Can you believe 2014 is halfway over? I kind of feel like I was hibernating through the first four months of the year with the terrible winter we had, and have only recently woken up and started enjoying the beautiful late spring weather. The upside of staying snuggled under blankets with cups of cocoa all winter is that I got a lot of reading done -- and I've read some pretty decent books lately. I struggled in 2013 with a bad reading slump; I wasn't enjoying the books I was reading, and I couldn't ever find the motivation to just sit down and read. Happily, 2014 has been much better!
The prompt for Top Ten Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish this week is the top 10 best books you've read so far this year. I decided to shorten the list to five best books, so I don't risk my end-of-year list being exactly the same!
Top 5 Books I've Read in the First Half of 2014:
The prompt for Top Ten Tuesday at The Broke and the Bookish this week is the top 10 best books you've read so far this year. I decided to shorten the list to five best books, so I don't risk my end-of-year list being exactly the same!
Top 5 Books I've Read in the First Half of 2014:
1. The first three Harry Potter novels on audiobook
If you're a Harry Potter fan and have not yet discovered the magic that is Jim Dale, CHECK OUT THESE AUDIOBOOKS! I've tried a few audiobooks in the past and have been unimpressed, but the HP audiobooks are amazing. Jim Dale creates unique voices, injects atmosphere, and makes listening to the story just as gripping as reading it. It's been a quite different, though wholly enjoyable, way to experience the world of Harry Potter. I plan to listen to the rest of the series on audiobook too -- it's the perfect thing to do while knitting.
2. "I'll Be Seeing You" by Suzanne Hayes and Loretta Nyhan
I adored this book written in letters between two women set up as penpals during WWII. These authors have a new book coming out, "Empire Girls" and I'm excited to read it.
3. "The River of No Return" by Bee Ridgway
Time travel, romance, Georgian England, vibrant characters... what's not to love? This delicious book gripped me from cover to cover and I loved how the answers were unraveled in tantalizingly timed fashion.
My Review
Time travel, romance, Georgian England, vibrant characters... what's not to love? This delicious book gripped me from cover to cover and I loved how the answers were unraveled in tantalizingly timed fashion.
My Review
4. "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry" by Gabrielle Zevin
If you're a booklover, then you should check out this sweet, charming and heartwarming tale about a grouchy bookstore owner whose life is changed forever when a baby is abandoned in his shop.
5. "Mad About the Boy" by Helen Fielding
The third installment of the Bridget Jones series got mixed reviews, but I loved it! It was hilarious and heartfelt and I found it to be quite relatable.
The third installment of the Bridget Jones series got mixed reviews, but I loved it! It was hilarious and heartfelt and I found it to be quite relatable.
I am seeing AJ Fikry on so many Top 10 lists today! I think that needs to go on my ever-mounting TBR pile....
ReplyDeleteWe adore Jim Dale in our family. He read The Night Circus, too, so I'll be listening to it soon (after I finish Bill Bryson's One Summer.) I really liked The River of No Return, and The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry is on my TBR list. Nice list!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you liked the latest Bridget Jones! I was scared to read it because of the reviews and spoilers I read, but maybe I"ll give it a shot! The RIver of No Return sounds really lovely - thanks for the rec!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to reading The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and I'll be Seeing You.
ReplyDeleteI've added several of the books that you had on your "best of" list, Lindsay :) The only one I've read is "Mad about the boy", and I loved it for all its humour, warmth and relatability as am a mom now myself just as Bridget :)
ReplyDelete