My reading goal for 2014 was to read 200 books and to read more new-to-me authors, and more books outside my comfort zone. While I met the first goal and didn’t do too bad at reading new authors, I didn’t do very well at reading outside my comfort zone.
I include re-reads in my yearly log, but only if I read from cover-to-cover. I re-read a lot during the year. I even re-read the same book many times during the year. Some books I read once a month in 2014. I start thinking about a scene and decide to skim it, then before I know it I’ve read the entire thing. It’s a quirk. I don’t count books I read more than once in a month (something else I do far too often).
Here’s a breakdown by month from my Goodreads shelves.
200 books in 2014 (211)
January (17)
February (13)
March (31)
April (22)
May (25)
June (22)
July (17)
August (16)
September (24)
October (23)
November (18)
December (7)
Because GR doesn’t count a book toward the challenge unless I mark the date read, and because I re-read books multiple times, the number of books on my 200 Books shelf isn’t accurate. If I add up all the books by month, I read a total of 235. That averages out to just under 20 books a month. That number would have been higher if I hadn’t fallen into a slump in December. 7 books? Bah.
I didn’t have a specific book I re-read most in 2014, but I know I re-read Kristen Ashley more than any other author.
Breaking it down by genre:
Contemporary (136)
Historical (16)
Paranormal (31)
Sci-Fi (6)
Fantasy (41)
Romantic Suspense (8)
These numbers aren’t totally accurate, since I put some novels in more than one category. I read more contemporary than anything, which isn’t surprising since that’s always been my favorite genre. What did surprise me was how many Fantasy novels I read. That isn’t usually a go-to genre for me.
New Adult (43)
New to Me Authors (46)
Novellas (22)
I wanted to read at least two new-to-me authors each month in 2014, and I definitely succeeded in that. Most of them were free downloads, however, so I can’t say I discovered many new favorites. I did find some. Like Sarina Bowen, Kat Latham, Colleen Hoover, Ann Aguirre, Kylie Scott and Tiffany King.
I didn’t rate a single book 5 stars in 2014, though a couple came close. Several years ago I vowed to be more discerning in my grading and I’ve stuck to that. The majority of my reads were rated between 3.5 – 4.25 stars.
Here’s a breakdown of my favorite (and least favorite) reads by month, taken from our Monthly Reads posts:
January
My favorite reads of the month were Love a Little Sideways. I adore the Kowalski’s and had a blast on vacation with them.
My least favorite was Forgotten Sins. I just can’t do romantic suspense. My second least favorite was Never Stopped Loving You. The romance, setting and plot were all problematic for me.
February
My favorite reads of the month were Air Bound by Christine Feehan and Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover. Air Bound is a continuation of Feehan’s Sea Haven series. I really loved the first book but didn’t care much for the second. I’m really glad to report this one rocked. Finding Cinderella is a free download that caught my attention when a Twitter conversation prompted the publisher to put it out in print. I admit it was a really fabulous story. I believe it’s still free to download. If you haven’t already, I’d suggest you read it.
My least favorite read was Fresh Temptation by Austin Reeni. There were a ton of editing issues and I didn’t care for either main character. I’m not even sure why I finished reading it. Werewolf Love Story also lands on the least favorite list. It also had editing errors, but more the story was disjointed and a bit silly.
March
Not counting re-reads, my favorite read of the month was Count on Me by Lauren Dane. This book returned to Petal, Georgia and really sucked me in. I love that town, I love the inhabitants and I love the way Dane writes. Honorable mention goes to Meljean Brook for The Kraken King. If only all the parts were available now!
My least favorite read of the month was Preservation by Rachael Wade, followed closely by Flee and Crux by Miranda Kavi. Preservation was wrong on so many levels and the Kavi series was nothing to get too excited about. I’m also going to list Spell of the Highlander here. Not because it’s an awful book, but because I loved that book like cops love donuts back in the day, and this re-read left a lot to be desired. I still liked parts of the story, but most of it I just rolled my eyes at.
April
As you can see, I did a lot of re-reading last month. Once again I blame Rowena. Not that I’m mad, since I love those books. My favorite read of the month was probably Whisper to Me by Christina Lee or Taken with You by Shannon Stacey, but I really enjoyed all the new books I read in April. Honorable mention goes to All Fired Up by Vivian Arend and Elle Kennedy. I had some problems with it, but it was such a cute, fun story I keep thinking about it.
I didn’t read any bad books this month. My least favorite read was probably The Bottom Line by Sandy James, but that isn’t saying much since I really liked it. I just liked it a bit less than the other books I read.
May
My favorite read of the month (not including re-reads) was probably Satisfaction by Sarah Mayberry. It was spicier than the previous books I’ve read by her, but it carried the same emotional punch. Honorable mentions go to Then Came You by Jill Shalvis and It Happened One Wedding by Julie James. Both were solid reads.
My least favorite read of the month was Father Found by Judith Arnold. The heroine drove me absolutely crazy. She was uptight and judgmental and completely ruined the story for me. Dishonorable mention goes to Finding Pride by Jill Sanders. This would have been my least favorite if I’d actually finished it. As it stands I read two, horrible, non-edited chapters and couldn’t go on. Terrible. Just terrible. Luckily, both were free downloads. At least I didn’t shell out any cash for them.
June
My favorite reads of the month were It’s In His Kiss by Jill Shalvis and Peanut Goes to School by Thea Harrison. Shalvis is Shalvis, no surprise there. Peanut Goes to School did take me by surprise, however. 1) It’s a novella and 2) the main character is a 6-month-old 7-year-old (he was born 6 months ago but is aging at a rapid rate). It was really a fabulous read.
My least favorite reads of the month were both DNF’s (did not finish). Girl at the Gay Bar was demeaning and awful. I had to quit after the 1st chapter. Rock Chick Revolution by Kristen Ashley had a ridiculous plot twist I just couldn’t deal with. I’m a fan of KA (as you know) but she inserted herself into her book and it was way over-the-top. As for the books I actually finished, Torn by K.A. Robinson was my least favorite.
July
My favorite reads of the month were Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh, The Best Kind of Trouble by Lauren Dane and Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover. Rock Addiction was great, but I didn’t fall in love with it until I read it for the second time. I loved Fox and the rest of Schoolboy Choir (his band), but I also loved Molly. It wasn’t until the second reading that I really fell into Molly. The Best Kind of Trouble also features a rock star. I have a weakness for them, anyway, but Dane does such awesome women I was totally sucked in. Ugly Love was darker and more gritty than the other two. It was just what I was in the mood for the day I read it.
My least favorite read of the month was The Promise by Kristen Ashley. It actually isn’t the worst book I read, but it was the most disappointing. I’ve been waiting years for Benny and Frankie’s book, and it was such a letdown. Dishonorable mention goes to Meeting Trouble by Emme Rollins. That book was just dumb. The premise was silly and it featured things I hate (like a chick meeting a married rock star and having sex with him the same night, sans condom, then giving up her entire life to run away with him because it’s wuv, twu wuv). My head almost exploded.
August
My favorite reads of the month were Promise Me This by Christina Lee, book 4 in the Between Breaths series. I absolutely adored it. Falling for Max by Shannon Stacey, the last book (for now) in her Kowalski series was so unexpected and so wonderful. Honorable mentions go to Play and Lead by Kylie Scott and Echoes of Scotland Street by Samantha Young. Though really, I read a lot of great books this month.
My least favorite read of the month was Rhett by J.S. Cooper. That book was a train wreck.
September
I read a lot of good books this month. My favorite reads were Make-Believe Wedding by Sarah Mayberry, Tempting the Player by Kat Latham, The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan and The Shape of My Heart by Ann Aguirre. My least favorite read was Best Kind of Broken by Chelsea Fine. I didn’t really dislike the book, but I enjoyed it less than the others I read this month.
October
My favorite read of the month was The Year We Hid Away by Sarina Bowen. That book packed such an emotional punch I ended up doing the ugly cry. Bridger. Scarlet. Sigh.
My least favorite read was probably Sought by Evangeline Anderson. The characters were jerks and the story slow and mostly boring. The problem I keep running into with that series is it has the potential to be great. The world and premise are interesting, but the characters are a struggle to deal with. I read three books waiting for it to get better.
November
My favorite reads of the month go to Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover by Sarah MacLean and Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare. Both books were so good. I was so happy with the end of the Rules of Scoundrels series and I adored the latest installment in the Castles Ever After series by Tessa Dare. Both books were wonderful treats in this gloomy weather and I definitely recommend both books.
My least favorite read of the month goes to Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot. I just couldn’t get into it.
December
My favorite read of the month was Dead Heat. I’ve always loved Charles and Anna, but their personal growth and the progression of their relationship really worked for me here.
My least favorite read was No Ifs, Ands, or Bears About It. It had a good premise, but it desperately needed an editor.
There’s my reading year in review. I think I’m going to challenge myself to read 200 books again in 2015. I’m afraid my days of reading 300+ are long gone.
What did your reading year look like? Did you participate in any challenges? How did you do with them?
Damn. This post is very thorough. You kept better track of what you read last year. I guess I’m going to do that this year so that my year in review post will be a lot better next year. Wish me luck on that.
And you can blame me all you want for the re-reads, I know you love me still. Haha.
WoW – that is a comprehensive year of reading. I re-read a LOT in 2014. Found a new author or two. Broke out of my comfort zone with one of those (Bec Macmaster’s steampunk) – so not a spectacular year for me reading wise but I enjoyed most of what I did read.
I also read 200 books last year! I’m too lazy to do that kind of a break down, though. You’ve inspired me to try to keep track during the year so it will be easy to crunch some numbers at the end of the year! Maybe a spread sheet or something?
A spreadsheet would work great to track everything. I have a bookish spreadsheet. I love it.
I use Goodreads to track all my reading. I have shelves for each month of the year, genre and whether it was a read or a re-read. That makes it easy to keep track of. I just pop the title in on the app, select the shelves and…done. I spend about 20 minutes at the beginning of every year creating and organizing my shelves, and that’s it.
I tried doing a spreadsheet, but I didn’t update it. Same with a list on my phone or a notebook in my purse. I think just selecting a button on GR is what saves me.
I took a look at your shelves, Holly and wow. That is a thing of beauty.