Best Books 2014

For the past 2 years I have had a goal to read 50 books by Jan. 1st. Which has been kind of crazy, but I also feel very accomplished. Here are the most impactful books I read in 2014, the next blog will be for 2015.

Terrible Lizard: The First Dinosaur Hunters and the Birth of a New Science

by Deborah Cadbury

This was a bookclub pick - My science teacher friend picked it, she says she hates history books, but that's exactly what this is. The very first paleontologists, who had no guidelines or process, who named dinosaurs based solely on the jawbone that they found in a quarry or beach. I found it utterly fascinating.

Austenland 

by Shannon Hale

This was also a book club pick but I was planning to read it anyway based on suggestions from friends. Also the reason it is so good is because of this movie that they made which I watch whenever I need a good laugh.

Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution

by Michelle Moran

This is a novelization of true events during the French Revolution. Filled with big names and the pretty awesome story of how Madame Tussaud's wax figures figured in the French Revolution. It is a captivating story that made the history of it more relevant.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

by Charles Duhigg

This is a research-type book that explains how habits get started and perpetuated in our lives. It uses science to explain why, how, and when we reward ourselves which creates a pattern of living. Super interesting.

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is a genius and one of my favorite writers. He is an exhaustive researcher who likes to explain things down to the smallest detail. This book is about each room of the house, how and when they emerged and why we use our homes the way we do.

One Summer: America, 1927

by Bill Bryson

Here is another Bill Bryson, here he wrote about just one summer and all the world-changing stuff that happened in just those few months. He starts with Charles Lindbergh's flight over the Atlantic - Do you know he wasn't just the first person to fly solo across the ocean, but just the first person to do it at all? So many interesting events happened that summer, and in Bill Bryson style, he does all the backstory and research about how it all ended up happening.

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

by Erik Larson

Erik Larson is another amazing researcher who can use only primary documents and create a complete and compelling narrative with full bodied characters. This book jumps between two stories, happening simultaneously in Chicago. One is the story of a very creepy serial killer and the other is the story of the 1893 World's Fair, from conception to completion and all the bumps along the way. The first Ferris Wheel debuted here! I liked the World's Fair stories, less so the serial killer.