Favourite books read in 2014

I���m ashamed to say that I didn���t read much this year (22 books, with two still unfinished). Blame my one-year-old son and my recent tendency to fall asleep after reading two or three pages in bed. (Having said that, I may have read Where The Wild Things Are more than 100 times.)

My absolute favourite this year was Stoner by John Williams, a story so familiar and everyday that each of the protagonist���s disappointments felt like a friend injured. Couples by John Updike didn���t let me down...