The Year in Books 2014

I am joining in with Laura's "The Year in Books". I have so far stayed clear of link-ups and join-ins because I am a bit of a "committophobe" and some projects seem rather involved. However, a monthly book share is something I can cope with, particularly because I love getting lost in a good story.

I think I always loved reading. I grew up in a little village with an excellent library that was in my school. It was open every day during morning break and three times a week for an hour outside school hours. I visited most days. I usually started reading my book on the way home and once had a nasty accident because I was so immersed in the story that I didn't pay attention to the uneven steps going down a hill. I fell and bashed my head. I can't actually remember any details but I have a vague memory of lots of blood. 

Anyway, I always have a book or two on the go. Sometimes more. I like switching between stories, depending on my mood. I also switch genres and randomly move from non-fiction to crime fiction to historic novel to biography...
The one genre I do not like is romantic novels. They give me a tooth ache.

I am in a book group with some great ladies. We try to meet once a month but sometimes life gets in the way, or school holidays. We are quite adventurous I think and have very different tastes, which makes for a good mix of books and some animated discussions. Some of last year's choices were

• "1Q84" by Haruki Murakami
• "Too much happiness" by Alice Munro
• "Nemesis" by Philip Roth
• "The stories of John Cheever" by John Cheever

More often than not my books are in audio format. Audio books are a great way to make chores or runs quite pleasant. Since 2008 I have downloaded two books a month at Audible. The one downside with audiobooks is that I have frequent ear infections no matter how much I care for my headphones. I have a pair of chunky ones but these unfortunately cancel all the outside noises out and are not always practical.

My January read is "The plot against America" by Philip Roth 
 

I borrowed this picture from Amazon UK

This has been sitting in my book pile on the window sill for a while and I look forward to get started.

This year I have already read/listened to:

• "Free Range Kids: How to raise safe, self-reliant children (without going nuts with worry)" by Lenore Skenazy. This is a good read and deals with many of the often irrational fears parents have and how to put the risks children may encounter into a realistic perspective. I enjoyed it (but I am already a seasoned free range mother)
• "Walking into the ocean" by David Whellams. This book introduces a semi-retired and properly eccentric Scotland Yard Chief Inspector, Peter Cammon. In this book he is journeying to the Jurassic Coast (Dorset, UK) to solve a seemingly ordinary domestic crime. This book was ok but I am not sure if I am going to pick-up the second book in the series.
• "Doughnut" by Tom Holt. This story follows Theo Bernstein, an genius quantum physicist who has lost his job, his wife and all this money. Just a word of warning: this is a truly weird book, with multiple parallel universes and lots of doughnuts. Sci fi or fantasy? I am not sure but I liked it for its weirdness.

I am really looking forward to reading about everybody's choices and hope to find some books that I might not otherwise have come across. Cx