2014 in Review

Well 2014 was a year for the books. It was a busy one, as evidenced by my total absence from this blog—so I guess from your perspective, it wasn't one for the books at all! (Pun!)

On day 2 of 2014, I moved 898 miles across the country.

From days 19 to 79, I traveled halfway around the world.

On day 219, I started a new career.

On day 255, I bought a house.

As much as I've abandoned communication on this blog [all forms of communication in my life—both virtual and non-virtual—have seriously suffered as of late!], it was actually a pretty great year of reading. This was the year I fell in love with a Kobo [a serious necessity for worldwide travel] and became addicted to eBook checkouts from the library. I crossed many titles off my to-read list that had been there for who knows how long. And I seriously binged on middle school selections [comes with the job].

As far as Goodreads is concerned, I completed my annual goal of 52 books—surpassing it, even, with a total of 57. Much of that is thanks to my 7 months of vacation in 2014 when I joyously had all the time in the world to read and relax. [It's a good thing, too, because once school started, my reading pace CRASHED.] Of these 57:

• 10 were nonfiction (5 of these were memoirs)
• 5 were YA (4 of which were by Sarah Dessen—obsessed?)
• 12 were middle grade
• 36 were by woman authors (21 by men)
• 14 were by non-American authors (and most of those were English...ick, this is what happens without Idlewild book club)

And I received TWO lovely, amazing, inspiring emails from authors whose books I wrote about [2 more than ever before!].


Here's the rundown of my year of reading:

Most enjoyable
Tie: Relish by Lucy Knisley & all the Sarah Dessen

Most surprisingly enjoyable
Flings by Justin Taylor

Most disappointing
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy by Helen Fielding

Most surprisingly disappointing
Tamar by Deborah Challinor

Most engrossing
The Magus by John Fowles

Most satisfying
American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar

Most thought-provoking
The Evolution of God by Robert Wright

Most entertaining
Tie: The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson & How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

Most moving
I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

Most memorable
The Magus by John Fowles

Most forgettable
Girl Walks Into a Bar by Rachel Dratch


Happy reading in 2015! Here's to better updates, branching out, & memorable stories!