I love to read and I occasionally geek out while tracking trivial data. About six years ago I began keeping track of how many books I read each year and then posting the list on Facebook, hoping to fuel discussions and receive recommendations. Now that I’ve started Timbits, it seems natural to post it here instead.
So, my final 2014 count was (drumroll): fifty-seven books! (Although I confess that a few were rather short…) Below is my list with some thoughts tossed in here and there.
A key:
Bold entries are books that stand out as 2014 favorites.
Italicized entries are audiobooks I listened to rather than read. Some friends feel these should count less than read books… (shrugs) I have a policy of full-disclosure on this (surprisingly touchy) subject.
(RR) indicates a re-read.
1) A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (RR)
2) Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond.
A fascinating, detailed examination of human cultural development. Diamond’s little manifesto at the end about making history more science-like was a little much, but it easily ranks among my top reads.
3) The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin.
I have long admired and appreciated Teddy Roosevelt but typically thought of Taft as we usually do: as the butt of an historical fat joke and as a president so bad he drove Teddy out of retirement. Goodwin made me appreciate the leadership, character, and shortcomings all the more. In some ways their falling out reminds me of Jefferson and Adams’, although theirs was more principled and less about Jefferson being a backstabbing jerk. (Bias admitted.)
4) Star Wars: The Last Command by Timothy Zahn
My geekiest read of the year. Zahn handles the Star Wars universe superbly. First of all, he chooses a handful of creative fresh ideas and thoroughly explores them thoroughly. Secondly, he writes compellingly without pushing the epic envelope.
5) Into the Land of the Unicorns by Bruce Coville
My tween girliest read of the year. My double-cousin-once-removed-in-law (aka one of my ‘nearly nieces’) asked me to read this since it is one of her favorite books EVER. I didn’t especially love it, but I love her so it was well worth reading.
6) A Dog’s Purpose by W Bruce Cameron
My weepiest book of the year. It made Jill cry three times, and I was often misty-eyed beside her.
7) Surprised by Joy by C S Lewis
8) Legendary Locals of Greater Utica by James L Davis.
Written by a friend’s brother. Not a bad quick read – especially for someone in CNY.
9) The Book of General Ignorance by John Lloyd, John Mitchinson, Stephen Fry, and Alan Davies.
I enjoy quirky books of anecdotes and trivia. This one was especially good: entries 1-3 pages long examining a wide range of common misconceptions and little known facts.
10) William Shakespeare’s The Empire Striketh Back by Ian Doescher.
Doescher’s first Shakespearian Star Wars parody was my favorite book last year; the sequels were worth reading, but not as good. He clearly used his cleverest ideas in the first one.
11) Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov
12) Disney’s Art of Animation #1: From Mickey Mouse to Beauty and the Beast by Bob Thomas.
A great (if biased) introduction to the early days of animation and Walt Disney. Although it only hints at his shortcomings, Disney’s vision, artistry, and drive to push the art form was inspiring. (Try watching, as I did after reading, early Disney and early non-Disney cartoons on YouTube. Oswald and Mickey were much more beautifully animated and far more entertaining – they hold up.)
13) Hedy’s Folly: The Life and Breakthrough Inventions of Hedy Lamarr by Richard Rhodes
14) Congratulations! Now What?: A Book for Graduates by Bill Cosby (RR)
15) Once a Spy by Keith Thomson.
This book has a great premise: an aging, retired Cold War spy develops dementia. As a result he drifts in an out of cover identities and memories of confidential information, becoming a major security risk. A little farfetched at times, but spy novels should be!
16) Fool on the Hill by Matt Ruff.
This is a modern day fantasy that takes place in Ithaca and on Cornell’s campus. Jill and I enjoyed our personal familiarity with the setting, but were dumbfounded at how some details were shockingly wrong. (Worst example: Ithaca is buried in a monster snowstorm that comes down from Maine. What???)
17) The Big Sea by Langston Hughes
18) The Arabian Nights: Their Best Known Tales translated by Nora A Smith, Maxfield Parish, Kate Douglas Wiggin.
Partly an inspiration for my short story “Bottle.”
19) Why Do Horses Do That: A collection of curious equine behaviors by Lisa Dines
20) The Beastiary of Christ by Louis Charbonneau-Lassay
21) Bill Peet: An Autobiography by Bill Peet.
As a movie and children’s book illustrator, Bill Peet wrote a fully illustrated autobiography. It’s the inspiring story of an awkward, not-too-studious kid making a great career for himself. Also, his grittier perspective of Disney offered a nice contrast with #12 above.
22) A Song Flung Up to Heaven by Maya Angelou
23) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (RR)
24) Taps: Notes from a Nation’s Heart by Richard H Schneider.
A tragic example of someone trying to stretch a decent magazine article’s worth of information into a short book.
25) Selected Shorts: For Better and for Worse by various authors
26) Eisenhower: The White House Years by Jim Newton.
I thought it funny that some of the Good Reads reviews complained that it didn’t address his early life. Take away lesson: Don’t judge a book by its cover; but, please, read it’s cover before judging.
27) The Sherlockian by Graham Moore
This may have been my favorite fiction book of the year. I highly recommend it to Conan Doyle fans.
28) Call for the Dead by John le Carre
29) Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan
Both the author and I wanted this to be Harry Potter. Despite our efforts, it isn’t.
30) The Canterbury Tales by Geoffery Chaucer
Foundational English Classic:
+3 Bragging
+10 Literature
+7 Geek
31) William Shakespeare’s The Jedi Doth Return by Ian Doscher
32) Simply Christian by N T Wright
33) Black Dove by Steven Hockensmith
34) Ringworld by Larry Niven
35) Would You Kill the Fat Man? By David Edmonds.
I haven’t read much philosophy since college and this was an enjoyable, light-hearted layman introduction to ethics.
36) If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late by Pseudonymous Bosch
37) The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks.
I’ve added this to my all-time favorite book list. I enjoy that Sacks feels comfortable contemplating both the philosophical and the neurological difficulties tied up in mental disorders.
38) The Skylark of Space by Edward E “Doc” Smith.
Some online Ringworld reviews I read complained that its underdeveloped female protagonist made it sexist. I can’t imagine what those people would say about The Skylark of Space.
39) A Man For All Seasons by Robert Bolt
40) Through the Bible Through the Year by John Stott
41) Sherlock Holmes and the Hapsburg Tiara by Alan Vanneman.
This was my least favorite book of the year. Not as tedious as Taps; not as outdated as Skylark; but it was like listening to a painfully poor cover of a beloved classic song.
42) Great Angel Fantasies: Nine Celestial Chronicles by Various Authors
43) Speaking My Mind by Tony Campolo
44) Jerusalem: The Biography by Simon Sebag-Montefiore.
This was very long – I would not have gotten through a print copy. But it’s exhaustive details made it good when I had a divided attention. My take away: Jerusalem is one hot mess of history, cultures, religions, and legends overlapping, colliding, and mixing and adhered by love, hate, and spilled blood. And fascinating, to say the least.
45) Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons in Life, Love, and Language by Deborah Fallows.
As much as my best friend, Mark, tries to influence me, I’m not naturally interested in language. However, this light but insightful approach is right up my alley.
46) Tales from Star Wars Vols 3-6 by Various Authors
47) Robots and Empire by Isaac Asimov
48) The Want Bone by Robert Pinsky.
I love reading fiction and non-fiction, but I’ve never particularly connected poetry. I have enjoyed some of Robert Pinsky’s poems, so I thought I’d try a whole book. It was quite short. And I did try. I skipped the last two poems and counted it done.
Poetry Fizzle:
-5 Literary
-8 Bragging
-3 Coolness
49) The House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones
50) The Disposessed by Ursula LeGuin
51) Alien Hand Syndrome and Other Too-Weird-Not-To-Be-True Stories edited by Alan Bellows
Another potpourri of anecdotes and trivia. Its article on gelotology partially inspired my (still incomplete) “Seriously, Though” posts. (Here, here, here and here.)
52) Sherlock Holmes and the King’s Evil and Other New Stories by Donald Thomas
53) Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous.
My double-aunt in-law gave this to me and said, “I’d like you to read this and tell me what you think. Maybe then I’ll like it more.” The first 80% was a fun romp of characters, perspectives, and subjectivity; the last 20% got strange and fizzled. I’m not sure if she’ll like it any more after our discussion.
54) What If? by Randall Munroe.
Fanciful unreality is such a wonderful way of teaching scientific reality. This is neck-and-neck(-and-neck) with Guns, Germs, and Steel and The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat as my favorite non-fiction book of the year.
55) How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy by Orson Scott Card
56) A Shadow Out of Time by H P Lovecraft
Lovecraft is a great author, but this book suffers because of its age. He wrote when science fiction was new and readers would expect a character’s dreams about alien possession to be delusion. As a seasoned science fiction junkie several generations later, I take the dreams’ reality for granted and wish the main character get on with it.
57) My Antonia by Willa Cather
Dear Professor Cooper:
I finished My Antonia! It was good! Thanks for urging me to read it.
Sincerely,
TimPS: I might have fudged a bit on our American Literature final in 2001.
PPS: On the bright side, my essay is a testament to the comprehensiveness of your class lectures and discussions…!
So that was my year in books! Any comments, readers? What have you been reading? Any recommendations for 2015?
Timbits 
I skimmed, for the bold books, but I will definitely look at this list more extensively… I keep a copy of these lists each year. Does that make me or Tim more of a geek for tracking this particular trivial data? I just wanted to say that I almost bought the Bully-pulpit audio book with my Christmas gift-cards the other night, and sort of wish I’d known it was on your favourites list. Although I got 3 audiobooks in a Terry Goodkind series instead along with J.R.R. Tolkien’s new book “The Fall of Aurthur.” Um, I digress. But I will be even more likely to contemplate buying the book about Teddy and Taft next time I get a chance. Also, I really want to read that book about Mandarin. If it could hold Tim’s interest, I want to know the secrets hehe. Plus I do enjoy language, and would probably like the book just for my own enjoyment.
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