15 Books in 2015

Last year as everyone was making New Year's Resolutions, I decided to do something that was loosely along the lines of a resolution.  I set up a book group on Facebook called "14 Books in 2014".  The idea was to try to read at least 14 books during the year and to keep track of each one while sharing the books I read with members and getting suggestions from them.  You can read the original post for this here.

A birthday gift from my sister-in-law!



This was an excellent challenge for me.  There were times when I actually said to myself, "Turn the t.v. off/put the iPad down and pick up your book."  So I did.  And I think I'm better for it.

This group ended up with more members than I imagined.  Some of you I know very well, and some of you I've never met.  I'm glad I got to spend some of 2014 with you!  I enjoyed sharing my thoughts with you and hearing your suggestions and thoughts on the books you read.

I'm proud to say I read 27 books this year.  I was hoping to get to 28 (double the number 14), but things were busy around the holidays and it just didn't happen.


Here's my list:


#1 Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond
#2 What The Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
#3 Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich
#4 This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
#5 Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
#6 A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
#7 The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter
#8 Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
#9 Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
#10 Wonder by R.J. Palacio
#11 You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz
#12 The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
#13 The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
#14 Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler
#15 Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
#16 Happier At Home Gretchen Rubin
#17 The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
#18 Horns by Joe Hill
#19 The Switch by Elmore Leonard
#20 Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill
#21 Kinsey & Me by Sue Grafton
#22 Frindle by Andrew Clements
#23 I Never Met a Story I Didn't Like: Mostly True Tall Tales by Todd Snider
#24 I Can't Complain: All Too Personal Essays by Elinor Lipman
#25 The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
#26 What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
#27 The View From Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman


 I'm proud of the number 27.  One way to look at that number is that it averages out to one book every two weeks for the year.  Of course, it didn't actually work out that way.  I'm sure I read more over the summer when I wasn't working.


Here are some other ways to look at that number:

8 Non-Fiction Books
19 Fiction Books


2 Children's Literature Books : Wonder and Frindle (I actually could have included two others I read aloud to my class this year, but neither of them was worth mention.)


Six Books that Were Made Into Movies: This is Where I Leave You, A Long Way Down, The Monuments Men, The Fault in Our Stars, Horns, The Switch (Life of Crime was the name of the movie).  I 've only seen one of them, The Fault in Our Stars.


6 Authors That I Read Multiple Books Of: Malcolm Gladwell, Gillian Flynn, Gretchen Rubin, Joe Hill, Elinor Lipman, and Liane Moriarty


13 Never-Before-Read-Authors: Jonathan Tropper, Robert M. Edsel and Bret Witter (counting them as one since they collaborated on the same book), Gretchen Rubin, John Green, Nickolas Butler, Margaret Atwood, Donna Tartt, Joe Hill, Andrew Clements, Todd Snider, Jean Hanff Korelitz, R.J. Palacio, and Liane Moriarty


And then because I can't pick a favorite, I made up a few special awards...

Most Inspirational To Read More Historical Non-Fiction goes to... The Monuments Men


The "Stayed With Me For The Longest in an Unsettling but Fascinating Way" Award goes to... Oryx and Crake


Most Overrated and Beat-A-Dead-Horse Award goes to... The Goldfinch (I'm sorry.  She's obviously a very gifted writer.  But the painting! My gosh, the painting!  Enough!  This did have one of my favorite characters of the year, though, in the form of Boris.)


Mentioned the Most in Anecdotal Way Award... Blink


Best Love Story Award... Black Heels to Tractor Wheels


Made Me Cry Award... Wonder


Fastest Read Award...The Switch by the incomparable Elmore Leonard.  RIP, my friend.


The Never Before Read Author I'm Most Glad to Have Checked Out Award... A tie between Joe Hill and Liane Moriarty


So, are you ready?  15 Books in 2015 is just beginning.  I hope you'll all stay on board and invite some new friends.  First up for me is Little Big Lies by Liane Moriarty.  Enjoy and please share what you're reading and your thoughts!

Kim