Best of 2014: Audiobooks

I cannot express the right words for how passionate I am about my audiobooks.  There are days (weeks!) when I don't look at a single printed page of a book because I'm running around like my hair is on fire.  But audios I can do...in the car, cleaning the house, doing yard work, cooking, walking.  A well-narrated audio can be the most incredible experience...in some cases the entire story comes to life and feels like a movie in my head.  

I can't vouch for these books in print.  But in my ears they came alive.  

Non-Fiction

Five Days at Memorial - Sheri Fink (narrated by Kirstin Potter):  This is an absolutely riveting and horrifying story about the events that transpired at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans after Katrina hit.  No electricity, a failed generator, and hundreds of critically ill and elderly patients too frail to evacuate.  In a move that was highly controversial, decisions were made to euthanize the most helpless patients with lethal doses of painkillers.  It is hard to imagine such events occurring today, and brings up some highly discussable topics.  Perfect for book clubs.  Kirstin Potter is a wonderful narrator, but the real attraction here is the facts. 

In the Kingdom of Ice - Hampton Sides (narrated by Arthur Morey):  This bit of history about an ill-fated Polar expedition in the late nineteenth century reads like a thriller.  An eccentric playboy benefactor, incorrect maps and misinformation, starvation, frostbite, a breached hull, trudging for hundreds of miles in the frozen tundra, madness...it just doesn't get any more fascinating than this.  Like "Five Days at Memorial", the narration was well-done but the facts are self-sustaining.    

This is the Story of a Happy Marriage - Ann Patchett (narrated by the author):  Before I listened to this audio, I would have sworn that I wasn't into "essays".  But Patchett's, written for magazines over the expanse of her career, are ones that will touch on something that will move you.  MOST of them moved me.  Stories about writing her first book, about her dog, about her failed first marriage and her successful second one, about relationships with family and friends, opening a bookstore, being persecuted because of the content of her books...it is absolutely perfect in every way.  Patchett is so natural in her narration too.  This is one audio that I want to purchase in print to keep forever.


Fiction  

Native Son - Richard Wright (narrated by Peter Francis James):  This story knocked the wind out of me.  Set in 1930's Chicago, it tells the tale of Bigger Thomas, a young black man that makes a series of bad decisions that drags him into a downward spiral.  It is gut-wrenching, and shows the desperation and hopelessness of the black man during that time.  I suspect the novel in print would have an equal impact, but the narration is superb.    

We Are Water - Wally Lamb (narrated by Wally Lamb, George Guidall, Maggi-Meg Reed, Tavia Gilbert, Richard Ferrone, Edoardo Ballerini, Cynthia Darlow,  Therese Plummer):  If you asked me to list my top 10 audios EVER, this one would be one of them.  Lamb is a hell of a storyteller, in this case covering everything from a modern family and their individual struggles, gay marriage, pedophilia, racial prejudice...oh yeah you get it all here, as is Lamb's way.  But the narrators?  That is a loaded cast of voices, and they made this audio completely unputdownable.  It unfolded like a movie right before me, truly some of the best narration I've heard.  We read this in my book club, and some of the members refused to read it because of the pedophilia.  It's too bad because while that was very hard to listen to, I believe it to be one of the best books written this year.

Someone Else's Love Story - Joshilyn Jackson (narrated by the author):  Most of you know this, but I refuse to read a JJ book in print.  All of her books but one are narrated by the author herself, and she is marvelous.  Her stories are marvelous too...quirky, usually dysfunctional, Southern, and all center on very strong women.  In this novel, she also throws in autism and a love triangle of sorts.  And a girl who got pregnant without having sex.  You have to read it to believe it.  It is classic Joshilyn Jackson.  

Every Day - David Levithan (narrated by Alex McKenna):  While this book officially fell under the YA genre, it gets serious credit for tickling my brain and presenting a very unique premise (something you don't get often in ANY genre).  Every day "A" (a spirit? a soul? a male?  a female?) wakes up in a different body.  A is at peace with its existence, and lives by the rules of not interfering or causing attention in its subject's life.  Then A meets and falls in love with a girl.  Suddenly every day is a mission to get close to her, which is difficult when each day A is a radically different person.  It sounds a little wacky, but it works.  It is beautiful.  And very beautifully narrated.     

The Martian - Andy Weir (narrated by R.C. Bray):  If you've been anywhere near a book review this year, you will recognize this one.   This book was all the rage!  This won't be the only list you will see it on, particular in audio form.  About a wise-ass brainiac that get accidentally left on Mars during an exploration mission, it makes science fiction accessible and LIKABLE by one and all.  The narration of Bray provides the perfect snarky voice of a guy who is basically screwed but uses his last wit to stay alive.  Oh and by the way, it's going to be a movie starring Matt Damon.  Yep.

The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith (narrated by Robert Glenister):  If you thought J.K. Rowling shot her wad on Harry Potter, you were wrong.  This series started with "The Cuckoo's Calling" and set the groundwork with a protagonist who is a rumpled but genius private investigator, and his cute ambitious assistant.  I felt that Cuckoo's mystery was a tad pedestrian and one-dimensional, but she let out all the stops on this one.  The cherry on top was that the mystery occurs butt-deep in the publishing industry.  Robert Glenister's narration is simply as good as it gets.  He is amazing.   

World of Trouble - Ben H. Winters (narrated by Peter Berkrot):  This book is the third installment in The Last Policeman Trilogy, and yes, it is extremely unusual that the final book would be the mind-blower but it was.  The premise of the trilogy is that a very large asteroid is going to hit the earth and end civilization as we know it.  As time ticks down, people hunker down, pursue their bucket lists, kill themselves, get stoned on drugs.  But Detective Hank Palace (a little on the spectrum I think) continues to solve murders, chase down missing persons, and try to save his little sister.  The first two novels are good, but this one is remarkable.  Not too many people can pull off the end of the world quite like this.  The narrator isn't the best in the business, but his voice became Hank Palace and I was glad they kept him through the series.  

Best of 2014: Graphic Novels

So Graphic Novels!  This has been a more recent love that I acquired as a result of blogging.  I didn't read that many this year, but the ones I read for the most part were outstanding.  Here are my favorites...I'm quite pleased at how different each of them are from another.  

Watchmen - Alan Moore:  I read this at the behest of my son, and I thanked him afterward.  This is so much more than a comic.  It is a mystery, it is layered and complex, it folds in history and politics and made my brain tingle!  This is what all "comics" and superhero lore should strive to be.   

Blankets - Craig Johnson:  I'm a little late to the party on this one.  I'd heard so much about it over the years, so I finally ordered it from the library.  It is a whole different type of GN than Watchmen.  It is a autobiography about Johnson's life, starting with some traumatic incidents in his childhood, a first love he meets at camp as a teen, and his life as a young adult.  He struggles with love, loss and religion and is heartfelt.  

Palestine - Joe Sacco:  This GN was recommended by a whole list of other GN authors as being one of the best.  It is different from the other books listed here in that it is gritty, investigative journalism put into illustration.  We always hear stories from the Israeli point of view in our media...here is a chance to see things from the other side of the street, from the perspective of the common Palestinian.  This book is used in university classrooms, and with good reason.  I'll be rereading this one.

Saga - Brian K. Vaughan:  I had to give this series special mention.  None of the three installments have received more than 4 stars from me, but as a whole, they are a wondrous diversion into fantasy.  It is hard to describe the bizarre setup, but Wikipedia states it is a cross between Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and Romeo & Juliet.  So there you go, I'm sure that cleared things up!  It is a classic story of revenge, warring ethnicities, and forbidden love.  The imagery alone is worth your time.  Even if none of this sounds the least bit interesting, give it a shot.  You may find yourself getting sucked in just like me.

Best of 2014: Fiction and Non-Fiction

I'm still not sure what to think of 2014.  I definitely read less books than I have in awhile (90 total, 52 of them audio).  I always tend to blame myself...I say that I was moody and distracted, which was true.  But I think that if the books in general had been more compelling, I would have pulled out of those funks.  As a result, the lists are much shorter!

Here is how I'm going to break down my genres.  Today I'll talk about Fiction and my one lonely Non-Fiction book, all of them scored at 5 stars.  Tomorrow I'll talk about a few Graphic Novels that impressed me.  And finally I will go over my favorite Audiobooks, which are both Fiction and Non-fiction.  Just FYI, these books were not necessarily published in 2014, I just read them this year.


FICTION

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel:  This girl has hit her stride.  Don't let the phrases "traveling performers" or "post-apocalypse" scare you off.  This is a story of humanity rising above the need to just survive after an epidemic wipes out 99% of the population.  It has gorgeous writing, the random human connections like little Easter eggs hidden within the story.  She didn't win the National Book Award this year, but give her time.  

Wool - Hugh Howey:  I'll be the first to admit that I don't like Science Fiction, so that should tell you how absolutely mind-blowing this book is.  Again, post-apocalyptic, and a world-building that is phenomenal...unique and fully-developed. I've just read nothing like it.  (Even more amazing, this guy started out as self-published until someone discovered him.)  And there are two more books in the series that I'm dying to read!  

Big Little Lies - Liane Moriarty:  I've been a fan of this author for several years, and she just keeps getting better and better.  I love her for several reasons.  First, she just GET'S IT.  Being a woman, a mother, and wife.  And while she may come across as fluffy chicky lit, she digs into some serious territory.  In her latest book, she nails the whole parent/student dynamic at a small elementary school.  I feel like I've lived this.   Her setup and pacing is perfect, and is the fastest long book you'll ever read. 

We Were Liars - E. Lockhart:  This is another very fast read with a twisty plot and an unreliable narrator.  It is officially deemed a Young Adult book but it is suitable for anyone.  Not only is it twisty but so accurately captures magical summers and coming of age.  I laugh every time I think of one girl in my exercise class that was exercising and reading this at the same time because it is unputdownable.

Wolf - Mo Hayder:  I am completely addicted to this murder mystery series starring Detective Inspector Jack Caffrey, a guy who is damaged (of course, they all are).  The series is incredible dark and disturbing, and has been stringing us along on a few things.  Our protagonist gets some answers here, as well as a horrendous case.  It is the stuff of nightmares and I love it! 

The Wicked Girls - Alex Marwood:  This was a recommendation from Uncle Stevie, and I trust his sense of the macabre.  It was a well-told story, very fast-paced, very dark, but at this point, I don't remember a whole lot of the details.  So I'm not sure it belongs in the five star category but that is what I gave it at the time.

NON-FICTION

Devil's Knot - Mara Leveritt:  I've always been a little creepster about true crime.  I love analyzing the crazies, I love how you can Google the details, and it is terrifying because it is real.  This story?  As good as it gets.  Small town, a brutal murder of three little boys.  The local police go on a witch hunt and arrest three teens based on little more than rumor, prejudice and the coerced confession of one of the teens who is mentally handicapped.  The corruption goes all the way to the judge and the jurors, and these boys are convicted and serve FOR 17 YEARS before released.  This case is appalling, and if you need more, there are several HBO documentaries that allow you to see it all in it's full glory.  Doesn't matter if you are a fan of true crime or not, this is one you have to read.