Looking back is a particularly delightful task when one has a blog. There are always post to be paraded in neat columns of hyperlinks, directing the curious back to the long-forgotten articles from half a year ago. And it makes one’s life seem so full of purpose, so productive, so excellent and commendable in every way. (Though perhaps it is actually weakness we share with Emma, who made so many lists, each a wonder to admire and each an unattained reminder that she was not as accomplished as Miss Fairfax.)
In any case, here some of the best books I read in 2014 (in no particular order):
That Hideous Strength—After trying it years ago, I finally finished this one in late December.
Phantastes—I’d always heard about this from C. S. Lewis’ writing. Now, I’ve read it and found that I really like fantasy much more than I’d thought.
Reading Like A Writer—An excellent book, encouraging us all to be snobs, or at least, to read what we enjoy and to learn from such works as we go.
Revision: A Creative Approach to Writing and Rewriting Fiction—It opens up all kinds of possibilities in the creative writing process. Your book never has to be finished, even after publication; there’s a thought!
Can You Forgive Her?—I’ve discovered that Trollope is one of my favorite authors. Funny, insightful (albeit rather sexist), and very interesting.
The Canterville Ghost—The best ghost story I’ve ever read.
A Portrait of a Lady—I always thought I wouldn’t like Henry James, so I never read him until this year. I was wrong, and very delighted to be so (and though the ending took some analysis, I’m happy to say that it’s actually a happy ending).
And here are some of the most interesting blog posts (according to WordPress statistics and my humble and highly biased opinion):
- Know your genre…or your classics? Or both?
- A Fairy Tale for Modern Sensibilities
- Tolkien on Fantasy: His Own Words
- Works that Last: The Importance of Originality
- Writing the World as You Know It
- Love at First Sentence
- Scene Building: Beyond Beginnings
- An Author’s Perspective to Killing Off Characters
- Jewel of Fire
- Lights Dim
- We Call It Cheating
- Elemental
- For Better or Worse: Readers, Books, and the Marriage between Them
- What’s Become of Christian Fiction?
- Isn’t It Climactic? The Structure of Stories
Thank you, everyone, for helping make 2014 such a wonderful, interesting year. I’m hoping 2015 is even better, and that we find ourselves to be stronger, kinder, more informed and more effective writers (and human beings) in the days ahead.
The world is the grandest of books, and every day, God turns a page.
Copyright 2014 Andrea Lundgren
Andrea Lundgren 