Bibliofile - December 2014/Best Reads of 2014

Well, I didn't hit 100 but I sure came close. After reading 7 books in December when all was said and done I'd read 98 books last year. Like the other months last year, December had it's highlights including books by Augusten Burroughs, Rachel Joyce and Stephen King.

In Dry Burroughs, who wrote the biographical Running With Scissors about his dysfunctional upbringing, again returns to his own life in a very humorous look at a very serious subject: addiction.

The Love Song of Miss Queen Hennessy was a simply delightful read about the woman at the centre of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, itself a wonderful page-turner.

And finally, what can one say about Stephen King that hasn't already been said. In Revival King returns to form as an intriguing story teller who lulls you in then hits you with a brick in the face near the end.

Here are the books I read:

Dry -Augusten Burroughs *****
Brian Jones: The Making of the Rolling Stones - Paul Trynka ****
Special Deluxe - Neil Young ****
The Love Song of Miss Queen Hennessy - Rachel Joyce *****
Awakening - Ray N. Kuili ***
A Grief Observed - C.S. Lewis ****
Revival - Stephen King *****

Now every one and their dog has been talking about their favourite books of the year, so I may as well too.

Keep in mind these may not all be current best sellers. They're just books I read this year. And since I've been reading for the last 12 months I went with my favourite 12 books of the year, although I kind of cheated because one choice is a trilogy and another is two books in a series. But, hey, this is my blog and I can do what I want.

1. The Goldfinch - Donna Tartt
2. Dark Places - Gillian Flynn
3. I Was Dora Suarez - Derek Raymond
4. The Girl Who Saved The King of Sweden - Jonas Jonasson
5. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry - Gabrielle Zevin
6. Here Comes The Night - The Dark Soul of Bert Burns
and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues - Joel Selvin
7. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak
8. Stoner - John Williams
9. Before I Go To Sleep - S.J. Watson
10. The Divergent Trilogy - Veronica Roth
11. The Bone Clocks - David Mitchell
12. The Rosie Effect/The Rosie Project - Graeme Samson

How about you? What were your faves?

My Back Pages - October

Well, folks, I read seven (count 'em) seven books in October. One I didn't finish but even at that I hit the magic number 50 I estimated for myself by the end of the year. The six books I successfully waded through were, firstly, What Happened, Hillary Clinton's book on her bid for the Presidency. I''m a bit of a political junkie so I get off on this stuff but still it kinda struck me as one long whine over losing. Next up was the excellent Canyon of Dreams: The Magic and Music of Laurel Canyon. Laurel Canyon was the fabled area outside of Los Angeles where many musicians and artists lived. Known as a 60s enclave, the book takes a look at just who lived there over the last 80 years. A fascinating read. Next up was Lightfoot, a biography of Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot. He may have been responsible for some iconic folk songs but he was also quite the womanizer and boozer. Enough said. Then I read Dan Brown's new tome Origin, the fifth ...

The Polka Dot Door

A long time ago, when I was 22, my first child was born. That kid grew up on a little Canadian kid's show called Polka Dot Door, produced by the TV Ontario network. And Dad, more often than not, sat through those shows with his little one. Nine or so years later when a brother, and a year after that when a sister came along number one son was moving on to Knight Rider and The Dukes of Hazzard. But there was a nice overlap where his siblings picked up where he had left off with Polka Dot Door. And Dad was right there to welcome them. So you're looking at a Polka Dot Door veteran. The show began in 1971 and ran to 1993. I didn't watch the full run but I did get in my fair share. The formula was pretty simple. A young male and female host, which seemed to change every week, sang songs, told stories, made crafts and generally did their best stimulate little brains. The show opened as follows... Imagination Day! Oh boy! ...

30 Days of Photos III #4 Sour

Check out Ziva's Inferno for the rest of today's photos.

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