Best Books of 2014

This year was a big year for reading!  I had a goal of reading a book per week, and was able to surpass that and read 56 books altogether.  There was a great variety -- from novels, mysteries and thrillers, to biographies, nonfiction and travel books.  I love to read because it gives me the chance to escape into unexplored territory, to view ideas from a new perspective, and to broaden my own views and beliefs.  Here were my favorite 10 books of the year:

 The Books that Changed Me in 2014:
(including a few re-reads)

Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

The Signature of All Things, by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, by Laura 

Oryx and Crake, by Margaret Atwood

Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know, by Alexandra Horowitz

The Giver, by Lois Lowry

Beach Music, by Pat Conroy

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn



 And a few runners-up...

 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
The Round House, by Louise Erdrich
The Sandcastle Girls, by Chris Bohjalian
The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls
Defending Jacob, by William Landay
The Wives of Los Alamos, by TaraShea Nesbit
Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn
The House Girl, by Tara Conklin
Reconstructing Amelia, by Kimberly McCreight
Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes
The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obrecht
This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper
I already have a long list of books to read in 2015!  Here are a few to get the year started:

 Books to Read in 2015

 MaddAddam, by Margaret Atwood
'Tis, by Frank McCourt
The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch, Jeffrey Zaslow
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
Sharp Objects, by Gillian Flynn
The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood
The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett
The Great Santini, by Pat Conroy
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, by Erik Larson
God Help the Child, by Toni Morrison
Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon and the Journey of a Generation, by Sheila Weller
Leaving Time, by Jodi Picoult
A Little Life, by Hanya Vanagihara
The Circle, by Dave Effers
Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
The Girls from Corona del Mar, by Rufi Thorpe
A Spool of Blue Thread, by Anne Tyler
The Bookman's Tale, by Charlie Lovett
Funny Girl, by Nick Hornby
Drowning Ruth, by Christina Schwartz
There's Something I Want You To Do, by Charles Baker
Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline
A Little Life, by Hanya Vanagihara
something by Chuck Palahniuk
something by Louise Erdrich
something by Chris Bohjalian
re-read some of the classics I whipped through in high school


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