I am going to do some quickie reviews of the other books I read this year simply because I don’t have time to fully review them all and really wanted them to be accounted for in my annual total.  (Yeah, I’m weird that way – when I start something I like to finish it.)

510xXtbBvdL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_2014 Book Goal: 52 (mostly non-fiction)
2014 Books Read: 74 (93% non-fiction)

The Meaty Truth: Why Our Food is Destroying Our Health and Environment – and Who is Responsible by Sushana Castle and Amy-Lee Goodman was a tough read.  It wasn’t because it was so deep.  It was because it was so angry.  I would be reading along and then BLAM – suddenly the tone would change to hate.  It was off-putting and the occasional curse word just lowered the class of the book in my view.

rise-of-isis2014 Book Goal: 52 (mostly non-fiction)
2014 Books Read: 75 (93% non-fiction)

Rise of ISIS: A Threat we Can’t Ignore by Jay Sekulow was one that I expected to be angry but instead, it came across as a factual accounting of who ISIS actually is and why they are such a threat.

Sure, there was some rah-rah Isreal stuff thrown in there, but most of the book focused on who these people are.  It traces the origins of the group as well as the ties to other fundamentalist terror groups across the region and the world.  Fascinating and yes, a bit scary too.

lucius-annaeus-seneca-on-the-shortness-of-life-22014 Book Goal: 52 (mostly non-fiction)
2014 Books Read: 76 (93% non-fiction)

On the Shortness of Life by Seneca is a very short book and one that I recommend everyone read.  It seems when you have great truth, you can usually say it in few words and this is a prime example.  Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature as well as an advisor to Emperor Nero.  His view on this is spot-on. (And hey, its in the public domain so you should be able to find it free)

There are a few more that I’ve finished this year but can’t think of right now.  If they come to mind, I will list them.

If not, thank you for coming with me on this 2014 reading journey.  I thought 52 (one a week) was a lofty goal, but it turns out that it wasn’t all that hard.

Let me know what your favorite books of the year were.

by Chris Doelle