2014 in Books

I met my reading goal of reading 50 books in 2014! When I set my goal I wasn't pregnant, once I found out I was pregnant I thought there would be no way I would reach my goal but I surprised myself by still finding the time.  Truth be told quite a few books were read during my bi-weekly non stress tests, so in a way pregnancy helped me reach my goal.
As I started to write this post I thought I had only read 49/50 books in 2014.  I was disappointed that I could have come so close to my goal without completing it.  As I was looking back at the books I read over the year I realized I forgot to log one book (at least one...who knows maybe I forgot a few more?).  I was more excited than I probably should have been to add the book to my list and complete my 2014 reading challenge.

I had a hard time narrowing down my favorite books this year.  A few were major standouts but I had quite a few that were memorable for one reason or another.


Ines of My Soul by Isabelle Allende
I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint.  This is written by the same author of as Daughter of Fortune the very first book I checked out of the Middletown Library after moving back.  I randomly picked it off the shelf and loved it.  Ines of My Soul was a very interesting depiction of the conquering of the "new word" by the Spanish and the settling of Chile.

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines
There was so much that I loved about this book.  First the period of time it covers is so interesting, from the end of the Civil War through the civil rights movement of the 1960's.  The amount of change that came to be in that time is amazing. To see the changes in our country in one person's lifetime was intriguing.  As I was reading I kept wishing this was an actual Autobiography instead of a work of fiction.

Celia Garth by Gwen Bristow
Of course I love Gwen Bristow books.  This one is set in South Carolina prior to and during the Revolutionary War.  I liked reading about the Revolutionary War from a southern perspective.  So many of the Revolutionary War books I have read are from the northern perspective.  It also helps this book is easy to read with a good love story in the storyline

My Name is Resolute by Nancy Turner
Another book from the Colonial/Revolutionary War time period.  Resolute is a character you can't help but like and root for her success.  Her wide range of travel and interactions with many different people cover a wide range of historical situations and perspectives.

Sycamore Row by John Grisham
A great Grisham book.  This is the sequel to A Time to Kill, there were so many things I loved about this book.  Many of the characters from A Time to Kill make appearances in this story. It made me want to go back and read A Time to Kill again to see how things come together.

The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin
I couldn't stop reading this book, her life was so intriguing.  Some of the tragedy was just so sad, I was hoping some of the more tragic events were pure fiction but they were true events.  I did quite a bit of research on Anne and the Lindbergh family.  I have her book Gift from the Sea on my to read list.