2014 in Review

The year is over, and it’s time for a quick look back. Last year had some great moments, but overall it was a bit of a rough one on a personal level, the aftermath of a horrendous previous year. As such, I’ve let myself get behind on a lot, so if I have one resolution for 2015 it’s to try a bit harder to stay on top of things and enjoy myself rather than becoming overwhelmed and procrastinating. This last year was better than the year before it, so here’s hoping that 2015 will be better still.

The Weblog

In my head, I think of this weblog as if it’s an offline reading journal. I don’t really go out of my way to tell anyone that it exists, and I’ve mainly ignored making any cosmetic or functional improvements. I’ve had a website of some fashion since the mid to late nineties, and I would spend days meticulously redesigning them every few months – I’d almost keep websites just so I’d have something to design. This time I wanted to start writing immediately, and I wanted the focus to be the content, so I chose a template (something younger Rob would have railed against) and started typing. So this year, I’d like to flesh the site out a bit more. Maybe look at a redesign, maybe add an ‘about’ page, maybe create some additional ways to browse the books I’ve written about. You know, the sort of thing people usually do week one rather than year four.

I’d like to catch up and stay on top of my book posts. I’ve been a bit behind for the last few months, and have often found myself writing about books I’d read a month or two before. It really takes some time to get back into that headspace when it’s left so long. I’d also like to expand on what I’m writing about and explore different ways of learning and discussing what I read. I might try joining a book club and see how that goes. An online bookclub might also be fun.

The Stats

Overall books read: 38

Format
Graphic novels and trade paperback collections: 7
Audio books: 12
Poetry compilations: 1
Short story or essay complications: 4
Plays: 1

Country (of author)
America: 18
England: 11
Canada: 3
Scotland: 2
France: 1
Ireland: 1
Pakistan: 1
Ukraine: 1

Other
Most books by same author: 3 (Nick Hornby)
New authors (to me): 18
Female authors: 3.5
Re-reads: 0

The Challenges

The only challenge I took part in this year was the continuation of The Classics Club challenge, which is to read 50 classics in 5 years. I’m currently at 30, leaving 20 to be read in the next two and a quarter years, so I’m on track with that. I plan to take some time this weekend and find a few challenges to participate in this year. I’m not much interested in book count challenges (ie. read 80 books this year), as they tend to affect my book choices in a negative way by pushing me towards shorter novels, but I’ve really enjoyed challenges in the past that, rather than adding constrictions, help guide my reading in interesting ways.

The Top Threes

These are all lists of media that were new to me this year, not necessarily released this year. In the case of the movies, video games, and television series, these are mainly picked from the second half of the year. I wasn’t keeping track during at the beginning of the year, and I really have a terrible memory. I also apparently didn’t watch many movies this year, so the top 3 is fairly popcorn-y.

Fiction

1. The Martian by Andy Weir
2. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
3. The Scar by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko

Non-Fiction

1. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
2. More Fool Me by Stephen Fry
3. More Baths, Less Talking by Nick Hornby (not yet reviewed)

Audiobook Narration

1. Jonathan Davis narrating The Scar
2. Peter Kenny narrating The Wasp Factory
3. R. C. Bray narrating The Martian

Comic

1. Saga, Volumes 1 – 3 by Brian K. Vaughan
2. The Complete Essex County by Jeff Lemire
3. Chew: Omnivore Edition, Volume 4 by John Layman

Movie

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
2. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
3. The Lego Movie (2014)

Video Game

1. The Blackwell series
2. The Witcher 2
3. inFamous: Second Son

Television series

1. Wallander, seasons 1 – 3
2. Sherlock, seasons 2 & 3
3. Dollhouse, seasons 1 & 2