Tuesday 10 June 2014

Top Ten Tuesday | Best Books of 2014 (so far!)


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find out everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books I've Read So Far This Year' so, in the order I read them, here's my oops I only have eight list:

January:


by Neil Gaiman 

Days before his release from prison, Shadow's wife, Laura, dies in a mysterious car crash. Numbly, he makes his way back home. On the plane, he encounters the enigmatic Mr Wednesday, who claims to be a refugee from a distant war, a former god and the king of America.

Together they embark on a profoundly strange journey across the heart of the USA, whilst all around them a storm of preternatural and epic proportions threatens to break.



by Marissa Meyer

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In Glitches, a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch...

February:


by Marissa Meyer

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has.

March:


by Robin LaFevers 

When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge—but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.

But her assassin's skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father's rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother's love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for . . .



by Geraldine Brooks

When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of the fateful year of 1666, as she and her fellow villagers confront the spread of disease and superstition. As death reaches into every household and villagers turn from prayers to murderous witch-hunting, Anna must find the strength to confront the disintegration of her community and the lure of illicit love. As she struggles to survive and grow, a year of catastrophe becomes instead annus mirabilis, a "year of wonders."

April:


by Tim Manley 

The Ugly Duckling still feels gross compared to everyone else, but now she’s got Instagram, and there’s this one filter that makes her look awesome. Cinderella swaps her glass slippers for Crocs. The Tortoise and the Hare Facebook stalk each other. Goldilocks goes gluten free. And Peter Pan finally has to grow up and get a job, or at least start paying rent.

Here are more than one hundred fairy tales, illustrated and re-imagined for today. Instead of fairy godmothers, there’s Siri. And rather than big bad wolves, there are creepy dudes on OkCupid. In our brave new world of social networking, YouTube, and texting, fairy tales can once again lead us to “happily ever after”—and have us laughing all the way.



by Shirley Jackson 

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill Househas been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a "haunting"; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

May:


Feed 
by Mira Grant

The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will get out, even if it kills them.

What are your favourite reads of the year so far?

J.

12 comments:

  1. Isn't the Year of Wonders a great read? I hope you try Brook's other books as well :-)

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    1. It was a gorgeous read. :) I haven't actually had a look at any of her other work, I really should!

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  2. I realized this year that I really need to read some Neil Gaiman. I've got American Gods on my TBR list but just haven't gotten to it yet.

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    1. For me Neil Gaiman's one of those authors I have to be in the right kind of mood to read; there's this inherent strangeness in his books that makes me feel really weird if I'm not quite in the right mood for one of his stories. American Gods is definitely the best novel of his I've read so far, but if you haven't read anything of his yet I recommend his short stories - Smoke and Mirrors is a great collection! :)

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  3. DARK TRIUMPH is a great novel! I managed to get my hands on a copy of MORTAL HEART at BEA and I've very excited about it!

    Visit my review blog: http://www.amidsummernightsread.com

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  4. I really need to read some Neil Gaiman. I've heard such wonderful things about his books!

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    1. American Gods is the best novel of his I've read so far, and I'm really eager to read The Ocean at the End of the Lane. If you've read nothing by him before I recommend starting with his short stories - I really like the Smoke and Mirrors collection. :D

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  5. Alice in Tumblr-land looks awesome. I've never heard of it before. Great list. Here's mine.

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    1. It's such a cute, fun book! I read it in under an hour, but it's just lovely. I definitely recommend it! :)

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  6. I love both Shirley Jackson and Neil Gaiman. Check out We Have Always Lived in the Castle, if you haven't already. It's such a creepy, beautiful read. Trademark Jackson.

    Here's my TTT:
    http://wendimlee.blogspot.com/2014/06/top-ten-ya-books-i-read-this-year.html

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    1. It's on my TBR list! :) I'm really eager to read some of her short stories as well - I still haven't read The Lottery. :o

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