Top 5s of 2014

I did a post like this last year, where I have my top five favourite fiction books, non-fiction books, songs and TV shows. I’ve decided to do the same again this year.
Fiction Books

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

I’ve already raved about this book here, but it’s definitely a must read. Beautifully written post-apocalyptic novel with an interesting plot, an air of eerieness and a hint of ‘this could happen’ness. Just go read the longer review to get a much better sense of this book.




Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

Mr Mercedes is the first in a new series by Stephen King. It features a retired detective, who lives a dull boring life and toys with the idea of ending it all. Until one day he receives a message from the ‘one who got away’, Mr Mercedes, the one case he didn’t crack and that haunts him. What follows is a cat and mouse game to find Mr Mercedes, though who is hunting who? Thoroughly enjoyed this, getting back into mystery and crime novels that I loved oh so much growing up (hell yeah Enid Blyton). Looking forward to the next novel!


Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

I read all of Rowell’s books this year, bar her new one Landline, but this was the first I read and my favourite. While I did enjoy the other two, I think this one pipped it. Probably because I read it first and probably because I really liked the nerdy element to it. Plus Eleanor and Park made me bawl like a baby and I’m still a bit raw thinking about it! Fangirl follows Cath and her twin sister Wren, who both go off to college. But while Cath wants to live with her sister and continue with their online fanfiction writing, Wren wants more independence and to make new friends. I thought it was a sweet YA novel.


The Likeness by Tana French

The second book in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series and this one follows Cassie, who gets sucked back into the undercover world when a girl who looks just like her winds up dead. Even more spooky than that is the fact that her ID is Cassie’s old undercover alias, Lexie. Cassie’s old boss Frank decides to the best way to find this mystery girl’s killer is to pretend that she was injured, not killed and put Cassie back in the house to suss out what happened. Can Cassie pull this off, especially without becoming emotionally involved? I loved this, Tana French is slowly becoming a favourite and I’ve only read two books so far!



The Art of Baking Blind by Sarah Vaughan

This is like The Great British Bake Off in a novel. Eaden’s Supermarket is trying to find a new Mrs. Eaden (the original being the wife of the founder and a big role model, the Nigella of the 60s) and decides to host a competition. The story revolves around the contestants, their complicated lives and the reasons why they bake. It could be easy to dismiss this as a chick lit read but the characters and stories are complex. The story also slowly revolves are Kathleen (Mrs. Eaden) from the 60s and the woman behind the perfect front




Non-Fiction Books

Just My Type by Simon Garfield

I must have raved about this book so much through out the year. I personally found it fascinating. Each chapter has a different story revolving around fonts, from the controversy of Comic Sans, the history of some fonts, how a French Anti-Piracy campaign ended up using a pirated font, can you spend a day without using Helvetica and the big uproar of when Ikea changed their font. The chapters are short, so you don’t feel bogged down in details or get bored. Looking forward to reading more Garfield this year.





One Summer by Bill Bryson

This is another book that I brought up in conversation to others several times over the year. It revolves around the summer of 1927 in America. It’s a big heft of a book but I loved how the characters all ended up being connected like a big spider web. There was some bits and pieces where I found the stats heavy (specifically baseball stats!) but I really loved the concept of the book.






Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty

Caitlin Doughty and her Ask a Mortician series has been mentioned on here a few times. I love reading topics on death (I’m not morbid!) and I loved Doughty’s memoir, starting from when she first found work in a crematory, her experiences and how she came to set up The Order of the Good Death. It made me laugh in places and I cried once. Doughty’s character that I’ve often seen in the videos definitely comes through and just makes the book special.




Perseoplis by Marjane Satrapi

A graphic drawing memoir told in stories of snippets of Satrapi’s childhood growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. There is some historical background too, to the build up the Revoltion, which I found interesting as I really had never heard of any of it prior to this. I loved the interaction of Satrapi and her family and the little bits of wisdom that comes out in their interactions. I also loved seeing Satrapi grow up and become a bit of a rebel. There’s a second part to this story in another book, where she moves to Europe in her late teens, but that book made me cry so much and broke my heart. Still a beautiful story though.



Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe

Another book I’ve raved about quite a bit this year! There will be a lot who probably won’t enjoy this, as it’s letters Stibbe sent back to her sister when she moved to London to become a nanny and just tells the day to day tales of her life. But I found it hilarious at times, because the children and their mother are so funny. It was also sweet and was just so comforting. I listened to it, which I think really added to it as I loved Stibbe’s narration. And come on, how amazing is that book cover?!




Top 5 TV Shows

1. Numb3rs
Watched this on Netflix, it follows Don, the FBI agent who gets his mathematican brother Charlie to use maths to help solve cases. Sounds a bit nerdy but if you’re a fan of CSI and the likes, you’ll probably enjoy this.

2. Game of Thrones
Everyone and their mothers are watching Game of Thrones. Worst thing about it is when it finished and you suffer from major withdrawals!

3. Orange is the New Black
Talk about withdrawals, I watched this in the first weekend it was released and then was left waiting another 51 weeks the new series! But it was SO worth it.

4. House of Cards
Politics has never been so interesting!

5. Rupaul’s Drag Race
Watched all the series on Netflix and am so excited for the new season to come out this month! Start your engine

Films

1. Guardians of the Galaxy
I was late to the show when seeing this but glad I did catch it in the cinema. Laughed out loud several times and the soundtrack is amazing.

2. Lego Movie
Saw this twice in the cinema! Very sweet and funny.

3. Frozen
Ya, I know, I’m dreadful, it took me until December to watch this. I did enjoy this story but nothing tops The Little Mermaid!

4. X-Men Days of Future Past
Another comic book film, another cinema trip! It was super fun, I do enjoy the X-Men series.

5. The Muppets
I need to watch more Muppet movies as they make me smile and are always feel good. And the songs were very catchy in this film.

Top 5 Songs
Happy Pharrell Williams

Who didn’t love this song?! I still do enjoy it, I stopped listening to it for a bit to avoid getting fed up of it. Saying that, I also really liked Marilyn Monroe by Pharrell too, it grew on me.

Shake It Off Taylor Swift

This song! Instant mood booster. Had me bopping and singing around work.

Bang Bang Jessie J Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj

This song just had ‘me’ written all over it, it was the beat that got me into it in the first place. Nice to have 3 big female singers on one track without any mention of bitchiness or competition.

Fancy Iggy Azalea and Charlie XCX

Another one that got stuck in my head! And I listened to it so much I know all the words now.

All About That Bass Meghan Trainor

This year seemed to have a lot of ass related songs (J.Lo and Iggy had one, as did Nicki Minaj), the girl who’s bringing booty back was my favourite.

My Favourite Things About Being a Child #BEDM

Another one of the Blog Every Day in May prompts. Today’s one is about the best things about being a child. So I decided to make a list of some of my favourite memories.

-Imagination. Being child, you have so much more imagination. I used to pretend to be a gymnast, doing cartwheels and balancing on things. And you the warning they used to have at the end of the TV show Gladiators? About not replicating anything at home? That message was totally for me as I used to pretend I was playing Gladiators. I used to have a playhouse out the back of my house and my friends and I would bring down all sorts of things, old telephones, books, blankets and play all sorts of games. Or sometimes we’d stay inside and do things like pretend to be hairdressers.

 

-Computer games. Yes, I LOVED computer games when I was a child. My Dad was given an old Amiga computer and a ton of games of floppy disks. I still have hankerings to play Zool, Rick Dangerous and Switchblade. Then we got a Super Nintendo, we had so many cool games but unfortunately we gave it away once we got a PlayStation. Still regret that as I want my own SNES!

 

-Christmas. Now, Christmas can be fun as an adult and you can certainly enjoy it but Christmas was so much more magical as a child. All that excitement!

 

-Taping songs off the radio. Ah, kids these days will never know the agony of radio presenters talking at the beginning and ending of songs and ruining your recording! A friend and I took it a step further and recorded our own radio shows on tapes! I really wish I still had a copy of that today.

 

-Smash Hits. I LOVED that magazine! So much so that a cousin and I made our own version called Mashed Bits.

 

-Jumble sales. In my neighbourhood, every now and again kids would decide to sell some of their toys and set up a jumble sale on the wall of their garden. There was always such excitement about nabbing a bargain! Also, once a year my school would do a big jumble sale, it was like the neighbourhood one times 100!

 

-Spending so much time outside. Nowadays I don’t like to spend that much time outside but as a child I could spend hours without going inside. Saying that though, I could also spending hours in my room reading as I was am a massive bookworm.

 

-Fat Frogs. Apple Jacks. Postman Pat sweets. Desperate Dan bars. Banana Bubbles cereal. When Freddos were originally Taz bars, Starburst were Opal Fruits and Smarties came in tubes with collectable tops.

 

-Henry Hippo money box

 

-Zig and Zag. And kids TV in general. Art Attack, Live and Kicking, Power Rangers, Animaniacs, TOP 30 HITS!

 

-Toys in cereal

 

-NOW That’s What I Call Music CDs. My first being NOW 36. I still have it!

My Top 5s of 2013!

So the past few years I’ve done favourite songs of the year posts but I’ve decided this year to condense down my favourite songs, books, films and TV shows into a top 5 list post.

Top 5 Songs

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis ‘Can’t Hold Us’

While I loved Thriftshop, One Love and other Macklemore songs, this is definitely my favourite. It’s so uplifting and happy.

Iggy Azalea ‘Bounce’

Looking at the comments on this video, a lot of people seem to dislike it! But I like it purely because it makes me dance.

Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Williams ‘Get Lucky’

It’s a scientific fact that everything Pharrell touches is gold and this is no exception. Though the less said for Linda Martin’s cover, the better!

Mayer Hawthorne ‘Her Favourite Song’

I came across Mayer Hawthorne on a BuzzFeed article and just loved this song. Video is quite unique as well!

Miley Cyrus vs Sinead O Connor ‘Nothing Compared to Wrecking Ball’

There was no getting away from Miley Cyrus this year! I really liked this mash up of Wrecking Ball and Nothing Compares 2 U. I just think it’s beautiful and kinda haunting.

 

Top 5 Fiction Books

These were hard to choose, even after I picked them I kept wanting to change my mind. Some other books are rated higher in my Goodreads than some of these but I might have overlooked them as these books stuck out in my mind more or I liked how unique the story was.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This book made me cry! It follows the story of Liesel, a 9 year old in Nazi Germany who is sent to foster parents. The book is unique, as the narrator is Death, who tells Liesel’s story and how she grows and the relationships she forms in her new home.

 

 

Mystery of Mercy Close by Marian Keyes

I hadn’t read any of Marian Keyes before 2013. I’ve read all the Walsh Family books, this one being my favourite. It follows Helen, the youngest of the Walsh sisters, her mental health problems, and her failing private detective business. Her ex-boyfriend approaches her for her help and Helen gets sucked into finding Laddz boyband member, who has disappeared before the Laddz big comeback tour. I was very pleased with how Keyes approached Helen’s story, and it definitely helped humanize her character.

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith

 J.K. Rowling writing under a pseudonym, The Cuckoo’s Calling is about failing private detective (another one!) Cormoran Strike, down on luck in life. He’s asked to investigate the death of supermodel Luna Landry, 3 months after her death was ruled as suicide. Along with his newly appointed temporary secretary Robin, Strike is plunged into the world of the rich and famous as he tries to unravel the story. It was a bit slow to get going but once it did I was hooked and it made me realise I really do like detective/mystery novels. I’m looking forward to follow up.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

This series had me hooked the second I started reading it. It begins with PC Grant, as he stands on duty during the night at the crime scene where a man has had his head knocked off his shoulders. While standing in the cold and dark, PC Grant talks to the only witness, a ghost. The book weaves a great magical realism story as PC Grant gets introduced to his new boss DCI Nightgale, who investigates crimes of a magical nature and just so happens to be a wizard. PC Grant must also try keep the peace between the God of the Thames and the Godness of the Thames, and their children. I loved the urban fantasy feel of the book and quickly read the other 3 books in the series too.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Another book with an interesting idea, Ready Player One is set in 2044, a bleak world where most people spend their lives online in the OASIS, a virtual reality. The creator of OASIS died a few years previously and has left a series of clues and puzzles, steeped in 1980s pop culture references, throughout the OASIS and the first person to solve all these will win his fortune. Wade Watts discovers the first key and there’s sudden mad dash to be the first to solve these puzzles. I just loved the idea behind this and I really liked the characters.

Top 5 Non Fiction Books

I just couldn’t pick a Top 5 Books, it would have been too hard, hence why I separated it into fiction and non-fiction!

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of a poor Southern tobacco farmer in the 50s,Heriettia Lacks. While being treated for cervical cancer, Henrietta had some of her cells removed to be tested without her consent. From here they were discovered to be ‘immortal’, they never died off and HeLa cells were born. They have been one of the most important discoveries for science and the book tells how they have been used in science. But more importantly Rebecca Skloot works together with the Lacks family to try and tell the unknown story of Henrietta’s life and how it has affected her family. I found it very interesting and I couldn’t help but feel for the Lacks family, who can’t even afford to go to see a doctor when sick while companies make millions off their mother’s cells.

Lost at Sea by Jon Ronson

While I read other Ronson books this year (The Pyschopath Test and Them, both I recommend), I probably liked Lost At Sea best, a collection of essays and articles, spanning a wide range of topics. First topic is behind the scenes of Deal or No Deal, which I just found fascinating!

 

 

Quiet by Susan Cain

This book is about introverts, how to interact with introverts, and how sometimes introverts approach things differently to extroverts. As an introvert myself, I loved the book, there were bits of information that really clicked with me and made me realise different things about myself.

 

Walk the Lines: The London Underground, Overground by Mark Mason

I was dying to read this for ages and was so glad to get my hands on it! Mason decides to walk each line of the Underground. If you’re interested in books about the Underground, London or epic quests, then you should enjoy this. I’m looking forward to his other book about bussing it from Lands End to John O’Groats.

 

Jim Henson: The Biography by Brian Jay Jones

One of two audiobooks I listened to this year, this book is a very in depth look into the life of the extraordinary Jim Henson. Sometimes there seems like just a little bit too much information but with interviews from all that were close to Henson, it’s definitely a must read if you’re a Henson, Muppets or Sesame Street fan. It made me smile so much listening to it. Bonus to listening to it too was that that narrator did great accents and impressions and seemed to add to the book.

Top 5 TV Shows

1. Sherlock

Yes, I was late to the party but boy what a party! Love it so much, made my boyfriend rewatch the series with me and he’s hooked too. We have last episode of Season 2 to watch and then on to the new episode. I can not wait!

2. Orange is the New Black

So funny, love that it’s mainly females, such a diverse cast (Laverne Cox is amazing) and I’m just so excited for it to return!

3. Game of Thrones

Another one I was late too but again, I got hooked. Feels like I’ve been waiting forever for it to return on screen!

4. House of Cards

Another Netflix original, one that I found a bit slow during first few episodes but once it got started I found it gripping. New series back in February!

5. Arrested Development/Luther

Ok, I actually can’t decide between these two. Let me point out I do not mean the new series of AD, I didn’t actually finish it. But it was my first time watching the series and oh how it made me laugh out loud so much! Luther is right up my alley as well, I loved detective/police shows like CSI and Lie to Me and it was a great series.

 

No films, I only seem to have made it to cinema 5 times this year, with 2 of those being old releases (Labyrinth and Die Hard).