Reading Roundup 2014

2014 was a strange year for me when it came to reading. For the past several years,  since acquiring an e-reader- first a Nook and then a Kindle- I read nearly full-time. I even started a blog called 200 Books a Year to document the madness. I don’t think I ever read quite that many, but I believe I managed something like 186 in 2013. By comparison, 2014 was a dismal failure with “only” 129.

Still, that’s a lot of books! From that list however, very few truly stand out. Most that did were series and I reviewed quite a few of them on the 200 Books a Year Blog, until I started reviewing more books here. So, here were my favorite reads of 2014 in no particular order:

Fiction:

Promises to Keep Trilogy- Shayne Parkinson. Little House on the Prairie, with domestic violence. I really loved this! (reviewed)

Light and Shadows Trilogy- Moira Katson. Challenging YA historical fantasy. Good stuff.(reviewed)

The Phoenix Legacy Trilogy-M.K. Wren– an older epic sci-fi series that was really awesome. I guess I like trilogies.

The Infinite Series- L.E. Waters. Books 1-3, series is unfinished. Kind of an original look at one person’s past lives, told as historical fantasy. Personally, I liked the earliest ones best, and the life as a boy on a ship of the Spanish Armada most of all. To me, it became less interesting as the lives encompassed those of famous people, but that’s just me. I’ll probably read the next one when it comes out.

Firethorn/Wildfire- Sarah Micklem. Another historical fantasy and an unfinished series. Beautifully written and gritty at the same time. In some ways, the first book was probably my favorite of the year. (reviewed.)

Steerswoman series – Rosemary Kirstein. Four books in an unfinished series, dating back to 1989. Really awesome feminist fantasy. (reviewed)

England, England- Julian Barnes. Brilliant, hilarious satire.

The Mirror Empire- Kameron Hurley– I didn’t love this, but I find myself thinking about it a lot. Truly original and challenging. (reviewed)

Non-Fiction

Prince Rupert: The Last Cavalier- Charles Spencer. Hands-down one of the best reads of the year, fiction or non. Love everything about this guy and Spencer’s work is superb. (reviewed)

How to be a Woman- Caitlin Moran. Humorous and thought-provoking. She makes feminism fun!

The Science of Happily Ever After- Ty Tashiro. Love and romance reduced to a science. Some great practical advice! (reviewed)

Write Away- Elizabeth George. A great book on writing by someone who has a brain that works a lot like, mine. George is best known for her wonderful Inspector Lynley novels

Story Engineering- Larry Brooks. Completely revolutionized the way I write, and the reason I’m finally finishing a novel.

I read a bunch of other books on writing, but those two really stood out.

A History of the Thirty Years War- Friedrich Schiller. One of the oldest accounts, but still very readable, and not too long! (reviewed)

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