Tuesday, 10 June 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: The Best Books I've Read (So Far) in 2014


Cheers to the gals at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this lovely meme.

This week’s list features the top ten books I’ve read so far this year. It was an easy list to make as I haven't actually read that much recently - I blame my new job. Still, the list below is filled with great novels so I'm happy to let the gushing (re)commence! 

SFF: 



Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie. I never got around to reviewing this one, but my god did I love the adventures of Breq the gender-subverting ex-spaceship. Probably my favourite novel this year.

A Stranger in Olondria
by Sofia Samatar.
A beautifully-written fantasy about literacy and ghosts. (My review.)

Child of a Hidden Sea by A. M. Dellamonica. An awesome portal fantasy - full of nautical mishaps, pop-culture musings and even a few gay people. Although I find it depressing how happy that last fact made me. (Review coming soon.)




Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy #1)
by Robin Hobb
. A compelling fantasy about Fitz, a lonely royal bastard and apprentice assassin. (My review.)

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison. A very thoughtful stand-alone examining the burdens of leadership in an elven court. (My review.)

Pantomime by Laura Lam. Queer fantasy with circuses and a slight bit of of magic. Yes, of course I liked this. (My review.



Historical/Lit Fic: 




Somewhere in France: A Novel of the Great War
by Jennifer Robson. A satisfying story about a rich-girl-turned-ambulance-driver and her on-off boyfriend. (My review.)

Sarah's Key
by Tatiana De Rosnay. A surprisingly easy read concerning the Vel D'Hiv incident in France. (My review.
 

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. Heartbreaking novel about a string of interlinked families.

 

Non-fiction: 


The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes - and Why by Amanda Riply. Very interesting book, full of anecdotes & a bit of research. 

11 comments:

  1. That's a very diverse list, I love it! I'm actually quite excited for your review for Child of a Hidden Sea; most of the reviews I've read for it haven't been glowing, but looks like you'll have a very different view on it and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

    ~Mogsy

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    1. Yeah I've seen a couple of ho-hum reviews for it around. But I have a weakness for portal fantasies and thought it was super fun.

      Wanted to wait until a bit closer to the release date to post my review though..

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  2. Ya, I would say you have had a good reading year so far. Goblin Emperor, Pantomime, Ancillary Justice, Hobb! Oh my.

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  3. I can't wait to read Pantomime! I think I might mark your review to read later, because I'd like to hear your thoughts on it. I love how many different genres you cover in this list- it looks like you read a really fantastic array of books!

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    1. Yes, I am an unfocused bookworm!

      Pantomime is a great book though - I hope you enjoy it :)

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  4. I will be reading Child of a Hidden Sea soon, so I hope I love it as much as you do. I'm dying to read Ancillary Justice. Great list, thanks for stopping by my TTT!

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  5. I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns this Summer because my sister tells me Hosseini is an author I NEED to read!

    Check out my TTT!

    Katrina @ Chased By My Imagination

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  6. You've got some pretty interesting books on this list. I've been looking into trying a Robin Hobb book - and I keep hearing awesome things about the Farseer Trilogy. You've also got a couple of others that I've never even heard of that sound really good, so now I'm going to have to go look into them.

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  7. Nice! Child of A Hidden Sea and The Goblin Emperor are on my TBR shelves. Robin Hobb is one for whom I have a couple books but still need to read them as well.
    My TTT

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  8. I love how your list had left out so many of the most well known books. I love discovering good books that are not all that much talked(written) about. Mostly I read YA books, and my goal for 2014 is to read more of the hidden gems instead of all the hyped up books that get tons of attention already :) You have a new follower!

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