Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014 Books Read

End of the year, so time for my annual accounting of books consumed. (Out of deference to my lovely wife, I will not say "books read," because nearly half were in audiobook format.) Here are the books I consumed in 2014.

The 2014 Book List
  1. The Cats of Tanglewood Forest by Charles de Lint
  2. The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided Over Religion and Politics by Jonathan Haidt
  3. The Republican Brain: The Science of Why They Deny Science--And Reality by Chris Mooney
  4. A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong
  5. Embracing Your Best Self by Nancy Zimmerman
  6. Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality by Max Tegmark
  7. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
  8. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go Of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brene Brown
  9. Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain by Michael S. Gazzaniga
  10. Doubt: A History - The Great Doubters and their Legacy of Innovation from Socrates and Jesus to Thomas Jefferson and Emily Dickinson by Jennifer Hecht
  11. Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller
  12. The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology that Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor
  13. Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy by Emily Bazelon
  14. Pathfinder Tales: The Redemption Engine by James L. Sutter
  15. The Heart and the Fist: The Education of a Humanitarian and the Making of a Navy SEAL by Eric Grietens
  16. Living the Quaker Way: Timeless Wisdom for a Better Life Today by Philip Gulley
  17. Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum by Leonard Susskind and Art Friedman
  18. The Psychopath Test By Jon Ronson
  19. A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Madness by Nassir Ghaemi
  20. My Brief History by Stephen Hawking
  21. Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau
  22. Walking by Henry David Thoreau
  23. Fuzzy Nation by John Scalzi
  24. The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, and Much More by Bruce Feiler
  25. Utilitarianism by John Stuart Mill
  26. Novum Organum (The New Organon) by Francis Bacon
  27. The World As I See It by Albert Einstein
  28. The God Engines by John Scalzi
  29. Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race by Mark Twain 
  30. The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World by David Deutsch
  31. Inferno by Dan Brown
  32. Shadow Ops: Breach Zone by Myke Cole
  33. I Am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
  34. A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present by Howard Zinn
  35. How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee by Bart Ehrman
  36. The Adversary by Erin M. Evans
  37. Shadows Beneath: The Writing Excuses Anthology by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler
  38. The Island of Knowledge: The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning by Marcelo Gleiser
  39. The Maze Runner by James Dashner
  40. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding by David Hume
  41. The Last Stormdancer by Jay Krisoff
  42. Kinslayer by Jay Kristoff
  43. Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion by Sam Harris
  44. Pathfinder Tales: Stalking the Beast by Howard Andrew Jones
  45. Pathfinder Tales: Reign of Stars by Tim Pratt
  46. The Teacher Wars: A History of America's Most Embattled Profession by Dana Goldstein
  47. Ignorance: How It Drives Science by Stuart Firestein
  48. Time Machines Repaired While-U-Wait by K.A. Bedford
  49. Invisible: Personal Essays on Representation in SF/F edited by Jim C. Hines
  50. San Diego 2014: Last Stand of the California Browncoats by Mira Grant
  51. Farewell to Reality: How Modern Science Has Betrayed the Search for Scientific Truth by Jim Baggott
  52. The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution by Walter Isaacson
  53. The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
  54. The Reaver by Richard Lee Byers
Analysis

Format:
  • Audiobooks: 26
  • Kindle: 19
    • Kindle Singles (mini-books/novellas/solo essays): 2
  • Dead tree books: 10
Subjects:
  • Total Fiction: 18
    • Mystery/Thriller: 1
    • Science Fiction: 6
    • Fantasy: 12
      • Urban/Modern Fantasy: 2
      • Traditional Fantasy: 7
      • Young Adult: 1
      • Steampunk: 2
  • Non-Fiction: 36
    • Science: 19
      • Physics: 8
      • Psychology: 10
      • Biology: 3
      • Technology: 1
      • Math/Statistics: 1
    • Religion: 12
    • History: 11
    • Politics: 8
    • Education: 3
    • Economics: 1
    • Business: 2
    • Philosophy: 17
    • Humor: 1
    • Writing: 2
These numbers don't quite match up, because some books cover multiple areas, and so I've included them in all relevant categories. So, for example, a book on free will would fall in both Psychology and Philosophy (and possibly even Religion) categories.

Similarly, some books I read using Whispersynch-for-Voice to jump between the Amazon Kindle and Audible audiobook versions of the books, so they got double-counted in the format section.

The History

And for anyone who is interested in looking into the past to see some of my previous book lists...
Prior to 2008, I didn't keep a precise running record of the books that I read.
Spewed forth from the mind of azjauthor at 5:44 AM
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