![\"Types](\"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Books-read-2014.jpg\" "\\"Types")
<\/p>\nI know there’s still more than a week until the end of the year, but here are the books I’ve read in 2014 (so far) that I loved the most. But first \u2013 some statistics!<\/p>\n
I finished reading 84 books this year, which doesn’t include the two awful novels that I refused to keep reading, the memoir I’ve just started or the small pile of 1960s non-fiction I’m hoping to get through before New Year’s Day.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"Author](\"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Author-nationality2014.jpg\" "\\"Author")
<\/p>\n
Although this doesn’t take into account the author’s ethnic background, simply where they were living when they wrote the book. <\/p>\n
After that, I got a bit bored with pie charts.<\/p>\n
![\"Author](\"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Author-gender-2014.jpg\" "\\"Author")
<\/p>\n
Another year when women authors dominated my reading list. <\/p>\n
Now for my favourites.<\/p>\n
My favourite children’s books<\/strong> My favourite Young Adult novels<\/strong><\/p>\n Does A Long Way From Verona<\/em><\/a> by Jane Gardam count as Young Adult? It was probably my favourite book of the year. I also loved The Greengage Summer<\/em><\/a> by Rumer Godden, about the differences that emerge between two sisters, one thirteen and awkward, the other sixteen and beautiful, when they’re left alone to look after their younger siblings on holiday in France. The characters are so real and interesting, and the setting so beautifully described. I didn’t have as much success with contemporary YA reads this year \u2013 I must have been choosing the wrong books or maybe I was just in the wrong mood for them.<\/p>\n My favourite fiction for adults<\/strong><\/p>\n I continued to admire Alice Munro’s books, particularly her collection of short stories, Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage<\/em>, and I was highly entertained by E. F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia<\/em><\/a> novels. I don’t tend to read much crime fiction, but I did enjoy The Daughter of Time<\/em><\/a> by Josephine Tey and The Death of Lucy Kyte<\/em><\/a> by Nicola Upson (which, coincidentally, featured a fictional version of Josephine Tey).<\/p>\n My favourite non-fiction and memoirs<\/strong> I read so many interesting non-fiction books this year. My favourites included Bad Science<\/em><\/a> by Ben Goldacre, 84, Charing Cross Road<\/em><\/a> by Helene Hanff, and two very funny books written by Americans about 1950s England \u2013 Smith’s London Journal<\/em><\/a> by H. Allen Smith and Here’s England<\/em><\/a> by Ruth McKenney and Richard Bransten. I am such a sucker for Scientist-Adopts-Injured-Wild-Animal books Hope you all had a good reading year and that 2015 brings you lots of wonderful books. Happy holidays!<\/p>\n More favourite books:<\/p>\n Favourite Books of 2010<\/a> I know there’s still more than a week until the end of the year, but here are the books I’ve read in 2014 (so far) that I loved the most. But first \u2013 some statistics! I finished reading 84 books this year, which doesn’t include the two awful novels that I refused to keep reading, … Continue reading My Favourite Books of 2014<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,18,11],"tags":[81,92,85,78,28,82,87,86,79,80,90,83,84,89,34,88,91],"class_list":["post-4277","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-my-favourite-books","category-young-adult","tag-alice-munro","tag-alison-bechdel","tag-ben-goldacre","tag-beverly-cleary","tag-diana-wynne-jones","tag-e-f-benson","tag-h-allen-smith","tag-helene-hanff","tag-james-howe","tag-jane-gardam","tag-jeanette-winterson","tag-josephine-tey","tag-nicola-upson","tag-richard-bransten","tag-rumer-godden","tag-ruth-mckenney","tag-stacey-obrien"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4277"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4304,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4277\/revisions\/4304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4277"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4277"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4277"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"'Ramona](\"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/RamonaQuimby.jpg\" "\\"'Ramona")
\nRamona Quimby<\/a>! I hadn’t read this series by Beverly Cleary before, and it was such a treat, getting to hang out with Ramona and her family. Ramona tries<\/em> to be good, but grown-ups are so confusing<\/em> and unfair<\/em> and just don’t understand how difficult<\/em> life is when you’re the youngest . . . and yet, no matter how much Ramona sulked and lost her temper and created havoc, she was always an endearing, sympathetic character. I also enjoyed Totally Joe<\/em><\/a> by James Howe, and Dogsbody<\/em><\/a> and Charmed Life<\/em> by Diana Wynne Jones (but loathed Fire and Hemlock<\/em> \u2013 sorry, DWJ fans).<\/p>\n
\n![\"'Wesley](\"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Wesley-the-Owl.jpg\" "\\"'Wesley")
<\/p>\n![\"'Why](\"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/whybehappy.jpg\" "\\"'Why")
and Wesley: The Story of a Remarkable Owl<\/em><\/a> by Stacey O’Brien was a good one \u2013 injured owlet Wesley grows up to regard the author as his ‘mate’, trying to push dead mice into her mouth at dinner time and viciously attacking anything that he sees as a threat to her (including her boyfriend and her own new bouffant hairdo). In the Depressing Lesbian Memoir category, I found myself engrossed in Fun Home<\/em><\/a> by Alison Bechdel and Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?<\/em><\/a> by Jeanette Winterson (which definitely wins the year’s Best Book Title award).<\/p>\n
\nFavourite Books of 2011<\/a>
\nFavourite Books of 2012<\/a>
\nFavourite Books of 2013<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"