Goodbye 2014. Hello, 2015!

Technically, I read 106, but I read The
Perks of Being a Wallflower twice, so it
only counted it once on the Goodreads
Challenge.

Well, it looks like another year is over and a new one is finally here. 2014 was a pretty good year for me: I moved across the country, starting going back to school, and even started writing a book that might actually go somewhere.
I also hit a goal that I've been working toward for the past four years. In 2010, I decided that it was a goal of mine to read 100 books in one year. I did that. In fact, I read 106!

I read some pretty awesome books this year and reread some favorites. Unfortunately, I didn't review many of them here, because I took a hiatus from Novel Attraction while I was still trying to get used to life up here in Seattle. Now I'm pretty settled in an I think I can commit to at least a few reviews each month, so you ought to be hearing from me a little more often in the new year.

If you want to see the books I read this year, here's a link to the list on Goodreads. Feel free to add me as a friend. I love to see what everyone else is reading and sometimes post smaller reviews for books that I, for one reason or another, don't review here.

Now that 2014 is over, it is time to create our goals for 2015. In addition to my other New Years Resolutions (which is posted over on my personal blog, Her Fingertips Whisper), I have set a new reading challenge for this year. In 2015, my goal is to read 120 books!

2015 Reading Challenge

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I'm a little nervous about such a high goal, especially because I foresee 2015 being a lot busier for me than last year, but it's not called a challenge for nothing. I'll do my best and that's all I can hope for.

What are your reading goals for the new year? Let me know in the comments!

Best of 2014: Non-Fiction, Adult Fiction, & Rereads

My original plan for the end of the year was to post a Christmas book haul here and then have that jumpstart my end of the year categories, where I would post my favorites of what I read this year in different genres. However, my Christmas has been delayed and we are celebrating it tomorrow instead of two days ago. So I'm going to start my "Best of 2014" series now and just interrupt it with a book haul when I have opened presents. 

For each category I will give a list of the books I read which fall into that category, then follow it with my top picks from within. (The ones which I have reviewed on this blog will also have links to those reviews.) There will likely be a top pick and one or two honorable mentions. For today, we have three categories that were small enough the be put together. The others will be done as one category per blog post.

Non-Fiction: 

This year, I read eight books that fall within the Non-Fiction Category.
They were:

Bossypants by Tina Fey
The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan
He's a Stud, She's a Slut, and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know by Jessica Valenti
The Crimes of Jack the Ripper by Paul Roland
Weird Things People Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
More Weird Things People Say in Bookstores by Jen Campbell
How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit

And the winner is . . .

Betty Friedan's famous examination of the nameless problem plaguing American women in the fifties and today is every bit as amazing as I had heard. It blew my mind and is as entirely relevant to today's culture as it was when it was written.








Honorable mentions:

Adult Fiction:
I read eight books in the Adult Fiction category.
They were:

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
A Room of One's Own by Virginia Woolf
Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
Going Postal by Terry Pratchett
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Misery by Stephen King
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

And the winner is . . . 

  This book by Kazuo Ishiguro was every bit as exceptional and interesting as I had heard it would be. I was captivated from beginning to end by Kathy's tale of her growing up at Hailsham. It really is a stunning read and one that leaves you reeling long after you've put it down.









Honorary mentions: 

Rereads:
I reread eleven books this year.
They were:

Speechless by Hannah Harrington
Lovely, Dark and Deep by Amy McNamara
Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (2x)
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins


And the winner is . . .

 This book about a 21st century Dutch boy falling into the Children's Crusade is a story I wish every person would read. I still cannot believe it is the only one of this author's books that has been published in English. Every part of this story is captivating and wonderful.








Honorable mentions: 

Coming tomorrow: Manga/ Graphic Novels!