8 Books I Read in 2014

Chasing God-This was the first book I read last year. I’ve always enjoyed Angie’s writing style and the premise of the book looked promising. I loved it! It took a hard at look at some of the things we believe it means to be Christ followers.

Between Shades of Gray– I picked this up at the suggestion of a friend. I was ready for some historical fiction and I love World War II history. This story follows a Lithuanian family deported to a labor camp in Siberia.

Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son’s First Son– This was my first Anne Lamott experience. I love reading this style of book because it makes me feel like I could be an author some day. This is her memoir of becoming a grandmother before she was ready.

Code Name Verity– Another historical fiction set during WW2. This was my favorite read of the year. It follows the friendship of two girls who work for the British Air Force. It’s a book you will want to read at least twice. I promise you will get to a point in the book where you will say, “What?” and you’re going to have to re-read it.

The Giver (Giver Quartet)–
I may be one of the only people who hadn’t read this book before the movie came out this year. I still have not seen the movie. The book was engaging, but it felt like it could have had a better ending. The Giver is a coming of age story of a boy in a society where there is no war, disease or suffering. The society is committed to “sameness” for the sake of order The people don’t get to choose their jobs or even their spouses. I’m sure you can see where this might be a problem at some point :-). I read it in two days,

The Fault in Our Stars– Here is an excerpt from Amazon: “Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.” It reminded me a bit of a Nicholas Sparks novel. It pulls at the heart strings. I’m torn on this one. I liked the quirky, nerdy main characters for the most part, but I didn’t love them.

Kissing Doorknobs (Laurel-Leaf Books)

– I picked up this book because 2014 has been the year that we figured out that our oldest has OCD. I saw this book recommended several places and it was at our local library. It doesn’t mirror the exact experience our family has with OCD, but it does a good job of telling the story of a young girl who is trying to cope with a life full of anxiety and compulsive rituals.

The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea
– My husband was given this book at work and it sat in our house for a while. When I finally picked it up, I loved it. It’s a modern-day business parable about a man named Joe who wants to be at the top of his game as a salesman. He is desperate to learn The 5 Laws of Strasopheric Success from the legendary Pindar. Along the way he learns that “getting” has a lot to do with “giving.”