Please excuse the photo which is more focused on the camera than the old books. Unfortunately most of the books I read now are on my Kindle, and it makes for a boring photo. I'm also really bad at tagging my photos so went through them looking for "books" this was one of only a few that popped up. However, I hate a post with no photos, so there you go.
It's time again for my end of the year how many books read post. Also, instead of keeping a long list this year on the side of my blog like I used to, I'm going to start a post and then just keep updating it. I've already finished one book, so I hope to get the page up by next week. I am also possibly going to try to do some book challenges this year. I was inspired by A Quiet Life - and her book challenge.
I read 55 books this year. Not too shabby. I am always amazed by the people though who manage to read 100+ books. That's more than two a week (I'm also a math whiz) - how do they do it? If you are one of those crazy reader people, how do you do it? I imagine if I had a long commute, where I could get a regular hour or two of reading in everyday, it would up my numbers. But unfortunately my commute involves walking down the stairs to the basement where my computer is!
1.I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai. 5/5
2. The Goldfinchby Donna Tartt. 5/5
3. The Perfume Collector: A Novel by Kathleen Tessaro. ⅘
4. The Rosie Project: A Novelby Graeme Simsion. 5/5
5. Poppet (Jack Caffery)by Mo Hayder. 5/5
6. House of Bathoryby Linda Lafferty. ⅘
7. Someone Else's Love Story: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson. ⅘
8. The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin. 4.5/5
9. The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball. 5/5
10. The Serpent of Venice: A Novel by Christopher Moore. ⅘
11. Delicious!: A Novel by Ruth Reichl. ⅘
12. Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line by Michael Gibney. ⅘.
13. Chop Chop: A Novelby Simon Wroe. ⅘
14. Cutting Teeth: A Novel by Julia Fierro. ⅘
15. Chasing the Sun: A Novel by Natalia Sylvester. ⅘
16. Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder by Arianna Huffington. ⅘
17. Cop Town: A Novelby Karin Slaughter. ⅗
18. The Art of Arranging Flowers by Lynne Branard. ⅘
19. Shaking out the Dead by K. M. Cholewa. 5/5
20. 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works--A True Story by Dan Harris. 5/5
21. The Girl with All the Gifts by M R Carey. ⅘
22. The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier ⅘
23. The City: A Novel by Dean Koontz. ⅘
24. The Virtues of Oxygen by Susan Schoenberger. ⅘
25. The Here and Nowby Ann Brashares. ⅗
26. A Wedding in Provence: A Novelby Ellen Sussman. ⅘
27. The Blackhouse: A Novel by Peter May. ⅘
28. Summer House with Swimming Pool: A Novel by Herman Koch. ⅘
29. Ham: Slices of a Life: Essays and Stories by Sam Harris. 5/5
30. Inamorata by Megan Chance. ⅘
31. The Patron Saint of Ugly by Marie Manilla. ⅘
32. Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin by Jill Lepore. ⅘
33. Creep (Creep series Book 1) by Jennifer Hillier. ⅘
34. The Paper Magician (The Paper Magician Series) by Charlie N. Holmberg. ⅘
35. The Promise of Provence by Patricia Sands. ⅘
36. Seriously...I'm Kidding by Ellen DeGeneres. ⅘
37. You Are Now Less Dumb: How to Conquer Mob Mentality, How to Buy Happiness, and All the Other Ways to Outsmart Yourselfby David McRaney. 5/5
38. Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prisonby Piper Kerman. ⅘
39. The Girl You Left Behind: A Novel by JoJo Moyes. ⅘
40. The Secret Place (Dublin Murder Squad, Book 5)by Tana French. 5/5
41. Olde School (The Kingdom City Chronicles Book 1)by Selah Janel. ⅘
42. Vanessa and Her Sister: A Novelby Priya Parmar. ⅘
43. The Vinesby Christopher Rice. ⅘
44. The Frozen Deadby Bernard Minier. ⅘
45. Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"by Lena Dunham. ⅕
46. Man Up!: Tales of My Delusional Self-Confidence (A Chelsea Handler Book/Borderline Amazing Publishing)by Ross Matthews. 5/5
47. What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding: A Memoirby Kristin Newman. ⅘
48. Station Eleven: A novelby Emily St. John Mandel. 5/5
49. Big Little Liesby Liane Moriarty. 5/5
50. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust: A Flavia de Luce Novelby Alan Bradley. ⅘
51. Us: A Novelby David Nicholls. ⅘
52. Food: A Love Storyby Jim Gaffigan. ⅘
53. Promises to Keep - A Novel (Love in Provence Book 2)by Patricia Sands. ⅘
54. Yes Pleaseby Amy Poehler. ⅗
55. The Bone Clocks: A Novelby David Mitchell. ⅘
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Roxy says
I read 38 books in 2014, which is good, since my goal was 30. I haven't read any of the books on your list, but I do have "Delicious" and "Sous chef" and will need to read them soon, since I won them in a GoodReads giveaway and I owe them a review.
Some of my favorites for 2014 were:
- Jhumpa Lahiri - The namesake
- Laura Moriarty - The chaperone
- Alan Brennert - Honolulu
- Alan Drew - Gardens of water
- Laurie Fabiano - Elizabeth Street
- Jeanette Walls - The glass castle
- Sarah McCoy - The baker's daughter
Velva says
You did good this year! I have put #9 in my amazon cart. Was it good?
Happy New Year!
Velva
Pam Greer says
Oh yes, I loved it!
Deb in Hawaii says
55 is an excellent amount. We have read some of the same books and I have added some to my to-read list after seeing your reviews on Goodreads.
I have averaged 100ish books the last couple of years but I estimate that cooks books are around 20% of that. Although I don't read them word for word, I do go through any cookbooks pretty thoroughly before I rate / review them. 😉 Otherwise, I read really fast and I read for at least an hour or usually more in bed every night before going to sleep as well as other times I can sneak it in--waiting rooms, plane flights etc. The Kindle has certainly helped with it. 😉
Pam Greer says
I don't count cookbooks in my list - so maybe I should!
Ann says
I love images of old cameras. A young person once asked me if everyone was black & white in the *Old Days* . I guess it was a fair assumption given all the photos are black & white. Kids today have such easy access to a camera on their phones. I can remember my first camera was barely that. Just enough to hold the film and the cost to have it developed! So much easier today.
Pam Greer says
I know. I remember putting those rolls of film in envelopes. Then hoping that you got some good pics!
Kristen says
I love your book lists!
We read so many of the same books, but you have a lot of new ones to me as well that I'll be adding. I need to get up the courage to read Goldfinch... courage seems like such a strange word, but it's so long! I don't know if my attention span can handle it 😉 I've heard it's amazing though.
I missed my goal by a long shot last year. This year though I've been doing 2 books at a time. Listening to one at the gym and car, and then reading one, usually at night before bed or whenever I can sneak it in. I'm hoping that helps to get my reading numbers up. So many books, so little time!
(And yes - how on earth do people read 100 books in a year? I can't imagine!)
Pam Greer says
I do two books at a time too. I read fiction and listen to non fiction - it works for me!
Marjie says
I like your picture! I did the same thing to illustrate my book review - just grabbed a couple of random shots from back in 2011! Very impressive reading list. And I was thinking of starting a post for next January, with my reading listed, so I don't have to type the whole long list. I'm glad to hear that you have done just that.
Pam Greer says
You had some good book pictures, I just might have to steal some next year!
Nancy says
I often look at your list of books read when I am looking for a new book to read
Pam Greer says
I hope you find something good!
JessicaJ says
Nice job! 55! That's really good, in my opinion. I follow a girl's blog from Scotland, and she read 325 books last year! I was blown away. She does commute 2 hours every day, so that must help some. I wish I could read that many, there just never seems to be enough time at the end of the day. Can't wait to see how many you read next year! 🙂
Pam Greer says
Even with a two hour commute how in the world do you read 325!
a quiet life says
I love lists! We share many titles 🙂 I read 150 books due to sleep disorder, wake up at 4 and read until world starts at 8am gives you loads of extra time... then walk down your stairs!
Pam Greer says
Well, I sort of have your same sleep disorder, but I don't accept it. I lie there in bread, willing myself to go back to sleep, not allowing myself to get up!