Best of 2014: Non-Fiction, Adult Fiction, & Rereads

My original plan for the end of the year was to post a Christmas book haul here and then have that jumpstart my end of the year categories, where I would post my favorites of what I read this year in different genres. However, my Christmas has been delayed and we are celebrating it tomorrow instead of two days ago. So I'm going to start my "Best of 2014" series now and just interrupt it with a book haul when I have opened presents. 

For each category I will give a list of the books I read which fall into that category, then follow it with my top picks from within. (The ones which I have reviewed on this blog will also have links to those reviews.) There will likely be a top pick and one or two honorable mentions. For today, we have three categories that were small enough the be put together. The others will be done as one category per blog post.

Non-Fiction: 

This year, I read eight books that fall within the Non-Fiction Category.
They were:

Bossypants by Tina Fey
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know by Jessica Valenti
The Crimes of Jack the Ripper by Paul Roland
Weird Things People Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
More Weird Things People Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

And the winner is . . .

Betty Friedan's famous examination of the nameless problem plaguing American women in the fifties and today is every bit as amazing as I had heard. It blew my mind and is as entirely relevant to today's culture as it was when it was written.








Honorable mentions:

Adult Fiction:
I read eight books in the Adult Fiction category.
They were:

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Misery by Stephen King
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

And the winner is . . . 

  This book by Kazuo Ishiguro was every bit as exceptional and interesting as I had heard it would be. I was captivated from beginning to end by Kathy's tale of her growing up at Hailsham. It really is a stunning read and one that leaves you reeling long after you've put it down.









Honorary mentions: 

Rereads:
I reread eleven books this year.
They were:

Speechless by Hannah Harrington
Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara
Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (2x)
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins


And the winner is . . .

 This book about a 21st century Dutch boy falling into the Children's Crusade is a story I wish every person would read. I still cannot believe it is the only one of this author's books that has been published in English. Every part of this story is captivating and wonderful.








Honorable mentions: 

Coming tomorrow: Manga/ Graphic Novels!

Banned Books Week

An excerpt from Americus, a wonderful graphic novel about banned books

There's a difference between banning books and parenting.

As a child, I was not allowed to read Harry Potter. This was because my parents didn't believe it was proper reading material for me("witchcraft" and all that). Admittedly, they were operating out of ignorance, but they were operating with my best interest at heart and that is their job as parents. (Since then, each of my siblings and I have become steadily addicted to everything Harry Potter and my dad has finally started reading the books as well. He loves them.)

The censorship we are talking about when we discuss banned book week is the kind where a person (almost always someone who hasn't actually read the book in question) tries to get a particular book banned from schools and/or libraries because they happen to find that particular book objectionable and carry a twisted belief that it is their job to keep every other person from reading it as well.

For example, Rainbow Rowell (author of Fangirl and Eleanor & Park) was slated to speak in the Anoka-Hennepin School District in Minnesota. Though the speaking engagement had been planned months in advance (to take place this week-during banned book week), as the event drew closer, the author began getting the silent treatment from everyone in that area. It wasn't until the National Coalition Against Censorship became involved that she found out a ruckus had been made about the fact that she was invited and a parent had become upset over the profanity in Eleanor & Park, even going so far as to demand that the librarians who set up the original speaking engagement be disciplined.

You can read more about this very interesting (read: appalling) ordeal here: "Talks Cancelled for YA Authors Meg Medina and Rainbow Rowell." You can also check out this lovely interview with Rainbow Rowell herself, in which she discusses her books as well as censorship and gives a bit more detail concerning this ordeal in Minnesota. The interview can be found here: "Talking With Rainbow Rowell About Love and Censorship."

 When we ban books, we band knowledge and ideas. That's not fair to the person who is banned from reading it, to the people who ban it, or to society in general. So much can be found through access to good books, whether they are controversial or not.

I'd rather my daughter approach a tough topic for the 1st time in a book, than in the MS cafeteria. #NCTEchat
— Donalyn Miller (@donalynbooks) September 23, 2013

For me, personally, books have always been my lifeline. They are how I thrive and grow, how I find inspiration to create and understand the people around me. Books are everything to me. So when you censor my favorite book, "Perks of Being a Wallflower" because of its drugs, sex, and violence, are you guarding me from harmful material or leaving me defenseless in a world where those very themes run rampant? Are you cutting me off from the things that will harm me or from ideas that scare you? And what if those very ideas are the ones that help me make it through this unforgiving world we live in? What if those themes that run along the border of obscene or offensive tell me exactly the things I need to hear to get me through from one day to the next?

Everyone deserves access to the knowledge and information hidden within the pages of our favorite books. That's what libraries and schools are designed to do: introduce us to new ideas and information we never would have accessed otherwise. If we are constantly knocking those books out of the hands of students, what can we expect but that they'll eventually stop picking books up altogether? And if they stop picking up books, they will forever doom themselves to ignorance.

I could go on and on about this, but I won't. Instead, I'll leave you with a few lovely resources I've managed to come across in the last couple of days. I won't leave you with a list of banned books you ought to read, because you can find that with a quick Google Search. (Though I do hope that you'll pick up a banned book this week in honor of the occasion, which is exactly what I intend to do as soon as I finish reading American Gangster by Mark Jacobson. If you need help finding one for yourself, I do have a "Banned Books" tag on my book reviews that you can search.) Instead I'll leave you with some other lovely pages about censorship that you can check out for yourself:

• 11 Quotes from Authors on Censorship & Banned Books
• A Word on Censorship
• NCTE Banned Books Week Twitter Chat 2013
• Ten Books About Censorship for Kids & Teens

If you're reading a banned book this week, I'd love to hear about it. I think I'll be picking up I Know Why the Caged Bird sings by Maya Angelou. What about you?

Novel Attraction Launch & Giveaway!!

Myself, my brother, and a good friend in front of an English
 bookstore (my natural habitat) in Paris, France.

Well there you have it, Novel Attraction is now live and I will begin posting new reviews and/or other book-related posts every Monday and Friday. (I'll do my best to keep that consistency as long as I can, but it may fade over time due to my work load or extenuating circumstances.) There may also be additional days where I choose to post, such as book events or signings.

I hope you enjoy the look and feel of the new blog. I know I'm certainly quite happy with it. I'm still working on moving old reviews over here, but for the most part you are now able to see the major changes and adjustments I've made so far. 

If you have any comments or concerns, feel free to hit me up on here or via Twitter. I'd love to hear from you.

Now, for the part you've all been waiting for: the giveaway!

I've decided to choose two of my favorite books for this particular giveaway; one classic and one contemporary. I decided to go with Emma by Jane Austen and The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. I think you'll agree that these are two very wonderful books. 

 (Both copies will be paperback and will have the covers seen on the left. I will be purchasing them from the Book Depository and shipping them to the winner as soon as the contest ends.)

How do I enter?: To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me what is your absolute favorite book. Pretty simple, right? (One entry comment per person will be counted.)

How long will the giveaway last?: The last day of the giveaway will be April 20th. That gives you ten days to enter. Any entries received after that day will not be counted (though I will still appreciate hearing about your favorite book).

How will you choose the winner?: I am going to let random.org decide. Basically, all I have to do is input the number of comments and it will choose a random number for me. 

How do I find out if I won?: I will post the name of the winner on April 22nd in a new post. If you are chosen as the winner, please shoot me an email with your shipping address. The subject line needs to say "Giveaway Winner: your name." I will place the order immediately. (You can find my email address on the "About Me" page. Please don't spam!) :)

Good luck and I hope you enjoy the new blog! :)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

"It's like when you are excited about a girl and you see a couple holding hands, and you feel so happy for them. And other times you see the same couple, and they make you so mad. And all you want is to feel happy for them because you know that if you do, then it means that you're happy, too."

Guys, it looks like I have another new favorite book.

It's funny. My two favorite books, Paper Towns and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, are both constantly compared to Catcher in the Rye, which was a book I really did not enjoy. It's weird how that works.

Anyway, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is Stephen Chbosky's first novel. No one would be able to tell that from reading his work. Written in the form of letters to an anonymous recipient, it tells the story of high school freshman Charlie. He's not exactly a social butterfly. As the title suggests, he is more of a wallflower, more content to observe the life around him than participate in it. But Charlie is an insightful and incredibly introspective person. He has a big heart and a pure soul that permeates the pages of the story.

When Charlie makes friends with step-siblings, Patrick and Sam, he falls in love with the "unconventionally beautiful" Sam right off the bat. But more than that, he quickly becomes close with the two and they help introduce him to exactly what it's like to be himself and live his life.

I personally found Chbosky's writing compelling and beautiful (even if I can't pronounce his last name). His narrative draws you in from the start and there was never a moment where I wanted to put it down or where it became boring. I eagerly devoured it and, in the spirit of Charlie, am seriously considering going back and immediately reading it again. I'll try to resist, though. I usually like to give myself time between re-readings.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was an inspiring and intoxicatingly beautiful book. It was a joy to read and is a delight to have on my shelf.

Rating: ~★★★★★~

"I'm going to do what I want to do. I am going to be who I really am. And I'm going to figure out what that is."