A Year in Review: Book Style

**Update**
I have been told that I should include what I thought about the books rather than just list them. So I will add my thoughts and recommendations.

I had a goal to read 12 books this year. Due to the Kindle App on my phone and borrowing ebooks from the library, I surpassed this goal by a lot! I like to always be reading a book. Sometimes it's tough to read a book in 3 weeks. But apparently I read many books much quicker than in 3 weeks.

Some of these books I definitely would not recommend. But here's my year in review through books:

1. Divergent (Veronica Roth)
1. Entertaining and easy read. Not as good as Hunger Games. Similar distopian  society with teenagers.
2. Insurgent (Veronica Roth)
1. Thought it was a good follow up to Divergent. I read them very close together, so I don't really remember distinct differences, but I do remember being annoyed that the third book wasn't out yet. However, now that I'm reading the third book, I remember nothing that happened in this book.
3. Four (Veronica Roth) (this is only like a couple of chapters, so it probably shouldn't count as a book)
1. This took me like 5 minutes to read. It's only interesting if you've read Divergent. 
4. House of Sand and Fog (Andres Dubus III)
1. Did not like. Gruesome. Graphic. I skipped a lot.
5. Seriously, I’m Kidding (Ellen Degeneres)
1. Funny. Not as funny as Tina Fey's Bossypants. I listened to this while at the gym, so it was fun.
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
1. Not a big fan. I hated all of the characters. I didn't get some of the major themes that are supposedly there when I read the plot summary when the movie came out. Mature themes.
7. Beautiful Creatures (Garcia & Stohl)
1. Hated this YA book. Ugh. Stupid. Refuse to read the rest of the series.
8. Catching Fire (Suzanne Collins)
1. Reread to gear up for the release of the Catching Fire movie. My thoughts the second time through are still that it is very much a "middle" book as it seems like everything is setting up for the finale. However, I did find it entertaining.
9. Lean In (Sheryl Sandberg)
1. LOVE. I LOVE THIS BOOK. I have pages of notes on my computer of the quotes that I love from this book. I even wrote TWO blog posts about it. This is a great read for ANYONE about gender and the workforce.
10. Split Second (David Baldacci)
1. I got into the King & Maxwell series by David Baldacci. They're all similar crime mysteries that are easy reads and fairly entertaining. I wouldn't say it's the best reading, but it's fun for a beach read or sitting in my screened in porch and enjoying the afternoon. 
11. Hour Game (David Baldacci)
12. Simple Genius (David Baldacci)
13. First Family (David Baldacci)
14. Someday, Someday, Maybe (Lauren Graham)
1. I liked this book overall. This is semi autobiographical of Lauren Graham's life. It's about a young actress trying to "make it" in New York City. 
15. The Lost Symbol (Dan Brown)
1. I love Dan Brown. This had some great twists and turns and I really enjoyed reading this book.
16. Inferno (Dan Brown)
1. Dan Brown is always a winner. I promise. If you like mysteries, you will like this book. I wish I had read Dante's Inferno in school. I felt like I learned a lot about that while reading as well. I often looked up museums and paintings on wikipedia so I could better imagine things. Very interesting.
17. The Sixth Man (David Baldacci)
1. See above. This is a fun series.
18. What’s Wrong with Fat (Abigail Saguy)
1. I'm not a huge non fiction reader if it's not a biography, so after about 120 pages, I felt like I got the gist of everything I needed from this book.
19. Decision Points (George W. Bush)
1. Definitely recommend. It's long, so maybe borrow it from your parents and read a bunch of books in between. I really enjoyed learning more about his life. 
20. Life without Limits (Nick Vujicic)
1. This was a good motivational book. Nick was born without arms or legs and I found his story completely fascinating. 
21. Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn)
1. In the end, I hated all of the characters in this book. They were all mean. It was a lose-lose. I like happy books. I would NOT recommend. 
22. Mind Games (Kiersten White)
1. This was a fun YA book about increased senses of two sisters and corruption. It was definitely different than other things that I had read. I enjoyed it.
23. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (Mindy Kaling)
1. This was funny, but not as funny as Tina Fey's Bossypants. I love The Mindy Project and find Mindy enjoyable. Definitely light-hearted. Some parts I would suggest skimming over though.
24. Orange is the New Black (Piper Kerman)
1. LOVE. I love this story. It is so interesting. I love all of the people. I love everything about this book. Mature. 
25. The Cuckoo’s Calling (Robert Galbraith aka JK Rowling)
1. Meh. this book was okay. The mystery of the suspicious suicide of the model was interesting, but I honestly think that David Baldacci's mysteries keep me more entertained and I can't predict the killer as easily.
26. And the Mountains Echoed (Khaled Hossini)
1. Ugh. I wanted to like this book. But I found the story a little too jumpy and disjointed. It was not as powerful as the Kite Runner or A Thousand Splendid Suns. I recommend those much more highly than this book.
27. The Paris Wife (Paula McClain)
1. I do not recommend. Selfish lifestyle. Annoying people. Maybe it's not a bad thing that I didn't read any of Ernest Hemmingway's books. If you liked the Great Gatsby, you'd probably like this book. Mature.
28. The Paris Architect (Charles Belfour)
1. I liked this story, but it definitely had some things in it that I could have done without. Very interesting story about WWII and the Holocaust. Mature. 

I'm currently reading Allegiant by Veronica Roth. I'm not really into it - probably because I can't remember the story since I read it last January...

Here's to another 12+ book year!