Books I Read in 2014

Eggs by Jerry Spinelli. David is not dealing with the loss of his mother very well. She slipped on a wet floor and fell down some stairs breaking her neck. Now if can only obey the rules perfectly she may return and they will see that sunset together. He hasn’t seen a sunset since her death.

 Primrose lives in an abandoned car out in her front yard. Her mother tells fortunes always the same one. You will have a long and happy life. Primrose moved out to have her own space.  The two meet and help each other heal. It was delightful. 

As You Are by Sarah M Eden.  A lovely Regency Romance by an LDS author.

Servant: The Dark God, Book One by John Brown. I have enjoyed John Brown’s writing advice on his web page. I bought this book when it first came out through TOR. I only read a couple of chapter and then put it down. He has since decided to publish his own book. So edits and rewrites later and “Servant of a Dark God” becomes “Servant: The Dark God, Book One”

I think I’m getting too old for High Fantasy. It just seemed to stress me out. The writing is good and the world building is solid. I just felt like even though good triumphed over evil in the end that all the problems that were facing them before  were mostly still there at the end.

I really wanted to like it because he is and LDS author and a student of Orson Scott Card’s writer’s workshop. 

Ruins by Orson Scott Card. The story continues in the second installment of the Pathfinders series. Rig, Umbo, Param, Olivenco and Loaf (I love those names by the way) have made it through the wallfold. The ships are coming from earth to destroy Garden and they have to determine why so they can stop it.

I’m not in love with this series there is a lot of explaining about the repercussion of time travel and the ethics of it…a lot of explaining. I find myself oddly anxious to know when the third and final installment will come out. I am listening to the audio version and love the narrators. 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. Very short novel less than a 180 pages.  A man comes home for his father’s funeral and goes back to the place he grew up. He goes down to the end of the land and remembers.

A YA Fantasy with some major adult themes; suicide, child abuse, infidelity.

Lettie, her mother and grandmother are the funnest part of this book. 

The Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great by Gerald Morris. I have all his King Arthur and his round table tales.  This one was full of laughs. I recommend them all for King Arthur fan.  Written for ages 8-12. 

Spellbound compiled by Diana Wynn Jones. A complication of Fantasy stories by the literary greats such as Eva Ibbotson, L. Frank Baum, E. Nesbit, Andrew Lang, Andre Norton, Joan Aiken, CS Lewis, Rudyard Kipling and Patricia C Wrede. Experpts from some novels and others as standalone stories. Wrapped up with a story called “What the Cat Told Me” by Diane Wynn Jones. Very Fun read. 

Autobiography of Parley P Pratt One of the greatest later day missionaries, tells his story and we see the early days of the restoration through his experiences. His life is full of service, trials and tribulation. He was also a journalist and a poet. Many of our later day hymns have him as their author. Through all his trials he had an unwavering testimony of the restoration of Christ’s true Church on the earth for the final time.

He sealed his testimony with his blood. He was a martyr for the cause.

A very powerful read and testimony builder. Loved it. Was a book club pick. 

Sarah by Orson Scott Card. This is the wonderful story of Sarai and Abram fleshed out for us by OSC. He weaves together all the stories from the Bible and gives us a look into the heart of this remarkable woman.

We watch her change and grow into the wonderful matriarch of Abram’s Kingdom. We feel her softening as she see’s the promises made to Abraham go unfulfilled because of her barreness. Beautifully written. I am reading the OT so want to read this trilogy along with it. 

Mazerunner by James Dashner. Sorry I hated it. All the characters have amnesia. The characters are not very well realized the premise wears very thin. I stuck it out because he is an LDS author and they are making a movie from it. I may stand alone in my opinion and it is just my opinion but I will not read the rest of the series. 

Gossamer by Lois Lowry. I love, love, loved this book. Littlest One is the newest dream giver and she is in training. She is very curious, loves to dance about, wonders what exactly they are and sucks her thumb.

It’s the Littlest’s story but also the story of the 70-yr-old woman who takes in a young angry boy as a foster parent.

It was wonderfu to watch Littlest grow and learn and to watch the old woman and the boy heal.

Lois Lowry is a wonderful writer. 

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent. Very sweet story of a minister and his family in small town (Imperial) Nebraska. After many personal adversities; broken leg, kidney stones, lumpectomy the final straw was their nearly four-year-old almost dying from a bust appendix.

Then the story unfolds as they have those childhood talks with their son and he begins to reveal his near death experience of going to Heaven. Wonderful book. Very life affirming and a great faith builder. 

More Adventures of the Great Brain by John D Fitzgerald. TD and JD are up to more adventure. TD or Tom has the mind of a con artist though he is only eleven years old. His parents take away the new bicycle he just got for Christmas until he uses his great brain to turn an illiterate tomboy into an educated young lady. As always these stories are so fun to read. 

Far World – Water Keep by J. Scott Savage. Another LDS writer. This was good enough that I look forward to the sequels (3 more).

Marcus has been handicapped from birth and wheelchair bound. Found abandoned as a baby a Priest saved him but now he goes from one school to the next.

But somehow he has skills he doesn’t understand. He can make himself seem invisible to others and get hints of danger.

Kyja lives on a world where everyone has magic but her until because of some bond between them she pulls Marcus to her world. So the adventure begins. I liked it. 

Rebekah by Orson Scott Card. The telling of the story of Rebekah and Isaac. OSC is a wonderful story teller. I often wondered how the real Rebekah and Isaac felt about OSC depiction of them. Rebekah is strong willed but beautiful and Isaac never feels like he measures up to Ishmael. Stayed up most of the night reading it. 

Bear in the Back Seat I & II Adventures of a Wildlife Ranger in the Great Smokey Mountains by Carolyn Jordan and Kim Delozier. These are the real experiences of Kim Delozier who was a park ranger in the Great Smokey Mountains for 32 years. It was a wonderful read. 

Wonder by RJ Palacio. August Pullman is a 10-yr-old boy with a severe facial deformity. He has been homeschooled until now. He is entering a school for the fifth grade. This story is told in several people's POV as we watch Auggie struggle with prejudice of people put off by his face and watch how being his friend changes those around him. It was a wonderful read. 

Fair Weather by Richard Peck. Another gem by Mr. Peck. Lottie, Rosie and Buster get to leave the farm to go visit their Aunt in Chicago to see the World’s Fair. Grandpa tags along with Tip his dog. This trip will change all their lives in unexpected ways. I love Richard Peck’s stories. 

Homeland & Exile by RA Salvator. I got these two books on Audio and listened to them while I worked on my quilt. Jeanie Phillips and Tracy Blankenship both highly recommended this whole series. They were both right Driz D’Urden is wonderful protagonist. A moral man living in an amoral society. A dark elf with ebony skin and snow white hair. The underdark was a great world with so many amazing creatures. This is a great High Fantasy. 

Once We were Kings by Ian Alexander. Nice read, not perfectly crafted but kept my interest. Sometimes if felt like the pace was a little break neck. 

The Longest Tunnel by Alan Burgess. The True story of the Great Escape from Stalag Liff III of RAF, USAF, Canadian AF and other countries pilot and plane crew that were shot down over enemy territory and sent to POW camps. Their main job was to try to escape and cause resources to be used to find them or to escape. This is the story of the longest Tunnel that was dug and the 76 men that escaped. It even takes you to post war Germany and the rounding up of the members of Gestapo who murdered 50 of those officers who escaped. Very well written, truly fascinating. I gave this to Joe and Ryan for our Christmas book exchange along with the movie, “The Great Escape.” 

East by Edith Pattou. Retelling of the fairy tale, “East of the Sun, West of the Moon.” Easy read, she adds a lot of flavor with the strong superstitions of the MC’s mother. Also instead of the four winds carrying Rose on her journey, we have actual people who help her who represent the four winds. Nicely done! Great research so story is well fleshed out. 

Royal Airs by Sharon Shinn. Once again Sharon Shinn creates a wonderful world peopled by people with elemental magic. Josetta is a princess of one of the five families but is far enough from the throne that she works in the slums to bring relief to the poor. Her sister ends up in the slums rescued by Rafe a professional card player. He is different than anyone Josetta has met. He does not seem to have any elemental blessings. When Rafe is attacked they soon realize the past he has forgotten may not only endanger their budding relationship but their very lives. Wonderful.

about 25 books read this year.