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