Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books We've Read So Far This Year

Happy Top Ten Tuesday! As we are about halfway through the year, we are discussing which books have been our favorites so far. Kristin and Cailey couldn't decide ten books apiece, so you get a few from each of them! 
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme started on the Broke and the Bookish blog.
They set the topic, we make the lists. Visit their site to see more on this topic

Kristin's Picks:

A perfect read for this long winter we just encountered. This book creeped me out as I read it and I really enjoyed the story. I was not overly fond of the ending, but all in all a fun, page-turning read for those who enjoy a small amount of horror.
 
I loved the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder when I was a child. I’ve had the Rocky Ridge series on my bookshelf for years and finally decided to read it. Oh my goodness. It is so good and is everything I loved about the original series, but it’s about Laura’s daughter, Rose Wilder. Rose is smart, curious, and wants so much from life. I adore this series!

This short YA nonfiction graphic novel was delightful. The drawings are pleasing, and the story strings together the lives of three women who revolutionized the field of primatology. My only complaint is that it wasn’t long enough and didn’t tell me enough about each woman, their research, and their contributions. But it did inspire me to read more about them!

I became interested in Hemingway after reading The Paris Wife. He is not an author I love, but after reading about his life with his first wife, I wanted more. A Moveable Feast is about his time in Paris in the 1920s. It was before he became really big and it was an intriguing read to see what different authors were like, along with hearing about Paris of the 1920s.

Cailey's Picks:

Despite knowing a lot about this book, I had never read it until recently. I wound up listening to the audio book, which made it much more intriguing, and terrifying. The book, which is told from a five year old's perspective who has been raised in an 11' x 11' room, was fascinating. I was very scared for Jack and his Ma, but the book ended on a fairly happy note. 

I loved this book! The book is about a bookstore on a little island, and the man who runs it, A.J. His life is not so great when we start, having recently lost his wife, but it turns around as the book continues. It is a sweet, heartwarming story about community, family, and books. 

I love the Lemony Snicket series, so I wanted to try some of Daniel Handler's adult and teen works. I was pleasantly surprised by this book, which is told in letters to an ex-boyfriend. The story of their relationship unfolds even as we know they will break up in the end.

Another I had never read until recently. It was just as amazing as I expected, and I loved all of the characters, the language, and Matilda. As a lover of the 90s film, I was happy to see that the book was well-represented in film, and I am very glad I finally read it. 

I am not a fan of time travel books in general, and I didn't expect to become as invested as I did. The book covers three separate eras where some pretty serious things were happening in history, and creates parallels between them that I don't think I would have seen otherwise. There were some things that I wished had been expanded upon, but overall it was a pretty solid story. I could easily see sequel (or companion novels) told from the other perspectives in the book.

Both of us:

We both LOVED Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosch. Basically we’ve made everyone we know and love read this book. Several of the graphics are rotating backgrounds for our shared computer, and when any of us librarians are having a bad day it’s always “everything is spiders.”

What's your best book of this year? 

2 comments:

  1. I decided to check out "Hyperbole and a Half" because of this post, and I literally can't stop laughing. Thanks for the recommendation!

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    Replies
    1. You're very welcome! It's an amazing read, and I'm going through it my second time now--because it is just so awesome. -Cailey

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