Favorite Books of 2014

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Annette's 2014 Book Winners

Below are the books I have read in 2014. You can read reviews on almost all of them. I’ve noted the ones that stood out as my favorites.  Favorites is a hard game to play, and I wanted to mark so many more that stood out, but in the end I bit the bullet and only chose the top two or three in a category.  As a side note, just because I didn’t write a review on the book, doesn’t mean I didn’t like it.

Click on the titles to read the reviews.

Fiction:

Babayaga by Toby Barlow 

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

The Chili Queen by Sandra Dallas

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

Dog On It by Spencer Quinn

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok 

A Guide to the Birds of East Africa by Nicholas Drayson
This charming book rocketed up to win my “favorite book of the year award.” 

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

The Hundred-FootJourney by Richard C. Morais

The J.M. Barrie Ladies' Swimming Society by Barbara Zitwer 

Lady at the O.K.Corral by Ann Kirschner

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

A Long Way Down Nick Hornby

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 

The Painted Girls Cathy Marie Buchanan

Serendipity by Louise Shaffer 

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry Gabrielle Zevin
This book rises to sit among the favorites. 

Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Where'd You Go, Bernadette 
by Maria Semple
Another star of 2014.

Action/Suspense:
This category is a win/win situation.  Both books were great and I can’t decide if one was better than the other.

Gone Girl Gillian Flynn

Zoo by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

Biographies/Memoirs:

Falling Leaves by Adeline Yen Mah
Great book.  If you enjoyed The Glass Castle, there’s a good chance you’ll like this book.

I Guess I Missed the Boat by Barry Finlay

Two Wheels North by Evelyn McDaniel Gibb

Classics:

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson  (Short story)

The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde (Short story)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (Play)

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Other Tales 
by Washington Irving  (Short story)

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (Short story)
Short and unusual, this book was a like discovering an odd treasure.  I liked the originality of it.

Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw  (Play)

Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
No surprise here, I’ve read and reviewed this book twice.  It’s one of my favorites of all time, so naturally it lands as number one on my classics list of 2014.

Happy Reading,
Annette



Comments

Ruth @ with freedom and books said…
Kafka is odd. (But I like odd.) I am reading Metamorphosis this coming year, so it is encouraging to see that you gave it special recognition. Have you read The Trial?
December 28, 2014 at 7:43 AM
Reading in the Garden said…
Hi Ruth. I have not read The Trial yet. It's on my long list, though. I'd be curious to know how you liked it if you read it before I do.
Happy New Year! Happy Reading! Annette
December 28, 2014 at 3:40 PM
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