2014 Book List *Updated 07/01/14 - 2 books read*

Oh I don't expect them back! They'd only go to a charity shop as I'm trying to stop hoarding books! I'm not sure of the titles but can dig them out tonight, and if you want them they're yours :-) Not read the paris one, It's my list though.

I love that a little book swap is happening on this thread.

Just today left of January, and I am hoping to finish my third book at lunchtime today as I've only a few chapters left.

Anyway; 24 books read in January so far.

3) Blue eyed boy - Joanne Harris

I spent most of this book wondering what the flip was going on. In my opinion, there were too many twists and turns and it took a lot of perseverance to keep going until the end. Was it worth it? I'm not sure. It was good in parts. I expected more from the author of Chocolat. 5/10.

Church life in Kent, 1559_1565. By Arthur Willis. Full of real life gems about adultery & incest and polygamy! Amazingly diverting.

3. Naked Heat but Richard Castle. Only sort of by Richard castle though, as he's a fictional character from a tv show which this book is spinoff from. Intentionally cheesy and good fun, 7/10.

4. The fault in our Stars, Jhn Green. Teenagey fic, recommended by a friend. A very easy read, (though sad) but enjoyed it. 8/10.

5. Before I fall, Lauren Oliver. This was either free or cheap on kindle, turned out to also be teen fic, though I didn't know when purchasing. Kind of Groundhog Day for teenagers. It was ok, 7/10.

6. Mad about the boy, Helen Fielding. Another easy read & quite entertaining, 7/10.

7. Three girls and a baby, by someone who shouldn't be writing novels. Again, cheap or free on kindle, and was pretty bad chick lit. 4/10.

3. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro - So elegantly written. The narrator, Ono, tells his story of prewar Japan which he has played some sort of political role as an artist. His past actions are confronted in his retirement day as he tries to arrange a marriage for one of his two daughters. Lots about Japanese culture and social niceties. 8/10

OK, so far this year:

Bitten, Stolen, Industrial Magic and Stolen by Kelley Armstrong - supernatural stuff, easy to read while I'm studying

Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz - a reread because I love Oddie

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - laughed til I cried

The Snowman by Jo Nesbro - just brilliant

The Carrier by Sophie Hannah - cos I love me a bit of murder and mayhem

The Broker by John Grisham

Miracle Cure by Harlen Coben

How amazing is that book - so funny! Not sure whether you're interested, by they've made it into a film. Trailer - http://badassdigest.com/2013/11/05/watch-this-hilarious-the-hundred-year-old-man/

Fabulous!!! That's one I want to see

3. 12 years a slave by Solomon Northup. This book had me hooked not only for the topic but by the nature of his narrating. The words are almost edible because they are so little used and beguiling in their content. Well worth a read.

4. The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen - written from the pov of a 10yr old girl who lives with of father. They are part of a religious organization (which to me sounded similar to Jehovah's Witnesses), she has a model world in her bedroom made from rubbish and one day believes she can perform miracles. Such a well written book (unlike my poor description), well worth a read - 9/10.

Don't forget to keep a personal tally of the books that you read and rate them out of 10! ?

Glad I found this post today, i've been struggling to find a new read the last few days so will go back and see what others have read and get some inspiration. (I know I don't post on these boards much but would like to join in if that's ok):-

2014 Books Read (usually all on Nook)

1. J. Kenner - Release Me (Stark Trilogy #1) similar to fifty shades, easy read to pass the time, very repative, a relatively short book. 4/10
2. J. Kenner - Claim me (Stark Trilogy #2) the stroy continued, the comments as above. 4/10
3. J. Kenner - Complete me (Stark Trilogy #3), yes I am a gluten for punishment, same comments as the previous 2. 4/10
4. J. Kenner - Take me (Stark Trilogy #3.5), yes a 4 part trilogy ?. Think it was free, not sure why I read it. Saying that it was only about 70 pages so no big deal, think it was to try and "name drop" a character of her new book in there (which was mentioned on the cover.) 2/10.

5. Hilda and Pearl by Alice Mattison.

It's about a little girl who has unanswered questions and unexplained tensions with her parents and her aunt and uncle. It then goes back to explain all the history between the two couples; the friendship, betrayal, jealousy and forgiveness. Cute little read.

3. The Storyteller - Jodi Picoult. Totally gripping. Quite harrowing descriptions of the Holocaust but so compelling that I couldn't put it down. 9/10.

Little note - The copy I first bought was a misprint and was missing 50 pages in the middle. I was gutted at the time but I emailed the publishers who posted me a shiny new copy.

Oops keep forgetting to update.

6. Human Remains - Elizabeth haynes 10/10

7. Flora and Grace - Maureen Lee 5/10

8. Accidents Happen - Louise Millar 10/10

9. The First Wife - Emily Barr 10/10

10. Bridget Jones Mad about the Boy - Helen Fielding - 6/10

11. Beauty - Louise Mensch 8/10

12. Dark Places - Gilliam Flynn 10/10

13. The Perfect Lie - Emily Barr 10/10

14. The Sisterhood - Emily Barr 10/10

15. Out of my Depth -Emily Barr 10/10

16. Atlantic Shift - Emily Barr 10/10

17. Someone Else's Son - Sam Hayes 10/10

18. How to fall in Love - Ceceila Ahern 8/10

19. Plan B - Emily Barr 10/10

20. The Carrier - Sophie Hannah 4/10

21. Glittering Fortunes - Victoria Fox 7/10

4. The story teller by Jodi Picoult. A good read with 3 stories running together, the fictional story within this book was the indicator as to how it would end and I'd guessed the ending at 94% but wasn't disappointed with the finish. Another amazing book if you like her style of writing 10/10

6. The Night Rainbow by Claire King - Oh god, totally read it just for the twist at the end! Absolutely loved it! It's hard to review without giving the plot away - Sorry! 9/10

4) The Long Way Home - Audrey Howard.
Quite a sweet story, but it dragged on and I got a bit annoyed with the constant use of exclamation marks!!! Only one book read in feb because it took ages to finish this. 5/10

1, The Snowdon Files - Luke Harding, The story of the Edward Snowdon and his leak - 9/10

2, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies - Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith , the title says it all , well written but really random 5/10

3, Being Indian - Pavan Varma - All about being Indian today and India in 21st century - 9/10

4, The Last Juror - John Grisham - life and times of a small town in the 70's and a young guy taking over the local newspaper - 7/10

5, The Forgotten - David Baldacci - crime story - 6/10

6, Broken - Shy Keenan - true abuse story, heartbreaking. 9/10

7, Revenge - Martina Cole - Typical martina cole was an easy read but very forgettable 5/10

8, Straight White Male - John Niven - very funny & filthy not as good as his other books but still laughed out loud. 10/10

9, In My Skin - Kate Holden - true story of a heroin addicted turned sex worker - 9/10

10, Sycamore Row, John Grisham- set int he same town as The last Juror, court case over a will following a suicide 10/10

11, Shantaram - Gregory Roberts - semi autobiography bolloywood, prison and poverty 10/10

They are mine since January

Ooh don't usually venture over to OT but like this idea so I'll join if that's OK? Haven't done much reading since new year so not too far behind!

1. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey-- a new take on the fairytale, took a while to get into it then the ending was a bit boring, the main female character developed well through the book and was easy to sympathise with but the main male character wasn't written so well. 6/10

2. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion-- main character started off exactly like Sheldon from TBBT which is always a plus in my eyes; really well written and generally feel-good, ending seemed a bit rushed but was satisfactory. 8/10

Keep it up girlies! So far we have read 77 books between us, with Cookiecat and Pandorasbox being heavyweights!!

5. This is a Love Story by Jessica Thompson. This was an interesting reading bringing different people together and although it did have a lovely ending it wasn't a traditional love story. I really enjoyed it 9/10

3. The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer-- interestingly writtena and very easy to read, very very sad story with only a glimmer of hope at the end but more realistic than a happy ever after ending. 8/10

4. The White Princess - Philippa Gregory - The next chapter in her "Cousin's war" series. I really enjoyed it but I don't think it quite lived up to the earlier books in the series. I think The White Queen has been my favourite so far (not counting the Tudor series). One more in this series still to be published though. 8/10

1. Thicker than Water by Kerry Wilkinson - Book 6 of a crime series written from the perspective of a female police detective sergeant; I really enjoyed this one, it was a great story line with some good twists at the end - 8/10

2. I Heart Christmas by Lindsay Kelk - A festive installment of a 'chic lit' series; I found it to be an enjoyable read and nice and 'Christmassy' - 7/10

3. Watched - When Road Rage Follows you Home by Kerry Wilkinson - A thriller set in Manchester about a couple who move into a new area and have their lives changed forever following a chance encounter. The premise is really interesting and I found the book quite haunting but the end was a disappointment - 7/10

4. Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park - A romance with a bit of a twist; I loved the characters and found the book quite humorous in parts - 7/10

5) The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks

I must admit, that I wasn't blown away by this book, however, it was a very sweet story, well written and quite easy to read. Although I haven't seen the film, I couldn't get away from the main characters being Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdam, who, in my cabbage are not right as Noah and Allie. 6/10

The book is soooooooo different to the film!

3. The Guardian - Nicholas Sparks (can you see a pattern?)

6/10. Disappointing. Nicholas Sparks, to me, is a romance novelist. This was more of a thriller, and not a very good one. He needs to stick with what he's good at!

MF is trying to get me to watch it (he has the GIRLIEST taste in movies) but generally I just get angry at how far away from the book movies like this are. Don't even get me started on 'Time Traveller's Wife'.

I keep forgetting to write my books down so here they are so far:

1, 2 & 3 'The Priestess of the White', 'The Voice of the Gods' and 'The Last of the Wilds' - Trudi Canavan

A second read through of these for me, absolutely brilliant fantasy books centering around a woman from a small village who works her way up to the highest ranks of their religious order. Throughout her time working for the Gods she faces various personal, political and emotional issues. At points they can be a bit predictable but the final revelation astounded me on my first read through. 9/10

4. 'The Time Keeper' - Mitch Albom

A short and sweet cautionary tale of the perils of us getting too caught up in the idea of 'time'. The story is told from 3 perspectives, a man who is fascinated with measuring time, a young girl who wishes time away and a dying man who demands more time. Whilst the overall message is clear and thought provoking the execution is rushed and the characters are under developed. The ending was very cliched and not what I was hoping for from Mitch Albom. 7/10

5. 'Blue Monday' - Nicci French

Psychological crime thriller in which a modern day therapist uncovers possible links between a current murder investigation and one from years before. It has all the right elements for a good crime novel but it is particularly well written. The story is rather see through and the ending is almost laughable. Not Nicci French's finest work. 4/10

6. 'Ragnarok - The End of the Gods' - A.S. Byatt

A beautifully written retelling of the Norse apocalypse Ragnarok through the eyes of a young girl who is given a book of Norse Myth during WWII. The language used to describe the Asgard and the lives of the Gods is beautiful, particularly her descriptions of nature and Yggdrasil. The narrative is very jumbled though and at times difficult to follow as the author deliberately avoids humanising the Gods resulting in a distinct lack of emotion and explanation for their behaviour. In 'Thoughts on Myths' at the end of the book she explains her reasonings behind it but I would have found it a more enjoyable read if there had been a bit more character development 6/10

7. 'Hallucinations' - Oliver Sacks

A synthesis of the literature and studies on the nature of hallucinations, mostly taken from Sacks' own patient and personal experiences. A fascinating and enlightening book that is educational and yet comical. 10/10

8 & 9. 'The Name of the Wind' and 'The Wise Man's Fear' - Patrick Rothfuss

The best fantasy novels I have read in a very long time. The books are divided into two timelines: the first is set in the present and described in 3rd person, whilst the second is a 1st person narrative of the protagonists past. The jump between the two timelines is expertly executed, and the stories taking place in both are equally as interesting. It's difficult to explain the story without spoilers but suffice to say I cannot wait for the 3rd and final instalment of this series. Truly excellent! 10/10

6.The Debt and the Doormat by Laura Barnard.

A frivolous and light hearted romance that made me chuckle in places. If you're looking for a book to take on holiday it wouldn't be a bad choice 7/10