Fifty Book Challenge 2014

A few years ago I heard about the 50 Book Challenge, where you challenge yourself to read 50 books in one year, and my first thought was that I could easily beat that number. My second thought was the realization that I actually had no idea how many books I could get through in a year because I had never kept track, so in 2011 I started keeping a list of every book I read. 2011 has coincidentally also been the only year that I've managed to read over 50 books; the grand total that year was 82. I chalk that up to the fact that it was the year I took the survey courses for my English major, and a couple other courses that were pretty paperback-heavy (45 of the books I read in 2011 were for school). Since that golden year my list tends to hover around the high 30s-low 40s. In 2012 I read 37 books, 45 in 2013, and my total for 2014 is 38.

I really like keeping track of my reading this way, it helps me remember what was going on/where I was when I read each book. I've decided that for 2015 I'm also going to write a review of each book I read here on the blog as a way to hold myself accountable to my list and my blogging schedule. If you have any book recommendations, send 'em my way!

Here's the list for 2014:
*re-reads

1. Hardboiled Wonderland And the End of The World- Haruki Murakami*
2. The Fault in Our Stars- John Green*
3. Ready Player One- Ernest Cline
4. Fly on the Wall- E. Lockhart
5. Call the Midwife- Jennifer Worth
6. Ender's Game- Orson Scott Card
7. One of Us- Conjoined Twins and the Future of Normal- Alice Domurat Dreger
8. The Unspeakable Thoughts of Jacob Green- Joshua Braff
9. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle- Haruki Murakami*
10. What Every Body is Saying- Joe Navarro
11. Kindred- Octavia Butler*
12. Divergent- Veronica Roth
13. Insurgent- Veronica Roth
14. Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Woman's Prison- Piper Kerman
15. Allegiant- Veronica Roth
16. The Ocean At the End of the Lane- Neil Gaiman
17. Summer Sisters- Judy Blume
18. White Oleander- Janet Fitch*
19. Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone- J.K. Rowling*
20. Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets- J.K. Rowling*
21. Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban- J.K. Rowling*
22. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire- J.K. Rowling*
23. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix- J.K. Rowling*
24. Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince- J.K. Rowling*
25. Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows- J.K. Rowling*
26. Veinte Poemas de Amor y un Cancion Desesperada- Pablo Neruda
27. Carsick: John Waters Hitchhikes Across America- John Waters
28. The Bean Trees- Barbara Kingsolver*
29. Pigs in Heaven- Barbara Kingsolver*
30. Wasteland- Francesca Lia Block*
31. A Tale for the Time Being- Ruth Ozeki
32. Eleanor & Park- Rainbow Rowell
33. The Leftovers- Tom Perrotta
34. Rant- Chuck Palahniuk*
35. Columbine- Dave Cullen
36. It- Stephen King
37. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks- E. Lockhart
38. Like Water for Chocolate- Laura Esquivel*