2015, a Study in Books I Read
I was searching my Goodreads Challenge from this year, and realized that I’m very far behind on my goal for 2015. Twenty-one books behind my goal. I’m not sure I’m going to make that up during the next six weeks of holiday fun. And that’s ok. The Goodreads Yearly Challenge is only there for two reasons: 1. the lofty and acceptable goal of encouraging people to read more than they think they are able and 2. the horrible and shame-inducing goal of showing other readers how prolific you are.
Most Goodreads Challenge Users, let’s be honest
I like to think that I use the Goodreads Challenge as a personal betterment from year to year. “Can I surpass what I read the year before?” A personal, external motivation. Well, it seems by changing my life around drastically this year, I couldn’t. But I don’t think a change of home, a change of job, and the 11 days I spent galavanting Europe are the reason I still have 36% of my goal left in mid-November.
No, really
It’s Not You, It’s Me
I don’t think this year has been literarily mediocre. I read some truly awesome graphic novels (Lady Killer and Sex Criminals and Rat Queens and of course, Saga). We got Life and Death!!!
I liked Mindy Kaling’s new book. Christina Lauren did amazing things with The House and Dark Wild Night. I liked some of our book club picks like Girl on the Train, Uprooted and The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I even enjoyed the AUDIO version of a book for the first time (The Martian). But I’m not OBSESSED with any book I’ve read this year.
Mostly I’ve been obsessed with cheese.
And I think all this MEH is because I keep re-reading books I KNOW I like in favor of trudging through ones I FEAR I’ll hate. Or out of fear that a book will start out great and fall woefully short in its execution, or (even worse) fall short with its sequels.
I’m a big coward. But it’s not an irrational fear; I have been burned.
Ok, Maybe It’s a Little Bit You
It’s been a year of minor disappoinments. After You was good, really good, but I did not come away feeling all the feelings I had for Me Before You.
Carry On was great, but did I read it too haphazardly? It didn’t AMAZE me the way Rainbow’s Attachments and Eleanor & Park did.
And it’s also been a year of brittle disillusionment. I’ve seen no less than three book series this year come to ends that weren’t just disappointing; they downright skewered my enthusiasm for the prior books in the series AND the authors.
And BY THE WAY … is anyone ever going to be able to find me a NEW FREAKING SHURA?
I know, Albus, this post is ONE BIG WHINE.
The last truly great book that I read and loved and couldn’t stop talking about was Captive Prince. And that was in 2014.
If I could eat Damen and Laurent, I would.
Maybe I shouldn’t expect too much. After all, The Inheritance Trilogy was a great find, and I swear I will finish the third book eventually. And I truly, madly, deeply, really loved The Fire Sermon.
But I’m ready for something to blow me over. I need a book or a series to make me feel like I felt the first time I read Outlander, Captive Prince, Finnkin of the Rock, Locke Lamora, Angelfall and Sarah MacLean. I need something to make me go …
Exactly. Thank you, D.C.
For cripes’ sake, how can I fulfill my TN duty of Condescending Book Recommendationer without some incredible books to make you all feel bad for not having read yet?
I MISS BEING ME
So can someone please write something (or recommend me something) that AMAZES???? Because I would like to get back to my condescending recommending alter ego as soon as possible.
Where have all the good books gone? What have you read lately that you cannot stop talking about? What new book will amaze me? HELP ME HELP YOU.
