What I Read ~ 2014

I don't really know why I keep lists of the books I read other than the fact that I like lists...  And this list is coming pretty late since 2014 ended like two months ago, but better late then never, right?  Well, at least if you actually care what I read last year!

Stand out author for me this year would probably be Jojo Moyes.  I really, really enjoyed the two books I read by her this past fall.  I love that they take place in England and enjoy reading all the British-isms.  To top it off, the story lines were intriguing - all that human condition stuff I like - and the characters were believable.  Both books had me in tears...especially Me Before You.  I am looking forward to reading more by her this year!

As for a favorite book that I would recommend to anyone...that's a tough one!  I got a kick out of An Abundance of Katherines, and I loved Conversion because of the history tied into the storyline.

On my "least favorite" list would be the entire Beautiful Creatures series.  It's far from the worst thing I've ever read (and I've endured a lot of bad), but I didn't love it.  If I hadn't received the books as a Christmas gift, I probably wouldn't have bothered to finish the series.  Turns out I just don't have a lot of patience for the "tortured teenage love story" anymore. 

I didn't read a lot of nonfiction this year, but what I did read, I enjoyed.  Killing Lincoln appealed to the history buff in me, and Jennie Allen, Jen Hatmaker, and Rob Bell kept me thinking about God and life. 

Probably my biggest accomplishment (in my opinion anyway) would be how much of the Bible I read.  I actually started this project about a year and a half ago when I realized how little of the Bible I had ever read.  I was supposed to finish up in July, but of course I have gotten off "schedule," but I still knocked quite a bit of it out!  The Old Testament about did me in at a couple of points (laws and more laws!), but there were bright spots in there.  Loved the book of Esther!

Anyway, enough rambling.  If you're looking for a good book, here's a list of things that I read in 2014!

Reading List – 2014

 FICTION

Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451

 J.C. Carleson

The Tyrant’s Daughter

 Kiera Cass

The Selection
The Elite
The One

 P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast

Betrayed
Chosen

Melissa de la Cruz

Witches of East End

Lauren De Stefano

Fever
Sever

 Janet Evanovich

Twelve Sharp
Plum Lovin’
Lean Mean Thirteen
Plum Lucky

Gayle Forman

If I Stay
Where She Went

 Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Darkness
Beautiful Chaos
Dream Dark
Beautiful Redemption

 Jane Green

Family Pictures
A Walk in the Park
Another Piece of My Heart

 John Green

An Abundance Katherines
The Fault in Our Stars
Will Grayson, Will Grayson

 Elin Hilderbrand

The Castaways

 Jeff Hirsch

The Eleventh Plague

 Katherine Howe

Conversion

 Lauren Kate

Torment
Passion
Rapture
Fallen in Love

 Wally Lamb

She’s Come Undone

Marie Lu
Legend
Prodigy

 Richelle Mead

Frostbite
Shadow Kiss
Blood Promise
Spirit Bound
Last Sacrifice
Bloodlines

 Jojo Moyes

Me Before You
One Plus One

 R.J. Palacio

Wonder

 Tracie Peterson

House of Secrets

 Kathy Reichs

Death Du Jour

Ransom Riggs

Mrs. Peregrine’s House of Peculiar Children
Hallow City

 Rick Riordin

The Lightning Thief

 Veronica Roth

Four
Divergent

 Neal Shusterman

Unwind
UnWholly
UnSouled

 Heather Wardell

Go Small or Go Home
Planning to Live

 Jennifer Weiner

In Her Shoes

 Lee Woodruff

Those We Love Most

 NONFICTION

 Jennie Allen

Anything

 Rob Bell

What We Talk About When We Talk About God

 Candance Cameron Bure

Reshaping It All
Balancing It All

 Karen Ehman

Let. It. Go.

 Jen Hatmaker

Seven
Out of the Spin Cycle

 Bill O’Reilly

Killing Lincoln

 BIBLE

1 Kings
Obadiah
Jonah
Amos
Hosea
Nahum
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
Joel
Micah
Isaiah
Zephaniah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Jeremiah
2 Chronicles
Daniel
Haggai
Zechariah
Esther
Ezra
Psalms
Malachi
Nehemiah
Matthew
Mark
Luke