I'm not usually one to make New Year's resolutions, but last year I made one.  I had gotten out of the habit of reading on a regular basis so I resolved to read a couple of books a month.  That's a manageable rather than lofty goal, but it ended up being perfect.  Here's the run down:

The Best (in no particular order):

• Gone Girl - It's nice to find a book that becomes extremely popular and is also well-written.  This one has a great twist and a great twisted character.  This book sucked me in and spit me out.  
• Hyperbole and a Half - If you're not familiar with Allie Broch's blog, you need to get with the program.  Head over there right now.  It's way better than what you're reading here.  Really, why are you still here?  Ok, you back?  If you liked that, the book is exactly like that.  Tons of pictures, but that's the best part.  The book contains some of the best posts from her blog, but also a lot of new content.
• Every Love Story is a Ghost Story: A Life of David Foster Wallace - I have a soft spot in my heart for the words of David Foster Wallace.  Reading this book gave me a new perspective on the man behind the writing.  The further I got into it, the more intrigued and full of dread I was.  You can count on one hand the number of books that have ever made me cry, but this is one of them.
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - There is a whole class of non-fiction books out there that don't read like non-fiction.  They tend to weave what could have been dry facts into a narrative so full of life you'll lose track of yourself.  You get to the end and realize you've not just learned about a new topic but you've seen it put into the greater context of humanity.  This is one of those books.
• Born to Run - Another excellent non-fiction book.  I'm still not convinced of all the conclusions reached in this one, but it was absolutely worth the read.  You don't have to be a runner to love this one.
• Beloved - This book turned up on a list of a friend's most memorable reads and it turned out to be very different from what I expected.  I knew it was a story about slaves in post-civil war America but I had no idea that you could almost call this a ghost story.  It's extremely well written (no surprise considering Toni Morrison won a Pulitzer Prize for it) but even if you miss the allusions and recurring imagery the story alone is enough to draw you in.  As you might expect though, this is a gritty story about people living hard lives and making hard decisions.  This book is worth reading, but it's a punch in the gut. 
• This Is How: Surviving What You Think You Can't - Don't get weirded out by the title of this one.  It's not a sappy self-help book.  I'm not really even sure how to describe this one, but I think it's one of those hidden gems that more people should be reading.  Have you ever been watching a Ted Talk and the speaker says something that flips a topic on its head and makes you think about it in a way you've never thought of it before?  This book is like that.

Not Bad

• The Book Thief - I don't expect every book to be uplifting and happy, but if a book is going to be sad I want it to have enough other things going for it (well-written, thought-provoking, dark humor, insightful, etc) that it evens out to being worth the time it takes to read.  This book was good and it has a lot going for it, but not quite enough to overcome the sad.  I don't regret reading it, but I could have done without it too.   
• Why Evolution is True - Interesting topic, but this one was not as good as The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins.
• Let's Pretend This Never Happened - I think The Bloggess is hilarious, but all things considered I don't think this one quite makes the "Best Of" list for this year.  That being said, this one is probably handicapped by having been read early in the year and not being fresh in my mind.
• The Fault in Our Stars - Do you ever read a book just to see what all the fuss is about?  I wasn't expecting too much from this one but it at least exceeded those low expectations.  It was sad and sappy, but not as sappy as I feared.  It also has a couple of twists, which kept it from being as predictable as you'd think for a book about a kid with incurable cancer.
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? - The only downside to this book is that it's not as good as Bossypants.  
• The Rosie Project - The second best book I read for my book club this year.  
• Your Inner Fish - Covered some aspects of evolution that I wasn't aware of and put a new spin on the long history of humanity and how we got where we are.  Was a little dry at times but it's an interesting topic.
• This is Where I Leave You - I read this because I wanted to watch the movie.  

Not Good

• Allegiant
• City of Bones
• The Introvert's Way

Meh

• Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls
• An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England
• The Girl Who Fell From the Sky
• Insurgent
• The Giver
• Old Man's War
• The Language of Flowers

I've enjoyed getting back on track with reading this past year so I'm going to try to keep it up in 2015.  I'm changing my official goal though.  Instead of resolving to read 25 books, I'm resolving to read one.  A year and a half ago my spouse decided to get me a little surprise and ordered me something off my Amazon wish list.  The item he picked was Infinite Jest.  I was excited because I've always wanted to read it, but I've also got a mental block when it comes to long books.  I will pick a 300 page book over a 1,000 page book every time.  So while it won't take me all year to read it, at some point this year I'm going to work my way through Infinite Jest.  I'm sure in the mean time I'll justify procrastination by reading a bunch of other stuff as well.