Nearly Headless Ned Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 1. A Canticle For Liebowitz-Walter M Miller Jr2.We Have Always Lived In The Castle-Shirley Jackson3.Jonathan Strange And Mr Norrell-Susanna Clarke4.The Unreal And The Real-Volume 1-Where On Earth-Ursula K Le Guin5.Bring Up The Bodies-Hilary Mantell Honorary mention- Solaris-Stanilaw Lem, Excession-Ian M Banks and The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas-Ursula K Le Guinn. Top 2 were really difficult to seperate but I felt Millers was a little broader in scope so that's my favourite of the year. However I am reading The Tigers Wife by Tea Obreht and The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre, both of witch are excellent and might've sneaked into the top 5. What were your favourites for 2014? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seiche Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 My favorite reads this year, not in ranked order: On Writing - Stephen KingThe Spy Who Came in From the Cold - John le CarreIndian in the Cupboard - Lynne Reid BanksTitus Groan - Mervyn PeakeThe Green Pearl - Jack Vance Worst of the year: The Swiss Family Robinson - Johann David Wyss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Easy: 1. Last Argument of Kings - Joe Abercrombie2. Long film about love - return to Broad Peak - Jacek Hugo-Bader3. Heroes - Joe Abercrombie4. Fishbone - Ignacy Karpowicz5. The Blade Itself - Joe Aberrombie Honorable mention to Sand by Hugh Howey and Opowiesci z Wilzynskiej Doliny by Anna Brzezinska. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 A Civil Campaign - Lois McMaster Bujold. Had one of the most hilarious and amazing chapters in the Vorkosigan Universe which is saying something.Lord of the Silver Bow - David Gemmell. What a great start on his version of the Trojan War. I loved it!Fortune's Pawn (heck the whole Paradox series) - Rachel Bach. Just great fun for me the whole timeInside HBO's Game of Thrones seasons 3&4 - Cat Taylor. I love reading on behind the scenes stuff. When Life Nearly Died: The Greatest Mass Extinction of all Time - Michael Benton. Finally got an understanding of a topic that has always vexed me since University. Well written, concise and informative. This has to be the first year that no fantasy book made the top 5 for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mlle. Zabzie Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 All the Light We Cannot See - Anthony DoerrBoy, Snow, Bird - Helene OyememiThe Quick - Lauren OwenThe Minaturist -Jessie Burton;Ancillary Justice - Anne Leckie. Hon. Mentions to Cibola Burn (James S.A. Corey); The Forever War - Haldeman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearly Headless Ned Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 My favorite reads this year, not in ranked order: On Writing - Stephen King The Spy Who Came in From the Cold - John le Carre Indian in the Cupboard - Lynne Reid Banks Titus Groan - Mervyn Peake The Green Pearl - Jack Vance Worst of the year: The Swiss Family Robinson - Johann David Wyss The Le Carre was my favourite of last year. Devastating book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady narcissa Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 There are still some solid days of reading left for me in 2014 so a new entry might yet slip in. But so far, I'd say my favorite top five reads of 2014 are: Lamentation by C.J. Sansom The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith Justice by Jennifer Harlow Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Elizabeth I by Anne Somerset Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
End of Disc One Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Words of Radiance - Brandon SandersonHeroes Die - Matthew StoverThe Warrior Prophet - R. Scott BakkerThe Widow's House - Daniel AbrahamCaliban's War - James S.A. Corey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night's_King Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Didn't read that much serious literature this year. The books I mention are those that entertained me the most: Hyperion - Dan Simmons . It actually was a reread, but I just love this book. Period.The Emperor's Blades - Brian Staveley . The most original fantasy I read in a long time and my second favourite 2014 release.The Generals - Simon Scarrow . The second book in a series about Napoleon and Wellington. Just great.Words of Radiance - Brandon Sanderson . Well, it was definitly one of the books that entertained me this year.All The Light We Cannot See - Anthony Doerr . Probably the best book I've read in the last five years. Definitly the best book in 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 1. The World of Ice and Fire - George RR Martin, Elio and Linda 2. The Farseer Trilogy - Robbin Hobb - book 2 is my favorite of the trilogy 3. Fevre Dream - George RR Martin 4. Words of Radiance (and a re-read of Way of Kings) - Brandon Sanderson 5. The White Luck Warrior - R. Scott Bakker Honorable mentions: The Complete Conan (Kindle edition) by Robert E. Howard (haven't read the whole thing yet), Half a King by Joe Abercrombie, Tower Lord by Anthony Ryan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferrum Aeternum Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret AtwoodHyperion - Dan SimmonsLeviathan Wakes - James S.A. CoreyGone Girl - Gillian FlynnMemories of Ice - Steven Erikson Honorable Mention: Oryx & Crake (Atwood), Blood Song (Anthony Ryan), Half a King (Joe Abercrombie) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I think I've only read one or two "new" books this year. My selection is probably not as impressive as others but meh, these are to books I enjoyed most this year:1) Fool's Assassin - I was excited about this release. Really enjoyed a return to the RotE, and eagerly awaiting the next installment next August :)2) Pride and Prejudice - I had not read this before, and found myself very entertained by this book.3) Gone Girl - Jumped on the bandwagon. I read the book after seeing the film, because I'm a self-confessed book purist. Great read for me.4) The First Law trilogy - Since I.bought this as an e-book bundle I can never remember where one book ends and the next starts, I wont bother choosing which I liked best. Although I didn't enjoy the first book.as much. Still, overall I found this trilogy to be action-packed with compelling characters. Next year I may try to read the standalones.5) Still Life With Murder - Not my usual book, I only picked it.up because it was on sale for 99p. Glad I read it, very enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beniowa Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Top 5:Foxglove Summer, Ben AaronovitchHalf a King, Joe AbercrombieThe Mirror Empire, Kameron HurleyConservation of Shadows, Yoon Ha LeeTravel Light, Naomi Mitchison Honorable Mentions:Cibola Burn, James S.A. CoreyHild, Nicola GriffithThe Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le GuinThe Three-Body Problem, Cixin Liu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckwheat Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I need to keep better control over what I am reading. Upon seeing the title of this thread, I could not remember any books I read this year. So I just checked my planner for all the "return to library" notes to help me remember some titles. (Most of the things I borrow seem to be non-fiction though, how surprisingly! And obviously some books I have at home and some I borrowed from other sources and for some I just forgot to make a note, so the list is not conclusive.) Robin Hobb: The Liveship Traders trilogy. I could not say which one of the novels I enjoyed most, I loved them all.Italo Calvino: If on a Winter's Night a Traveller (translated as Če neke zimske noči popotnik). Confusing, strange, unfinished-feeling, but really interesting to me. Postmodernism rocks.Michael Ende: The Neverending Story (also translated as Neskončna zgodba). A reread after several years, still one of the most beautiful books that is also interesting from a more adult perspective.Neil Gaiman: American Gods (also in translation as Ameriški bogovi). That one was slow, but it made me think a lot.VIrginia Woolf: A Room of One's Own (also in translation, Lastna soba). That one was actually required reading, but interesting enough to make the list. Seeing how I am a student of two languages and their literatures, it is probably shameful that I only read a few from that language, even less voluntarily. I should work on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I really like these end-of-year threads were people post the best they've read. Hope folks keep contributing. Here's the 2013 thread we had last year, so much stuff in there to find out about. http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/topic/100640-best-books-you-read-in-2013/?hl=books Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello World Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Since no one has commented on it I must be missing something here... why does the thread title say 2015? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reckoner Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Toll the Hounds: My favorite in Erikson's Malazan seriesThe Crippled GodDust of DreamsReaper's GaleThe Bonehunters Honorable mentions: Neuromancer, Dragons of Babel, Return of the Sorcerer (Clark Ashton Smith anthology). Otherwise I occupied myself with texts and journals on virology and immunology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 I need to keep better control over what I am reading. Upon seeing the title of this thread, I could not remember any books I read this year. So I just checked my planner for all the "return to library" notes to help me remember some titles. (Most of the things I borrow seem to be non-fiction though, how surprisingly! And obviously some books I have at home and some I borrowed from other sources and for some I just forgot to make a note, so the list is not conclusive.) Haha, same here, sort of. I could not remember if some of the books I mentioned I had read this year or last year. So I went to my e-mail and since I've been mostly buying from Amazon, I get electronic receipts, and I checked the date when I bought the books. The White Luck Warrior was the first book I read this year, in early January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Since no one has commented on it I must be missing something here... why does the thread title say 2015? Probably no one noticed. I didn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corvinus85 Posted December 22, 2014 Share Posted December 22, 2014 Since no one has commented on it I must be missing something here... why does the thread title say 2015? Probably no one noticed. I didn't. It's the real reason why I clicked on the thread, but the OP made it clear. I don't know if there is a way to edit the title of a thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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