2014 Books I’m Not Reading This Year

Even though there might be around 2014 books in this stash, I don’t see any 2014 books in it.

Last year, I didn’t read any books that were published in 2013.  I probably shouldn’t admit that.  Since I write a blog about books, people might expect me to keep up with all the current trends in the publishing world.  That’s okay.  I keep up with trends.  I just don’t read the books.

It’s tough to read books the year they’re published.  Hardcovers are expensive.  New books get checked out from the library quickly.  Having an e-reader helps because digital books are cheaper, but still, $12.00 for a new ebook is kind of pricey.  This year, instead of ignoring the 2014 books, I’m taking advantage of free samples.

Because of free samples, I’ve begun reading several books published in 2014, but I haven’t finished any of them yet.  That’s not a criticism.  It’s tough to get me to pay my own money to purchase books anymore.  If I spend more than $10.00 on a book, that means I’m confident I’ll like it a lot.

A book usually has to be original and interesting for me to purchase it.  There have been a lot of murder mysteries published so far this year.  Yeah, a lot of them are historical or in exotic locations or have weird twists, but a murder mystery is still a murder mystery and I’m kind of tired of murder mysteries.  In January I said The Kept by James Scott was the “Best Book of 2014” (for a lot of bad reasons), but it’s kind of a murder mystery, so I probably won’t finish reading it.

Sometimes a writing quirk will keep me from reading a book.  The Ascendant by Drew Chapman is an interesting book, and I may finish it if I find it for cheap, but the author had an awkward writing quirk.  For example, early in the novel a character was described as “… brushing the few strands off his high, fifty-five–year-old forehead, a hint of annoyance seeping into his raspy, Brooklyn inflected voice.”  To me, that’s an awkward method of telling the reader how old a character is and where he’s from.  The author would have been better off just saying he character was 55 and from Brooklyn.  Maybe that’s a silly reason for me not to continue reading a book, but the author used that technique several times in the first couple chapters.

Also, I know I’m not reading any James Patterson books in 2014, no matter how many he writes (or has written for him).  I’ve mentioned James Patterson a lot recently.  Maybe it seems as if I’m obsessed by him.  I’m not.  I don’t stalk him on social media.  I don’t attack him in my blog titles.  I don’t read any of his books and then complain about the number of books he writes (or has written for him).  It’s just that when a guy writes 13 books in one year, he deserves to get made fun of a little bit.  But I won’t read any of his (or his co-authors’) books.

Stephen King has two novels scheduled for release in 2014, and I probably won’t read those either.  Every once in a while, I try reading a new Stephen King book, but I’m always disappointed.  I’m not trying to bash Stephen King either.  Stephen King is great for people who’ve never read Stephen King before, but after four or five books, it gets old.

Stephen King has a lot of loyal readers, though. The last time I almost got into a fight was about ten years ago when I told a guy reading a Stephen King book (I forget which one it was) that Stephen King was a hack. After a hostile exchange of words, the guy took a swing at me and missed and fell down.  I was going to take a cheap shot at him while he was trying to get up, but I tripped over a stack of bundled newspapers.  If you’re going to get into a physical altercation, pick on a book reader because we don’t know how to fight.  Luckily, cell phones didn’t have cameras back then.

A bunch of celebrities will publish books this year, and I won’t read any of them, even if I can get them for free.  I might listen to all the salacious details reported on the television shows when the books come out, but I won’t read the books.  That takes time.  Celebrities really don’t have much to offer a guy like me anymore.  I don’t listen to new music anymore.  I don’t watch many new movies or new television shows.  I don’t care about celebrities anymore.  And if a celebrity ever showed up at my house, the first thing I’d say is “GET OFF MY LAWN!!!”… even if he wasn’t on my lawn. That’s just the kind of person I’ve become.

*****

The one book from 2014 so far that I might pay full price to read is Foreign Gods, Inc by Okey Ndibe.  It has an interesting (and unique) plot, and it’s well-written, and it’s kind of funny, I think.  I would write a synopsis, but I don’t write those anymore (other reviewers do a way better job of that than I do).  I’m pretty sure it’s a book I’ve never read before.  Most books that I read nowadays are books that I’ve read before, even if I’ve never read them before (I hope that makes sense).  I’m pretty sure I’ve never read a book like Foreign Gods, Inc. before.  And if I’m going to read a 2014 book in 2014, I want it to be a book I’ve never read before.

But enough about me!  What books from 2014 have you read?  What books from 2014 do you want to read but haven’t?  Or are you going to wait until 2015 to read book published in 2014?