2014 books | The Plaid Pladd Blog

Posts Tagged ‘2014 books’

2014: The Pretty

December 31st, 2014 by pladd

Every year I bring you The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the books I’ve read, and then I feel guilty that I’m leaving out The Pretty. So I give you a bonus post for those cover designers who actually tried. This year, they are:

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

I really love the art style on this, that almost looks like paper cutouts. I also think it fits the kind of surreal nature of this book.

Geeks, Girls, and Secret Identities by Mike Jung

This book was kind of whatever, but the cover looks mad exciting!

To Be Or Not To Be by Ryan North

This book just won all of my awards this year. And how can it not? It’s a kickass choose-your-own-path book with badass illustrations.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

SPEAKING OF BADASS, GET IT, ISMAE! I loved everything this book chose to be. Assassins? Check. Death as a character? Check. Interesting historical setting? You bet. LADY POWER TO THE MAX? You know it! And the cover portrays all these badass things too.

Previously: The Good
The Bad
The Ugly

Tagged: 2014 books

Posted in Book Reviews |

2014:The Ugly

December 30th, 2014 by pladd

My favorite part of year-end posts! When I get to look back over the books I’ve read and decide which ones had the ugliest covers!

Mom Ladd helped me with this post. She wasn’t biased by the book’s contents, so she helped me pick out the most blah covers.

A Bad Boy Can Be Good for a Girl by Tanya Lee Stone

This isn’t bad in itself, just inappropriate for the mostly serious book.

An Exaltation of Larks by Robert Reed

This is a bizarre sci-fi story set in the modern day/the future. I don’t know what’s going on here.

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Another sci-fi story about alternate realities that could have tried harder.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

This book clearly needs more purple. What were you thinking??

YOLO by Lauren Myracle

Now this is the kind of purple I’m talking about! But my mom pointed out, rightly, that other than good color choice it is just sort of meh.

The Book of Awesome

Mom Ladd declared this nowhere near awesome enough.

A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong

This one tried, but I feel like it has the potential to look way cooler.

Clearly I need Mom Ladd assistance on more blog posts.

Previously: The Good
The Bad

Tagged: 2014, 2014 books, Mom Ladd

Posted in Book Reviews |

2014: The Bad

December 29th, 2014 by pladd

As promised, here’s The Bad list of 2014! If Brian and I hadn’t started that Hate Book Club, this list would be depressingly short, which I guess means I’m getting better at picking out books for myself. As always, these were the ones I rated 1 star on GoodReads (you can’t rate 0 stars, unfortunately).

Every Day

This book was the one I hated most this year. I think others on this list might be objectively worse, but I knew going in that they would suck. This book’s premise sounded interesting, but then it just pissed me off. I think I did a pretty good job summarizing why in my original post:

the main character is a new person everyday, wearing their body and accessing their memories until midnight when he moves on to some other random body. This premise raises a lot of interesting issues, almost none of which are explored. The bulk of the plot is about his creepy relationship with the girlfriend of one of the people he possesses. Maybe it’s just because I really hate the love at first sight trope, but their relationship struck me as superficial bullshit. “He looks at her and only he can see her secret sadness” uggggggggh no. You can’t use that as a shortcut to establishing a believable connection between two characters. Plus, the ethical implications of dragging your host body around, wrecking its life because it’s your vehicle for the day are only kind of acknowledged. We’re supposed to realize that his stalker-Nice Guy(TM) love trumps all those concerns, I guess. Also, he hops into a lot of different teen-problem-novel-esque situations that we’re supposed to Learn A Very Important Lesson about, even though these people are portrayed as strange cardboard cut-out minorities with almost no humanity of their own. Except the one fat guy he possesses, who is described as “the societal equivalent of a burp.” The protagonist makes a big show of how non-judgmental he is, except of the fat guy, because since you did this to yourself, you deserve society’s scorn. A GIANT NOPE TO BOTH THOSE ASSUMPTIONS, David Levithan. Ew.

It by Stephen King

I was enjoying this book until the end, when the group of eleven-year-olds decide to pause in their escape to have sex in a sewer tunnel.

Grinding in Greenville by Victoria Andrews et al

A poorly-written romance novel with damaging portrayals of rape victims! Heyeah.

Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray

Obvious advice you might find useful if you are a 1950s stereotype.

Real Marriage by Mark Driscoll

A thinly-veiled cry for help.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Some kind of re-imagined fairy tale bullshit?? I literally remember nothing about this book.

Six 1 stars out of 82 total books isn’t bad!

Next: The Ugly
Previously: The Good
2013 The Bad

Tagged: 2014, 2014 books

Posted in Book Reviews |

2014: The Good

December 27th, 2014 by pladd

It’s almost the end of the year so time to give you The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of what I’ve read this year. As always, these were all books I rated 5 stars on GoodReads.

My favorite book of 2014 was:

Smek For President by Adam Rex

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! The True Meaning of Smekday is my favorite book ever! Although I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to admit that in public what with a terrible movie adaption coming out soon. I didn’t even know Adam Rex had written a sequel until James gave me an Advanced Review copy for my birthday!!!!!!!!! BEST PRESENT EVER YES!!! Happily, the second book continued the spirit of the original!

To Be Or Not To Be by Ryan North

A choose-your-own-adventure based on Hamlet. With awesome illustrations. You should buy this ebook right now.

How to Fight Presidents by Daniel O’Brien

This book was the perfect amount of hilariousness and history.

Longbourn by Jo Baker

It’s important for us all to remember that regency England was not all empire-waist gowns and balls for most people.

All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry

Holy crap this book was good! I read it in one sitting. A historical fiction mystery with multiple DRAMATIC TWISTS! And just enough romance to make me happy!

Twentysomething: Why Do Young Adults Seem Stuck? by Robin Marantz Henig

This book reminded me of too many people I know.

Eighty Days by Matthew Goodman

Two lady journalists racing around the world!!! Olde timey transportation!!! Yes!!!

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

ASSASSIN NUNS!

Sorrow’s Knot by Erin Bow

A matriarchal society that fights zombies with knots. I’m 100% into this.

Rapture Ready by Daniel Radosh

Daniel Radosh investigated bizarre and amazing aspects of Christian pop culture. My favorite was definitely Christian pro wrestling.

Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel

Ancient cave-girl power!

A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong

This book charts the sociology of myth through history, how our cultural myths changed our civilization changed. A short book, but fascinating.

To the Letter by Simon Garfield

A history of letter writing! With funny and interesting excerpts of letters!

Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by Mignon Fogarty

I have other grammar and style guides, but this one is the best for practical tips that make sense, examples that stick with you, and ease of looking common problems up.

Tagged: 2014, 2014 books

Posted in Book Reviews |

August Books

September 3rd, 2014 by pladd

This month I only got through 5 books, which means I still have 27 more to go. 72% done!

Sorrow’s Knot by Erin Bow

Title: Sorrow’s Knot
Author: Erin Bow
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.97/5
My Rating: 5/5

This book was awesome. From the description, I wasn’t sure what to expect, and that’s because this book is so hard to describe. It reminded me a little of Garth Nix’s Sabriel, in that a young girl with great power has to hold back the dead, but the society portrayed in Sorrow’s Knot is much more tribal, and exists much more on the edge of extinction than even Nix’s Old Kingdom. The Free Women of the Forest have always kept back the dead by tying intricate knots to bind them. Rigid rules keep the women of the tribe safe, but also, in a way, keep them imprisoned. This book didn’t follow the narrative I thought it would, which made me love it. People die, not in some dramatic plot-point way, just… stupidly and suddenly, like in real life. It also has some really subtle yet great messages about the power of story and the meaning of “powerless”. I really hope it becomes a series because I am hella interested in learning more about this world.

Taste by Kate Colquhoun

Title: Taste: The Story of Britain through its Cooking
Author: Kate Colquhoun
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.78/5
My Rating: 4/5

Holla culinary history!! I am always down with learning more about the flamingos and crazy gelatin crap people used to eat.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.07/5
My Rating: 3/5

This was a pretty typical YA romance, drawing heavily on Romeo and Juliet (minus all the stupidity). The girl’s mom is a neat-freak senator, the boy comes from a ramshackle, loud, giant, messy family. TRUE LOVE. You know the drill.

Le Bleu est une Couleur Chaude

Title: Le Bleu est une couleur chaude (Blue is the Warmest Color)
Author: Julie Maroh
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.01/5
My Rating: 3/5

The story in this book was kind of whatever, but the art was beautiful, and the way color was used was very powerful. Since I had to buy it, I opted for the English translation, although really the dialog was so sparse, I feel like I could have done it in French.

Decided Not to Read

Title: Cabinet of Earths
Author: Anne Nesbet

Previously: July Books
Next: September Books

Tagged: 2014 books, books

Posted in Book Reviews |

May Books!

June 3rd, 2014 by pladd

This month I got through 8 books, so I’m 49% done with this project! Gotta pick up the pace!

To Be Or Not To Be by Ryan North

Title: To Be Or Not To Be: A Chooseable Path Adventure
Author: Ryan North
Rating: 5/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.26/5
When it was added to my list: 11/4/2013
Why was it on my list?: Um, did you read that title?

THIS IS A CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE BASED ON HAMLET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You should buy it right now. The e-book is ridiculously easy to navigate, and the illustrations are amazing. My favorite ending involves becoming a ghost marine biologist. Let’s face it, the other books I read this month really didn’t have a chance of making Top Spot after this.

Hell House by Richard Matheson

Title: Hell House
Author: Richard Matheson
Rating: 3/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.8/5
When it was added to my list: 10/23/2013
Why was it on my list?: A list of good horror stories before last Halloween

I was interested to read this because my only Matheson experience is his seminal vampire/zombie work I Am Legend, which is pretty different than the Will Smith movie of the same name. I like how he tends to write horror in an almost clinical, science fictiony manner, where the “supernatural” elements can be explained by science even as traditional horror tropes are utilized. This is a typical “strangers locked in a haunted house” narrative, which I enjoyed, though like most genre novels, the characters were mostly two-dimensional and I didn’t really care about any of them.

An Exaltation of Larks by Robert Reed

Title: An Exaltation of Larks
Author: Robert Reed
Rating: 3/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.49/5
When it was added to my list: 03/09/2010
Why was it on my list?: No idea

This book was way weird. Like to the point where I don’t even really know how to describe it. Here is the first sentence: “Youth is a bird. A simple and vivid wild bird. Quick to anger, and love, and hungry to forget, if only so that it can do everything again for the first time. Yet this is not a time of birds. It is a time of turtles.”

Easy by Tammara Webber

Title: Easy
Author: Tammara Webber
Rating: 3/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.24/5
When it was added to my list: 11/16/2012
Why was it on my list?: Who even knows, that was 2 years ago

I struggled a lot when it came to rating this book, because parts of it are really problematic, but I was still able to enjoy it by purposefully not thinking too hard about it. It’s a fairly typical romance novel about college students, but it also addresses rape frankly and calls out the bullshit victim blaming that so often shrouds the issue on college campuses. I really appreciated that, but found a lot of the main character’s actions surprisingly chill for someone who should be dealing with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Hopefully no one reading this would think there’s something wrong with them if they aren’t ready to fall in love/lust with the next cool, hot dude they meet.

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Title: Enchanted
Author: Alethea Kontis
Rating: 2/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.72
When it was added to my list: 1/10/2013
Why was it on my list?: Probably because I was really into reimagined fairy tales in 2013, like everyone else

Ugh, I am so over reimagined fairy tales, and this one gave me nothing special to focus on. The characters ranged from forgettable to annoying.

The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong by Tam L. Holland

Title: The Counterfeit Family Tree of Vee Crawford-Wong
Author: Tam L. Holland
Rating: 2/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.53/5
When it was added to my list: 12/2/2013
Why was it on my list?: A list of notable books out last year

I really wanted to like this one! The plot sounded interesting: after an assignment about making a family tree in school, Vee sends a fake letter to his father, supposedly from his long-lost grandfather in China asking for a family reunion, basically tricking his father into exploring a past he’d left behind. Unfortunately, Vee is completely unlikable. I think the author was going for how teenagers can sometimes be selfish or egotistical, but went too far until I couldn’t understand why any of the other characters would willingly spend time with him. I certainly didn’t want to.

The Ones I Decided Not To Read

Title: Breaking Beautiful
Author: Jennifer Shaw Wolf
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.93/5
When it was added to my list: 10/25/2012
Why was it on my list?: Good YA books published that year?
Why I’m not reading it: No joke, I have checked this book out on THREE separate occasions. The furthest I’ve gotten is Chapter 2. I have no idea why. I can’t tell you anything really wrong with it. I guess it just didn’t grab me, so I’m giving up.

Title: Wildwing
Author: Emily Whitman
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.43/5
When it was added to my list: 6/11/2012
Why was it on my list?: The cover looked really stupid
Why I’m not reading it: I don’t have time to ILL something for a funny cover

Previously: April Book List
Next: June Books

Tagged: 2014 books, book list, books

Posted in 2014 League of Six, Book Reviews, lists |

April Book List

April 28th, 2014 by pladd

This month I knocked off 11 books from my list, so I’m now 41% done with this project! Exciting!

All the Truth That’s In Me by Julie Berry

Title: All the Truth That’s in Me
Author: Julie Berry
Rating: 5/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.01/5
When it was added to my list: 12/2/2013
Why was it on my list?: I’m sure I read a good review

This historical fiction/mystery is amazing. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but the main character and her best friend disappeared from their village for two years… and then only Judith came back. With her tongue cut out. HOW? WHY? WHO? Can she salvage some kind of life for herself and her family? The answers are not what you think–I tried to guess the mystery behind this book, and was completely wrong multiple times. Surprises are the best!

Paris Out of Hand by Karen Elizabeth Gordon

Title: Paris Out of Hand
Author: Karen Elizabeth Gordon
Amount Read: All
Rating: 4/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.88/5
When it was added to my list: 1/8/2013
Why was it on my list?: I have no idea

This book was beautiful and adorable. It’s a travel guide to Paris featuring surreal, entirely made up hotels, restaurants, and attractions. A hotel run by children, another where the sheets are printed with the day’s newspaper so guests can keep up with the news, a restaurant whose strange meals are prepared by blindfolded chefs. The pages are also beautifully laid out and artistic.

Fat: The Owner’s Manual by Ragen Chastain

Title: Fat: The Owner’s Manual
Author: Ragen Chastain
Amount Read: All
Rating: 4/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.53/5
When it was added to my list: 7/7/2013
Why was it on my list?: I’m a big fan of Ragen’s blog

I’m glad I bought this book because I’m happy to support Ragen Chastain’s work, although I was mostly familiar with everything it contained from reading her blog. Size acceptance and body image issues are two things that have affected my life deeply, and reading Ragen’s work has really helped me focus on my health instead of my appearance. Last year I was working out better and more consistently than any other time in my life and didn’t lose any weight at all. A lot of people might see that as some failure on my part, but I was demonstrably healthier in all real measures of health: strength, stamina, cholesterol, blood pressure, quality of life. This year I’ve lost 50 pounds, and I’ve never felt worse. You can’t know anything about a person’s habits or health just from their appearance, and everyone deserves respect and the right to happiness no matter their size.

Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia by Jenny Torres Sanchez

Title: Death, Dickinson, and the Demented Life of Frenchie Garcia
Author: Jenny Torres Sanchez
Amount Read: All
Rating: 3/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.85/5
When it was added to my list: 12/2/2013
Why was it on my list?: A list of best books of 2013

As a senior in high school, Frenchie has a wild night of adventure with the boy she’s had a crush on for years but never really talked to. Then he kills himself the next day. Now it’s the summer after graduation and she has to deal with her own feelings of guilt, anger, depression, and love. Frenchie was a pretty cool main character, but I didn’t find myself caring enough about her emotional struggles to rate this book higher. I like that she had imaginary conversations with Emily Dickinson, though. I think that fact was the reason I marked this one as To Read in the first place.

360 Degrees Longitude by John Higham

Title: 360 Degrees Longitude
Author: John Higham
Amount Read: About a third
Rating: 3/5
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.95/5
When it was added to my list: 10/29/2013
Why was it on my list?: Recommended to me by GoodReads because I liked One Year Off

Ironically, I stopped reading this book because it was too similar to One Year Off but, I felt, not as good. The author seems kind of smug about a lot of his choices–bragging about how his kids will be cosmopolitan citizens of the world and how they’re biking across Europe instead of taking the train. I don’t know, that was just my impression. I’ve been in kind of a weird mood lately, so I could be wrong.

The Ones I Decided Not To Read:

Title: The Storyteller
Author: Antonia Michaelis
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.14
When it was added to my list: 1/2/2013
Why was it on my list?: It got completely stellar reviews
Why I’m not reading it: All those reviews also say that it is utterly heartbreaking. I don’t really need that right now.

Title: Palace of Stone
Author: Shannon Hale
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.92/5
When it was added to my list: 11/16/2012
Why was it on my list?: I liked the first one, Princess Academy
Why I’m not reading it: I felt like the first one wrapped things up pretty well, and didn’t care about the characters enough to start the sequel.

Title: The Last Dragonslayer
Author: Jasper Fforde
GoodReads’ Rating: 3.82
When it was added to my list: 1/2/2013
Why was it on my list?: I’ve liked some of Fforde’s other books
Why I’m not reading it: Jasper Fforde is a tricky writer because I really like his ideas, but I hardly ever care for his writing style. I usually find his main characters unlikable and hard to connect with. Sometimes the cleverness of the world he’s built overrides that concern, but I just couldn’t get in to this one.

Title: Al Capone Does my Homework and Al Capone Shines my Shoes
Author: Gennifer Choldenko
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.02 and 3.96
When they were added to my list: 6/5/2013
Why were they on my list?: I liked the first one
Why I’m not reading them: I didn’t like the first one enough

Title: Renegade Magic
Author: Stephanie Burgis
GoodReads’ Rating: 4.06
When it was added to my list: 12/17/2012
Why was it on my list?: I liked the first one
Why I’m not reading it: I didn’t like it enough

Next: May Books
Previously: March Books

Tagged: 2014 books, book list, books

Posted in 2014 League of Six |

March Book List

March 31st, 2014 by pladd

This month I read only 5 books from my list. A little less than usual, but that’s okay. I took a break and read some other great things that weren’t part of my goal. I’m about 29% of the way there so far.

Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers

Title: Grave Mercy
Author: Robin LaFevers
Amount Read: All
Rating: 5/5
Why was it on my list? That cover!

This book was awesome! I immediately looked to see if there was a sequel (and there is!! Though about different characters). It takes place in historical Brittany, where Ismae escapes from a terrible arranged marriage to an island abbey where the nuns serve Death. As assassins. There’s a little bit of magic, a lot of complex intrigue, and the perfect amount of ~romance~ with the added drama of whom can you really trust??. Love it.

More Than This by Patrick Ness

Title: More Than This
Author: Patrick Ness
Amount Read: All
Rating: 4/5
Why was it on my list? A list of good YA novels from last year

The novel opens with Seth drowning. He hits his head on a rock and dies. Then he wakes up, in the dusty remains of the house his family moved away from 8 years ago. Everything is abandoned and the entire town seems empty except for him. He must come to terms with the fact that he’s in some kind of hell…. or is he? I really liked the mystery involved, trying to figure out along with Seth what the hell is going on, and also the flashbacks to his life before drowning. There are multiple mysteries in this book, and I liked the way they twisted around each other. Only the ending was kind of unsatisfying, but maybe it’s a sequel set up. I’d be cool with seeing how this story continues.

Scorch by Gina Damico

Title: Scorch
Author: Gina Damico
Amount Read: All
Rating: 2/5
Why was it on my list? I enjoyed the first book in the series, Croak

True confession: I was not in the best state when I read this book, so maybe I would have liked it more at another time. The plot seemed unfocused, and the writing style and language kind of gimmicky. It ended on a cliffhanger, but I probably won’t read the third one.

Ash by Malinda Lo

Title: Ash
Author: Malinda Lo
Amount Read: All
Rating: 2/5
Why was it on my list? A list of fairy tale re-imaginings

This book was sold to me as “lesbian Cinderella” and I am all about that concept. Unfortunately, the execution wasn’t as exciting. Lo is very skilled at creating tone and mood, but all of her characters were somewhat two-dimensional and lacked personality. I didn’t really care about any of them, so of course none of them had any chemistry together and the romance portions seemed boring and awkward. I liked the world this lackluster story is built on top of, trembling between magic and modernity and full of myths and huntresses, and I wish the main characters had lived up to it.

Penpal by Dathan Auerbach

Title: Penpal
Author: Dathan Auerbach
Amount Read: All
Rating: 1/5
Why was it on my list? A list of horror books from around last Halloween

This book started as a series of Reddit posts, and that’s pretty much all you need to know. It didn’t even creep me out, and I am the world’s biggest wuss. Each lengthy chapter is its own short story, with a classic-style “THE CALL WAS COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE!” urban legend gotcha line at the end. The writing style was overly pompous, especially when the main character is mostly a child. Most of the characters act or speak in ways that aren’t appropriate for their age or situation (Mom is totally cool with letting her 5-year-old wander around the woods by himself! 11-year-olds analyze their friendships and admit when they are being distant and at fault!). Also, I had to buy this one (e-book), the first book I’ve bought for this project, so perhaps I was even more disappointed than usual.

The Ones I Decided Not To Read

Title: The Night Climbers
Author: Ivo Stourton
Why was it on my list? I have no idea. It’s been more than 4 years
Why I’m not reading it: This book only has a 2.95 star rating on Goodreads. All the reviewers basically just said it was a rip-off of The Secret History and not to bother. Since I would have to ILL it, and I already have enough to keep my library’s ILL department busy, I’m going to take their advice.

Title: Glamour in Glass
Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Why was it on my list? It’s the sequel to Shades of Milk and Honey
Why I’m not reading it: The reviews made it sound like, though I enjoyed the first one, I wouldn’t like this one. I am still all about regency romance/historical fiction+now there’s magic! though

Previously: February
Next: April

Tagged: 2014, 2014 books, 2014 goals, Book Reviews, books

Posted in 2014 League of Six, Book Reviews |