The end of the year is finally here! And I’m celebrating by putting together the post I’ve been most looking forward to: the annual book review recap!

 I started a book blog for a couple reasons, but one of them was because it is a great way to keep track of all the fantastic books I’ve read (one that didn’t involve a journal and printouts of the covers – the method I was using before I discovered the wonders of blogging).

Sharing my love of books has become a passion all its own, and I have discovered some profound things in my own reading habits that I may not have otherwise. Most notably, I have come to truly appreciates the idea that life is too short to read boring books. This epiphany hit me in early 2013. It was eye-opening because I realized the books I was most looking forward to reading were getting left on the shelf in favor of books I felt like I was obligated to read (does anybody else have that problem?). Anyway, I made the decision to read the books I was most excited for first rather than last and, as this post will illustrate, it has made for one of the best years of reading I have ever had!

So without further ado, here’s a look at The Obsessive Bookseller’s year of book love:

1 Star: didn’t like it at all

1.5 Stars: didn’t like it, but it had some merit

2 Stars: it was okay

2.5 Stars: it was a little better than okay, but I’m not sure if I liked it or not

3 Stars: I liked it

3.5 Stars: I liked it, but not quite as much as a 4 star book

4 Stars: I really liked it!

4.5 Stars: I really, really liked it!

5 Stars: I LOVED it!!!!

I read 89 books this year (9 books more than last year) totaling 38095 pages (6948 pages more than last year). And I enjoyed every minute of it! I’d like to note that next year will probably show fewer books but more pages. I am finally a little worn out on YA novels and have already started to shift my focus towards Fantasy and Science Fiction. Bring it on!

As you can see, 2014 was definitely filled with more good reads than bad ones. I still can’t believe how many five-star books came out of this year – I could fangirl over them for hours.

I’d like to note that most of the books in my 2 star category were ARCs, which is why I also had a goal to stop requesting so many. It took about three months of effort to stop asking for every title I thought I might want to read. Incidentally, that has also helped me enjoy reading this year – less obligations!

What did your year of reading look like?

by Niki Hawkes