2014 was a great year for reading.
I found lots of new favorites and read more books than 2013. In 2013, I read 61 books and in 2014, I raised that to 65! Wow! Books really are my stress release because I did not expect to read much with my dissertation research and job search taking up a large portion of my time!
I had always said that nonfiction was not my genre of choice...it just bored me. In 2014, I made the goal to read more nonfiction so that I could say, with honesty, what I really thought about the genre. I was very successful and read many popular nonfiction pieces. In fact, 13 of the books I read last year, or 20%, were nonfiction. I would say that is a good sampling to evaluate how I feel about nonfiction! :) Below are the nonfiction books I read and what I thought of each.
Nonfiction Reads of 2014
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
I think of myself as being a pretty effective and productive person. I also believe in constantly improving, so I picked up this best seller to see what kind of information it could offer me. While the writing was clear, I was not impressed with this book. I did not know what the seven habits would be, and I was disappointed by how simple they are. One of my biggest criticisms of nonfiction is that there is rarely new information to build on my existing knowledge. This book fell into that category. I can appreciate the writing, but this book was not what I had hoped for.
Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
I was so excited for this little gem! Mindy Kaling is hilarious, so I knew I would enjoy her perspective on life and living in New York. I was also excited to read about how she broke into the all boys club of comedy. For the first five or so chapters, I was entertained. After that, I got bored. Many of the stories were just memories of her own life. For me, I could hear Mindy Kaling so I respect the development of her voice in her writing. However, I just could not remain entertained. I ended up giving up on this one at about the 60% mark.
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
This one, I liked! I've heard great things about this book and being a voracious reader, I knew there would be some good advice in this one. I was correct! The writing was superb and Foster filled each chapter with other great pieces of literature. This book was also a great reinforcer of what I do as I read. Some of the tips, like comparing new characters to characters you already know, are things I do but didn't necessarily know the impact of! This book took me a long time to read because I didn't feel the need to work on it every night, but I'm glad I made it through to the end, and I would highly recommend this one for any reader!
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Bleh! Ok, I will admit that I read this book because it was being made into a movie. I thought the idea sounded really inspiring, a woman trapped in a bad marriage hikes the Pacific Crest Trail as a test of self-endurance and a journey to find herself. In actuality, that was not my perspective on this book. The author/narrator seemed selfish, spoiled, and very pessimistic to me. She cared for her ill mother, but spent more time discussing her animosity toward her siblings for not helping. The "bad marriage" she discusses was solely of her own volition. Her husband was so caring and understanding! I gave up on this one at about the mid-point because I could not read another word from this narrator. I know many people enjoyed this novel, but I was not one of them!
Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking Alone and Dining for One edited by Jenni Ferrari-Adler
I have mixed feelings on this one. Our book club chooses a food or travel book for August and all of the options this August were food related. This book was on the list, but was not selected as our final choice. It was my vote, so I read it anyway. I'm a young, single, twenty-something and often eat alone, so I thought this would be a fun collection of essays about trials, tribulations, and feelings of eating alone. Personally, I feel that I should pamper myself by cooking yummy food. I wanted to read essays from people who felt the same way. What I found was actually kind of sad...most of the essays were more pessimistic about eating alone. For example, several essays discussed people cooking the same meal over and over again and relishing the idea of not having to prepare food since they were eating alone. I finished the book, but I did not enjoy most of the essays. It certainly wasn't what I expected!
Almost French by Sarah Turnbull
This book is a memoir written by a young, twenty-something who is originally from Australia. She sets off on a world-wide adventure and meets a handsome French man in Bucharest. They begin a relationship and she returns to her normal life. After a short period of long-distance dating with a few (I think two) face-to-face interactions, she makes the bold decision to move to Paris to live with him. It seems like a crazy move, but a grand adventure that any young person can dream about. (I've often daydreamed about living in some other country, though I think about London.) However, in actuality the book was not entertaining. It was fairly well written and I liked the book, but I wouldn't read it again.
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Like 7 Habits, I was hoping this book would give me some ideas and advice for self-improvement. I have to say, this was one of my least favorite books of this kind! Again, the author is a more privileged woman, and most of the time, I felt she was self-centered. Many of the ideas in this book were not new and seemed silly for being part of a book about happiness. For example, one of the ideas she mentions is spending 15 minutes picking up the living room each night before going to bed. While I think this is a great idea, she gave so much credence to this idea for improving her happiness. I felt like much of the book was over-stating the obvious.
Bossypants by Tina Fey
I love Tina Fey! I find her hilarious and enjoy how assertive she is in a man's business. She seems respected and can hold her own. The writing was so-so, but this book was mostly entertaining. I really enjoyed Fey's reflections about working in mostly male environments and she was quippy. I probably wouldn't recommend this book, but I did enjoy it.
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers by Robert M. Sapolsky
Feeling stressed over the summer, I picked up this book about why humans feel so much stress and consequences that stress has on our well-being. The author spends a great deal of time explaining the physiological effects of stress and how animals cope with stress. Then, compares that to the way humans experience and handle stress. Ultimately, he ties some scientific conclusions for why we can be stressing constantly and not feeling its effects immediately, but that these effects often have negative implications. The writing was very good and the scientific details seemed well-researched. I found the book interesting, but I don't feel the need to reread it.
Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo
This one, I loved! Heaven is for Real reads much like a novel. I was afraid that it would be too forward about the religious implications, but rather, Burpo allows the reader to make many connections. He does not force his beliefs on the reader but just lets the story unfold. I genuinely enjoyed reading the book and found it heart-warming and touching. He does not paint his family in a self-righteous or unattainable fashion and they were very realistic. He includes trials and tribulations, arguments, and how the stresses of life affected his family. A wonderful read! The movie is on my to-watch list!
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Lean In falls into the same category as 7 Habits and The Happiness Project. It is written for young, female professionals and discusses ways to be productive, efficient, and effective at work. Again, I believe these three adjectives describe me, but I wanted to learn more. Of all the self-help type books I read this year, I found this one the most obnoxious, obvious, and in-your-face. As I read, I kept hearing a tone of entitlement in the author's writing. I was very turned off to this and did not feel that most of the tips and advice were new or interesting. :( Bummer.
Let's Pretend this Never Happened by Jenny Lawson
I can't remember if this was a book club choice or a runner-up. Either way, I did not find this book on my own, it was recommended to me. I know a friend of mine read it and kept telling me how she laughed hysterically while reading it. Well, that was all the convincing I needed! A fun, hysterical read is always welcome in my world. I admit that I too laughed hysterically at this book...for the first few chapters. The author's presence and ability to make fun of herself was great! However, once I realized that she wasn't kidding, that the events she was making comical actually happened, I was less than enthused. Wow! This author grew up in severe poverty and makes light of the traumas her family faced. How can a public be educated about the true trials of living in poverty when it is the butt of self-inflicted jokes? As the book continues, the author discusses her young adult life, marrying, and having children while dealing with severe mental illness. Again, she lightens everything in an attempt to make the book funny. I feel that she really brings down mental illness. It seems that mental illness is funny, which I don't believe. I'm usually not overly sensitive to things, but this book really offended me. I would definitely not recommend it to anyone else.
Quiet by Susan Cain
In the past few years, I have embraced the fact that I am more of an introvert. I have the ability to be extroverted when I need to be and can network and talk with people at conferences. However, I get my energy and recuperate from being alone. I thought this would be a fun read that would help me better understand how the introvert brain works and might offer some advice or research on how introverts function in an extrovert-dominated society. What I found seemed more like a competition against extroverts. Much of the book is set up to describe how extroverts and introverts are different and then discusses why introverts are "superior". Overall, I didn't enjoy the accusatory tone of this book.
My overall opinion of nonfiction was confirmed in my reading this year. It is not my favorite. However, I did learn that nonfiction has a place in my reading list, and I can still get enjoyment out of these books. Either way, I have opinions!
I'm looking forward to including a few nonfiction books in my 2015 reading. Nonfiction on my to-be-read list include:
A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Not that Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham
Essentialism by Greg McKeown
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Here's to a great 2015 of reading!
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