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2014’s top 5 books to know – Metro US

2014’s top 5 books to know

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It’s hard enough carving out the time to watch “The Voice” or Googling how to keep your new iPhone 6 from bending; diving into a 400-page book can seem like too much of a time commitment. Luckily, here at Metro, it’s our job to read all the newly released books, and we’re delivering the goods that will give you enough info to fake like you’ve been reading all year. Here are five books that came out in 2014 that will still be dominating cocktail parties and casual conversation in 2015.

“The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd

Two words: Oprah-endorsed. “The Secret Life Of Bees” author Sue Monk Kidd has another best-seller on her hands with her novel about a reluctant slave owner who forms an unlikely friendship with her slave during the 1800s.

Line to drop at a party: “This book really made me want to make a story quilt.”

“Yes Please” by Amy Poehler

Everyone is still talking about the “Parks and Rec” star’s memoir, in which she chronicles her early says of comedy, to her “Saturday Night Live” career. She also gets real about her divorce from Will Arnett, past drug use, motherhood and how she feels about entering her 40s.

Line to drop at a party: “Amy is a classy broad. She talks about how heartbroken she was after her divorce without bashing her ex. That takes some epic restraint.”

“Not That Kind of Girl” by Lena Dunham

Not to be outdone, “Girls” creator and star Lena Dunham also dominated blogs and websites with her book of personal essays. In it, she talks about losing her virginity (spoiler alert, it was awkward), what it’s like getting naked on camera (spoiler alert, also awkward) and how her friendships have changed as she entered her 20s. In true Lena fashion, there are plenty of gems of wisdom sprinkled in such as, “Being treated like s–t is not an amusing game or a transgressive intellectual experiment. It’s something you accept, condone and learn to believe you deserve.”

Line to drop at a party: “I wish she talked about her friendships with the ‘Girls’ cast more, and she only mentions Jack Antonoff twice. What gives? Maybe it’s harder for her to write about the things that make her most happy than the things that give her extreme anxiety.”

“A Brief History of Seven Killings” by Marlon James

Using an attempted murder on Bob Marley as a focal point, Marlon James tells the fictional histories of the seven gunsmen to expose the dangerous Jamaican climate during the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Also, the 700-page tome is definitely not brief and it includes many more than seven killings. Just saying.

Line to drop at a party: “James narrates through dozens of different voices, yet it never feels disorganized or disjointed. That’s what makes it genius.”

“All The Light We Cannot See” by Anthony Doerr

This novel has dual narratives, both taking place during World War II: One is about a blind 16-year-old girl living in France and hoping to escape the bombings, while the other follows a guy named Werner who works for Hitler’s side of the war, tasked with tracking down illegal radio transmissions. Their lives inevitably intercept in an anticipated, yet highly enjoyable climax.

Line to drop at a party: “The line ‘open your eyes and see what you can see with them before you close them forever’ changed my entire outlook on life.”