The 52 Books of 2014

I have gotten a lot of questions about reading 52 books last year, but the biggest one is: How do you find the time? People have asked me that over and over, and I still scratch my head and have to think. How do I find the time? I only expected to read about 30 books this year, mostly because I knew I was going to start some sort of photography business and my time would be limited. But even working an extra 10 hours a week this summer doing photo sessions and editing photographs, I still read a lot. Because I’m a reader and reading is a way for me to relax and (more importantly, I’ve learned) escape. So, when the going gets rough, I still hit the books.

But there were some things that helped. I usually spend Sundays reading whenever I can. I often read while my kids watch television (because I can’t sit there and watch the same shows over and over). Ten of the books I read were chapter books read aloud to Lily, usually quick reads but one-to-two hundred pages, so I counted them.

There were some awesome books and some duds. But here are my bests for the year:

Best fiction: Torch by Cheryl Strayed
Runner up: Bright’s Passage by Josh Ritter

Best memoir: The Lies My Mother Never Told Me by Kalie Jones
Runner up: Delancey by Molly Wizenberg

Best business: Why She Buys by Bridget Brennan
Runner up: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Best nonfiction (general): Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Runner up: Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed

Best Christian: Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
Runner up: Being OK with Where You Are by Stacey Thacker

Best young adult: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
Runner up: The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

If you’re interested, you can see the full list here or here. By the way, if you’re on Goodreads, let’s be friends! I get a lot of book recommendations there from friends who share what they’re reading.

As for my reading goal for the coming year, I’ve decided that 2015 will be the year of the long novel. I want to tackle several longer novels (I’d love to get through one a month, but we’ll see), and I’ve already started with The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. At nearly 800 pages, it’s certainly hefty enough. Do you have any recommendations for me? I’m looking for books longer than 600 pages.

And do you have any reading goals for this year? I’d love to hear. Happy reading, friends!

*As part of my list of 33 things to do before I turn 34, I plan to write 33 lists. This post is list 1/33.