GoodReads Challenge 2015 and My Favorite Books of 2014

2014 was a good year for reading. On New Years Eve I finished my 115^th book! My goal for the last three years has been to read at least 100, and I am glad that I was able to fly past my goal again this year! I plan on setting my goal on Goodreads at 100 once again, with every intention of trying to blow past it.

While I read some books that were awful, many I read were absolutely amazing. Here are my Top 4 books that I read in 2014 (not counting books I reread)

·      The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

o   My best friend gave me this book for Christmas last  year and asked me not to read the back of it, but just   to trust her. She was right  and it was amazing! I went into the novel with no expectations and powered through all four books in about three and a half days.   It centers around a thief who the Magnus believes can lead the king   to power and magics, but at a cost. The Thief has his own agenda, and trying to keep   everyone from turning on each other becomes increasingly difficult.

·       Death Sworn by Leah Cyress

o   I cannot wait for the next book in this series. When I picked it up I was for some off reason under the impression that it was a stand alone novel, but I am so glad it isn’t and that I will have more books in this magical world. A review is below. http://bookscreatebetterworlds.blogspot.com/2014/04/death-sworn-review-by-leah-cypress.html

·      Earth Awakens by Orson Scott Card

o   This is the conclusion to the trilogy the predates Ender Wiggin’s epic battle. This series tells of the first formic invasion, and gives an awesome new view at which to look at Ender’s Game.

·       Undivided by Neal Shusterman

o   This was by far my favorite book. This is one of the best series I have every read, hands down. Read it, trust me. That’s all I am going to say.

I cannot wait to see the amazing books that are published this year, and what crazy and magical worlds I get lost in. Feel free to add me on Goodreads!

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5679489-cate-neuhauser

Goodreads Challenge 2014

Goodreads is probably my all time favorite website. I spend more time on it than on Facebook and twitter combined. I love taking quizzes and playing the never ending trivia game, writing and reading reviews, entering contests for free books, making friends and keep track of what I read and what I want to read in the future. My favorite feature of the website however, is their Reading Challenge.

Since joining Goodreads back in 2011 I have joined to book challenge. What is nice is that every individual sets their own goals, either by page number of book number. The previous two years I have set a goal of 100 books in a year. In 2012 I got close, only reading 98 (had I not gone out with my best friend for new years eve I would have for sure finished number 99 and possibly 100 if I didn’t do anything all day but read).

I ended 2013 by reading 107 books. Yes, I beat my goal! It wasn’t easy, I took a spring course in Scotland and I work two jobs (sometimes three when the photography season gets busy). So it can be difficult to read so much, but I prioritize reading about watching TV and sleeping.

Now that it is 2014, the time has come to see a new goal for books I plan on reading. Again, I plan on reading 100 books, but I know how crazy that might be. Working 17 + hour days has become semi normal for me, but books are important and I commit to reading nearly two books a week.