14 Books in 2014

I'm happy to say that last week, Monday night, I reached by goal of reading 14 books this year! I'm pretty much one month ahead of schedule too, so that's cool.

Last year I read 10 books, and this year I upped it to 14. Next year, I'm going to do 15.

Sadly, I didn't have any books that I felt deserved a 5-star rating. Most all of them I rated 3 or 4 stars. Although, looking back over things, the same can be said for the books I read in 2013, too. I'm just a tough critic.

So there, if anyone asks me in the upcoming month about a New Year's resolution, I guess I already have one: to read 15 books next year. Woo hoo!

If you're looking for something to read and find me a trustworthy book recommender, I'll add a few comments at the bottom about the books I read. :)

Crossroads—Written by the same guy who wrote The Shack, it was another story of reflection and thinking about your spiritual health. The Shack is better, though, read that one.

V for Vendetta—The second graphic novel I've read. Also heavily influenced by the same guy who created Watchmen, the illustration was spectacular. The story, however, differs from the movie version, which we are fans of. It was alright.

Bitter Brew—This book was really great! It is about the Busch family, and a well-rounded look at the history and scandal that has plagued their massive beer empire. I highly recommend this one.

Is This Tomorrow—This one was the most surprising. I read it on a whim and turned out really liking it. It's a fairly easy read, the story is about childhood friends dealing with a tragic accident that happened in their childhood but haunts them into their adult lives.

The Hunger Games Trilogy—For me, this series was good, but didn't really blow me away like I expected it to. After reading it, I'm kind of done with the teen trilogy thing for a while. It starts out really strong, but by the end I was just over it. The last book was a drag.

The Fault In Our Stars—Somehow, I only cried once. But this is a solid book with a less-BS approach to disease, dealing with it, and the struggles that loved ones face with you.

Steve Jobs—I've only been slowly reading this ever since it came out three years ago... but his life sure is a fascinating story. It's good, if you like biographies.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time—Really good book about a child with some sort of autistic-spectrum-disorder. The neighbor's dog is killed, and the young boy sets out to solve the mystery.

Orange Is the New Black—Part 'insider's account' of being in prison, part 'platform to tell everyone what she thinks is wrong with the prison system', this started to feel a little snobby by the end. The writer's concern for her fellow inmates started to feel less and less sincere. Also, this book is nothing like the Netflix show; the show is loosely based on it, and I mean very loosely.

Brave New World—I finally read this classic, and just like other futuristic dystopias, it is frightening how much this holds true in the present day. Great book. I never want to live in a brave new world.

Bossypants—Tina Fey's book started strong, simply due to her wit and jokes. The book was written almost like one long standup routine, and by the end it was getting a little boring. Who wants to read a standup sketch? Put it this way, if there's an audiobook version of this with Tina Fey reading it, listen to that. I guarantee it will be better.