I have a little down time so I'm going to try to get this list started. Here is how it's going to go these are just books I read this year not all of them were published this year. I'm going to start at number 6 and countdown to number 1. I am not including rereads on this list.Also, honestly my number 1&2 are interchangeable and I had a very hard time picking one over the other. Without further ado lets get started!
Number 6: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Genre : Non-fiction Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis: When Jon Krakauer reached the summit of Mt. Everest in the early afternoon of May 10, 1996 , he hadn't slept in 57 hours and was reeling from the brain-altering effects of oxygen depletion . As he turned to begin his long , dangerous decent from 29,028 feet , twenty other climbers were still pushing doggedly toward the top. No one had noticed the sky had begun to fill with clouds. Six hours later and 3,000 feet lower , in 70-knot winds with blinding snow , Krakauer collapsed in his tent , freezing, hallucinating from exhaustion and hypoxia, but safe. The following morning he learned that six of his fellow campers hadn't made it back to their camp and were in a desperate struggle for their lives. When the storm finally passed, five of them would be dead, and the sixth so horribly frostbitten that his right hand would have to be amputated.
Into Thin Air is the definitive account of the deadliest season in the history of Everest by the acclaimed journalist and author of the bestseller Into The Wild. On assignment for Outside Magazine to report on the growing commercialization of the mountain, Krakauer, an accomplished climber, went to the Himalaya as a client of Rob Hall, the most respected high-altitude guide in the world. A rangy, 35 year old New Zealander, Hall had summited Everest four times between 1990 and 1995 and led 39 climbers to the top. Ascending the mountain in close proximity to Hall's team , was a guided expedition led by Scott Fischer, a 40 year old American with legendary strength and drive who had climbed the peak without supplemented oxygen in 1994. But neither Hall nor Fischer survived the rogue storm that struck in May 1996.
Krakauer examines what it is about Everest that has compelled so many people- including himself- to throw caution to the wind, ignore the concerns of loved ones, and willingly subject themselves to such risk, hardship, and expense. Written with emotional clarity and supported by his unimpeachable reporting, Krakauer's eyewitness account on what happened on the roof of the world is a singular achievement.
My thoughts looking back on the book: I found the story to be really haunting and sad but still extremely interesting. I thought the writing was very vivid. The book was also fast paced.
I have to admit that if it wasn't for reading Into The Wild, I never would have discovered Into Thin Air. However, Jon has became one of my favorite writers and he has several books I want to read.
Number 5 : Me and My Shadows : A Family Memoir by Lorna Luft
Genre : Memoir/Bio Rating : 3 stars
Synopsis: Born into the twin shadows of a famous mom and older sister, Lorna Luft was always referred to as Judy Garland's "other daughter." But the little girl who first performed "Jingle Bells" at the tender age of 4 on stage with her mother was blessed with her own talent, zest for living, and knack for survival. This is the first insider portrait of one of Hollywood's most celebrated families- and a remarkably intimate and loving chronicle of an astonishing childhood and a struggle to overcome a legacy of fame and self destructive behavior.
Looking back on the book: This isn't a book I would have normally read. I actually read it because of a book club I was in at the time. I'm glad I read it though because it was one of the best books I've read this year!
The inside look at the Garland family was really interesting. It was disturbing to read about how the movie studios gave Judy drugs at such a young age. She couldn't have known they were addictive and the side effects they would cause until it was to late. I essentially think that everything that happened there was the movie studios fault for giving her the drugs at such a young age. This book actually gave me a lot of feelings even though Judy isn't one of my favorite actresses.
Number 4: Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: fiction Rating: 3 stars
Synopsis: Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip , sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it's the rock n roll she loves most. By the time she is twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.
Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she is pregnant, and with the pressure if impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.
Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realized the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.
The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies.
Looking back on the book: I still think it's interesting that the story was written in the format of a interview. When it comes to this being a biography about a fake band I really liked it. However, I do think the characters could have been better developed.
Number 3: Catch Me If You Can by Frank Abagnale
Genre: true crime/non-fiction
Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: Frank Abagnale, alias Frank Williams, Robert Conrad, Frank Adams, and Robert Monjo, was one of the most daring con men, forgers, imposters, and escape artists in history. During his brief but notorious criminal career, Abagnale donned a pilot's uniform and copiloted a Pan Am jet, masqueraded as the supervising resident of a hospital, practiced law without a license, passed himself off as a college sociology professor, and cashed in over $2.5 million in forged checks- all before the age of 21.
Looking back on the book: I have to say Mr. Abagnale has one of the most interesting crime stories I've ever read. One of the things that makes the book interesting is that it's written by the person who committed the crimes. Even if the cops didn't have the tech to catch somebody back then that they do now it is mind boggling that something like this could have ever happened. It is such an interesting story!
Number 2: Watchers by Dean Koontz
Genre: Horror Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: Out of a government laboratory so sinister and secret that it's very name cannot be whispered and into the lives of certain good and evil people come two escaped creatures, one murderous and one benign and both "changed, changed utterly" from the ordinary animals they once were. To the scientist who fashioned them they are the end products of experiments in genetic engineering and enhanced intelligence and they want them back . To the people who encounter them they spell either doom or a touching new kind of love. At the climax if this heart-stopping novel they inevitably meet.
Looking back on the book: I absolutely love this book! Watchers by Dean Koontz is one of my top two books this year. I loved how Mr. Koontz was able to keep up the suspense. I was preparing to ball my eyes out because I loved the majority of the main characters in the book. Reading this book was a roller coaster of feelings! In my opinion Mr. Koontz managed to blend genres and combine horror, sci-fi, action, mystery, thriller, and even a little romance and I loved it!
Number 1: The Troop by Nick Cutter
Genre: Horror Rating: 5 stars
Synopsis: Once a year , scoutmaster Time Riggs leads a troop of boys into the Canadian wilderness for a three day camping trip- a tradition as comforting and reliable as a good ghost story and a roaring bon fire. But when an unexpected intruder- shockingly thin, disturbingly pale, and voraciously hungry- stumbles upon their campsite , Tim and the boys are exposed to something far more frightening than any take of terror. The human carrier of a bioengineered nightmare. An inexplicable horror that spreads faster than fear. A harrowing struggle for survival that will put the troop against the elements, the infected and one another.
Looking back on the book: As a horror fan the book absolutely disgusted and haunted me in all the right ways. This book is not for the faint of heart and I absolutely love it! I for sure want to read more books by Nick Cutter. He is another new favorite author.
Also beware this book has lots of body horror and if you get grossed out easily this isn't the book for you. I also got attached to a lot of the characters so it was messed up what happened to some of them . If you can handle intense horror and gross situations you will love this book!
So that's my top 6 best books of the year . I hope you guys enjoyed the read . As always if you like the content give my blog a follow. Happy Thanksgiving and goodnight to all!
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