To become a better writer, I have to become a better reader — and by reading more, not only am I improving my writing skills, I'm also learning the joys of reading a good book. I always knew that I needed to read, but I didn't necessarily want to. That's not the case anymore.
I challenged myself to read more books this year. On Goodreads, I set my goal to 20 books for 2014. I stopped tracking my progress later in the year, and it wasn't until last month when I realized that I exceeded that number by quite a few.
Here's the list of books that I read:
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
Delight is in the Details by Shawn Blanc
The Drawing of Three (Dark Tower #2) by Stephen King
The Waste Lands (Dark Tower #3) by Stephen King
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Writing Down The Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
On Writing Well by William Zinsser
The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Chronicles of Narnia #1: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
The Martian by Andy Weir
Hansel and Gretel by Neil Gaiman
Wizard and Glass (Dark Tower #4) by Stephen King
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Be Happy: A Little Book to Help You Live a Happy Life by Monica Sheehan
The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
Chronicles of Narnia #2: Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (I'll be finished this one before this year's over)