From the guy that brought you his top 12 books of 2012 and his top 13 books of 2013, I present to you my top 12 books of 2014!

12? That doesn’t follow the pattern. Well, it’s a type of pattern but not what I was expecting. However, that’s all you’re going to get because that’s all I read (or attempted to read) this year. If you want a real book-type blog, I can recommend one by someone else  I know very well. But if you are looking for the musings of someone who reads about a book a month then you’ve come to the right place.

However, let’s be truthful for a second. While I do average approximately a book a month, I would classify myself as a “fits and starts” type of reader. When reviewing my reading log on goodreads.com you can see that I read three books in May, one in October, three in November and four between December 26^th and New Years Eve in a race to have something to write about here.

For those unfamiliar with the format, I rate my books on a five star system as follows:

• 1 star means I either hated it or couldn’t finish
• 2 stars means that I disliked it but suffered my way through it
• 3 stars means that it was ok. Nothing special, nothing memorable, just ok
• 4 stars means that I enjoyed it
• 5 stars means that I loved it
• 6 stars means that it was off the charts good since we only have five stars to work with

1 star

Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace

I got cocky. Between 2011 and 2013 I read 33 books. While that might not seem like much to some, it represents close to 30% of the lifetime books I was able to remember reading. These aren’t big sample sizes people. So, what was I thinking when I attempted this 1,100 page monstrosity, complete with 388 endnotes (some of which last 25 pages). Furthermore, the font on each page is pretty small. As a point of reference, it took me close to 5 times longer to read a page in this book than it does in a “normal” book. This book is anything but normal and there are guides published, groups formed and summaries written to help people get through this thing. Mrs. Taxman will tell you it is one of the greatest pieces of literature she has ever read.

This book follows has an alternate-reality theme (a genre I generally like) that touches on many topics including addiction, Quebec separatism, advertising, tennis and family. I downloaded a reading guide, recruited a few friends and tried to start the journey in January, setting reading targets every two weeks. I believe I made it the farthest of our group making it about 125 pages in. I did enjoy what I read, but the effort was too great. Maybe I will try again one day, just not for a little while. It took me four months to start reading again after recovering from this book. Although in fairness, there was a tax season thrown into the mix.

3 Stars

The Confabulist, by Stephen Galloway

The jacket cover makes it sound amazing and listening to the author read the first chapter had me hooked. This is the only book that I’ve read the last three years (maybe ever?) that Mrs. T has not read.  The book uses the life and death of Harry Houdini to weave a story involving magic, suspense, love and death. One of the characters kills Harry twice! If you don’t get what that means, are confused and intrigued, read the book! It’s worth the read.

Fergie: My Life from the Cubs to Cooperstown, by Ferguson Jenkins

Baseball! It’s been two years since I’ve read a baseball book. Ferguson Jenkins is the first and remains the only Canadian in the baseball hall of fame. I like baseball. As you likely know if you are on this site, I also like the Hall of Fame. We picked up this book on Hall of Fame Weekend 2013. There was not much to do that weekend (it was the one where only dead guys were elected) so we went browsing through the book store and found this book. And it was signed! How could I turn that down? The book followed a rather formulaic baseball autobiographic formula chronicling his life leading up to the big leagues, his career and after baseball life. It was still good, very interesting and one I would definitely recommend if you are a fan of baseball, the Cubs, Canada or all three.

4 stars

Ru, by Kim Thuy

It was not until I finished this book that I remembered that it was a book of fiction. There are a couple of those I read this year, foreshadowing to the last book discussed in this post. This is a very quick, single-sitting read detailing the trials, tribulations and struggles of a Vietnamese family fleeing Vietnam after the war. The book is about family and immigrant life, struggling to fit into a new society living in Quebec. It is poetically written and could mirror the story of the thousands of refugees who went through the same ordeal. Heck, it probably wasn’t that different than my family leaving Europe and settling in Montreal 30 years earlier. It is worth the couple hours of your life.

The Rosie Project, by Gaeme Simsion

This was a funny book. The women who I know that have read this found it funnier than me, but I still found it entertaining. The book is about a genetics professor, Don, who attempts a formulaic-evidence based approach to find the perfect partner. He calls it “the Wife Project.”  It is fun to go through his quirky process as he attempts to weed out the ineligible applicants. Don meets Rosie, who is not a match for him based on his criteria. However, Rosie has a project of her own. The book is part humour, part love-story, part excellent. It’s a fun, easy read and the first book in a series by this author on this character. But, it’s the only one I have read. 

The Martian, by Andy Weir

This was my first foray into the audio-book world. I’m told it still counts! Although, I’m not sure how to count the parts when I dozed off and never rewound. Mrs. Tax and I read/ listened to it on a road trip. She also paused it and filled me in on what I missed after I woke up from various naps. As it turns out, I didn’t miss too much and I listened to enough that I am counting it. Imagine being on a space expedition on Mars when something goes wrong and your crew is forced to flee. They think you have unfortunately perished, but alas, you’re actually alive! And, nobody can reasonably come back to get you. This becomes your story.  The book was entertaining, completely unrealistic and a joy to listen to.

 The Betrayers: A Novel, by David Bezmozgis

This book was nominated for a Giller and I was in Bezmozgis’ Grade 6 class at Associated. How could I not read this book? The book takes place in Crimea over a 24-hour period and obviously involves elements of betrayal. It’s the story of an Israeli politician who sticks to his political beliefs. This costs him his family, his job, everything. Fleeing from Israel to his old home in Crimea the politician randomly (although it is a story so how random is it really?) runs into the man who betrayed him many years prior to the KGB adding to the many level of betrayals the author examines through his beautifully crafted characters.

4.5 Stars

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

This is one of the highest rated goodreads books that I have ever read. It is an excellent story set in 1939 Nazi Germany. The book is written from the perspective of the Angel of Death, who is extremely busy during this period. Whether it’s from Nazi book burnings or the mayor’s wife’s library, the story revolves around a young girl who is fascinated by the discovery of books and does whatever in her power to steal and hide them for her own use to learn to read and enjoy. It’s an excellent, award-winning story that turned into a successful movie of the same name.

4.93 Stars

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by Joshua Foer

This book was dangerously close to five stars. It’s probably about as close as you can get. It’s a true story of a journalist and his research into the brain and memory. I think my cousin (the scientist cousin not the journalist cousin… well maybe both) would be fascinated by this. The book is not a self-help book on how to remember more (which I wish I could do). It’s just a fascinating read that really shows you what your brain can be trained to do. Anyone can learn simple party tricks like memorizing an entire deck of cards, what day of the week any day in history falls, etc.  Through his journey, the journalist ends up training for and entering the USA memory championships. Yes there is a thing! And you can read all about his research of memory and his foray into the memory championships here.

Five Stars

The Absolutist, by John Boyne

This is an absolutely wonderful book.  The book is set in England just after World War I. The book jumps back and forth in time following a soldier who wishes to deliver a package of letters to the sister of the man he fought beside in the War. The soldier was an Absolutist. And an absolutist in the British army during the War meets a very specific fate. Back and forth from the trenches to present day (1919), the story unfolds as the soldier wishes to tell the true story of his fallen comrade. It’s a story that explores friendship, loyalty, betrayal, sexuality and passion. I highly recommend this to anyone.

Station Eleven, by Emily St. John Mandel

This book had me hooked from the moment I picked it up. It became a two-day read, I couldn’t put it down. What can I tell you?  I seem to be a sucker for dystopian fiction, books that travel back and forth in time and ones that have interweaving story lines that all seem to come together. As an added bonus, a chunk of it was set in Toronto. If you can get past the fact that it is completely unrealistic – I mean really, how can a virus that kills within two days wipe out 99% of the planet – and the seemingly completely unnecessary survival techniques, you will enjoy this book. I loved it. As an aside, I am pretty sure that I would be one of the first to go when an outbreak hits. I can barely change a light bulb. I am not sure if I have any useful survival skills.

An Untamed State, by Roxanne Gay

Speaking of survival….last but not least was this book. There was a small debate about the order of my last three books. All were excellent and memorable. In the end, I decided to go with this one. I think I was scared not to and scared to put it down after I started reading. There were times that I was relieved to remember that it was fiction, but scared enough to know that stuff like this probably, check that, likely happen in this topsy-turvy country. So, if you were planning on visiting Haiti anytime soon, DO NOT read this book. If you weren’t and can put up with a gruesome kidnapping, the aftermath and life in a society where this is more commonplace than it should be, check this book out.