Books I Read in 2014

The highlight of 2013 were Heroes of Olympus and Percy Jackson Series. These books were so so addictive. One after the other I read them, turning page after page on my tab, until there was none. This year, I didn’t read many series but standalone books. What makes me happy is that my reading list was a mixture of classics as well as contemporary novels.

The Cuckoo Calling – J K Rowling
A murder mystery by our very own J K Rowling. Although the storyline was interesting and kept me captivated to finish till the end, I found the language a little slow.

Anna Karenina – Leo Tolstoy
This book is not for emotionally unstable. It took me over two months to finish reading it and more than that time to get over it. The story would capture your heart in a tight grip, not letting it go. It’s a magnificent read, even till this day I can’t stop thinking about Darya and Anna. If you love language, the bewitching art of story telling, and want to learn how to haunt your readers, this is a must read. It’s available for free in Amazon Kindle.

To balance the effect of this emotional classic I had to read 
Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s stone – J K Rowling
Harry Potter and the chamber of secret, again. 
I can read a Harry Potter any time, any day, any number of times. The sheer creativity and fantasy still bewitches me. It’s magical indeed.
 
The Perfect Groom – Sumeetha Manikandan
Reviewed here
The Oath of Vayuputras –  Amish Tripathi
A wonderful ending to the series, but the narration not as captivating as the previous books.

Thirst – L A Larkin
A crime mystery thriller based on the remotest location of the world – Antartica. I found it very informative too. The writer had done an awesome job explaining and describing the life in the coldest place on earth.

Game Set Match – Nana Malone
A rom-com revolving around Tennis. Not a fan of this genre, read it because it was free. 🙂  The book does have some hot steamy scenes. {wink}

The Phantom of Opera – Gaston Leroux
I had watched the movie long long ago, while selecting my reading list, I popped this in too. It is an engaging novel, although at some point I can’t help but feel irritated by Chritine and Raoul, and instead feel pity for the ghost.
Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte
I just swwoooonnnn at the mention of this book and I know it’s the favorite of many. 15 years since I had first read the book and I am still in love with the
language, with rude, fantastically ugly yet genuine Mr Rochestor and
plain dignified Jane Eyre. There’s somthing so calm and unrushed in the language of these classics, to express things without actually saying it… the whole beauty of writing!! That’s why I love reading them.

Aria’s light 
A nice fast paced fantasy novel I found in Amazon Kindle.
The Archer’s Revenge – Authored by our very own blogger Destination Infinity
The story revolves around young Aryan, who’s hell bent on revenging his father’s death, by using the ancient art of archery. I loved the way it ended. It was quite unexpected.
Body of evidence – Patricia Cornwell
A crime thriller that kees you hooked till the end. This is the first book I read authored by Patricia Cornwell and I am already digging the internet to get some more. All the murder-mystery lovers, you gotta grab this one.
The Fourth Estate – Jefferey Archer
The book is about two media barrons and their fight to own the biggest media empire. Based on the real lives of media magnates Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch,the story revolves around their rise, capturing ersonal details too. Archer knows how to keep his readers hooked. His immaculate style of narration kept me turning chapter after chapter. I used to read the novel while travelling in train.

There’s few more in queue and hope I will finish them by year end. 🙂
My aim was to read 20, but it’s a miserable 14.
So how many have you read?

12 thoughts on “Books I Read in 2014

  1. I have been putting of Anna Karenina like forever. Looks like it's high time I got down to it ! Great list there, Raj 🙂 Made a note of the ones that I'm looking forward to!

  2. Woah! You have read a fair number of books and the list is tempting too. From sometime I was not feeling inspired to read novels any more. I used to pick up a book and read it half and left it. I am feeling pumped now! Soon I would be telling you how many or what books I have read this year 🙂 Thanks Raj 🙂

  3. Patricia Cornwell is always highly recommended when it comes to mystery thrillers.. and yes, in Phantom of the Opera, you do tend to feel sad for the titular character by the end… thats the power of good writing, eh? 😀

  4. My dear Raj, you managed 14 with a full-time job! Hats off. Glad to see many similar titles in our reading list. I loved Anna Karenina when I read it back in college. And yes, HP any day at any time. Funny how our interests align 🙂

  5. That's a great list. I enjoyed Cuckoo's Calling though it took me a while to get into it. Have the second book of the series which I have yet to begin. And you've read Tolstoy? I can't bring myself to read Anna Karenina yet just because of the size of the book! Oh and Harry Potter — cannot go wrong with that! 😀

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