31 December 2014

Best and Worst Books I Read in 2014

Someone asked me on Facebook if I was going to post my favourite books of 2014. I looked back at my list (95 books and 26,442 pages). Here are the best and worst, sorted by category (my categories).

The Best Reads would be rated 5-stars by me on Amazon, which means the book has to **REALLY** have an impact on me. I tried to decide on the 1-3 absolute best and couldn't narrow it down because each is unique and meaningful for different reasons.

The Worst Reads would all be rated 2-stars or less, which means I REALLY did not like them.

If you're interested in seeing my comments on each book, you can view or download this document from my Dropbox account — The Best and Worst Books I Read in 2014

BEST READS OF 2014
  • Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand (Biography) 
  • A. Lincoln: A Biography, Ronald C White (Biography)
  • Once Blind: The Life of John Newton, Kay Strom Marshall (Biography) 
  • Commentary on Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians (only Colossians chapter), John Calvin (Bible) 
  • Expositor's Bible: Colossians and Philemon, Alexander Maclaren (Bible) 
  • The 3D Gospel: Ministry in Guilt, Shame, and Fear Cultures, Jayson Georges (Cross-Cultural Ministry) 
  • Daily Reflections on the Names of God, Ava Pennington (Devotional) 
  • A Hobbit Devotional: Bilbo Baggins and the Bible, Ed Strauss (Devotional) 
  • Revisiting the Master Plan of Evangelism, Robert Coleman and Bobby Harrington (Evangelism) 
  • Faith of My Fathers (Chronicles of the Kings #4), Lynn Austin (Fiction) 
  • The Book Thief, Markus Zusak (Fiction) 
  • To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee (Fiction) 
  • The Secret Life of Pronouns: What Our Words Say About Us, James W. Pennebaker (Language/Psychology) 
  • The Painful Side of Leadership, Jeff Iorg (Leadership) 
  • The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, Hans Finzel (Leadership) 
  • The Meaning of Marriage, Timothy and Kathy Keller (Marriage) 
  • David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants, Malcolm Gladwell (Sociology) 
  • The Teeth May Smile but the Heart Remembers, Andrew Rice (Uganda History) 
  • The Monuments Men, Robert M. Edsel (US/Military History)
WORST READS OF 2014
  • Saint Francis of Assisi: A Life Inspired, Wyatt North (Biography)
  • The Legend of Juan Miguel: The Tale of an Unlikely Hero, Anna K. Sargent (Fiction)
  • Pursuit, Jason Garrett (Fiction)
  • Tiaras & Texans, Laina Turner (Fiction)
  • Your Best Nap Now: 7 Steps to Nodding Off at Your Full Potential, Martha Bolton (Humour)
  • How to Solve Soduku (52 Brilliant Ideas), Robin J. Wilson (Non-fiction) 
On the running front, which was the original purpose of this blog ... well, let's just say that was another worst of 2014.  :-(  I'm trying to get back and plan on 2015 being much better.

Run well, y'all,
Bob Allen
Kampala, Uganda

No comments: