2014 Preview

Whoops, there goes 2013!

I read some great books in 2013, but if I think about my favorites, they were all published before the year began.  My four favorite books that I read in 2013 are:

1.  Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison
2.  The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
3.  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4.  Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

Last year I told you at this point what your favorite books that I read in 2012 were, based on your page views.  This year, the page views seem to be oddly skewed toward the Industry Requested Reviews.  The post that my readers looked at the most this year was actually my review of Black Swan Green by David Mitchell, which I reviewed in 2012.

Although there doesn't seem to be an "Off the Shelf Challenge" for 2014, I still plan to get some books off of my shelves, or more accurately, out of my nightstand.  This year I will do the Rewind Challenge, which is similar to the Off the Shelf.  These are some books that I own, and I hope to read 24 of them in 2014.  I'll cross them off and link to my reviews as I go.





1.  City of Thieves by David Benioff  Reviewed 1/27/14
2.  The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb by Melanie Benjamin
3.  Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
4.  Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks  Reviewed 6/27/14
5.  We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
6.  The Lost King of France by Deborah Cadbury
7.  The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon
8.  Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
9.  The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho  Reviewed 3/8/14
10.  Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross
11.  A Secret Kept by Tatiana De Rosnay Reviewed 3/27/14
12.  Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks Reviewed 1/9/14
13.  The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides Reviewed 4/21/14
14.  Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon
15.  Happy Families by Carols Fuentes
16.  The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway Reviewed July 2014
17.  The Hemingses of Monticello by Annette Gordon-Reed
18.  Sycamore Row by John Grisham
19.  The Rose Labyrinth by Titania Hardie Reviewed 2/19/14
20.  A Movable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway
21.  The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson  Reviewed September 2014
22.  The Titans by John Jakes  Reviewed 5/18/14
23.  Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King
24.  McSweeney's 44 Reviewed July 2014
25.  The Tudors by G. J. Meyer
26.  1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
27.  The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett
28.  The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl
29.  Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
30. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
31.  The White Woman on the Green Bicycle by Monique Roffey Reviewed October 2014
32.  The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling
33.  The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
34.  New York by Edward Rutherfurd
35.  The Electrical Field by Kerri Sakamoto
36.  Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
37.  The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
38.  Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks  Reviewed September 2014
39.  Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
40.  This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper  Reviewed 3/29/14
41.  The Age of Miracles by Karen  Thompson Walker
42.  Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace
43.  The Zero by Jess Walter

I have found some other new challenges that I want to try.  Specifically, I am going to do A Year of Re-Reading.  I have said so many times that I want to re-read a book, but I almost never find the time to do it.  This year, and this is not a big commitment, but I hope to knock 2 books off of my re-read list.  Here it is:




Redux
1.  Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
2.  Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin
3.  Great House by Nicole Krauss
4.  Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
5.  Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland

I also listen to a ton of audio books, so I am going to do the 2014 Audiobook Challenge.  I think that I can listen to 20 audio books in 2014, which would make me a Socially Awkward Binge Listener according to this challenge's host.

Finally, I love library books, so I am going to do the I Love Library Books Reading Challenge.  Appropriate, right?  All of these challenges allow cross overs, so I might listen to a book for the Rewind Challenge, also count it for the Audiobook Challenge, and if I check it out from the library, count it for the I Love Library Books Reading Challenge too.  I hope to read 30 library books, counting all 20 of my audios.





Still Reading:  The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer

Still Listening to:  Winter of the World by Ken Follett