised at how much I liked this one. It grabbed me from page 1.
Worst book of the year for you?
Death Comes to Pemberley - yawn. Obnoxious, pompous characters.
Most surprising book of the year for you (either one you thought you wouldn't like or one that you thought you would love and hated)?
The John Lennon Letters - although I didn't like the editor adding his comments before each letter (he gave away spoilers), the letters themselves show how John grew over the years. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these.
Book you recommended to people the most?
The Sparrow - I read this one many years ago, so I don't know whether it counts but it is the one I recommend most often.
Best book of the year for you? Oh a close race between The Blazing World and Life After Life
Worst book of the year for you?
The Slap - I just didn't care for the writing or the characters at all...
Most surprising book of the year for you (either one you thought you wouldn't like or one that you thought you would love and hated)?
The Golem and the Jinni - I really liked it - but it was very different from what I thought it would be :-)
Book you recommended to people the most?
Unnecessary Woman, An: A Novel - one of my 4 -star reads, very interesting, and I think it will appeal to several of my friends.
BEST: Someone Else's Love Story This began my love affair with this author's work.WORST: 1Q84 I could not get into this at all, so bizarre and just not compelling to me.
SURPRISING: Jellicoe Road I wasn't expecting it to be so engaging; I read it straight through again as soon as I finished!
REC: The Goldfinch I read this right at the end of last year and have recommended it all year long.
Mod
Best Book - The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes- Read it several times this year.Worse Book - Secret Lives by Diane Chamberlain - Only book I could not bring myself to finish.
and "Lost and Found" by Marilyn Harris which I would not have finished if it had not been a book group selection for my in person group.
Most Surprising - 1Q84 - I was expecting it to wow me, but I found it perplexing me.
Most Recommended - Night Film - It is one of those books that I thought might appeal to a wide range of people.
Best book of the year for you? The Whiskey Rebels, completely sucked me in and I wanted to reread it as soon as I turned the last page. Worst book of the year for you? Tuxedo Park: A Wall Street Tycoon and the Secret Palace of Science That Changed the Course of World War II, very dry, not at all what I thought it would be like, not a well written piece of non-fiction.
Most surprising book of the year for you (either one you thought you wouldn't like or one that you thought you would love and hated)? Life After Life I had high hopes, and they were (repeatedly, and repeatedly and, well, you get the idea) dashed.
Book you recommended to people the most? The Whiskey Rebels was recommended a lot, but possibly more than that was Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened
I'm looking forward to more great books next year!
Sheila wrote: "I just accidentally deleted someone's comment on here and I don't know whose it was! SO SORRY! I was trying to delete the second comment in this thread, which was a promotion by a new male member ..."I think it was mine.
Best
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
Worst
The Sandcastle Girls
Most Surprising
Three Souls
The Ghost Bride
I loved both of these books.
Best book of the year for you? I had four books this year that I gave 5*. In order of most-liked they would be:
My Name Was Judas - really made me think and question the stories we are told
Looking for Alaska - made me cry!
Eleanor & Park - just made me happy
The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - made me laugh out loud. Bill Bryson is so funny and reading his books is like sitting down listening to him tell you interesting facts interspersed with anecdote.
Worst book of the year for you?
I had three books that only got 2* for me:
Marcel
The Pearl Diver
The Girl Who Married an Eagle: A Mystery
They were all just underwhelming.
Most surprising book of the year for you (either one you thought you wouldn't like or one that you thought you would love and hated)?
I think The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid - I wasn't expecting to laugh so much.
Book you recommended to people the most?
I've recommended a few books to people this year - different books for different people. Jasper Jones is a book that I keep telling people about even having read it right at the beginning of the year.
Sheila wrote: "I just accidentally deleted someone's comment on here and I don't know whose it was! SO SORRY! I was trying to delete the second comment in this thread, which was a promotion by a new male member ..."LOL . :)
I love to read, so the books that made a great influence on me were Palisades Park, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Signature of all Things.
Best book of the year for you? 
Ghost on Black Mountain
Worst book of the year for you?
The Rosie Project
Most surprising book of the year for you (either one you thought you wouldn't like or one that you thought you would love and hated)?
The Husband's Secret
Loved This Book!
Book you recommended to people the most?
The Husband's Secret, I think!
Okay - I know this thread is really old, but it's the last day of summer for me, and I am seriously procrastinating, so I'm reviving it to add mine from last year! LOL. :)BEST: The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles (I am a musician, and I really needed a boost in this area.)
WORST: Sourpuss and Sweetie Pie (Yes, this is a kid's book, and I read it with my kids, but I really couldn't stand it. I usually enjoy the stuff I read with them, but this one I had to gag through.)
MOST SURPRISING: I Am Legend and Other Stories (I ended up really enjoying this book, and I wasn't sure what I would think. It was fascinating to read a book set in the 70s that was written so long before that. It was futuristic when it was written. It was fun to see what the author "messed up on" with predictions.
BOOK I RECOMMEND: Teaching Music With Passion: Conducting, Rehearsing and Inspiring (Yea, limited audience, but it's the people I hang out with!)
Revive away! I'm glad you posted. I've been thinking about The War of Art. Another friend read it and really liked it. We are also musicians. I think you've convinced me. Off to Amazon. And your last recommend I will definitely check out.
If you read it, let me know what you think. I was doing a show, and the director read us a fabulous quote from the book. That was how I found out about it. I really enjoyed it.
Chicks On Lit
Books mentioned in this topic
The Husband's Secret (other topics)The Rosie Project (other topics)
Ghost on Black Mountain (other topics)
Marcel (other topics)
The Pearl Diver (other topics)
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Over this past year we've all read a lot of books. Think back to the most memorable for you and give these questions a go:
Best book of the year for you?
Worst book of the year for you?
Most surprising book of the year for you (either one you thought you wouldn't like or one that you thought you would love and hated)?
Book you recommended to people the most?