Aside from authors that I generally read, on a regular basis, (of which there were only two this year) I decided, this year, to read books by authors that I was unfamiliar with.
This made for some rather bland reading, sometimes, however I did discover some new authors whose works I will continue to read, such as John Connolly [The Book of Lost Things], Greg Iles [Mortal Fear], and Christopher Reich [Rules of Deception].
Joel C. Rosenberg is the author who I am most glad that I discovered this year. His "Twelfth Imam" trilogy is outstanding!
[The Twelfth Imam/The Tehran Initiative/The Damascus Countdown]
I also was happy to come across a pair of local [East Tennessee] authors, Gary Yeagle & Marlene Mitchell who co-wrote the 'Seasons of Death' trilogy [The Smoky Mountain Murders] (of which I bought all three, yet have only read the 1st one, at this time)
All of the above, is well and good, however they are all pre-2014.
What about this year's releases?
Top Two Books of 2014:
Severed Souls by Terry Goodkind
and
The Specimen by Pete Kahle
Runner-Ups:
Eaton Falls by Franklin E. Wales
and
Stand Your Ground by William W. & J. A. Johnstone
Which novel comes out on top?!?
As heart-wrenching a read as 'Severed Souls' was, I have to go with Pete Kahle's extremely entertaining debut novel 'The Specimen' as Best Book of the Year.
TopTen Movies of 2014:
This year seemed somewhat kind-of "blah" movie-wise - saying that, here are the ten that I most enjoyed.
(in alphabetical order)
1. Blended (I am as surprised as you are!)
2. Captain America 2: Winter Soldier
3. Edge of Tomorrow
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
5. I, Frankenstein (I have heard nothing but awful things regarding this one, however I enjoyed it!)
6. Odd Thomas
7. The Raid 2: Berendal
8. Ride Along (another surprise!)
9. Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For
10. 300: Rise of an Empire
Notable Mentions:
[Non-2014]
Big Ass Spider (loved this one!)
47 Ronin
The Hobbit 2: The Desolation of Smaug (my favorite of The Hobbit/Lord of the Rings films!)
Nurse
Best Film of 2014?!?
This is a toss-up between Captain America 2 and Edge of Tomorrow, with the latter having a slighter lead.
Best New 2014 TV Show:
Stalker (I have been digging this one!)
Remember that I have cut the cable-cord, so if it's on cable, and I am interested, I just wait until it hits DVD.
Some "newly-discovered" shows that I have thoroughly enjoyed watching, this year, on DVD are:
Army Wives (begins to get a bit sluggish in season 6, though still a good show)
Bones (love this show - great cast of characters!)
Castle
Dollhouse (the 2nd/final season is just okay)
From Dusk Till Dawn
NCIS
Revenge
Supernatural
The Unit (gets progressively better as the series continues. I actually started watching Army Wives because I wanted something similar to The Unit)
*If you have any other recommendations, let me know!!
Well, I think that about sums up the year in entertainment.
I will leave you with...
My Most-Played Apps of the Year:
Marvel's 'Contest of Champions'
Spiderman Unlimited
Subway Surfer
May you all have a Blessed 2015!
Jason
Posts
