Best Books of 2015

*The links to amazon are affiliate links and if you purchase something via them I will earn a small advertising fee. 

	This was a fun nerdy book, that completely preys on nostalgia. Even though I was am a little young for the 80's nerd culture references I still really liked this book.
	I first read the Fitz and Fool series back in high school and college and it has been one of my all time favorite series'. So when Hobb decided to bring the story back to Fitz as an old man I was very excited. The bummer is having to wait for the next book.
	This book was awesome. Apollo 13 is one of my favorite movies, and book is a comparable fictional story. Just saw the movie, and it is good too, but the book is way better.
	Sanderson is an amazing. I have never been into the superhero stories, but I really love this series.
	This was a new series I started based on a friends recommendation. It is light reading and has werewolves, vampires, and shape changers, and takes place in Eastern WA.
	This is an amazing and unbelievable biography.  I was afraid it was going to be depressing since part of it takes place during WWII, but I think the author's point-of-view was far enough away that it didn't completely overwhelm emotionally.  The movie was good too.
	Of course I have to add a Katy Bowman book. This is the book I had been waiting for, as it is the subject that pointed me in the direction of Katy's work. I have been reading and listening for the past two years, to all the content Katy has created, and even did her 52-week Everybody Biomechanics course in 2015, but still this book had a few tidbits of new info, and some new exercises to do. I have been doing better on the everyday moving through life aspects, but I do want to be more diligent on working on the correctives outlined in this book.

Favorite Books of 2014

2014 was a good year for reading books.  I read 55 books for the year (or here is the librarything version which I like better because it lets you give half stars) and was part of two book clubs, one of which was a new one and I have met some really awesome ladies and I really love it.

So here are my best books of the year (*all links are affiliate links to Amazon)

		These were the life changing books of the year, so much so that I have became a bit obsessed with learning all I can about Katy's work and paradigm. Her work is  nuanced, but at the same time extremely simple and I have had such significant improvements in my health that it is mind-boggling.
	I really love Brandon Sanderson, but was a little bit disappointed with the first book in this series (it didn't have a very satisfying end), but this book completely made up for it. Typically I am a fast, impatient reader, but even though this book is over 1000 pages I found myself slowing down and not wanting it to end.
	This was a book I read for both my book clubs. It takes place in Seattle and I loved being taken back to what the Pacific Northwest was like in the 1930's. The sports parts of story are excellent. Even though you know the outcome of most of the races, they are still suspenseful. Finally the discussion of Hitler's propaganda is interesting and adds an interesting third layer to the story.
	This is a plug for a friend's book. It also takes place in Seattle. It is a murder mystery about a woman with a stalker, with a fantasy twist.
	This was another book club book about a mysterious fictional author. While I was reading the book I was expecting some sort of surprising plot twist, and I was not disappointed.
	I spent a lot of time re-reading books this year. Dave Duncan is my favorite author and this is the first book of one his best series. The neat thing about the Blade books is that each book is a standalone novel, but the first three all tie into each other for a larger plot. Thus you should not read the first two books without reading the third. I think I actually read this particular book in 2013, but finished the other books in the series in 2014.  (Lord of the Fire Lands, Sky of Swords)
	This was another set of series re-reads. Robin Hobb has 4 finished trilogies that take place in this world, and then released the first book of a 5th series. I reread the two series starring Fitz.  I had put off re-reading these two series which are favorites because I remember how much I cried the first time I read them. The second time wasn't different. Robin Hobb is kind of a brutal author in that she really puts her characters through the wringer. The newest book is intriguing, but she has hinted that it is going to involve even more tears. :(

Honarable Mentions

Past book lists

Reading Rules

I came across this post  about what your reading rules reveal about your personality and thought it would be fun to share my reading rules.

- If a book doesn't catch me after 50-100 pages it is okay to stop.  There are too many good books to read to waste time on one that isn't.

- I remove dust jackets and toss them.  They are superfluous and just get in the way.

- I like books to look well read.  I don't mind if they get bent, dropped in water, etc.  But I don't write in books, it just never has occurred to me to do so.

- My favorite book form is oversize paperbacks.  For big, heavy, long books I prefer ebooks (which I read on a Nook Color or my phone a Samsung Note 2).  Otherwise I can't decide if I prefer electronic or hard copy.  Maybe if I had an eink reader I would prefer ebooks in all cases?

- I do not like to fold the corner of a page to mark it, mostly because when you get a whole bunch of folded pages they might get unfolded or refolded and then you might get a mistaken mark and that is just annoying. But if I can't find a scrap of paper to slip into the book, and I don't have anywhere to set it down open, then I will fold the page, but mostly I just lay the book down with the book open to the page I am at.  I hardly ever use a real bookmark.  My husband thinks it is hilarious to pull my bookmarks, and my kids often pick up my books and the bookmarks fall out.  I do spend a frequent amount of time searching through the book to find my place.

- I like to pick my books based on my currently feeling.  Usually alternating between fantasy, historical fiction and non-fiction, with some classics and general fiction thrown in.  Overall I tend not to read the same genre for more than two books in a row, unless I am reading a series.

- When I am picking out a book I tend to rely on word of mouth, or searching for books on a certain topic (especially biographies and historical fiction).  I rely pretty heavily on Librarything.com's "Will you like it" feature to help me decide.  It is pretty spot on.  Only once have I noticed where it was really wrong when it said that I would not like a book that I really did.  (Where'd  You Go Bernadette).

- I have to record my book on Librarything and Goodreads when I start reading it and then rate it when I am finished.  I rarely write a real review, though it seems like Facebook is trying to make me, since my entries are automatically posted to Facebook and people end up asking me what I thought.  I am trying to be okay with just jotting down a few thoughts, but I feel like if I am going to write a review, it should be a real thoughtful one that takes me more time then I have.

- I don't like to read many reviews ahead of time because I think they will sway my thoughts too much.  Especially bad reviews. If someone points out something annoying about the plot or writing style it will drive me nuts when I read it.   But I do read the reviews after I finish.  I like to see if other people had the same thoughts as me--kind of a virtual book discussion.

- I love to reread books.  Sometimes I want to read a book that I know will be fantastic.  I don't have the best memory when it comes to stories so I can reread my favorite books a couple years later and it is almost like reading it for the first time.  I have read Jurassic Park five times, Gone With the Wind three, and almost all of Dave Duncan's books at least twice.  I have read the Hunter's Haunt and the Man of Word Series three or four times.

- Full bookshelves are the most satisfying form of home decor.  I have a very hard time giving books away.

- I do not like reading more then one book at a time, though sometimes I will have a non-fiction and a fiction book I read at the same time.

Favorite Reads in 2012

I read 44 books in 2012.  Last year I had a hard time picking out my favorites because I read so many great books.  This year was a bit easier.

Favorite Nutrition Book I Read in 2012

What's Eating Your Child - Through reading this book I figured out Selena had a zinc deficiency.  While supplementing with zinc hasn't completely cured her picky eating it has helped dramatically.  The last few years we have had prime rib on Christmas Eve.  In 2011 she complained the entire time about how bad the food smelled.  She ate specially prepared macaroni and cheese, and even left the room for  part of dinner due to not being able to handle the smell.  This year she ate mashed potatoes, rolls, a bit of prime rib, and didn't complain about the smell.




Favorite How-to Book I Read in 2012

Getting the Words Right: 39 Ways to Improve Your Writing - Since I'm writing promotional material for Corvid Apps I figured I should work on improving my writing.  This book had awesome, easy tips, and was so well written (it should be shouldn't it?)! There were multiple times I was left wondering how I had never learned something.





Favorite Fantasy Books I Read in 2012

Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson was a new-to-me writer I discovered last year.  I am extremely impressed at how tight his writing style is, and enjoy the unexpected plot twists.  I tend to not find synopsis' of fantasy books helpful because most stories are pretty bizarre.  I usually just want to know if it is good or not, and this one is.





Death of Nnanji - Dave Duncan is my all time favorite author.  He says that The Reluctant Swordsman is one of his most successful series.  While the series was published quite a long time ago, he decided to add a fourth book to it.  I own all the books in the original series, but when I reread them this year I did not remember the story at all.  I frequently forget the plot of books I read (which makes rereading stuff more enjoyable) I can usually remember at least one scene.

When I bought the series I was in a Dave Duncan frenzy and had bought about 15 of his books all at once.  I think that I must have got confused about which books I had read, and which ones I hadn't, and never actually read them.  Either way I really loved this series including the brand new sequel.

Craziest Book I Read in 2012

Bud and Me - The True Adventures of the Abernathy Boys -  This book has such a great story, that it makes up for the somewhat lackluster writing style, and horrible formatting of the Kindle version.  It is the true story about two brothers who traveled on horseback across the United States, by themselves, multiple times, in the early 1900's.  Their first adventure occurred when they were just 5 and 9 years old!  It is crazy how different the perceptions of children's capabilities were then compared to now.




Honorable Mentions:


  

Against the Light (Dave Duncan) - Fantasy
Wild:  From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (Cheryl Strayed) Memoir,
City of Dragons (Robin Hobb) - Fantasy
The Woman Who Died A Lot (Jasper Fforde) - Fantasy?
Catherine the Great (Robert K. Massie) - Biography
The Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stewart) - Kids Literature


Past book lists:

Books in 2011 Part 1 and Part 2

Books in 2010

Books in 2008