2014: The Year in Review

As usual I'm amazed at how quickly the months roll by and before I know it, I'm saying good-bye to the year and thinking back on the books that occupied my time. Though I didn't read as many books this year as last, I did read more books for my own pleasure rather than ARCs and that was very satisfying to me. There were so many great books released this year and I tried my best to get my hands on many of them. There is one book I started last year and didn't get it finished and that was THE GOLDFINCH by .  The reason I didn't finish doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the book/writing. I have no doubt I will return to it early in the new year because I'm sure I'm going to love it.

There were also some really great movies released this year that were based on books I've read. Though I don't go to the theater, I did manage to see a couple OnDemand and I have a whole list yet to be seen. I'm way behind in watching these movies but I enjoy watching them in the comfort of my own living room. THE FAULT IN OUR STARS, THE GIVER and UNBROKEN,  which opens Christmas Day.

There were a few big changes in my reading this past year due to the progression of my eye disease.  I relied on audio books more than ever this year, but thankfully, I've grown very attached to audios and I'm enjoying them more and more. The other big change in my reading this year is that I don't think I read any actual paper books. The ebook is my best friend and even though I miss the smells and the feel of a real book in my hands, the ebook has been a savior to me. My Kindle is like an appendage to my body. I go nowhere without it. That being said, I do understand why some people loathe the ereader but for people like me, they are a life saver.

I read several non-fiction and health related books this year as well.  I also started reading a series by suspense/thriller writer Karin Slaughter this year. The Will Trent series is a spin-off of her Grant County series. The first book, TRIPTYCH, was so intense and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It was a great way to start off a series! I'm now on book three and I'm anxious to continue with it.

I thought I'd put together a few lists to summarize the books I read this year..

TOP 5 BOOKS: (In no particular order)

• THE INVENTION OF WINGS by Sue Monk Kidd
• BIG LITTLE LIES  by Liane Moriarty 
• LOOKING FOR ME by Beth Hoffman
• THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir
• THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin

BOOK(S) THAT UNDERWHELMED ME:

• A FARM DIES ONCE A YEAR by Arlo Crawford (Non-Fiction)
• LABOR DAY by Joyce Maynard (I think I'd enjoy the movie better)

FAVORITE AUDIO BOOK:

• Fiction: THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir
• Non-Fiction: STILL FOOLIN' 'EM by Billy Crystal

MOST POPULAR BLOG POST:

• This really surprised me - the two most visited posts didn't have anything to do with fiction books. I did a review of JJ Smith's 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse and then after I completed the cleanse, I posted my results and those two posts were each visited over 1,800 times! I knew that book was special when I finished reading it and I've seen all the recognition JJ Smith has gotten for her knowledge in healthy eating and I couldn't be happier for her.  If you're looking to try a cleanse this year, I would skip all those juice cleanses and try this green smoothie cleanse. Its a smart, healthy way to rid your body of toxins and a proven weight-loss program.  I won't lie to you - it was TOUGH! But it did teach me a whole lot and I lost 12 pounds in 10 days. I'm glad so many other people could benefit from my experience. 

FAVORITE CATCH PHRASE FROM A BOOK:

• Oh Calamity! - from BIG LITTLE LIES by Liane Moriarty.

This has certainly been a year of great books, even though I didn't get to many that I wanted to and I'm very excited to see what next year brings. More on that next Sunday when I post about goals I have for 2015. Thank you for visiting Southern Girl Reads and Happy Holidays to you all! 

The Sunday Salon: New Year, New Goals

Now that the holidays are over, I'm anxious to get started on this new year of ours. I'm being optimistic that 2014 is going to be a positive year for me. Of course, I hope for this each year, but, as you know, life has a way of making minced meat out of our plans. I thought I would use this post to outline some of the changes I've decided to implement in my life, both book related and not. 

The most important thing I want to have in my life this year is the positivity and I've made the decision to eliminate sources of negativity that can create so much upheaval and unhappiness. I may not be able to completely remove the source from my life, but I can control how I react to it. Last year had a lot of difficulty related to this and I don't want this for 2014. 

One of the ways I plan to keep positive is to get back to a daily devotional. One of the ways I plan to do this is to do something I intended to do about 5 years ago. I will be reading The One Year Bible. This is a great way to break down the Bible, that can be very confusing and enable you to read it in one year's time. I will also be spending more time praying and having quiet time for myself just to sit and reflect. I have all the time in the world, so this should not be a problem for me at all. Frankly, I'm looking forward to this new plan. I think we all need to spend some time with ourselves to 'check in' and make sure we are on the best path for ourselves. 

The second change I've made for this new year is to resign from the She Reads Book Club. I began my involvement with them in January of 2013 and it has been a worthy experience. However, as my eye disease progressed last year, I found myself pushing aside books I own and really want to read.to make room for the book club picks. Don't get me wrong, most of them were terrific books that I'm glad I read but others...not so much. I would much rather spend the time I have left ro read real books with the ones I choose to read. Thanks to the Kindle Daily Deals, I have acquired some really great reads that I am dying to start reading! I will continue to follow all the great bloggers in the She Reads network and promote those authors as well. 

I read 40 books last year, even though I haven't posted two of the reviews yet. i am very happy with that number, which is up from 30-something the previous year. I listened to more audio books in 2013 and found I enjoy them more and more. I plan to listen to at least twelve this year. I get so much housework done while listening, so that's a perk! 

Since I will be able to focus on books in my TBR pile this year, I'm really looking forward to reading more crime fiction.  I want to continue with the Louise Penny crime series and I also want to read Karin Slaughter's  Will Trent Series. There's also a few new-to-me authors I want to read. Wiley Cash is at the top of the list, as is Wally Lamb. A few of the books at the top of my TBR pile are AND THE MOUTAINS ECHOED, THE GOLDFINCH. and LOST LAKE by Sarah Addison Allen. I could go on and on, as I'm sure you know. There are so many wonderful books out there and I wish I could just sit and do nothing but read all the time, but we all know that isn't possible  

Along with my reading and spiritual goals, I'm also taking control of my body this year by eating healthy foods and avoiding the quick fixes that push all those diet ads we see all teh time. I just downloaded the Kindle version of Nina Planck's REAL FOOD and I hope to learn a lot from it. It promises to be very interesting. Two years ago, I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers by changing my eating habits and learning about food. But in the last year, I've put on a lot of that weight. I took it off before and I will be doing it again this year. I'll be using a few different techniques and I'll be sharing them here on the blog on Saturdays, like I did when I was on WW. I hope you'll follow my progress and if I can encourage anyone else to get healthy by eating right, all the better! 

So there it is. Those are the goals I've set for myself this year. I'm really looking forward to a fresh start and good things. If you'd like to see the list of books I read in 2013, just click the tab at the top of this page. Click on any title to ready my thoughts. Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy and productive new year!