1. Hear The Wind Sing by Haruki Murakami
2. Pinball, 1973 by Haruki Murakami
3. The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
4. 2666 by Roberto Bolano
5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
6. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
7. The Sound of A Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
~February~
8. The Fever Tree by Jennifer McVeigh
9. Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala
10. Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger
11. Portrait of a Spy by Daniel Silva
12. The Dinner by Herman Koch
13. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
~March~
14. The One Plus One by JoJo Moyes
15. The Infatuations by Javier Marias
16. The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke
17. The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Shwalbe
18. The Dark Road by Ma Jian
19. The House At The End of Hope Street by Menna Van Praag
20. Back to Back by Julia Franck
21. Ten by Andrej Longo
~April~
22. The Sorrow of Angels by Jon Kalman Stefansson
23. Silk Armor by Claire Sydenham
24. Jack of Spies by David Downing
25. The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy
26. The Other Typist by Suzanne Rindell
27. The Quickening by Michelle Hoover
28. The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
~May~
29. A Meal In Winter by Hubert Mingarelli
30. The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim
31. Punctuation..? by user design
32. Brief Loves That Live Forever by Andrei Makine
33. Where Did You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
34. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
35. Little House On The Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder
36. Bluebeard by Angela Carter
37. The Thing About Luck by Cynthia Kadohata
~June~
38. Lost For Words by Edward St. Aubyn
39. Yesterday by Haruki Murakami
40. Midsummer by Carole Giangrande
41. Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
42. The Summer of Dead Toys by Antonio Hill
43. Darkness in Summer by Takeshi Kaiko
44. Freud’s Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman
45. The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez
~July~
46. Summer House With Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
47. Barcelona Shadows by Marc Pastor
48. The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
49. My Friend Maigret by Georges Simenon
50. The Nautical Chart by Arturo Perez-Reverte
51. The Secret of Chanel No. 5 by Tilar Mazzeo
52. You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz
53. The Tunnel by Ernesto Sabato
54. The Parrots by Filippo Bologna
55. Nagasaki by Eric Faye
56. Paris Was Ours by Penelope Knowland
~August~
57. In a Grove by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
58. Parade by Shuichi Yoshida
59. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi
60. Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
61. Covet by Tracy Garvis Graves
62. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami
63. The Wishing Tide by Barbara Davis
64. The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis
~September~
65. The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer
66. Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino
67. The Black Cat (short story) by Edgar Allen Poe
68. To Rise Again At A Decent Hour by Joshua Ferris
~October~
69. First Impressions by Charlie Lovett
70. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
71. Inquiry Into Love and Death by Simone St. James
72. What The Lady Wants by Renee Rosen
73. There Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back Inby Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
74. The Black Swan by Thomas Mann
~November~
75. The Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olsen
76. Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
77. Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman
78. Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
79. Within A Budding Grove (Vol. 2 of Remembrance of Things Past) by Marcel Proust
80. An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris
81. The Fear Index by Robert Harris
~December~
82. The Narrow Road to The Deep North by Richard Flanagan
83. Skylight by Jose Saramago
84. Us by David Nicholls
85. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
86. The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami
A few observations:
- 44% (38 books) were books in translation
- 11% (10 books) were for the Shadow Jury for the IFFP (Independent Foreign Fiction Prize)
- 10% (9 books) were for the Japanese Literature Challenge 8
- 8% (7 books) were for Spanish Literature Month
- 3% (3 books) were for Paris in July
- 2% (2 books) were for German Literature Month
- 2% (2 books) were for Angela Carter Month)
Man Booker Prize 2013 was for The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
Man Booker Prize 2014 was for The Narrow Road to The Deep North by Richard Flanagan
Independent Foreign Fiction Prize was for The Iraqi Christ by Hassan Blasim
Personal Favorites for 2014:
- The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
- The Dinner by Herman Koch
- The Infatuations by Javier Marias
- The Mussel Feast by Birgit Vanderbeke
- The Sorrow of Angels by Jon Kalman Stefansson
- The Illusion of Separateness by Simon Van Booy
- Lost for Words by Edward St. Aubyn
- Salvation of a Saint by Keigo Higashino
- Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann
- The Narrow Road to The Deep North by Richard Flanagan
- Skylight by Jose Saramago
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante
You can count the Luminaries for the Booker Prize also
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Thank you for the correction; it was for the Booker Prize 2013 that The Luminaries won, not the Pulitzer which went to The Goldfinch. (I’ve corrected my post.)
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I have the Narrow Road to the Deep North and hope to get to it soon. Nice selection of books for 2014.
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It is a very powerful book, Harvee. I wasn’t sure if I could “manage” it because war is so hard for me. But, I’m glad I read it. The story, the ideas, the characters are unforgettable. It is a book worthy of its prize, unlike the IFFP winner in my opinion.
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You had a terrific 2014 for books – May 2015 be wonderful as well.
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Thank, Diane, and for you as well. I think that blogging has been a huge factor toward influencing my reading. By hearing of authors and titles and prizes which were previously unknown to me, I have expanded my horizons tremendously in the past eight years. So really, thanks are in order to my book blogging friends.
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Bellezza, you had an incredible year in reading! I will consult your list of favorites throughout the New Year for ideas and inspiration. I have not read any of them yet. Happy New Year to you and your family!
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Happy New Year, Suko! Thanks for all the books shared in 2014 and before!
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You had an excellent year of books, Bellezza! I also enjoyed The Dinner and very much regret not being able to read Buddenbrooks with you in November. My Brilliant Friend is on my kindle and coming up soon.
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I understand that you didn’t have time for Buddenbrooks. It took most of November for me, which is such a busy family month, but I do recommend that you pick it up when you have a chance. It is not difficult reading at all, more like watching a miniseries on PBS. You get totally swept into the family saga, and even find yourself cheering for certain characters.
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There are a couple on your favorites list that I’ve been meaning to read. And THE LUMINARIES sounds like one I’d do well to read at some point. You always read the most interesting books!
I’m stopping by to say hello after so long out of blogging. I have a new blog – kay’s reading life – and would love for you to stop by to visit. I’ve missed being part of the big reading community in the last while. Hope your new year is a wonderful one!
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Kay, welcome back to blogging! I bet it was refreshing to take a break for awhile, yet the blogging community does become an important part of one’s life after so many years. I’m coming over to visit you now.
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How do you do it? So many books, and a job!! I’ve hardly heard of most of them on your list, but I do love Charlotte’s Web. “<)))
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A few years ago, I would not have heard many that weren’t on the NYTimes best seller list. But, blogging has changed all that. It has opened my eyes to a much bigger world, and I am richer because of the titles and cultures that I have been reading thanks to the influence and interaction of blogging friends.
As to Charlotte’s Web, what a beloved book that is of mine. It never, ever grows old.
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That is a fascinating report – you’ve got me browsing all over the place, especially with your list of personal favorites. But I must go to bed now! Will I get back to this post tomorrow? I hope so. Thank you for the fun!
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Bedtime comes all too soon, doesn’t it? Or, perhaps I should say getting up in the morning comes too soon! I could stay up all night if I wouldn’t suffer the next day from exhaustion.
So glad to interest you with my post; I hope that you feel compelled to pick something up that gives you the joy it did me.
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I finally bought: The Illusion of Separateness!
here are my favorites: http://wordsandpeace.com/2015/01/01/year-of-reading-2014-part-1/
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The Illusion of Separateness was the first (and so far, only) book by Simon Van Booy that I’ve read. But, his subtle and beautiful writing so magically interwoven with the plot, makes me want to read much more of him in 2015. And beyond. Off to check out your favorites.
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Great choice of books! I have only read ‘The Luminaries’ and ‘Freud’s Mistress’ on your list, but have ‘The Dinner’, ‘The Prisoner of Heaven’, ‘Paris was ours’ and ‘Buddenbrooks’ on my list. You are right, when you start blogging you get a lot of influences from other bloggers, which is a great treat. Good luck with the reading for 2015, may it be another exciting reading year.
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Happy new year, Bellezza! What a great year of reading you’ve had — many of those books are on my TBR list.
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