I have so much to do to get ready for tomorrow and Wednesday that I'll keep this as short as possible - on to the books!
31.
After a big ol' novel like American Gods I needed something to read (or listen to) that I didn't have think very hard about and this was recommended to me by Goodreads somehow. And since I love both the Sherlock Holmes character (having watched all of the BBC series) and Bram Stoker's Dracula this seemed like just the thing. I ended up liking it and I'm not going to lie, I may just read any successive books.3 Stars
32.
Oh Nora Roberts. Why you gotta do me like this? Last year I saw that she was writing a new trilogy and I had enjoyed quite a few of her other trilogies so I thought, why not! The first book in the series was.... just okay. And being the glutton for punishment that I am I signed up for the pre-order for the second book and folks, I hated it. It took me FOREVER to slog through this dang thing! I can't explain it. Also, I'm hoping the third book (I am such a sucker) won't suck so hard.1 Star
33.
I am not quite sure where this suggestion came from, maybe I was trolling Goodreads or Book Page but it came highly recommended. It just so happened that my Beloved and I were walking through Kroger (to waste time while Jet's was making our pizza) and they had a table of books with this one on it! w00t! A very good book. Enough so that I recommended it to a friend and she too loved it. The rest of the books are on my list to read further down the road.4 Stars
34.
Another suggestion from Cari! (Thanks Cari!) This was an amazing book, all 32 hours of it! The first three quarters of the book were sssslllloooowwww and then BOOM! It picked up and I lovedy love love love the last 1/4 of the book. I realize that she had to set up the characters (which she did very well) but there were points where I wanted to tear my hair out. Plus BBC is making it into a TV Series. Sweetness!4 Stars
35.
One of the characters from American Gods gets his own story fleshed out. I liked this book a lot, there was a good twist and something that I hadn't expected. If you've read American Gods this'll be right up your alley.4 Stars
36.
Ohmygoodnessgracious! How is it that the girl who wishes she even knew that being an ornithologist was a thing, had never read this book? I'll tell you how - I bought the dang thing, didn't realize I had it and let molder away on my bookshelf for YEARS. However, I'm really glad that I finally downloaded it to listen to because I really, really enjoyed this book! It had me Googling all kinds of birds/facts. Every birdwatcher/ornithologist wanna be needs to read this book.4 Stars
37.
Ooph. You want to read a depressing book? Read this. It had the misfortune of being both wholly sad and implausible. What else.... um. It's (barely) about knitting. That's it.2 Stars
38.
I would say I feel sorry about adding this short story on my list but, Flavia! There is nothing I can say other than if you're a Flavia de Luce fan then this 99 cent short story is a must. It's enough to tide me over until January and the release of the newest book As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust.5 Stars
39.
I originally heard about this book on NPR when they interviewed the author and promptly went home and purchased it, where it sat on my Kindle ever since. And in an effort to read some of the books that have been there the longest I downloaded the audiobook to listen to on my way to and from work. Historical novels at their best. I love how the author draws such beautiful scenes of 7th century life. Wow! I had a lot of difficulty in the beginning differentiating between people, places and items because of the Old English/Old Irish/Anglisc/British/Latin - phew! But once I got the hang of it and looked in the glossary things got better. I loved Hild's wild, frenetic world and her calmness. Good, good book.4 Stars (once again, I think it should be at least 4.5 - 4.75)
40.
BLERG! This book, I tell you. Don't you hate it when a book in the series just stinks? I really enjoyed the first book, the second book was pretty good and this one? Craptastic. From the first few pages I kept yelling at the book (the cats did not enjoy this) because the author is, from one chapter to the next, switching perspectives. I used the like the lead male character, Matthew, but all I saw of him in this book was him being overbearing, mean and crazy amounts of possessive. Pffft. The Diana from the first book wouldn't put up with that horse manure. Also, for reals? The ending wasn't an ending at all! Dang it! Whatevs. I'm over it.2 Stars
A goal that I set for myself and exceeded. That makes up for the near misses, no?
And that, my pretties concludes my 1st annual Year in Books Review. I'm resting my eyes and ears for now and deciding how many books I plan to challenge myself to read in 2015!
This was supposed to be a quick, fun read to tide me over until I got my next Audible credit (I was feeling cheap and not wanting to purchase credits) and I downloaded it from the library. Let's see... what I can remember is thinking whatevs every other chapter. The characters were well written but I found the story silly and unbelievable. Not my kind of book.
So, being a complete goober headed ninny I never realized that the movie Stardust (!) was adapted from a book. Say whhhuttt?! I broke down and purchased a ton of Audible credits because who wants to wait when you can have it now, now, now! Oh Holy Heavens am I ever glad I did. I love this book so hard and Neil Gaiman is such a fantastic narrator. If you haven't heard him read his books, do it, do it, do it!
Confession time. I don't do well with animal books so I avoid them (I still haven't read Marley & Me) and then they went made a movie of this book with what's-his-face sparkly vampire boy... So that immediately turned me off of it and I stubbornly resisted reading it because I am nothing if not stubborn. Sooommmeeeonnne said I should read it so I downloaded the audiobook and I cried a hundred times (stupid animal books!). I don't remember loving or hating it - just liking it. I still haven't seen the movie.
A Goodreads suggestion because I read The Storied Life of AJ Fikry. A book about books and a bookstore? Plus the author is from Michigan? Sign me up! What a great good read. A little mystery, a little magic a lot of fun.
Two words: Neil. Gaiman. I think maybe this is my favorite of his books (I haven't read nearly any of them) but this one is Ah-May-Zing! Again, he narrates his own book and sucks you away into his fantastical worlds. I found myself often sitting in my car just to keep listening until I absolutely had to get out and go inside.
Oh boy. Let me tell you a little story. A long time ago (2000, I think) while wandering around Borders with my MommaBean I picked up the first book in this series - 
It's no secret that I am a huge Anglophile. This book fit perfectly in my England-is-awesome lovefest. Goodreads kept suggesting this book to me but I kept stubbornly (shocking!) avoiding it. Wanna know why? Because I didn't like the cover. Moron. Does anyone else love book covers too? They can convey so much and I have been known to buy a book because I like the cover. Anyway, once I got over my bad self and bought the audiobook, I immediately fell in love with Harold and admire his perseverance in the face of difficulties. It a good story that made me glad I kicked my stubbornness in the knee.
Being a humongous Doctor Who fan you'd'a thunk I had read at least one of the quadrillion Doctor Who books, but you would be wrong. I think this book was on sale for some pithy amount on Audible and I saw it was read by Tennant (love me some Tenth Doctor!) so I bought it. Good thing too because Tennant does an amazing job narrating and he absolutely kills Rose & Mickey. Good short story for commuting.
Three things about this book: a) Drizzt! I love, love, love, love, love the D&D character Drizzt. b) the narrators! Sean Astin, Ice-T, Felicia Day, Al Yankovic, David Duchovny, Wil Wheaton & others and c) IT WAS FREE!! Oh my gawwwsh it was so amazing y'all. If you're a D&D fan then you'll love this collection of short stories. Seriously.
I asked 
Still on a Southern kick and having enjoyed Jenna Lamia's other narrations and Beth Hoffman's other book Saving CC Honeycutt AND because we had just come back from Charleston (stupid Charleston!) I bought this book. Mucho gusto! I loved the characters and wished that I had seen the Charleston that was portrayed in the book as well as wishing I was Teddi and that I restored antique furniture.
There must've been some book in my "read" list that Goodreads recommended this to me. Based on the reviews I downloaded it and I really, really enjoyed it! I like historical fiction and this fit the bill perfectly. I had Greensleeves stuck in my head for a month.
I am not quite sure how I picked this book but boy am I ever glad I did. If you like historical fiction, this book is amazing! The author is a Medieval scholar and it shows. With his descriptions he makes you believe you're in Chaucer's England. Marvelous stuff this.
Contemporary romance time via the library. Romance novels; do you love 'em or hate 'em? I have a special place in my heart for them and every once in a while I get a hankerin' for some light hearted reading. While this was pretty okay, and while it sufficed it wasn't anything super-awesome enough to insist everyone I know read.
Another type of book I feel bad about adding to my "read" list is reference books. I don't know why because I've read them! This book came highly recommended and it doesn't disappoint. I like the photos and the you-can-do-it-too-edness of it. Come Spring I will have bees and maybe they'll survive thanks to this book!
This is the first book that I chose on the recommendation of 
I remember choosing this book because I too have an apple orchard. That's it. Silly reason, eh? Anyway, I can't remember much about this book except for that I didn't really enjoy it. It wasn't bad it just wasn't good for me.
Another historical fiction and remarkably enough, set in the South (fancy that). I really liked this book but honestly at the end all I could think was "can't SOMETHING, ANYTHING, ANYTHING AT ALL go well? Please?". But other than that (no small thing) it was an enjoyable book to read.
Okay, so the underlying story the book told is really good. I just had a hard time following the story along as it was being told. I wasn't emotionally invested until near the end where the story started to come together and make sense (to me). That and I loved the protagonist, Leo.
I had read a couple of Kate Morton's other books (The Forgotten Garden & The Secret Keeper) so I thought I would read this one as well. This book fits the Historical Fiction bill being set in Edwardian England (I still haven't watched Downton Abbey, but this made me want to!). What I remember about the book is that it is well written so that you feel like you're a fly on the wall watching the story unfold and that I truly enjoyed listening to the whole thing.
It's the second book in a series and I guess I should've read the first but it was only 99 cents and, you know, I like canning and I kind of dig mysteries. It was, just okay. I remember liking the characters but being all kinds of meh about the story.
Free download from the library. You know I've never read any Sherlock Holmes. And I was just at that point getting into BBC's Sherlock series with yummy Benedict Cumberbatch. This was good! I really enjoyed the mystery and the characters. Now I want to read all of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock books -they're on the list.
I love knitting so any book that involves it is on my list. Is it bad to say I don't remember so much about it? I gave it 4 out of 5 stars so it must've been good. I hadn't ever read a memoir before so this was a first for me.
Aaaahhhh... Flavia de Luce. I am a rabid fan of this series; I even named our kitten Flavia for the character. Do you know who else loves the books? My Beloved. We have listened to every single book together and Jayne Entwistle is THE voice of Flavia - I almost like listening to the books better than reading them because she is such a great narrator. The first book 
a) I love anything and everything Harry Potter, b) I always feel bad for listing short story or booklet type things on my "read" list for these things. It was good fun and money from the e-book sales went to comic relief and I'm all about helping others. Did you know they're making a movie of it? Sweet!
Free audio book from the library that I don't remember much about except the protagonist kept annoying me. There were some eye rolls that were so hard my eyeballs actually hurt. I just felt annoyed with the main character Helen a lot and that was frustrating.
Another freebie from the library. I have read this whole series of books about three guardian angels named Shirley, Goodness & Mercy (it's where I got the two chicken names, Goodness & Mercy). This is the only one that I haven't liked! I must've been in some sort of mood because I remember being all annoyed with this book too. So, really, don't listen to me about books 6, 7, 8 10 because I was in a serious funk.
I signed up for Audible at this point because I was (you guessed it) annoyed because of the super long waiting lists for books I wanted from the library. I love Sarah Addison Allen books because I love her magical South. It wasn't as good as her other books. Still, again, I love how she builds wonderful magical places in the South (I have secretly always wanted to be a Southerner).
On a Southern trend and by recommendation ( I also really enjoy the narrator, Jenna Lamia - she read The Help & Saving CC Honeycutt, two books I love) I downloaded this for my Beloved and I to listen to on our way back from our anniversary trip to Charleston (which was a bad experience - see the trend?). I really liked this book. I wish I would've liked the movie more.
Still in a funk I listened to The Book of Lost Things on recommendation. Ummmm. Let's see. Great premise, good, scary story EXCEPT that I feel like the author stepped over the line a few times and was exceptionally cruel and disturbing. The Crooked Man scared the bejeezus out of me, and I liked that but, maybe I am a ninny, because some of the cruelty bothered me. A lot.