Books I Read in 2014

Happy New Year!

Well, it's 2015. Time to put 2014 in the rear view. One of my goals for 2014 was to read more. I didn't set a goal of a certain amount of books to read, mainly because I wasn't reading much in 2013 and anything would be an improvement. I thought I would simply see how I could do.


I think I did pretty well! 24 books. 24 books is my jumping off point. 27 books is my goal for 2015. What was my favorite book I read this year? My favorite fiction book I read was "The Beautiful Land" by Alan Averill. It was the first book I picked up in 2014 that was different from the fluffy material I usually choose. I picked it out of the sci-fi section, a first for me. Since then, I've been back to the sci-fi section once or twice. Since it was different than books I normally choose, it fascinated me in all new ways. I loved the book, and I highly recommend it as a jumping-off point if you are trying to branch out into new genres.

I tried to read some non-fiction in 2014 as well. My favorite non-fiction was "The Science of Good-Cooking". Holy cow, I learned a lot. All that science-y and technical stuff about cooking is in this book. Stuff like what kind of meat to sear than bake, or if you should bake and then sear. How different methods (and time spans!) of creaming your butter results in different shaped cookies. Stuff like that. It's an awesome book. A non-fiction fail? "Dawn of Memories". YAWN. I wasted way too much of 2014 trying to plod through this dud. A valuable lesson I learned this year? If it's taking you 2 months to read, you don't like it. Give it up.

So, I've got 1 more post before I get back to food. I'll probably post my 2015 goals over the weekend, and get back to recipes on Monday. I don't make New Year's "resolutions" because I feel resolutions are too short and 365 days is a long time. I like the word "goals" much better, and as such, goals take a little more planning than making a spur-of-the-moment declaration. So, goals to follow. Recipes- next week. There may be a minute amount of sugar in January, but let me tell you, I'm ready for some savory recipes!

I hope everyone had an extremely festive holiday season, and here's what I read in 2014:

1. Apart From The Crowd- Anna McPartlin

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2. Sati- Christopher Pike
3. The Cold One- Christopher Pike
4. The Science of Good Cooking- Cook's Illustrated

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5. Harvesting the Heart- Jodi Picoult
6. The Song of the Tide- Mary Ryan

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7. The Beautiful Land- Alan Averill

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8. Secrets and Lies: Surviving the Truths that Change Our Lives- Jane Isay
9. Dawn of Memories: The Meaning of Early Recollections in Life- Arthur L. Clark

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10. The Secret of The Nightingale Palace- Dana Sachs
11. The Ghost Wore Black: Ghostly Tales From the Past- Chris Woodyard

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12. Divergent- Veronica Roth
13. Dazzled- Maxine Nunes

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14. Here and Again- Nicole R. Dickson
15. Some Days There's Pie- Catherine Landis

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16. The Giver- Lois Lowry
17. Drinking Closer to Home- Jessica Anya Blau

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18. The Witch of Hebron- James Howard Kunstler
19. Love Me Back- Merrit Tierce
20. Tishomingo Blues- Elmore Leonard

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21. Shut The Door- Amanda Marquit
22. Dead of Night- Jonathan Maberry
23. Red Queen- Christopher Pike

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24. Weaving Shadows- Margaret Murphy