2014 in Notable Books

Today the NY Times list of 100 Notable book in 2014 was published.  And while I'm not usually up to date on the most notable books of the year, I have to say that this year especially, I was way out of touch.  Not only have I not read any of the books on the list, I've only ever heard of one of them.  How can that be?  I'm pretty bookish.  My favorite past time is hanging out in bookstores.  In theory, I'd had to have seen these books at some point in time.

Might the NY Times be a bit out of touch with regular book-readers?  I'm sure there's a sub-section of readers that have read some if not all of these (what I'm sure are) fabulous books, but I'm guessing your everyday bookworm hasn't.  I'm guessing that the purpose of this list is also to make readers want to read these books.  It's basically the list of what you've missed over the last year published conveniently right before Christmas to assist with all your gifting needs.  But it doesn't do that for me.

Like I said, I'm sure they're fantastic, but this is more a list of what I should be reading rather than what I want to be reading.  That might make me a little less intelligent than the NY Times audience, but I think I'm ok with that.  I'd rather enjoy reading books for me than pretend to be something I'm not.  

On that note, here are my notable books of 2014.  Not the books I've read mind you, but the books that I've seen in every bookstore I've been in and have been waiting patiently for Christmas to get or for them to go to paperback - whichever comes first.

"Yes, Please" by Amy Poehler: I'm not a die hard Amy Poehler fan but every article I've read about this book talks about how hilarious it is.  On a side note that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, I'm intrigued by the sheer weight of this book - I've picked it up a few times and it's much heavier than most books.  She must have used some good quality paper in that thing!

"Wild" by Cheryl Strayed: I have no interest in seeing the movie version of this book.  But I've been told by some travelers I know that it's the best travel essay they've ever read.  I'm not sure I believe them seeing as "A Year in Provence" exists, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

"Neil Patrick Harris: Choose Your Own Autobiography": I love him! I so don't get the premise of this book at all.  But he's Neil Patrick Harris so I'm willing to just go with it.

"Not my Father's Son" by Alan Cumming: He's Alan Cumming and the blurb on the front of the book is written by Neil Gaiman.  You can't really go wrong with this one.

"The Magician's Land" by Lev Grossman: I've been told the Magician's Trilogy is like a grown up Harry Potter.  I don't buy it but then again I'm only one chapter in.  It's a little odd, but I have a feeling it'll be odd for all the right reasons...eventually.

"Girl Online" by Zoe Sugg: I literally know next to nothing about this one but BuzzFeed is very excited about it.  Also, the cover includes Instagram photos and looks like a Pinterest board - it's pretty much guaranteed to delight me.

"Bellweather Rhapsody" by Kate Barcelona: I've been waiting for this one in paperback for months now.  It sounds like a great story and I've been hearing nothing but good things. Actually I was pretty surprised to not see it on the NY Times list.  It's gotten some serious press over the last few months.

"The Vacationers" by Emma Straub: I go back and forth on this one.  I was originally told it was a soapy-sudsy story perfect for vacation but the synopsis sounds a bit darker than that. Long story short, I'll probably read it, but it will most likely be after I've read all the other books that are calling my name.