2014 A Year in Books

We're already two thirds through January but as I've hardly made any post on books the later part of last year I'm going to rectify that by doing one now. So even though it's a little late here's my 2014 year in books.

Read
I read significantly fewer books in 2014 than in 2013 but I didn't really have any number I was aiming for so I'm happy with what I was able to read.

Adult vs Young Adult
2013 had been a year in which I rediscovered YA again so most books that I read that year were YA titles. 2014 I even it out reading an equal number of YA and Adult titles.

Audiobooks
If 2013 was the year I discovered ebooks then 2014 was the year of audiobooks. I had tried an audiobook or two in the past but did not enjoy the experience. Still last year I tried again and I was hooked. Three reasons why I think audiobooks are wonderful.

1. It's great way to "read" a book while commuting to wherever, doing chores or mundane computer work.
2. When I want to read something but am unsure that I'd enjoy it or titles that look like they could be tedious and require heavy time investment, I'd definitely listen to the audiobook instead.
3. Lastly it's also a great way to "reread" a book either to revisit the story before reading the sequel or just to experience a book I enjoyed reading in a different way.

Podcasts
I've been listening to Movies and TV show podcasts for a couple of years now and this year I've finally checked out some bookish podcasts. Unfortunately there are not as many but there are some great ones. I enjoy the usual topical type of podcasts but I'm really loving the book club/review type that either have questions from readers posed to the authors or have a bunch of podcasters discussing a book which is a great way to hear differing views. Some of the bookish podcast that have become my favourites are the BBC and Slate book clubs.

Series
I've started a lot of series the last two years or so and haven't been any good at completing those that I started. 2014 I really made an attempt to get through some of them and I ended up completing four series (I finally finished Breaking Dawn the last book in the series some 7 years after I started the Twilight); all were YA series because let's face it YA has a lot series, just look at those that eventually got movie adaptation. That said I've also read 6 first book of a series (only two of which I'll probably continue with the sequels) and tackled 5 second book of a series. Unfortunately none of the second books were better of the first.

Favourite Reads of 2014
2013 I read a lot of books that I came to love, 2014 not so much. I suppose that is to expected since I did read fewer books. Anyway here are four of my favourites from 2014:

• The Curse Workers - This YA series completely blew me away. I finished all three books this year and this is the fastest I've ever completed a series. Suffice to say I love it, and it's kinda sad that there won't be any more books in this series because the world the book is set in is just so fascinating. In brief it's set in an alternate world where humans that have supernatural skills (manipulating people's luck, emotions, memories among others) are called Curse Workers. The protagonist is a kid called Cassel born into a family of Curse Workers although he himself doesn't know what his abilities are or if he would ever eventually develop one. He increasingly feels like the outsider of his family both for his lack of special abilities and his disapproval of his family's criminal activities; his mother is a con artist working on the emotions of rich men to swindle their money while his two older brothers are using their special talents for the mob. When Cassel begins sleepwalking and encounters a white cat he begins to uncover the depth of his family's criminal activities.
• The Age of Miracles - This is another favourite read of 2014. Gorgeously written it is a haunting coming of age tale set against the backdrop of the rotation of the earth slowing down making the days longer and longer each day heading ever so slowly towards what seems like the end of the world. If this was ever made into a movie I imagine it to be as a cross between The Virgin Suicides and Melancholia.

Looking ahead, 2015
I think I've made a good start having already read 4.
I'll no doubt check out more audiobooks.
I would also like to discover more bookish podcast so if you know some great ones do recommend.