(Please note that this post contains affiliate links to Amazon.com.)
There are a lot of lists about books showing up on blogs this week. Literary sites are listing the best or most notable (whatever that means) books of the year and some bloggers are listing the books that made the greatest impression on them this year.
For the past couple of years I’ve read books exclusively on my Kindle so it’s pretty easy to get a list of the books I’ve purchased this year. A few years ago I released myself from the burden of finishing a book if it wasn’t holding my attention, so there are a few books I purchased but chose not to read to the end. I have not included those on this list.
Here, in no particular order, is the list of books I read, finished, and enjoyed, in 2014.
- Family History by Dani Shapiro
- Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand
- The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison
- Watch How We Walk by Jennifer LoveGrove
- The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
- Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
- Writing From Life: For Women With Stories To Tell by Susan Wittig Albert
- The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
- Sailing Down the Moonbeam by Mary Gottschalk
- Ever Faithful To His Lead by Kathleen Pooler
- Bonnet Strings by Saloma Miller Furlong
- Where There’s Smoke by Jodi Picoult
- Growing Up Country: Memories of an Iowa Farm Girl by Carol Bodensteiner
- The Simple Life by Rhonda Hetzel
- Go Away Home by Carol Bodensteiner
- The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
- The Search Angel by Tish Cohen
- The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons
- Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens
- Down To Earth by Rhonda Hetzel
- Always Watching by Chevy Stevens
- Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
- That Night by Chevy Stevens
- We Are Not Ourselves by Matthew Thomas
- The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett
- Good Girls Don’t by Patti Hawn
- The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman
If you find a few new-to-you books on this list I hope you’ll consider checking them out. It’s always a treat to find a new author’s work to enjoy–as evidenced by the number of books I read by Canadian author Chevy Stevens this year!
I absolutely LOVED Orphan Train. I also read Good Girls Don’t. I have Mary Gottschalk’s books on my to-read list as well as Kathleen Pooler’s. Paige
No surprise that we both read the ones with the adoption-related theme, Paige! I think you’ll enjoy Mary and Kathy’s books very much too.
Dear Linda, I feel honored to be on your list this year. Thank you! There are several new books I’ll be checking out that look intriguing. Thanks for sharing and here’s to a happy, healthy new year!