Top Ten Tuesday | Best Books of 2014!

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 Read in 2014', and I have to be honest initially I wasn't too sure if I was going to take part this week for several reasons, the main one being that it isn't the end of 2014 yet and I could still read something that's going to blow my socks off! But I just couldn't resist the temptation to share my favourite books of the year.

(Although I did find this week a little difficult. I read a lot of good books this year, but not as many as I thought I had; I think one of my reading resolutions in 2015 will be to try and stay away from those disappointing reads!)

So, in the order I read them, here are my top ten reads of 2014 (so far)!

American Gods by Neil Gaiman: The very first book I read in 2014 ended up being one of the very best books I read in 2014. People call American Gods Gaiman's masterpiece, and after reading it for myself I can understand why. I can't wait for the TV adaptation!

Cress by Marissa Meyer: By far the best installment of The Lunar Chronicles so far. I love this series so much and I devoured this book as soon as I got it. I can't wait to get my hands on Fairest and Winter!

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers: I was fairly sceptical about the His Fair Assassin trilogy at first, but it proved to be my most pleasant reading surprise of 2014. I enjoyed Grave Mercy far more than I thought I would and absolutely adored Dark Triumph; Sybella is such an interesting character and I love Beast, too.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks: Even if you're not a big fan of historical fiction or of historical fiction set in the 17th century, this book is worth checking out simply because it's written so beautifully.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: Horror as it should be written. This book was so creepy and I really enjoyed reading it - I definitely recommend it to any horror fans out there!

Feed by Mira Grant: If someone held a gun to my head and told me to pick my absolute favourite read of the year, it'd have to be this one. I expected to like Feed. I expected to like it enough to want to read the rest of the books in the trilogy. I didn't expect to love it so much that just the mere thought of it still makes my heart ache. I have so much love for this book it's unreal.

The Undressed by Jemma L. King: One of the three poetry collections I've read so far this year blew me away. There wasn't a single poem in this collection I didn't like, and I'd love to see more people reading it.

Frenchman's Creek by Daphne du Maurier: This year I finally started reading du Maurier and fell in love with her. So far this year I've read two of her novels, the other being Rebecca, and while part of me feels as though it should be Rebecca on this list purely because it is such an amazing piece of literature, I really loved Frenchman's Creek. It was so much fun and pulled me out of a post-MA reading slump that I desperately wanted to be pulled out of.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman: I loved American Gods, but October was the month in which I discovered my favourite Gaiman book. It's hard to choose a definite favourite between American Gods and The Graveyard Book because they're so different, but there's just something about The Graveyard Book that steals your heart and I loved reading every page.

Christmas at Rosie Hopkins' Sweet Shop by Jenny Colgan: Not every book we read needs to be a thought-provoking masterpiece that changes the world. Sometimes it's nice to just sit down with a nice book and enjoy it. This book surprised me; I thought it'd just be a bit of festive, cheesy fun, but it actually turned out to be a very touching, emotional book.

Which books made your top ten?

Review | American Gods by Neil Gaiman

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 

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.

When it comes to Neil Gaiman's books I find I have to be in the right kind of mood to read one. There's something about his style, the way he narrates his stories, that leaves me feeling oddly uncomfortable; like the world's a little weirder than it was before I turned the page. This is one of the reasons why despite owning several of Gaiman's works I've only read three: Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors, and now American Gods.

     

American Gods was one of those books I passed in the book shop a lot, and whenever I passed it I almost always picked it up, read the back, and then put it back down. It intrigued me, but I just wasn't sure if it would be my kind of thing. I eventually bought myself a copy - I can't even remember why, I think I just wanted to add it to my ever growing personal library - and I'm ashamed to say it sat on my shelf for at least two years before I picked it up.

I think you have to read certain books at the right time. Had I not read this book when I did, had I read it a few years ago when I first bought it, I probably wouldn't have liked it that much. I had no real intention of making myself read it this year, but during my Christmas holiday I found myself in a bit of a reading slump, as I often do after three months of university, and this book kept staring at me from my shelf. It was as though it was beckoning me closer. So in January I finally picked it up and was immediately sucked in.

American Gods is often referred to as Gaiman's 'masterpiece', and after reading it myself I can see why. So much thought and research and darn good writing went into this book. I really enjoyed Neverwhere when I read it, but it pales in comparison to American Gods.

I loved Shadow as a protagonist. This is unusual for me considering that when we first meet Shadow he doesn't really have much of a personality of his own; he's very inclined to letting everybody else pull and push him from here to there. He's what I call a 'flim-flam man'. Even so he was captivating, and as the book wore on he certainly came into his own. By the time I got to the last page it was as though I was reading about a completely different man to the one I met on the first page, and I love when characters progress that much; it's an especially admirable feat for a protagonist to change so much over the course of one novel, rather than a series, without that change feeling rushed.

What makes Shadow easier to follow for readers who perhaps don't find him particularly interesting is the book's fantastic cast of supporting characters; I loved Mr Wednesday, Mr Nancy and Czernobog, and I adored Easter. She was one of my favourites. The characters we met in flashbacks, for lack of a better word, were also a lot of fun to follow. They had nothing to do with Shadow's story, but they really fleshed out the version of America Gaiman decided to portray.

The main conflict in this book is between the Old Gods, deities from mythology and theology all over the world, and the New Gods, such as Media, goddess of television. I loved this conflict between the old melting pot of America and the objects of material worth that we associate with a lot of America today - I just thought it was clever!

There is something of a twist in the end, and I realised what it was going to be just before it happened, as I imagine the majority of readers have, but it was still a great twist. I love the direction the story took as it allowed Shadow to grow into the hero of the tale.

My only criticisms of the book would be that I would have liked more female characters interacting with other female characters. Other than the Zorya sisters the only other major female characters - Laura, Easter and Media - either always appeared alone or with a group of men. Considering American Gods is possibly being made into a television show it'd be a shame to miss out on a few positive female relationships.

Also the flashback scenes, while fascinating, sometimes felt a little longer than they needed to be. I loved that Gaiman littered the novel with the arrival of certain mythological figures/creatures in America, but sometimes those scenes felt a little more like a lesson in mythology than scenes that were adding to the story.

Other than that, however, I did love this book, as you can probably tell by my rating. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone - particularly lovers of mythology!

Thanks for reading! J.

Reading Wrap Up | January 2014

Aside from one book I didn't really stick to any of the books I intended to read this month, but January was a really fun reading month for me nonetheless because the books I did read I loved. It was a great start to the year!

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

My Rating: 

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.

I managed to finish American Gods in the middle of January, and though it took me a while to read - it's rather dense - I absolutely loved it. If you're a fan of Neil Gaiman's and you haven't read this yet then I'd definitely recommend it, and it's also a great read for any lover of mythology out there!

Even though this was the first book I read in 2014, it could very well be one of the best books I read this year and I can't wait for it to be adapted into a television show!

Scarlet

by Marissa Meyer

My Rating: 

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison—even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive.

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Since reading Cinder at the end of 2013 The Lunar Chronicles has become my new obsession, so I was determined to read Scarlet this month in time for the release of Cress next month. I just can't believe I'm going to have to wait until the end of 2015 for the final book in the series!

This was a brilliant continuation of Cinder's story, and I absolutely loved what Meyer did with the Little Red Cap story. Just like Cinder, Scarlet was such an original reinterpretation of a very popular fairy tale. I can't wait for my copy of Cress to arrive!

Glitches

by Marissa Meyer

My Rating: 

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...

I don't have an e-reader, so when I discovered Marissa Meyer's short stories were on Wattpad I was ecstatic - I could finally read them!

Glitches takes place before the events of Cinder and follows Cinder as a little girl when she is first taken to her new family in New Beijing. It was such a sweet, sad story, and little Cinder broke my heart. I've never wanted to give someone a cuddle so much.

Some people on Goodreads recommend reading this before reading Cinder, but I think it's actually better to read Cinder first; by the time you've finished the novel you've already developed an attachment to Cinder, and Glitches has more poignancy.

The Queen's Army

by Marissa Meyer

My Rating: 

It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen's army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen—and to himself—that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.

Once I read Glitches I immediately dove into The Queen's Army, another of Meyer's short stories that takes place before the events of Scarlet. Like Glitches, however, I would recommend reading Scarlet first, because I think The Queen's Army can easily be considered spoiler material if you'd rather let yourself be surprised by the events that unfold in Scarlet.

I really enjoyed this story too, though I didn't find it as emotional as I found Glitches. It's still a great little addition to the series and well worth a read if you haven't gotten around to it yet!

As you can see, January turned into something of a Lunar Chronicles month for me to prepare me for the release of Cress. I am so unbelievably excited for that book.

What did you read in January?

January Reads!

It's the 10th of January already! How did that happen?

I've already written a post about the books I'm most looking forward to reading which are being released in 2014, and now I'm going to share with you the books I'm hoping to read in January! If I manage to read the books I mention here (I tend to just read whatever I feel like at the time) then I might just turn this into a monthly feature.

There are four books I'd really like to complete this month. That might not seem like much to most people but, like I said, if I gave myself a huge list I wouldn't end up reading them anyway because I'd end up reading something else! 

Of the four books I want to read, one of them I have read before and three of them I've already started - let's just hope I can finish them!

Green Rider

by Kristen Britain

American Gods

by Neil Gaiman

I bought Kristen Britain's Green Rider and Neil Gaiman's American Gods quite a long time ago - longer than I'd care to admit - and recently I finally got around to starting them. According to Goodreads I'm already a quarter of the way through Green Rider and so far I'm enjoying it!

I was in a bit of a reading slump before I picked it up, and I think what I really needed was a good old fashioned fantasy novel. Green Rider is the first in a series, and if I enjoy the rest of the book as much as I've enjoyed the first quarter I'll definitely be carrying on with it! Not to mention these books have gorgeous covers.

I've only read just over 100 pages of American Gods but so far I've loved what I've read. A lot of people have claimed this book is Gaiman's masterpiece, and even though the story's still just getting started I already have this feeling that by the time I've finished it it's going to have earned a place on my list of favourites.

Witches: A Tale of Sorcery, Scandal and Seduction

by Tracy Borman

Tracy Borman's Witches: A Tale of Sorcery, Scandal and Seduction is the third book I've already started. And by started I mean I've only read the first 17 pages. Unlike the other books on this list, Witches is a non-fiction history book which deals with the story of a woman and her two daughters who, I believe, were accused of murdering children using witchcraft during the 1600s.

As I've mentioned in previous posts I'm currently working on a historical/paranormal novel centered around the theme of witchcraft, so I'm reading up on the subject as much as I can in my spare time with both fiction and non-fiction. I wasn't even aware of this book until one of my friends bought it for me for my birthday - it's gorgeous in hardback!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

by J. K. Rowling

The final book on this list I have definitely read before. The Harry Potter series is a favourite of readers all over the world, it's certainly one of mine, but it's been so long since I re-read the series. I'd like to make 2014 the year I re-live the story from Harry's first year through to his final battle with Voldemort.

So this month I want to re-read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the first book in the series. I can't wait to go back to Hogwarts! It's been a while...

There we have it: the four books I'd like to read in January. It could be that something else catches my eye and I end up discarding this entire list, but given that I've already started some of them I think I should be able to stick to my list this month!

What are you reading in January?