2014 in Books (the super and the meh.)

In 2014, I read more books than I watched TV series or movies.  Throughout the year, I noticed there is only a small group of quality films/series that appeal to me. I’ve been craving original stories and deeper research which lead me to a lot of great books. It’s because of this shift that I was able to read 28 works, start to finish, in 2014. Four more books than 2013 and I haven’t factored in all the books I ordered from the library, skimmed, and then returned for lack of interest. And two bad-ass children’s books.

I joined a book club this year that really got me exploring other genres. Typically, I stick to indie fiction (read: sad and depressing with lots of navel gazing), memoir, travel/adventure, non-fiction, and cookbooks. With book club, I can add happy fiction and classics.

As for book reviews, I only wrote about three on my list. I gave them all 5 stars in Goodreads. I’m OK with this since I have a personal blog policy of only reviewing those books that were life-altering (good or bad). There were a lot of 3 or 4 star reviews so this year, I’m going to try to be more discerning about what I like and dislike in literature.

The Super:

Chef at Home by Michael Smith – I love his approach to cooking at home. Mostly everything is made from scratch, it’s not hard, and it’s free flowing. He’s not a fan of strict measurements but rather teaching the basics of cooking and kitchen instinct. There was a great curry recipe in here that we make a couple times a year in our own kitchen.

The Cure for Everything by Timothy Caulfield – Totally revamped my approach to health. I was doing quite a bit of what Caulfield suggests but mentally I was still stressing about looking thin. Well guess what, there’s no point. Check out my review.

Boundless by Kathleen Winter – This book had me spellbound.

The Girl Who was Saturday Night by Heather O’Neill – I read this in preparation to my Montreal trip in August. I was totally inspired by O’Neill’s style of writing. It’s edgy and honest. I’m hoping one day my writing will have some hints of her style.

The Worn Archive by Serah-Marie McMahon – I wish I had discovered this magazine five years ago while I was still in university. I could have learned to be more thrifty while shopping and developed more style by seeing what was else was out there. I’m glad I bought this book because this year the magazine decided to close its doors. I’m still sad about it.

Shark’s Fin and Sichuan Pepper by Fuchsia Dunlop – Almost all the travellers I meet wish to go or have been to China. I never understood why. It seems crowded, people are spitting a lot, and I would likely spend most of my time lost. After reading this memoir, I get it and I really want to go. Mostly to eat my face off and take pictures of all the cool dishes. Oh, and all that wild history…

The Endurance by Caroline Alexander – Another book about extreme winter conditions. This book is about legendary explorer Shackleton and how he saved his 52 person crew from certain death on Antarctica. He had amazing leadership skills and the crew’s perseverance and dedication to each other during challenging times was inspirational to me.

I also read a lot of great books about cooking and the food system, but that’s for another post.

The Meh:

I Don’t Know Where You Know Me From: Confessions of a co-star by Judy Greer – Ok, that was utterly normal. Snooze.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein- Dog narrators are terrible and they don’t write well.

Domino: The Book of Decorating by Deborah Needleman – Provided little to no guidance what-so-ever in decorating my apartment. I found out my style is eclectic modern which basically means a cluttered, cozy hodge-podge. Next, please.

Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman – Rich lady goes to jail for bad life decisions in her wild youth where she learns about the real world apart from privileged, educated white girl stuff like juicers and handmade soap.

Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer- Nice… maybe too nice.

Come Barbarians by Todd Babiak – The ending of this book was a big disappointment. So much so, that I can’t even remember it.

The Son by Jo Nesbo – Really long and the plot wasn’t terribly twisty for a crime thriller.

The Hard Numbers (analysing the 28 books of 2014):

Female Authors – 53%
Male Authors – 46%
Canadian – 32%
Fiction – 42%
Non-Fiction – 57%