2014 Goodreads Reading Challenge: Part I

I had set myself a seemingly impossible target of reading 42 books last year. It was a miserable failure as I ended up reading less than a third of that. So I decided to tackle the same goal again this year and attack it from the first month. Halfway through the year, with a good collection of non-fiction and literary fiction in my shelf I haven't disappointed myself. (And that is saying a lot.)

Here is a list of the books that I have read in the past 6 months, and a few lines or more if the book left a lasting impression. Writing reviews is not among my few fortes, hence the post will not be of much use to the reader except as an insight into my great mind. In other words, this post will not be of much use. 

1. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

Frankl is an Auschwitz survivor and a psychiatrist, and the book is a bit of both. His portrayal of the daily life inside the Nazi concentration camps was as powerful as I expected. I skimmed past the psychiatry part of the book fast.

2. I promise Not to Suffer: A Fool for Love Hikes the Pacific Crest Trail by Gail D. Storey

I grabbed this book on a whim from the New Arrivals section of my library. It is an account of a 50 year old woman who hiked the PCT with her husband. In this book, I found a new love for California and the whole of West Coast.

3. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

Ah, the first heart-breaker of the season. Random notes from when I was reading the book: "Claudia comes across to me as being quite bitter. A tiny reflection of myself perhaps? Is this how I'll become at the end? A grumpy woman who believes she has seen it all and dismisses anyone less stronger.."

This Man Booker prize winner is narrated by Claudia, a war correspondent who looks back from deathbed at bits and pieces of her life. Initially, I found Claudia to be very conceited, and the book to be too rambling but it became more coherent as it progressed. At the heart of her character Claudia is agonizingly human, despite what her bitter exterior shows. I dearly wish that I would feel toward another being something akin to that which is described in these lines.

"She sits there half-asleep, seeing little, just his hand on the driving wheel, a brown hand with a scatter of black hairs between wrist and knuckles; forty years on, she will still see that hand."

4. The fault in Our Stars by John Green

A teenage love story with many honest moments that surprised me into giving it a 4-star rating.

5. The Cider House Rules by John Irving

Another chance find in the library that blew my mind, a stellar work on abortion, orphanage life and to a lesser extent on infidelity and molestation. I recommend it to anyone looking for a classic that is more relatable than your typical Dickens. Strong characters - check; controversial themes attacking society's morals - check; powerful language - check. 

Some of its lines hit me straight in the gut, and they hit hard. A testimony to the language part:

"What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us wind up in parentheses." 

6. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

A highly regarded tale of African culture that I did not find to my taste.

7. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

I took another stroll in the American forests, this time on the East Coast. Bryson proved to be an entertaining and knowledgeable guide.

8. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

The book spoke to me more than the movie did. And the movie had Eddie Vedder's music.. I can envisage myself reading this tale of young McCandless walking alone into the Alaskan wild many more times. 

9. The World According to Garp by John Irving

This international bestseller about the fictional life of a feminist and her bastard son who becomes an accomplished writer challenged my views on extremism, feminism, sexuality and infidelity. But at its most tragic moments I was left rolling my eyes at the comedies of life. It was not an easy read but it was well worth the time! My respect for Mr. Irving's writing grew manifold with this. 

10. A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran by Shane Bauer

A true account of three Americans imprisoned in Iran. Quite disarming.

Here is an excerpt.

11. The Swell Season: A Text on the Most Important Things in Life by Josef Skvorecky

I decided to read this book because of the band 'The Swell Season' whose name was inspired by this book. The book will probably not appeal to you unless you are looking for stories of a lustful, Jazz loving teenage boy in Czechoslovakia during WWII.  

12. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

A mildly informative book about the origin of the immortal HeLa cell line, not as much about Henrietta as I'd wish.

13. Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly

A very short and brilliant read. A journalist cheats her way into a mental institution to procure an inside account; and what she finds shocks the world (all but the cynical ones).

14.  A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers is a novelist, publisher and also a philanthropist. In this memoir he paints a poignant picture of his early adulthood in San Francisco which revolved around being a guardian for his 8-year old brother, after they lost both parents to cancer. Don't be fooled by the pompousness of the title, the book is a terrific run through Eggers' mind.

15. The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks

Intrigued by the title I started reading Dr. Sacks' collection of case studies of his patients with neurological disorders. It turned out that I was not too interested in neurology.

16. 1984 by George Orwell

I finally got to reading 1984, George Orwell's dystopian novel about socialism gone wrong. The book is a classic for a reason, it is still relevant in 2014. 

17. Animal Farm by George Orwell

A review described it as a children's version of 1984, I agree. I enjoyed the book nevertheless.

My favourite: Moon Tiger

One book that I'd recommend unless you are Deepti: The Cider House Rules 

One book that I'd recommend if you are Deepti: Read the whole damn list. Wherever it differs from yours ;)

Next in my reading list:

1. Cool Gray City of Love: 49 views of San Francisco

2. Love in the Time of Cholera 

3. The Bridges of Madison County