Books I’ve Read 2015

I want to keep track of the books I read this year. So here it goes. I am listing the books in order from first read to most recently read at the end. And same with the photo, left is first read and right in most recently read. I am going to crop in the books after I read each one and I am also going put a button that links to this post on the blog. 

Landline- Rainbow Rowell

I loved this book. I had just read Fangirl and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell so I was excited to read her other two books. I actually think this is my favorite book of the Rainbow Rowell books. I liked the story. Adult love is interesting and hard and I think she captured that. I also like the ending to most of her books. No “happy ever after” you feel like it’s real life, stuff that could actually happen. 

I feel bad about my neck - Nora Ephon
This is a Nora Ephon memoir. She is most famous for writing movies such as Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve got Mail. I like those movies and I like memoirs so I thought I would read this book. It was a fairly short easy read. But well writing and Nora is really funny. Also gives some insight to NYC living and since New York City is interesting to me those chapters were fun reads.

Attachments - Rainbow Rowell
This was her first novel written in 2011. I liked that it was set in 1999 and I liked the style of the chapters switching from Lincoln's view to the emails of Beth and Jennifer. I like Rainbow Rowell’s books because there is not this “perfect” ending. I mean all the books I have read, have lovely endings but she doesn't romanticize life. Which is nice. Sometime romantic books make life seem too perfect with these books you know that it’s not happening perfectly.

Just in Case - Meg Rosoff
I picked up this book on a whim. I went to the teen novel section and wanted a fun easy read before I dug into my next memoir or biography. I got to say I wasn’t really a fan of this book. It was a pretty easy read (i.e. teen novel) but I just didn’t really like the story. It was about fate and such and it was kind of depressing. I don’t know if I missed some connection but idk.

Carsick- John Waters
This book is 2/3 fiction and 1/3 non-fiction. John Waters writes his tale of hitchhiking across the USA. The first section of the book is titles “The best that could happen” and it’s about what he thinks the best outcome to his travels would be. The second section is “the worst that could happen” the terrible things that could come of this travels. And the last section is what actually happens on this trip. My favorite part is the last part. While not the most exciting I like reading what actually happened since I was expecting the book to be all non-fiction. 

Black like Me- John Howard Griffin
This was an excellent book. Written in 1959-1960. It is the true story of a white Texan (John Griffin) who becomes a black man (through medicine and black stain) and travels through the south at the height of the civil black movement to find out what it’s like to be black in the south in 1960. It is a great book. 
What books have you read this year? 

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
I finished this one in like 3 days. It was so good. I haven’t seen the movie yet and I wasn’t even sure if I was going to read the book but I picked up a copy at the library and I started it after Black like Me and it was so easy to get into. And it was good right from the start so it was easy to read. It is a really good book. I hope the movie is just as good, and now I can go watch it and cry my eyes out. 

Time Travelers Wife- Audrey Niffenegger
So when I went home to Washington in March I realized that I had a few books that I had boughten in high school that I never read and this was one of them. I brought it back to NC with me and read it. I remember watching the movie when it first came out in what 2009 (6 years ago!) I realized that I don’t really like reading books have I have already seen the movie. It’s like no matter how you try there is still a taste in your mouth that you can’t shake. Anyways, the book was good. Pretty close to the movie. There were some characters and their that weren’t fulling deployed in the movie like the book. Also it was the authors debut book so I thought that was pretty great. A thoughtful well read book for a first timer. haha But I do know that I would be watching any movies if I am planning on reading their books. 

Gone Girl- Gillian Flynn
I think this author must be a total badass for writing such a badass book. I really wanted to see the movie when it was in theaters and I am so glad that I waited and read the book first. (I still haven’t seen the movie, that’s next on the to-do list) Anyways this book is really good, lots of twists and turns. It’s funny cause at one time I was unsure if the author even knew where the book was going herself. Anyways great book and I know I might be in the minority here but I think that Amy is a total rockstar. I know most lean toward psycho bitch but I got to give the girl some credit. 

Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher 
This was a YA book and it was really good. I really like to have a quick and easy read sometimes. It was a book about a girl who killed herself and left behind tapes recorded with 13 reasons (13 people) why she killed herself. It was interesting how it all tied together. I really liked the ending. I also really liked how the author switched from Clay’s perspective (the guy listening to the tapes) and back to Hannah the girl on the tapes. It was a good read. 
love, Carlee 

Animal Farm - George Orwell
So I will admit I have never read anything by George Orwell before this book, yeah I think my public school education failed me. My friend was saying how her favorite book is 1984 also by Orwell and suggested that I read it. Well since it wasn’t on the shelf when I went look for something of Orwell’s to read. I opted for Animal Farm, it is a short read only 100 pages but it is a good book. It’s symbolic of the Nazi/Soviet Time and was controversial when it was published. It was actually published in August of 1945 which was the same time WWII ended. Also, it is a pretty easy read.

The Girl On the Train - Paula Hawkins
This was such a good book! I read it because I saw that Les recommended it on her blog. I really loved Gone Girl and people said that it was just as good. I actually enjoyed it more than Gone Girl. I thought it was a really good mixture of thriller and also I liked how it was from the perspective of the 3 girls. 

Me, Earl, & The Dying Girl - Jesse Andrews
Clark and I went and say Pitch Perfect 2 and a preview came on for this movie. I teared up a little on the preview so I knew that the book would probably be good. So I looked online at my library’s catalog and saw that it was available and thought that I definitely need to read it before there is to much hype and it goes on every hold list. It was good. I think the movie might be better than the book (that’s something I never thought I would say.) The book just didn’t give me those sad emotional feelers like I thought it would. Although I will say that I was actually laughing out loud on 3 separate occiasions. It was pretty funny. 

The Italians - John Hooper
This book took forever for me to get through! It was really interesting to learn about different aspects of Italian life, like there LOVE for football (soccer), the Mafia, their food, their family structure, wars, etc. The difference between the North and South Italy when it became a country and how the Catholic religion plays a huge roll in who the Italian people are. And while it was super interesting it just was really hard for me to get through. It wasn’t a page turner. I think it so heavily fact related that it was just a lot although I am really glad I finished it. Unless you are going to Italy or are just really interested in Italians then I would not read this book. 

America, you sexy bitch - Michael Ian Black & Meghan McCain
I loved this book. I read a book my Michael Ian Black last year and I loved it so when I saw this book on the library shelf I thought it would be a good read. It would nice to read a book about america from two different perspectives. Basic the two of them got in an RV and drove across America and wrote about there experiences along the way. About who they think the American people are and how makes this country great. It was also nice to see that a lot of there points of view aren’t really that different since one it a Democrat (Black) and one is a Republican (McCain). It was an easy read. Also, it read more like a diary or there two thoughts. 

1984 - George Orwell
So I have never read this book. My friend was reading one day when we were at there house and she said she has read it like 5 or 6 times and it’s her favorite book. I remember my brother read it back in high school but I never did. So when it finally became available I picked it up at the library. I really liked this book, so yeah we’ve passed 1984 and we are obviously okay. But it makes you think about mankind and our basic human qualities and if they can be lost without us even knowing it. Will mankind stop progressing? 

Bossypants - Tina Fey
Okay I really did like this book. I am a fan of her’s. I love her in Mean Girls and Date Night. I will admit though that I have never watched any of her on SNL and I have also never watched 30 Rock. But there were so many funny stores and she tells them in a really good way. I didn’t feel like she was slightly smug at some points. But I mean who isn’t smug at some point haha. Good book. 

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
Okay I LOVED this book. I think I even liked it better then Gone Girl. Maybe because I had no other thoughts on Sharp Objects unlike Gone Girl (which was super hyped and I saw previews from the movie.) This was Gillian Flynn’s first novel and I think it is a little darker then Gone Girl more physical pain / suffering. Whether as Gone Girl was more emotion and mental pain / suffering. Does that make sense? Anyways, I really liked it and thought the ended was great and unexpected. I really want to read Dark Places now but there are a bunch of holds currently at my library. 

Rude Girls Make Me Tired - Celia Rivenbark 
This was a very funny book. It’s a modern etiquette book sort to speak. I had thoughts of the same thoughts as the author like “bitch get your slow moving grocery store walking ass out of the way.” And also “did you just feed my dog chocolate, I will punch you in the throat.” Though I will admit at times the author seemed to have the mind set “Rude Bitches Make Me Tired, Unless I am the Rude Bitch Then Shut The F*ck Up.” Still a funny read though and I even got another one of her books so read. 

The Shining - Stephen King
So this was the first ‘horror’ book I read. I decided I wanted to read it after watching that episode on friends again when Joey is reading it and puts it in the freezer haha. So I read  it and it was really good. You can see my instagram review of the book and movie here. I didn’t really get scared by it, I mean it was creepy but it was also written in 1970s so I think some of the things that might have been REALLY scary back then aren’t as scary now idk. But Stephen King is a great writer. We watched the movie after and it was good although different then the book (obviously) I am happy to say I will filing get some cultural references like this one from the Office. 

Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
Okay so I loved this book. I loved all 3 of Gillian Flynn’s books and wish there was more to read. This one was a little darker, talking about satan and stuff like that. But it wasn’t too bad not like evil spirits more like stupid teenagers doing satanic rituals (not sure which one is worse) but I liked this one. Had my on edge and I didn’t really know what was going to happen until the very end. But I feel like that is what makes Gillian Flynn’s book so good. Anyways, Gillian if your listening, I would love for you to write another thriller novel or .......20 haha

I Remember Nothing - Nora Ephron
This was like her other book I Feel Bad About My Neck. It’s short stories that are pretty funny! I thought this was one better. Maybe a little more open. Talks about her mom, her divorce, working in NYC in journalism etc. All the stories are pretty funny and clever. I like her. It also was a really easy read, short chapters. 

Denton Little’s Deathdate- Lance Rubin
I read this book because Les recommended it. I didn’t have any books on my horizon and thought why not. I liked this book. It wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t think it was very realistic (not that books have to be realistic) but some of the stuff in the book was a little too out there for me (mostly the ending). But that was okay. It was an easy read and there is going to be a sequel for those of you that do like it. I did like the concept of knowing your the day your going to die. Denton is going to die when he is 17. Also, I did like some of the characters, I think the Dad was my favorite which might be an odd choice for favorite but I thought that the Dad acted just how I would image a parent would act in a situation like that. Anyways, sorry if I sound vague I don’t want to spoil anything. 

The Life We Bury - Allen Eskens

At the beginning of October I read The Life We Bury. I found this book via Amazon. So what I do when I don’t have any books on my upcoming reading list or if the books that are on my reading list are checked out what I do is go to Amazon and type in a title I read and liked, for example “Dark Places Gillian Flynn” and I see what Amazon recommends at the bottom of the page. And this was one of those recommended books from my Dark Places search. The book was good. It was interesting and exciting. It was all from the same point of view unlike Gillian Flynn’s novels. It was about a college student writing a paper about a Vietnam vet who was in prison for life because of a murder conviction. It has twist and turns and excitement. 

Very Good Lives - JK Rowling

I picked this one up after seeing in on Elise’s instagram. I checked my library and it was in stock so brought it home and read it. It took about 30 minutes to read. It is the graduation speech JK Rowling gave to Harvard grads in 2008. It was inspiring and well written will a little funny and wit thrown in.

Modern Romance - Aziz Ansari 

I have been wanting to read this book for about a month. I keep checking my library and it is always checked out, and it had quiet a few holds so I knew I would have to wait a little while. Luckily one Sunday it was available so I headed out right away and picked it up. So it’s written by the comedian/actor Aziz Ansari . At first I thought it was just going to be a memoir type book about this love life but it’s actually a really intensive book about romance in the modern age. They (him and a cowriter) did TONS of research. Focus groups, traveling to South America, Paris, Tokyo to research love there, asking people in his stand-up, subreddit groups, data from OkCupid and Match.com, talking with tons of psychologist researching current love. Anyways, it is good but at some points I get so anxious thinking about all the stuff current out there for modern romance and I am SO GLAD that I don’t have to deal to stuff like Tinder / online dating haha. It was a good and informative read, I was rather impressed with the quality of the book. Definitely not a fluff book done by a comedian so good job Aziz! 

love, Carlee