Books

This year, for the 2nd year in a row, the total number of books that I read throughout the year dropped.  This time to only 17 books read for the year.  I love to read, though I just do not make enough time to do it.  I remember not to many years ago exceeding 50 books a year, but that is now more than my combined total for the last 2 years.

I am announcing here, today, that I am going to write a book, a novel.  I do not know the title, or the whole story, but I have a few pages of ideas.  Page 1 is complete, only 400 pages left to go.  How long will it take to write the other 400 pages?  Who knows; maybe 1 year, maybe 5 years, but I will.

I've never written a book before, though with the length of some of my blogs; a few of you think that I have.  I anticipate the real challenge to be in getting the book published.  Stay tuned for updates ~

From only 17 books to choose from, it was somewhat difficult to cull through and deem 10 of them worthy for my yearly top 10 of reading.

10.  Then Again, by Diane Keaton.  A very enjoyable auto-biography.  I liked it because I like her as an Actress; though I do not like her as an Activist.

09.  The Informationist, by Taylor Stevens.  This is her first book.  It is a quick read, a thriller paced along the lines of 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'.  Taylor's story is inspirational, as she was raised in a cult from which she escaped, and only educated through the 6th grade.  To now be an author, she has made quite the life changing turn around.

08.  Never Trust A Liberal Over Age 3, by Ann Coulter.  This is my least favorite of Ann's books, as there is really nothing new that has not already been said many times over in her previous 7 books.  But, it was a fun book, full of politically righteous venom. 

07.  Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell.  This was a fascinating book about how we think, how we make decisions, and how we do it in a 'blink'.  It is one of those type of books that you will want to re-read.

06.  Crossroads, by W. Paul Young.  This is a Christian based book on faith, and the unseen spirit world.  It was hard to put down, and was a very quick read in one day.

05.  Killing Patton, by Bill O'Reilly.  Hugely entertaining and historical.  Astonishing detail with actual battlefield accounts of WW2 for each year of the war.  Several depressing parts involving Hitler and Stalin that I skipped over, as the stories of brutality and savagery choked me up.  If you love history (as I do), this is a must read.

04.  Valley Forge, by Newt Gingrich.  Wow, what an amazing book.  Excellent writing.  To hear the stories about Washington re-created and explained through the winter of 1777; you feel as you are living through it with them.  This is another absolute must read if you love history.

03.  Killing Kennedy, by Bill O'Reilly.  It is amazing how close Kennedy came to blowing it with the Cuban missile crisis.  And had he, it is most likely that today we would either be speaking Russian, or we would have been incinerated faster than the blink of a eye and never reading this blog in the 1st place.

I loved reading again about PT-109 which I did a book report on in 6th grade.  If you are offended though by rampant sex, with multiple 100's of acts of infidelity; then it might be hard to read this book as it names names, places, and times.  I had always thought that FDR or Clinton were the head philanderer's in chief, and that Kennedy was in 3rd place.  After reading this book though, history records that FDR and Clinton are distant 2nd and 3rd places for sexual conquests while in office.       

02.  Breakout, by Joel Osteen.  This is a spiritually uplifting book written in Joel's typical upbeat, smiling, and positive outlook on life kind of way.  It is impossible to read this book and not have your spirits lifted, your mind renewed, and your life refreshed.

01.  41, by George W. Bush (43).  This is President Bush writing a memoir about his Dad President Bush.  It is warm, sincere, gut wrenching with family death, funny, savvy, and chock full or hero's and heritage.  It is an incredible journey, and so well written.  I loved this book.

~

What were some of your favorite books for '14?

I've already bought my starting inventory of 12 books for '15, and I know without a doubt that at least 3 of them are going to make my top 10 for '15.

Until then....