Maroon Library: My favorite reads of 2014

A lot of bloggers are posting their favorite books of the year and I am no exception. A few years back I decided to make a favorites list each year so I could and share it with colleagues and friends. My lists are a little different because they are a favorite lists of books that I actually, finally got around to reading, so some are old and some are new.

1. Rainbow Rowell
I read all four of Rainbow Rowell's published books in 2014 and I discovered an author that I LOVE! It started with Elanor and Park, after which I ran to my local library to checkout Fangirl. After devouring Fangirl, I ran back to the library , only to be disappointed that Attachments had been checked out, so I bought the kindle version to read immediately and then had to wait until this summer to get my hands on her latest book Landline.
I have tried to understand why it is that I love her books so much and have come to the conclusion that I like her because she seems familiar to me. We were born in the same decade and claim the midwest (although in different states) as our home. When I think about this connection it reminds me of the campaign #WeNeedDiverseBooks. I am fortunate that I can find books with an author that seems to speak to me and I want that for all of my students and library patrons. It drives my collection development and pushes me to find those unique books that may catch someone's eye. Everyone should be able to find "their book" or "their author". I was lucky to find another one this year.

2. Sarah Maas
Ok, so I found two new authors this year that I love. The other one is Sarah J. Maas. I read Throne of Glass at the beginning of last year and LOVED it! I love fantasy books and ToG made my heart sing. The second book had been recently published so I was able to get it right away but had to wait until this fall for book three. Unfortunately, I was also in the midst of a new job so, I was unable to read it. That is what winter breaks are for and hopefully, I can complete it before the New Year!

3. Greg Neri
My library hosted a few author visits this year and one of the books I read in preparation for Greg Neri's visit was Yummy: The Last Days of a Southside Shorty. It is a graphic novel that portrays and gives some insight into a real person. Yummy was an 11 year old boy who had a very short and tragic life. I really like how Neri, in all of his books, takes real-life events and puts them in his stories. I loved this book. It will break your heart but it will open your eyes as well.

The rest of the books are in no particular order.