Top Ten Tuesday...My Favorite blog posts of 2014

I'm going off the board here and creating my own Top Ten Tuesday topic. I couldn't think of any characters that I'd like to get to know better. I hope you all indulge me and take a minute to look through favorite blog posts I've written this year.

(I assume you can appreciate how frustrating it is to write what you think is a good post on an interesting subject/book and get NO COMMENTS!  Argh!  Please, please, please feel free to leave comments either on this post or on the blog posts I have highlighted. Click the hyperlinks and use the return button to come on back.  Thanks.)

1. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, a review. I put a lot of sweat and blood into this review and learned so much about the author and the genre Magical Realism. (Posted Sept. 21)

2. Snapshot Saturday, July 12, a photo montage. Quirky things I love about Italy. (Posted July 12)

3. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, a review. I listened to this book in the audiobook format. It required 20 hours of listening. I felt like I'd climbed a mountain when I was finished. Oh yes, loved the book, too. (Posted Aug. 23)

4. I Wish I Were a Poet, a musing by me. Sometimes the beauty of the world just overwhelms me and I wish I had the language skills to express my feelings better on paper. (Posted May 7)

5. The Ocean the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, a review. Loved the book and the review showed it. (Posted Feb. 26)

6. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, a review. There is something very magical about this book and I hope my review reflects it. (Posted April 14)

7. Ode to Maya Angelou, a poem by me on the occasion of her death. (Posted May 28th)

8. Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero, a review. this is a fairly recent review so it is fresh in my mind. (Posted Nov. 1)

9. Dedications, found in the front of books. I included a photo of a very funny dedication and no one even noticed or commented.  Be the first! (Posted Sept. 13)

10. Bless Me, Ultima by Ruldolfo Anaya, a review and commentary. My banned book selection of the year. Wow. Now it is a top ten favorite. (Posted Oct. 28)

11. How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare by Ken Ludwig, a review. Huge fan of the book and techniques within. (Posted March 25)

12. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, a review. The book not only caught my attention but so did the theme of beautiful ruins. See what I mean here. (Posted May 4)

13. Bookish Items I'd Like to Own, a Top Ten Tuesday list. I had a lot of fun "shopping" and dreaming while i created this list.  Did you make one, too? (Posted April 16)

14. Not a Zealot for Zealot, a nonfiction book by Reza Aslan, a review and commentary. I honestly surprised myself how much I reacted negatively to this book. I did a good job explaining myself on the blog post, though. ( Posted June 11)

15. The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming, a review. A good book for high school students interested in the last Czar of Russia. (Posted on Oct. 16)

I hope that you enjoyed at least a few of these reviews.