A Month of Favorites: 5 Books That Deserved the Hype…and 5 That Didn’t

A Month of Favorites

For the month of December, I’m participating in A Month of Favorites hosted by GirlxoxoTraveling with T and Estella’s Revenge. We’ll be sharing our favorite reading experiences from 2014. Today’s topic is…

When I considered today’s topic, I realized my 5 books, not surprisingly, would be ones I’ve been talking about a LOT lately with all the end of year “Best of” lists. So, I tacked on another element to shake things up…

5 Books That Deserved the Hype

My Salinger Year, Station Eleven, Martian, Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Wife Maid Mistress

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff (review)
Also appearing on: Best Books of 2014, Top 10 New to Me Author Discoveries, Best Books for Holiday Gifts

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (review)
Also appearing on: Best Books of 2014, Top 10 New to Me Author Discoveries, 5 Books I Almost Put Down

The Martian by Andy Weir (review)
Also appearing on: Best Books of 2014, Best Debuts of 20145 Books I Almost Put Down, Best Books for Holiday Gifts

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin (review)
Also appearing on: Best Books of 2014, Top 10 New to Me Author Discoveries, Best Books for Holiday Gifts, 5 Favorite Winter Books

The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress by Ariel Lawhon (review)
Also appearing on: Best Books of 2014, Best Debuts of 2014, Best Books for Holiday Gifts

…And 5 That Didn’t

Big Little Lies, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage, cutting teeth, children act, vacationersBig Little Lies by Liane Moriarty (review)
The whole world loves Liane Moriarty…except me! Big Little Lies was the third book of hers (also The Husband’s Secret and What Alice Forgot) that I tried and it was the one that made me swear her off for good. I just cannot take the tiresome mommy politics that seem to pervade all her books!

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki & His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami (review)
This one killed me…because I loved Murakami’s 1Q84 so much!

Cutting Teeth by Julia Fierro (review)
Every single character was insufferable…and the pervasion of mommy politics struck again (See Big Little Lies above).

The Children Act by Ian McEwan (review)
The Children Act was OK, but just that and nothing more. The main character’s obsession with classical music and the amount of the book that was devoted to it turned me off.

The Vacationers by Emma Straub (review)
The Vacationers was hyped as one of the big books of summer, but I found it pretty forgettable. I kept waiting and waiting for something to happen and the writing wasn’t good enough to carry a book that didn’t have much action.


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8 Comments

  1. Station Eleven, The Martian, and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry are definitely on my wishlist. I figured they were hyped for a reason so I cannot wait to get my hands on them, especially the first two. I’m planning on getting their audiobooks during the year. I hope that by the end of 2015 I will be able to say they deserved the hype as well. I’ve seriously seen them on every “best books of the year” list.

    I’m sorry to see you didn’t enjoy Big Little Lies. I’m actually looking forward to it. It has been really hyped.

    Posted 12.24.14 Reply
  2. Totally with you on Station Eleven. And I’m thinking I need to give The Martian another try!

    Posted 12.24.14 Reply
  3. I read Station Eleven and enjoyed it but would not put it in my top 5 of the year. I have The Storied Life.. on my kindle, yet to read. I enjoy reading others’ top books of the year posts, though of course we all have our own personal tastes. Happy Holidays to you!

    Posted 12.24.14 Reply
  4. After I finish the book I am currently reading, Station Eleven will finally be next. 🙂

    Posted 12.24.14 Reply
  5. Diane wrote:

    Merry Christmas Sarah

    Posted 12.24.14 Reply
  6. Sarah, a friend let me know that Station Eleven is on sale for the Kindle so I’ve snatched it up; since I know this is not the type of fiction you would normally read, it’s got to be good! I’m finishing up with another book, but then I’m looking forward to this one…great for post-race relaxation, right? 🙂 Hope you have a very Merry Christmas, Sarah!

    Posted 12.24.14 Reply
  7. I LOVED The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress. I keep seeing Station Eleven. I must read it now. 🙂

    I didn’t read the other books that deserved the hype.

    I also haven’t read any of the books that didn’t deserve the hype. I do have Big Little Lies on my shelf, though.

    Thanks for sharing.

    Elizabeth
    Silver’s Reviews

    Posted 12.26.14 Reply
  8. I totally agree with you on Station Eleven. I also read The Martian, but haven’t read any of your other hype-deserving books! AJ Fickry does sound super charming.

    Posted 12.28.14 Reply

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