Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Books Read in 2014

Well, thank goodness that's over and done with. Like many people I know, 2014 was not the best of times, nor was it the worst of times, but I am not sorry to see it end. I managed to finish 62* books this year, 6 more than 2013, but several of them were Very Easy Reading, so that 62 deserves an asterisk.

My sort of resolution for 2014—to read an e-book, then an audiobook, then a real book, followed by another real book—never really took off, though 29 of the 62 books were actual physical books from Mt. TBR. If only I hadn't acquired dozens more to replace them at the same time...

So here is a list of the books I finished in 2014. You can follow the links to their journal entries on BookCrossing; those books without a link were either borrowed, or are in my permanent collection for the moment. (E) indicates they were read on my Kindle/Nook/iPod Touch; (A) means they were audiobooks; (L) means I borrowed them from my local library; (R) means I re-read some old friends.

My favorites this year? "How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming," by Mike Brown; "Ready Player One," by Ernest Cline; "Grave Sight," by Charlaine Harris; and "Neverwhere," by Neil Gaiman, because it was read by Neil Gaiman.

January
1. Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
2. Timebound, by Rysa Walker (E)
3. Doctor Who: Galaxy Four, by William Emms
4. The Life and Times of Call the Midwife: The Official Companion to Season One and Two, by Heidi Thomas (E) (L)

February
5. A Wrinkle In Time, by Madeleine L'Engle (A) (R)
6. My Beloved World, by Sonia Sotomayor
7. The Quest, by Nelson DeMille (E) (L)
8. Doctor Who: The Myth Makers, by Donald Cotton (E)
9. Seek, by Paul Fleischman

March
10. Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk (A) (L)
11. National Velvet, by Enid Bagnold
12. All My Friends Are Dead, by Avery Monsen and Jory John
13. All My Friends Are Still Dead, by Avery Monsen and Jory John
14. The Teleportation Accident, by Ned Beauman (E)
15. If Love Be Blind, by Emma Goldrick (E)
16. Divergent, by Veronica Roth (E) (L)
17. A Feast for Crows, by George R.R. Martin (E)
18. Passenger to Frankfurt, by Agatha Christie
19. Doctor Who: Storm Warning, by Alan Barnes (A)

April
20. Agnes and the Hitman, by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer
21. Insurgent, by Veronica Roth (E) (L)
22. Garden of Beasts, by Jeffery Deaver (A)
23. Blackberry Wine, by Joanne Harris
24. Takedown Twenty, by Janet Evanovich (E) (L)

May
25. The Museum Guard, by Howard Norman
26. The Daughter of Time, by Josephine Tey (A)
27. How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming, by Mike Brown (E) (L)
28. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman (A) (L) (R)
29. Rebecca's Tale, by Sally Beauman
30. Allegiant, by Veronica Roth (E) (L)

June
31. An Officer and a Spy, by Robert Harris (A) (L)
32. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
33. Transmission, by Hari Kunzru (A)
34. Cash: The Autobiography, by Johnny Cash with Patrick Carr
35. Bossypants, by Tina Fey

July
36. John Dies at the End, by David Wong (E)
37. Stardust, by Neil Gaiman (A) (R)
38. Ripper, by Isabel Allende (A) (L)
39. The Bat, by Jo Nesbø (E) (L)

August
40. The Frog King, by Adam Davies
41. The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling
42. Cat Among the Pigeons, by Agatha Christie (E)
43. Neverwhere, by Neil Gaiman (A) (R)
44. Stormy Persuasion, by Johanna Lindsey (E) (L)
45. Tears of the Giraffe, by Alexander McCall Smith

September
46. 2001: A Space Odyssey, by Arthur C. Clarke (A)
47. The Fault In Our Stars, by John Green (E) (L)
48. The Girl Nobody Wanted, by Lynn Raye Harris
49. Silent to the Bone, by E.L. Konigsburg
50. Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline (A)
51. The Foretelling, by Alice Hoffman
52. Morality for Beautiful Girls, by Alexander McCall Smith

October
53. The Gates, by John Connolly
54. Grave Sight, by Charlaine Harris
55. The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke
56. Eleanor & Park, by Rainbow Rowell (E) (L)
57. No Choice But Seduction, by Johanna Lindsey

November
58. Wicked Appetite, by Janet Evanovich
59. The Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan (E)
60. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, by Anne Tyler
61. Death in the Steel City, by Thomas Lipinski

December
62. How The Grinch Stole Christmas, by Dr. Seuss (A) (R)

Monday, December 22, 2014

Catch #242!

I got an early Christmas gift this year from new user paper_chaser, who found "Death In The Steel City" just where I left it a couple of weeks ago: "Found it while restocking the City Paper box near PPG plaza."

Monday, December 01, 2014

Catch #241!

My first (and hopefully not last) catch from this year's Holiday Parade has checked in. New member MarStar writes: "Found at the Holiday Parade, read over the weekend. Enjoyed. Will be releasing it again soon." Safe travels, little guy!