Every year, I find myself reading with the maniac intensity of someone who believes it might be the last reading year. (I like to turn everything into an extreme sport.) After all, what self-respecting writer doesn’t study at the feet of the masters as much as she can? I had so much fun sharing my top books from last year that I couldn’t wait to do it again. So, without further ado, here are my top books of 2014.
I try to read three or four books at a time: a novel, a general non-fiction book, a writing book, and a devotional book. Below, you can find my Top 5 favorites in each category.
But, first, here are my stats for the year:
Total books read: 135
Fiction to non-fiction ratio: 61:74
Male to female author ratio: 81:54
Top 5 genres: Non-Fiction History (with 36 books), Classic Fiction (with 25), Writing How-To (with 15), Fantasy (with 11), and Historical Fiction (with 9).
Number of books per rating: 5 stars (6), 4 stars (48), 3 stars (53), 2 stars (21), 1 star (4).
Top Fiction Books
Note: the following are affiliate links.
1. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
2. The Officer’s Code by Lyn Alexander
3. The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks
4. The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley
5. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Top General Non-Fiction Books
1. What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool
2. This Fabulous Century: 1940-1950 by Time Life
3. Soldiers by John Keegan and Richard Holmes
4. Was That Really Me? by Naomi Quenk
5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Top Devotional Books
1. Heresies by Harold O.J. Brown
2. The Prayer of the Lord by R.C. Sproul
3. Knowing Me, Knowing God by Malcolm Goldsmith
4. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesteron
5. The Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp
Top Writing How-To Books
1. Story by Robert McKee
2. Write Your Novel From the Middle by James Scott Bell
3. Writing in Obedience by Linda W. Yezak and Terry Brooks
4. Learning to Write Superhero Stories by Brian McKenzie
5. Writer’s Doubt by Bryan Hutchinson
My Books
And if any of those titles pique your interest, then you just might find some of my own writing to be right up your alley too!
Tell me your opinion: What are your top books of the year?
