Book list for 2014

Wellp, it's that time again. Time for my end of the year book list, that is. It's a pretty big one, and I must say, this year I hit a plethora of great books . . . I mean, truly great, I'll mention the top 5 at the end of the list (and it should be mentioned that I re-read several books this year, and so I will not be including those in my consideration for the top 5). So, without any more delay, here it is:

BOOK LIST FOR 2014:

01. A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck

02. Spinoza: A Very Short Introduction by Roger Scruton

03. Beowulf

o4. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

05. Endymion by Dan Simmons

06. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

07. The Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons

08. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett

09. The Crucible by Arthur Miller

10. The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

11. A Book of Showings by Julian of Norwich

12. The Book of Margery Kempe

13. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

14. Utopia by Sir Thomas More

15. The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien

16. Mosaic of Thought by Keene and Zimmermann

17. Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

18. Twelfth Night by Shakespeare

19. The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde

20. The Martian by Andy Weir

21. Picasso and the Lapin Agileby Steve Martin

22. Red Shirts by John Scalzi

23. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

24. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke

25. Way Station by Clifford D. Simak

26. Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer

27. Ringworld by Larry Niven

28. Buddhism as Philosophy by Mark Siderits

29. Buddhist Philosophy by William Edelglass, Jay Garfield

30. The Foundations of Buddhism by Rupert Gethin

31. The Rape of the Lock by Alexander Pope

32. Rainbows End by Verner Vinge

33. Letters to a Young Mormonby Adam Miller

34. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan

35. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

36. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

37. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

38. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

39. To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer

40. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

41. Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

42. Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein

43. Feed by M. T. Anderson

44. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

45. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

46. The Magicians by Lev Grossman

47. The Rover by Aphra Behn

48. The Magician King by Lev Grossman

49. The Magicians Land by Lev Grossman

50. Re-Reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem by Michael Austin

51. Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

52. Sundiver by David Brin

53. Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

54. Candide by Voltaire

55. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

56. Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie

TOP 5 BOOKS

1. The Martian by Andy Weir

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

3. Flowers for Algernon by David Keyes

4. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

5. Re-reading Job: Understanding the Ancient World's Greatest Poem by Michael Austin

(These 5 books aren't in any order other than the order in which I read them).

Runners up:

Letters to a Young Mormon by Adam Miller

The Magician (Trilogy) by Lev Grossman

Being Sick and How Biking Saved My Life

(I wrote this last year in September on a separate biking site, but thought I would share this here. For the story of the entire experience here is another post I wrote about this).

At the end of January I got sick. Not your normal cold, or even something that may have you decommissioned for a few days or a week. This had me in the hospital twice and bed ridden for six weeks. But this is not exactly what this article is

The day after I was able to shuffle up and back down the hall. Couldn’t bend my leg at all and did a total of about 100 ft. before feeling exhausted.

about, at least not the reasons for my being sick, (I’ll just say that I have some serious auto-immune diseases). Rather, it is about my getting back on the bike from a state of almost no strength and a severe inability to walk on my own.

One of the results for being sick and bed-ridden was that I got a blood clot, (Deep Vein Thombrosis or DVT). This was extremely painful. And what made it worse was that a family friend had died from one he had gotten behind his knee (same place as mine) a year ago. Typically, with this type of thing, the treatment is massive amounts of blood thinners to break the thing up over a day or two. However, I was able to receive a different treatment. They went in surgically and broke the thing up.

The reason they treated mine differently was greatly because of my general heath, or fitness, (I was still sick, but not that type of health). Because I biked everyday for two years before getting sick I was in a narrow health range where they could do this surgery. This was almost completely because of biking.

However, all that aside, being sick, and then having surgery on my leg put me in a pretty weak spot when it came to getting back on the bike and being able to do what once came so naturally to me. I had lost 30 lbs, much of that muscle. I was terribly weak and my left leg was pretty screwed up/traumatized from the clot and surgery. I could barely walk, and even when I did I’d be exhausted very soon after starting.

 Recovering

After 4 days in the hospital I was finally sent back home. The thing about this blood clot is that I got a team of doctors who actually helped me get over my previous illness. And so, feeling better than I had in months, despite the stiff/sore/swollen leg I was determined to gain my strength back.

This started slowly. Each day I would go on two walks up and down my street. They were short, but it was something, and I kept at it with the help of my Dad and brother, Jaron, who would come over to help with my walks. I had a cane the whole time, not able to put a lot of pressure on my leg, but soon, after a week, I started to leave the cane behind.

Out for a walk with my handy cane.

Soon, I was able to get on my bike, hooked up to a trainer, and start pedaling. It was something… Not much, but it felt good to sit on the saddle, (which still hurt from losing so much weight) and begin to pedal again. For a

On the trainer, working up my strength.

week, every day I worked hard to get my legs strength back that I had obtained over years of biking previously. I was determined. I think this attitude helped a lot with my recovery. I wanted to change. While still be discouraged about my situation and how tired I’d get over a shot amount of time, I saw the progress. It was the first physical progress I had made in nearly 3 months. That was important to me.

I started work soon after and was encouraged to drive for a few days but I couldn’t do it. I had to bike. I took my mountain bike bike as It seemed like it’d be more stable and easier to sit on and took it out that first morning back to work.

It was amazing!

It was like riding a bike for the first time. The warm air blowing past me as my still weak legs pedaled steadily towards my works building. It felt great and renewed my desire to work back up to where I’d been at the start of the year.

Where I am Now

There’s a purpose to this story. Not necessarily about my sickness, but about what cycling has done for me. It has literally saved my life. It has given me a reason to stay positive during difficult days.  While I’m still no where near the biking caliber I was once at, I am getting there slowly. And I think that’s OK. I have a great team who encourages me, and pushes me. Biking can be a hobby, but for most people I’ve known it is more than that. It affects your life. It is a change in how you view yourself and your surroundings. It grows to be an important part of who you are.

When Humans Chose Compassion Over Violence

Man playing piano for police [Kiev, Ukraine, 2013]

A brave priest organises a human shield between protestors and police [Kiev, Ukraine, 2013]

A student protesting education reform leans in to kiss a riot officer [Bogotá, Colombia, 2011]

A student protesting education reform hugs a policeman [Bogotá, Colombia, 2011]

Protesters share crackers with Colombian riot police [Columbia, 2013]

Woman successfully defends a group of cornered riot officers from angry protesters [Bogotá, Colombia, 2013]

Egyptian woman kisses a policeman during the revolution against the Mubarak Government [Egypt, 2011]

Woman defends a wounded protester from a military bulldozer [Egypt, 2013]

Christians protecting Muslims as they pray during the revolution [Cairo, Egypt, 2011]

An anti-government protester offers a rose to a soldier [Bangkok, Thailand, 2013]

Caring citizens offer tea to British riot police [London, England, 2011]

Citizens band together to clean up the mess following London riots [London, England, 2011]

Brazilian protester carrying an injured officer to safety [Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2012]

Protesters in Brazil bring cake to an officer for his birthday [Brazil, 2013]

An Iranian police officer is protected by civilians after being beaten by rioters [Tehran, Iran, 2009]

A young boy offers a heart-shaped balloon to police [Bucharest, Romania, 2012]

Riot police and protesters share a cry together [Sofia, Bulgaria, 2013]

Riot police help a woman affected by tear gas [Ankara, Turkey, 2013]

Girl hands water to two officers [Bosnia, 2013]

German riot officers take off their helmets and escort Occupy protesters [Frankfurt, Germany, 2011]

Protesters help a dog affected by tear gas [Ankara, Turkey, 2013]

Child touches his reflection during a KKK demonstration [Georgia, USA, 1992]

Mourners form a 5-mile barrier between a soldier's funeral and Them [USA, 2012]

Flower power during the Vietnam War Protests [Arlington, Virginia, 1967]

A child poses beside National Guard members during the LA Riots [Los Angeles, USA, 1992]

Occupy protesters help a woman in a wheelchair escape teargas [Oakland, USA, 2011]

Syrian war orphan shows revolutionary spirit as he calls for Saudi support of the rebels [Saudi Arabia, 2012]

Egyptians embrace army soldiers after they refuse orders to fire on civilians [Cairo, Egypt, 2011]

Originally found at http://imgur.com/gallery/V8lVK