How It All Shook Out: My Reading Year in Review

My favorite thing about starting a new year is how fresh and hopeful everything feels.  I really, really would have liked to start the 2015 blogging year by being all caught up on my reviews, but, well, yeah ... didn't happen.  I'm still woefully behind (evidence: the last book I reviewed was one I read in August)!  Shame on me.  As far as blogging resolutions, I'm going for the same ole, same ole (as unattainable as they may be): catch up on reviews, keep up on reviews, and try to read 200 books this year.  That's it.  We'll see how I do.

As for my 2014 reading, here's how it shook out:

Total books read:  139 (3 more than last year)

Number of fiction books read:  130 (94%)

Number of non-fiction books read:  9 (6%)

Number of adult books read:  46 (33%)

Number of YA books read:  69 (50%)

Number of MG/chapter books read:  24 (17%)

Number of books read by female authors:  119 (86%)

Number of books read by male authors:  20 (14%)

Number of books read by LDS authors:  17 (20%)

Number of books read from personal collection:  33 (24%)

Number of books read, review copies:  58 (42%)

Number of books read from library:  48 (35%)

Reading challenges joined in 2014: 2

Reading challenges completed in 2014:  1 (In my defense, reading a book from each of the 50 states is not as easy as it sounds!)

In comparison with 2013, I read more non-fiction this year, more adult novels, more of my own books and more books from the library.  Wow.  Does that mean I've matured a little since last year?  Surprisingly, I read fewer review books this year.  Not by many, but still ... interesting.  

How about you?  How did your reading year go?  What were your favorite reads of 2014?  I love end-of-the-year lists/surveys, so let me know if you've got one up on your blog.  I'd love to come take a look!

Thanks for all the love you've given my blog this year.  It makes me so happy to read your comments, check out your book recommendations, and hop around to your blogs.  Here's to another great year of bloggin' 'bout books!

P.S.  Before I delete the list of books I read in 2014 from the bottom of my blog, I'm going to list them here.  Asterisks denote favorites.

• 139. ATLANTIA BY ALLY CONDIE (DEC)
• 138. SINK REFLECTIONS BY MARLA CILLEY [RE-READ] (DEC)
• 137. DOLLBABY BY LAURA LANE MCNEAL (DEC)
• 136. RUNNING OUT OF NIGHT BY SHARON LOVEJOY (DEC)
• 135. RITES OF PASSAGE BY JOY N. HENSLEY (DEC)
• 134. WHAT GOOD MEN DO BY DAVID S. BAXTER (DEC)
• 133. SON BY LOIS LOWRY (DEC)
• 132. SAVE ME BY KRISTYN KUSEK LEWIS (DEC)
• 131. FAR FROM YOU BY TESS SHARPE (DEC)
• 130. UNDIVIDED BY NEAL SHUSTERMAN* (DEC)
• 129. UNSOULED BY NEAL SHUSTERMAN* (DEC)
• 128. THIS STAR WON'T GO OUT BY ESTHER EARL (DEC)
• 127. WHILE BEAUTY SLEPT BY ELIZABETH BLACKWELL* (DEC)
• 126. BLEEDING HEART BY LIZA GYLLENHAAL (NOV)
• 125. THE HALCYON BIRD BY KAT BEYER (NOV)
• 124. THE DEMON CATCHERS OF MILAN BY KAT BEYER (NOV)
• 123. FORBIDDEN BY KIMBERLEY GRIFFITHS LITTLE* (NOV)
• 122. THE SECRET KEEPER BY KATE MORTON* (NOV)
• 121. MESSENGER BY LOIS LOWRY (NOV)
• 120. LADY EMMA'S CAMPAIGN BY JENNIFER MOORE (NOV)
• 119. STATION ELEVEN BY EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL (NOV)
• 118. WAKING UP JOY BY TINA ANN FORKNER (NOV)
• 117. HER DARK CURIOSITY BY MEGAN SHEPHERD (NOV)
• 116. THE DISAPPARATION OF JAMES BY ANNE URSU (OCT)
• 115. GET HAPPY BY MARY AMATO (OCT)
• 114. BIG LITTLE LIES BY LIANE MORIARTY* (OCT)
• 113. WHEN BY VICTORIA LAURIE (OCT)
• 112. LEAVING TIME BY JODI PICOULT* (OCT)
• 111. PAINTING KISSES BY MELANIE JACOBSON* (OCT)
• 110. SWEET UNREST BY LISA MAXWELL (OCT)
• 109. REMAKE BY ILIMA TODD (OCT)
• 108. BROWN GIRL DREAMING BY JACQUELINE WOODSON* (OCT)
• 107. BIRD BOX BY JOSH MALERMAN (OCT)
• 106. WE HEAR THE DEAD BY DIANNE K. SALERNI (OCT)
• 105. STILLWATER RISING BY STEENA HOLMES (OCT)
• 104. WEIGHT LOSS BOSS BY DAVID KIRCHHOFF (OCT)
• 103. MERCY MODE BY EM GARNER (OCT)
• 102. CONTAMINATED BY EM GARNER* (OCT)
• 101. DOLL BONES BY HOLLY BLACK (SEP)
• 100. CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY BY ALLY CARTER (SEP)
• 99. GATHERING BLUE BY LOIS LOWRY (SEP)
• 98. GHOSTING BY EDITH PATTOU (SEP)
• 97. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: THE MYSTERY OF THE WILD PONIES [#77] BY GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER (SEP)
• 96. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: THE GARDEN THIEF [#130] BY GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER (SEP)
• 95. NEEDFUL THINGS BY STEPHEN KING (SEP)
• 94. A SINGLE SHARD BY LINDA SUE PARK (SEP)
• 93. THE GIVER BY LOIS LOWRY* [RE-READ] (SEP)
• 92. THE BLACKHOPE ENIGMA BY TERESA FLAVIN (SEP)
• 91. RED HILL BY JAMIE MCGUIRE (SEP)
• 90. JUST CALL MY NAME BY HOLLY GOLDBERG SLOAN (SEP)
• 89. I'LL BE THERE BY HOLLY GOLDBERG SLOAN* (SEP)
• 88. ANYWHERE BUT PARADISE BY ANNE BUSTARD (SEP)
• 87. A LONG WALK TO WATER BY LINDA SUE PARK (SEP)
• 86. THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER BY MEGAN SHEPHERD (SEP)
• 85. THE ISLANDS AT THE END OF THE WORLD BY AUSTIN ASLAN (AUG)
• 84. THE CAGED GRAVES BY DIANNE K. SALERNI (AUG)
• 83. THE UNDERTAKING OF TESS BY LESLEY KAGEN (AUG)
• 82. WHITER THAN SNOW BY SANDRA DALLAS (AUG)
• 81. SWAMP BONES BY KATHY REICHS (AUG)
• 80. SARAH'S KEY BY TATIANA DE ROSNAY (AUG)
• 79. THE SECRET PLACE BY TANA FRENCH* (AUG)
• 78. THE TIME OF THE FIREFLIES BY KIMBERLEY GRIFFITHS LITTLE* (AUG)
• 77. GASP BY LISA MCMANN (AUG)
• 76. BONE GAP BY LAURA RUBY* (AUG)
• 75. WINTERKILL BY KATE A. BOORMAN* (JUL)
• 74. THE DEVIL'S ARITHMETIC BY JANE YOLEN (JUL)
• 73. THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND BY ELIZABETH GEORGE SPEARE* (JUL)
• 72. THE WALLED CITY BY RYAN GRAUDIN* (JUL)
• 71. NUMBER THE STARS BY LOIS LOWRY (JUL)
• 70. (DON'T YOU) FORGET ABOUT ME BY KATE KARYUS QUINN (JUL)
• 69. THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD BY MICHAEL KORYTA (JUL)
• 68. FIVE DAYS AT MEMORIAL BY SHERI FINK (JUL)
• 67. PROTOTYPE BY M.D. WATERS (JUL)
• 66. ARCHETYPE BY M.D. WATERS* (JUL)
• 65. THE EIGHTH DAY BY DIANNE K. SALERNI (JUL)
• 64. TYGER, TYGER BY KERSTEN HAMILTON (JUL)
• 63. SUGAR BY JEWELL PARKER RHODES (JUL)
• 62. BONES NEVER LIE BY KATHY REICHS* (JUL)
• 61. ONE CAME HOME BY AMY TIMBERLAKE (JUL)
• 60. FALLING HOME BY KAREN WHITE (JUN)
• 59. A LONG TIME GONE BY KAREN WHITE* (JUN)
• 58. ON THE FENCE BY KASIE WEST (JUN)
• 57. SURVIVE BY ALEX MOREL (JUN)
• 56. ALL RIGHT HERE BY CARRE ARMSTRONG GARDNER (JUN)
• 55. PRISONER OF NIGHT AND FOG BY ANNE BLANKMAN (JUN)
• 54. WHISPER BY CHRIS STRUYK-BONN (JUN)
• 53. THE CHAPEL WARS BY LINDSEY LEAVITT (JUN)
• 52. MISSISSIPPI JACK BY L.A. MEYER* (MAY)
• 51. THE YEAR SHE LEFT US BY KATHRYN MA (MAY)
• 50. WHERE THE ROCK SPLITS THE SKY BY PHILIP WEBB (MAY)
• 49. MERCY SNOW BY TIFFANY BAKER (MAY)
• 48. THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY BY GABRIELLE ZEVIN* (MAY)
• 47. NIL BY LYNNE MATSON (MAY)
• 46. IN COLD BLOOD BY TRUMAN CAPOTE (MAY)
• 45. I'VE GOT YOU UNDER MY SKIN BY MARY HIGGINS CLARK (MAY)
• 44. SAVE THE CAT BY BLAKE SNYDER* (MAY)
• 43. THE DISTANT HOURS BY KATE MORTON* (APR)
• 42. UPSIDE DOWN IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE BY JULIE T. LAMANA* (APR)
• 41. A SNICKER OF MAGIC BY NATALIE LLOYD* (APR)
• 40. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: THE AMAZING MYSTERY SHOW BY GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER (APR)
• 39.  DEAR america: like the willow tree by Lois Lowry (apr)
• 38. IN A HANDFUL OF DUST BY MINDY MCGINNIS* (APR)
• 37. CRESS BY MARISSA MEYER* (APR)
• 36. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED BOXCAR BY GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER (MAR)
• 35. HIDDEN LIKE ANNE FRANK BY MARCEL PRINS AND PETER HENK STEENHUIS (MAR)
• 34. THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY BY HOLLY SCHINDLER (MAR)
• 33. COINCIDENCE BY J.W. IRONMONGER (MAR)
• 32. THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON BY KATE MORTON* (MAR)
• 31. THE FORBIDDEN LIBRARY BY DJANGO WEXLER (MAR)
• 30. CURED BY BETHANY WIGGINS (MAR)
• 29. SLAYERS: FRIENDS AND TRAITORS BY C.J. HILL (MAR)
• 28. PIVOT POINT BY KASIE WEST (FEB)
• 27. THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN BY KATE MORTON* (FEB)
• 26. THE BOXCAR CHILDREN: THE MYSTERY OF THE STAR RUBY BY GERTRUDE CHANDLER WARNER (FEB)
• 25. BLACK OUT BY ROBISON WELLS (FEB)
• 24. INSOMNIA BY J.R. JOHANSSON (FEB)
• 23. STUNG BY BETHANY WIGGINS* (FEB)
• 22. SOMETHING REAL BY HEATHER DEMETRIOS (FEB)
• 21. STEELHEART BY BRANDON SANDERSON (FEB)
• 20. AND WE STAY BY JENNY HUBBARD (FEB)
• 19. FINDING JUNE BY SHANNEN CRANE CAMP (FEB)
• 18. CLOSE YOUR EYES, HOLD HANDS BY CHRIS BOHJALIAN (FEB)
• 17. GOING VINTAGE BY LINDSEY LEAVITT (FEB)
• 16. ALL THE TRUTH THAT'S IN ME BY JULIE BERRY* (FEB)
• 15. A DEATH-STRUCK YEAR BY MAKIIA LUCIER* (FEB)
• 14. ONCE WAS LOST BY SARA ZARR (FEB)
• 13. DELUSION BY LAURA L. SULLIVAN (FEB)
• 12. ATTACHMENTS BY RAINBOW ROWELL (FEB)
• 11. THE KILLING WOODS BY LUCY CHRISTOPHER (JAN)
• 10. SKINNY BY DONNA COONER (JAN)
• 9. INNOCENCE BY DEAN KOONTZ (JAN)
• 8. A TIME TO KILL BY JOHN GRISHAM (JAN)
• 7. THE BLOSSOMING UNIVERSE OF VIOLET DIAMOND BY BRENDA WOODS (JAN)
• 6. FANGIRL BY RAINBOW ROWELL (JAN)
• 5. THE OFFERING BY KIMBERLY DERTING (JAN)
• 4. WANDERVILLE BY WENDY MCCLURE (JAN)
• 3. THE ESSENCE BY KIMBERLY DERTING (JAN)
• 2. THE PLEDGE BY KIMBERLY DERTING [RE-READ] (JAN)
• 1. HALF A CHANCE BY CYNTHIA LORD (JAN)